MODERN IFIGENIA

On December 31st of 2016 I went to celebrate New Year's Eve and watch a few fireworks in Hershey, PA. Earlier that day, a club filled with revelers was bombed in Istanbul, Turkey, leaving many dead and more injured. I was sad about the bombing, but decided I wasn't going to let that get in the way of me celebrating the beginning of 2017. I enjoyed my time in Hershey until the fireworks went off. The sounds of those fireworks reminded me of the first time I had ever heard them. The first time I learned about fireworks, the local stadium set them off and hadn't notified anyone, so when the fireworks went off everyone thought they were gun shots (we had also never heard gun shots, but lived in a high crime area so that seemed the most rational explanation for the sound). The "shooting" lasted for too long so someone finally decided to go outside and caught the last few bursts. They started yelling for all the neighbors to come out to see the fireworks. By t...

Okay, okay, okay-I have a major dilemma and it is only January. By now you have probably heard of the cheap tickets to Iceland offered by WOW -what you probably don't know is that those prices also apply to Copenhagen, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Bristol, Frankfurt, Dublin, Dusseldorf and Stockholm-yes, for around $300.00 you can visit any of these destinations from Washington, DC/Baltimore. So here is my problem, if I go to any of these locations I will have to pay for room and board, which is now more affordable because I own an American Express card which is giving me $25.00 per $100.00 I spend on hotels anywhere in the world. Nonetheless, I would still have to pay for hotels if I go to Europe. I could also go to Turkey because the spring typically brings low rate flights (around $450.00) and I can have free room and board from a friend. The problem with Turkey is that I have already been there, though re-visiting it would help me learn my Turkish. For once in my li...