WHERE’S WALLING? Feeling cooped up at home? Take the extra time to plan your next trip post-social distancing times using chemistry teacher Carolyn Walling’s experiences from around the world.
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aving been to roughly a fourth of the countries in the world (and counting), traveling is something that has always been a priority for science teacher Carolyn Walling. From sleeping in hostels in Europe to meeting a lifelong friend during a summer in Uruguay, the excitement of seeing new places and cultures is a feeling that hasn’t diminished over the years for Walling. Though she’s visited amazing places in all seven continents, Walling tries to stick to a rule of only traveling to a destination once, giving her more opportunities to discover new people and cultures. Here’s what she has to say about some places that stuck out from her trips across the world.
BY ANNABEL HENDRICKSON PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAROLYN WALLING ART & DESIGN BY XIAOYI ZHU
South America - Patagonia “I loved going to Uruguay because the people were so nice and Ecuador [because] the Galapagos is amazing,” Walling said. “But one of my favorite things we did in South America is go ‘glamping’ in a national park in Patagonia. If I get to go to South America again, I would really love to see Machu Picchu and then take a trip to Argentina and Brazil.”
Antarctica
“My rule is to only go to a place one time — with a few exceptions,” Walling said. “[My favorite place] was Antarctica. By far the best trip of my life. It was the most beautiful place with amazing wildlife and very few people. That is one place I want to go again.”
Cambodia
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PROFILES APRIL 24, 2020
“[Being a teacher] gives flexibility in the summer, but no flexibility in the school year. We spent a summer in Nome, Alaska. My husband was doing a rotation there in a hospital during his residency,” Walling said. “Nome is not pretty at all — there are no trees and the mosquitoes are as big as fat flies — but it was so interesting to be part of the community. I think of many of the places I have traveled in my life, it is one of the most foreign.”
North America - Nome, Alaska