How does this guy consider himself a world traveller?

...It is people like this that make me question where I am really from. http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_15139346?src=yahoohome&nclick_check=1

This article talks about a man who at the age of 25 made it his goal to visit every country in the world. Personally that is sort of my goal as well. He has three countries to go which are Cuba, Somalia, and Libya. However my opinion is that he has not really travelled to these countries that he says he has gone to because he refuses to venture outside the cities, will not try local foods, and also always stays in specific hotels. He insists on Mcdonalds and French Fries. Also I am wondering how he managed to get into Saudi Arabia as we are a country that does not issue tourist visas. And I'm wondering how he managed not to get arrested in Lebanon or Syria for having visited Israel. Syria and Lebanon if I remember correctly will arrest you if your passport says you have visited Israel. There may be exceptions to that rule but I do not know what they are.

Its people like this that make me question my nationality and songs like God Bless the USA which I know is a patriotic song but I still question if I am American or not after reading about people like the guy in the article. A lot of Americans are always saying that the US is the best country in the world and I have doubted that for some time, especially after having living overseas. I think once I start school again I need to look into a study abroad program for a semester somewhere in Europe possibly in the UK or Ireland. At this point I consider myself American by birth, culturally however I am not however I am not sure what culture I belong to.

Update

Well so far no luck with finding a job. I interviewed at Wal Mart and though the interview went pretty well I didn't get the job. Oh well its life and lets move on. No I'm looking elsewhere for a job. So right now I am doing odd jobs around my Aunts house such as yardwork and moving boxes of food storage to her food storage closet downstairs in her basement.

Weatherwise I am really enjoying it up here. Unfortunately I haven't really met anyone my age. What I mean is I have met someone close to my age but he lives in the St George area which is about a 4 hour drive away. His Mom and my Aunt have been friends for over 30 years and were best friends when they used to live in Virginia. In fact her husband and my Dad used to be room-mates when they lived in Virginia. So our families go pretty far back but I had never met them until I stopped for the night at their house on my way up to my Aunts house.

So all in all I think its been a good decision so far to move up here.

Well I made it to Utah

I made it to my Aunts house in Utah yesterday and it feels weird because they are an hour ahead of Arizona timewise. I ended up stopping for the night Friday at a family friends house in the St George area because it took longer than expected to get to Utah thanks to the Hoover Dam which takes forever to get across and Las Vegas freeway traffic and I had to stop for gas in Vegas and there are a lot of rude drivers there. Well now if you'll excuse me I need to go finish making pasta salad.

Wow

OK I was bored and on the internet and found out randomly that Chester Bennington the lead singer for Linkin Park lives in Gilbert about 10 minutes or 5 miles away from my old house there. How weird is that?

Disaster Zone

My room at the moment is a disaster zone. I am packing up my stuff and at the moment am about 3/4 of the way done but I have stuff all over the floor, extra boxes that I no longer need because I repacked my stuff so it would fit better into other boxes so I wouldn't use so many and so that they would all fit in my truck bed. I've stuff my minifridge with clothing. I've also got some trashbags where I am going to stuff my bedding into and just load it into the cab of my truck when I leave. Basically my room is a mess at this point. I need to finish by tomorrow. Friday when I actually drive to Utah is going to be interesting. I'm starting over in a new place that I have visited a couple of times but never lived there. I know a couple of people up there but not like Maricopa County which had all the drama from my first High School which followed me down to Thatcher.

I'm leaving Arizona and hopefully for good! I might come down to visit but I have no intention of moving back down to Arizona any time soon. I have not really liked this State since I moved here in 3rd grade from Maryland and now I finally get my chance to get out of here. My only disappointment at this point is that I could not have done it sooner and that I am not moving back East to Maryland or Virginia. That will hopefully happen within the next few years though. I hope to be able to visit Virginia within the next two years at least. I might be moving there after Utah. My Mom and Dad want me to stay in one place and finish a degree but I miss living back East. I know its weird as I have not lived there for about 10 years now but I still have memories of green grass, summer rain showers, snow in the winter, the colours of the leaves changing in the fall and then the leaves falling off the trees, snowball fights in the winter, going to the beach in North Carolina and the water in the Atlantic is not freezing cold unlike the Pacific. Maryland and Virginia actually have 4 seasons, something that Arizona does not. Arizona has two seasons, warm and bloody hot! This state has not felt like home to me something that I do not think my parents have realised. Yes I know we moved out here for work and for my sisters health as the dryer climate here does not trigger her asthma but as I do not live with my family anymore I am ready to move on. The East is my Home, not the West.

!##$@@$@#@!*&%

I'm a little frustrated right now. It turns out my last final is on Wednesday evening and all of the rest of my finals are on Monday and Tuesday. I was hoping to leave here Wednesday afternoon, spend the night at a friends house in Gilbert and then finish my drive to Utah. I've asked my teacher if I can take the final early but due to some administration rules here taking finals early has to be approved by several administrators and that usually takes a few days to process. So its quite likely that I will not be able to take the final early. This is driving me nuts!

What is it with me and writing letters...

Honestly what is it with me and writing letters. I wrote a letter to my Dad to let him know that I left the Mormon church and explained my reasons for doing so. I think it was a fair letter. Now I have not sent it. I just typed it up. Honestly I think it helped to be able to write my thoughts and opinions down. I probably will actually send this one this summer but after I get a job and get financially stable. I think this will be for the best and will allow me to be completely honest with my parents about my opinions on several subjects and religious views. Yes this is going to be rough but I do love my parents so I think it will just be best if I tell them. I've been nervous all this time since I left the Mormon Church on what will happen if I tell my parents but I think now is the time to tell them. I will just have to see what happens. I doubt my Dad or Mom will cut me out of the family though this may strain a few things.