i behaved like what i am, like a proper gypsy

I've been a nomad for years, and I'm finally trying to stay in one place. As of 2013 I'm back at UO and almost done with my journalism degree.

I used to be more of an art photographer (in the days of film) but now my pictures are more like photojournalism. Photography is a hobby; my passion is writing.

My best friend means more to me than anyone or anything in the world. But other than a few close friends I have always felt more connected to places than to people.

*I've been to 49 states (still need: Maine)

*I've been to 11 countries: US, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Spain, Italy, France, Thailand, Malaysia, Cayman Islands.

*I was born in St Paul, MN in 1981. I lived in suburban MN from ages 6-18, when I left for the West.

*I moved to Portland, Oregon in 1999 to go to Reed College, & have lived there ever since, in between travels.

*Oregon is my favorite place in the world. I've lived in or spent time in almost every single city or town in the state (I moved around a lot working in politics).

*I lived in Krabi, Thailand, for 6 months in 2006, teaching English, thoroughly exploring southern Thailand and northern Malaysia.

*I lived in San Diego, Arcata, San Francisco, San Jose, Redding, Chico, and elsewhere around California, a few months in each place, between 2003-2007.

*I lived on the North Side of Chicago for 3 months in 03-04, and spent all my vacations there as a child to visit relatives.

*I endured a hot, sticky summer in Columbus, Ohio, on a political campaign in 2005.

*I've driven across the USA more times than I can count, hitting almost every interstate, major city, and state.

*I spent 3 weeks in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, with friends in 2004, and learned how to live in NYC with absolutely no money.

*When I was 18 I walked 500 km across Spain with my then-boyfriend Gabe, on the Camino de Santiago.

*I've spent several weeks in Mexico, driving up and down the Baja Peninsula, talking in Spanish to crazy people on the streets of Cabo San Lucas and dropping acid in Tijuana

*When I was 19 I saved up money working at a bagel store, and went to Italy, France, and Spain for 2 weeks. I was invited to a tea party by the owner of Shakespear & Co. in Paris, got lost in Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, went to visit my boyfriend Gabe in Santander who promptly broke up with me (he was in love with a Swiss girl), read Crime and Punishment on night trains across borders, got robbed and had to beg for money in train stations to get back to Italy so I could fly home.

*In September/October 2009 I went to NYC, Colombia and Costa Rica.

*In summer 2010 I worked in SE Alaska for a summer and met my exboyfriend, whom I lived with in a beat-up trailer with no lights or heat while we worked 7 day weeks and 14-hour days in a salmon smokery.

*I spent a month in Vancouver BC riding the skytrain for free, three weeks wandering around Utah with my 15-years-older cowboy boyfriend, two weeks in Atlanta, and various weeks in: New Orleans, Memphis, Santa Fe, Billings, Seattle, Boston, DC, Baltimore, and too many others to list.

I have a hard time staying in one place. I have a hard time understanding limits. I want to experience everything. I don't have regrets. People always think I hate them but really I'm just shy. I love adventure.

Don't be a stranger,

love,

becky