My Favorite Travel Moments of 2012

By Jennifer James | January 2nd, 2013 at 12:00 am

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2012 proved to be an amazing year of travel for me. I was lucky enough to travel to Europe twice (to London for the Family Planning Summit and Berlin for TEDxChange), visit Rio for the very first time for Rio + Social and Rio + 20, and visit Ethiopia at the tail end of the year. Each time I traveled out of the country it was to learn more about global development from family planning for women in developing nations to frontline health workers.

Not only did I learn about global development programs and country commitments to global problems, I also learned not to panic when you’re stuck in Frankfurt with only a few hours to spare to get to Berlin for TEDxChange. I learned to get local money for tips before leaving the airport. I also learned to take local transportation and use AirBnB when you’re in town for a UN conference and all of the hotel rooms have been gobbled up.

I discovered a ton, wrote a lot, and set my pace for another year of educating myself about programs in developing countries that are working to help those in need or have been scaled to show a massive, sustainable effort.

Through it all, my favorite travel moment of the year was spending time with children in the Ethiopian villages I visited with Save the Children two weeks ago. They were so sweet and innocent. I couldn’t get over their beautiful faces.

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  Best Travel Moment of 2012 - Rio

  [RIO] At the People's Summit: Flamengo Park - Rio de Janeiro This artist makes dolls out of newspaper and glue. I bought this beautiful doll with the pink dress for my daughters, but absentmindedly forgot to bring her home. I guess she wanted to stay in Rio.

  /babble-voices/perspectives-and-reflections-jennifer-james/2013/01/02/my-favorite-travel-moments-of-2012/#best-travel-moment-of-2012-rio
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  Best Travel Moment of 2012 - Berlin

  [ BERLIN] At Trafo, a former industrial power plant, in Berlin, Germany. The reception for TEDxChange

  /babble-voices/perspectives-and-reflections-jennifer-james/2013/01/02/my-favorite-travel-moments-of-2012/#best-travel-moment-of-2012-berlin
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  Best Travel Moment of 2012 - London

  [LONDON] Youth workers from Ethiopia share their stories about spreading the word about family planning to their peers at the London Family Planning Summit put on by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

  /babble-voices/perspectives-and-reflections-jennifer-james/2013/01/02/my-favorite-travel-moments-of-2012/#best-travel-moment-of-2012-london
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  Best Travel Moment of 2012 - Ethiopia

  Through it all, my favorite travel moment of the year was spending time with children in the Ethiopian villages I visited with Save the Children two weeks ago. They were so sweet and innocent. I couldn't get over their beautiful faces.

  /babble-voices/perspectives-and-reflections-jennifer-james/2013/01/02/my-favorite-travel-moments-of-2012/#best-travel-moment-of-2012-ethiopia
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  Best Travel Moment of 2012 - Ethiopia

  /babble-voices/perspectives-and-reflections-jennifer-james/2013/01/02/my-favorite-travel-moments-of-2012/#best-travel-moment-of-2012-ethiopia
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  Best Travel Moment of 2012 - Ethiopia

  /babble-voices/perspectives-and-reflections-jennifer-james/2013/01/02/my-favorite-travel-moments-of-2012/#best-travel-moment-of-2012-ethiopia
• 

  Best Travel Moment of 2012 - Ethiopia

  /babble-voices/perspectives-and-reflections-jennifer-james/2013/01/02/my-favorite-travel-moments-of-2012/#best-travel-moment-of-2012-ethiopia
• 

  Best Travel Moment of 2012 - Ethiopia

  /babble-voices/perspectives-and-reflections-jennifer-james/2013/01/02/my-favorite-travel-moments-of-2012/#best-travel-moment-of-2012-ethiopia
• 

  Best Travel Moment of 2012 - Ethiopia

  /babble-voices/perspectives-and-reflections-jennifer-james/2013/01/02/my-favorite-travel-moments-of-2012/#best-travel-moment-of-2012-ethiopia
• 

  Best Travel Moment of 2012 - Ethiopia

  /babble-voices/perspectives-and-reflections-jennifer-james/2013/01/02/my-favorite-travel-moments-of-2012/#best-travel-moment-of-2012-ethiopia

Read more of my writing at Jennifer James Online as well as on Mom Bloggers for Social Good and follow me on Twitter at @jenniferjames. Keep up with all of my global development stories on Facebook.

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