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In seventh grade, Rebecca Baer did not get the homeroom teacher who made every student draw a map of the entire world from memory, making this bio far less fascinating than it could have been.
Q&A
Why do you travel?
To fill in the blank spaces on my map, and admire any dragons that be there.
What’s one thing you never travel without?
A camera.
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
New York City. It’s true love.
City or country?
Yes, please!
Train, plane, or ship?
Yes, please!
What’s the first thing you do when you arrive in a new place?
Reach for my money or ID, discover it’s missing, PANIC, dump out my entire bag…and realize the thing’s in my pocket where I put it to make it “easier to find.”
What items do you always try to bring back as souvenirs?
Local currency. It’s art. It’s culture. It’s history. Technically, it’s leftover loose change and small bills I didn’t spend, but physical money is also a perfect memento of its particular country.
Carry-on or checked?
Carry-on. I have no confidence I’ll see anything I’ve checked ever again. Plus, when I travel I don’t want to be weighed down by too much stuff from home.
What will always earn a spot in your carry-on?
A novel or novels set in the place I’m visiting, and a bathing suit.
What is your favorite book or genre of books?
Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals. I reread it often for a vicarious trip to Corfu. Someday I’ll reread it on a real trip to Corfu, then die happy.
Hey you. You, on that overseas flight, binge-watching TV shows on the seatback monitor and asking for a second bag every time the free pretzels come around: you are failing to take advantage of a major in-flight amenity. Put down that bloody Mary and listen up: there’s a concierge on your plane, ready to help … Continued