37... and counting

Last night I was telling my kids about an upcoming business trip I have to take.

Obviously they are unhappy when I'm not around, but their disappointment is usually tempered by the anticipation of the swag I bring home for them.  But this time I was a bit perplexed by my daughter's reaction.  She said "You're so lucky that you get to travel all the time!  I never get to go anywhere!" 

I just stared at her and marveled at what a different perspective my kids have as compared to where my head was when I was that age. 

She and her sibs have been flying since they were babies... across the U.S. and around the world.  For them, getting on a plane is as routine as getting on a bus.  Heck, Zahava and I didn't think twice about putting Ari and Gili (12 and 14 respectively) on a flight to the U.S. this past summer... with a connection in Rome!

I, on the other hand, had never been on a plane before my Jr. Year of High School... and I nearly peed myself with a combination of excitement and fright during that first take-off.   But touring most of Western Europe with a Jazz band between my Jr. and Sr. years of High School, four years in the Navy sailing around the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and plenty of business travel, have pretty much eclipsed the memory of that initial shock.

But each time I return from one of my trips abroad with gifts for the kids, I watch them handling the exotic tchotchkes and can see in their eyes that they have already caught the wanderlust for which Israelis are so famous.  In fact, Ariella is already planning her post-army Safari to Africa... and she's only 14!

Anyway, in the course of our conversation about my impending trip, Ariella asked me how many countries I'd visited so far... and I honestly didn't know.  So, for Ari... the following is a map showing the places I've been so far (not counting the place I will be visiting soon):

Trep has visited 37 countries (16.4% of the world)
Create your own visited map of The World.

[Disclaimer:  The map automatically displayed Alaska in red when I selected the U.S., but Alaska is actually the only U.S. state I have never visited.]