If you don’t know me personally, you at the very least know that I love traveling (hence, this blog)! I started this blog back in 2018, made 3 draft posts, and never made it public. I had intentions of sharing it when I moved overseas, but that didn’t happen. Fast forward to the present, (early 2020), where we are in a worldwide pandemic, I needed an outlet to refocus and reroute my energy. Being on social media during these times for me has been overwhelming, on top of my personal and work life being impacted by Ms. Rona (COVID-19). Since I literally am not allowed to travel outside of Japan at the moment (there’s some not so great consequences if I do), I’ve decided to give this blog life and share my past travel experiences. When all of this craziness is over, I hope to continue sharing my new adventures.

I didn’t realize until mid-2016 that I had the “travel bug”. I studied abroad during my last semester of graduate school in 2016 in Europe. It was one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made! Each weekend, my friends and I would venture off to new European cities/countries and explore cities that we’ve always dreamed of visiting (along with cool places that we found on Pinterest). My fabulous supervisors warned me that I would get the “travel bug” once I returned home and they were SO correct! 

You know that tingling (non-sexual) sensation that you get when you’re listening to good music (a few 90’s and early 2000’s R&B songs do this for me) or when you see someone for the first time in weeks that you love? I get that a lot when I’m exploring a new city and/or right before my plane takes off. Being able to retell stories about drunk nights at an Irish bar in Prague, being stopped by the German police in Berlin (true story), or hiking in Japan makes me feel whole and a sense of purpose. I hope that through sharing my stories, I inspire others to venture around this world rather you’re going somewhere domestically or internationally. I didn’t realize until I moved away from America that there are so many fun cities there to visit.

 As I went through my best travel photos, I realized that I’m wearing different styles of braids in almost of them! Hence, the inspiration for the blog name. I hope that you enjoy reading through my post as much as I had fun making them! Be sure to check out my corresponding Instagram page (www.instagram.com/braidsandairplanes_) for more pictures of my travels and travel inspirations.

Enjoy! Ciao!