Ethel is ecstatic when her father offers her an escape from a long, cold, dark, Maine winter. But the journey turns out to be a maze of country-hopping, desert-crossing, shisha-smoking, friend-making, skinny-dipping, island-kissing, revolution-escaping, boy-betraying, white-knuckled, hairpin turns. Growing up at home is perplexing, growing up overseas is mind-altering.BEST PART? Moments…the small, unexpected ones. But you never know when they’re going to happen. WORST PART? You would think I’d say being evacuated from Libya, but the tough part was coming home again. WHY?Because people expect you to be the same old you, but you’re not, and never can be.SO, DID YOU BECOME A NEW AND IMPROVED YOU? I have to admit I’m still working on that one…WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN? I’m leaving next month...WOULD YOU TELL OTHERS TO GO? I could make a big speech here about what you will see (not what you'd expect) and learn (about yourself), and how the world is still a good place despite all the current troubles, but that is just blah, blah, blah. The short answer is YES, go and go now.Countries: Saudi Arabia, The Marshall Islands (Majuro Atoll), Oman, Libya, Brazil and Maine.