My love for adventures and storytelling was forged in the backyards of Minnesota, where I grew up in a neighborhood full of kids who played pirates in the summer and built igloos in the winter. I value being barefoot, having thought-provoking conversation over delicious meals, and talking to taxi drivers and strangers. In elementary school I was such an avid reader that I often brought a book to recess, and the only time I skipped class was senior year to finish a novel I couldn’t put down (Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, my second favorite book after Salinger’s Franny & Zooey). In high school I won thousands of dollars at science fairs for my research on type-1 diabetes, but at college I threw it all out the window because I wanted to tell stories instead. Now I am a free-spirited journalism major who’s fallen in love with the city of Chicago, and wants to do the same in at least five other cities around the world. I am the proud owner of a hammock that travels where I do and always provides a place to nap and read. I haven’t left the country since I was twelve years old but this summer I’ll be in Iraq, about as far away as you can get from the United States– and I can’t wait.
Northwestern — 195 countries. A world of stories. Northwestern students abroad.
Thanks for writing the blog. You and your adventure are amazing.
Comment by Tina Phelps — July 8, 2009 @ 11:58 am
hey Tracy, wow your blog is sooooooooooo nice and informative. You are really venturing and a very good journalist. Excellent and hope you success!
Comment by Namo Abdulla — July 23, 2009 @ 12:12 pm
FUODI!!! Awesome! Great biographical note, and interesting photos and writing about your adventures abroad, especially on the food front. Way to go!
Comment by Dallas Crow — September 9, 2009 @ 8:57 am
Hi Tracey, I came across your blog whole searching for somewhere to post my diary for my first trip to Kurdistan to visit My husbands family. Totally share so many of your sentiments, can’t wait to read the rest! I am desperately trying to raise awareness of the situation back there, as here in the UK, no one knows and no one cares! Well done you! Get in touch if you want to swap experiences or just shat tos omeone who knows what you’ve experienced! Lisa
Comment by Lisa Ahmed — November 1, 2009 @ 2:21 am
Tracy, your humdrum hometown was just name #1 best small city to live in the US by Money Magazine. But clearly not as exciting or historically interesting as Diyarbakr. Life is good.
Comment by Ari — July 14, 2010 @ 4:00 pm
Hi Tracy,
your blog is awesome, I liked the part about Mastaw. you are doing great job making the story of Kurdistan well known all over the world.
good luck
Comment by Tawfiq — July 24, 2010 @ 5:41 pm
Hi!
cool and interesting stories, i really liked them a lot.. keep writing!
Comment by Rasty — August 13, 2010 @ 11:44 pm