I go places — Clarissa D Santiago

#blessed #yolo #carpediem èt tout ça blah blah blah

At the risk of sounding like a grade A asshole, gratitude does not come easily to me. It is something I have to cultivate. It is the second thought, the "oh yeah." Sunshine and rainbows and all that fairy pixie-dust bullshit is not my way and yet...I give a shit: deeply. Quietly. Earnestly. I don't wear my gratitude on my sleeve because it's underneath the damn sleeve, the muscle behind the skin if you will.

"Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude." A.A. Milne — "Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude." *A.A. Milne*

So why the waxing philo' on gratitude? Welllllll, I go places, a lot of places and I often do not pay a cent. How? Sorry friends. This is not a "I just believed and thought and then - tada! violà! - thoughts became things." No. No. No, at least not conscientiously. I fell into this #blessing, much as I fell into the unexpected career that bestowed it.

I manage Master's degree programs at Sotheby's Institute of Art in New York. The Institute trains its students to become art professionals. We have three Master's degree programs; I manage two of them. Every semester (and sometimes twice a semester), students participate in "field study:" visiting, primarily international, hot art markets, fairs and/or biennials. It is a week+ long whirlwind experience of art, visiting museums, artist studios, galleries, private collections, etc., often getting "behind the scenes" and otherwise privileged access. While there is work involved and the trips are physically exhausting, with most days averaging 12 hours, mostly on my feet and not including dinners that often go well into the night, I pay for nothing. As it should be, right? This is work, but...wow-oh-wow!!! When I take a moment, my inner 'hood rat whispers, "Girllllll, can you believe this coup?! How the hell did you wind up here?!"

I wanted the job desperately. I was working an unfulfilling position at another institute of higher learning when I found the opportunity. I remember reading the job description and thinking, "Wait. What? Travel with Contemporary Art and American Fine/Decorative Art graduate students internationally and nationally?" Yes. Please. As I researched the school, I went into the interview prepared and determined. I did everything in my power to get hired. No. No. Nothing uncouth. I simply interviewed my tits off by conducting loads of research, tailoring every answer to fit the job description, which I memorized. Moreover, with my background in higher education administration at art schools, and an undergraduate minor in American Studies, I was totes qualified.

This is the longest-held position I have ever had and, while it has its challenges like any other job, the travel is, without a doubt, the crux that keeps me on.

I keep holding on and I LIKE it. Side note: his hair is everything.

So, where the hell have I been? Venice, Milan, Mexico City, Shanghai, Beijing, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Sao Paulo, Bogota, to name a few of the international destinations. I often tack on personal trips after, and, thereby, have visited Tokyo, Florence, and Rome. There have also been fab national destinations like Los Angeles, Charleston, Savannah, Newport, Boston, Chicago, and Miami. I look forward to sharing photos and quips about them here because, you know, the internets are just dying for another fucking travel blog. Anyhoo, stay tuned please. In the meantime, here's a photo of a couple of camels chilling on the beach in Dubai.

Foreground camel: "I farted." Background camel: "Hmph"