Taxi, Takeoff, and Landing

This past spring break I was lucky enough to be able to go to New Zealand with my aunt to help her on a research study she was conducting in Auckland. The research study was about measuring the air quality at multiple different sites around Auckland to see if the huge container ships, which anchor very close to downtown Auckland, have an affect on the air quality there. We had been planning this trip since I've been really young so that she could show me some of the lab work she does and show me her favorite country in the whole world. Of course, because she never stops talking about how incredible New Zealand is, I was so excited to go. It was all planned really last minute, because the trip was originally supposed to be in February, but it still all worked out (magically). We got to Auckland on a Saturday morning, even though I left CMI at 5 am on Thursday. We stayed in an Airbnb in Davenport, which is a 15 minute ferry ride away from downtown Auckland. On Saturday, we went...

This past summer my dad was lucky enough to have a conference in Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland. Since he had to go there anyway and we were planning to visit family in Europe afterwards, my family decided to all join my dad in Iceland. I was really excited for this trip because I had heard all about how incredible Iceland is. All those travel bloggers and photographers definitely weren't wrong - Iceland is so crazy incredible. From the minute you arrive at the airport and pick up your rental car you're surrounded by the insanest green mountains (that is, if you visit in the summer, I'm sure in the winter they're less green). While driving along the empty roads, all you can do is stare at the mountains all around you in awe. I forgot to count the amount of times someone said, "It feels like we're on another planet", but it must have been at least 10 times in our first day. If you visit Iceland in the summer, you will probably also see endless field...