Sarah Palin loses the youth hostel vote

• eggs with green chile
• tomato
• soy milk
• coffee

I love National Geographic Magazine as much as the next candidate for second-in-line-to-the-leader-of-the-free-world. However, I wouldn't presume to know how not to negotiate without preconditions with the leader of Iran after reading a fascinating article about Roman swords discovered in a Slovenian river bed. According to Mrs. Palin, there are a select few people who are able to enjoy travel to foreign countries, to explore other cultures, to learn that a Norwegian is not just a Nebraskan who speaks a strange language and wears a funny costume for national festivals. These lucky few world travelers are apparently trust fund kiddos whose parents hand them a passport, a backpack, and a wad of cash for them to blow on prostitutes in Prague, hash in Amsterdam, jugs of wine in Rome, and four-star hotels in Paris while she continues slaving away at the Dairy Queen and Motel 6, hoping to save enough money to buy the "C" volume of the World Book Encyclopedia and thus continue her education of foreign affairs. (I believe Cambodia was next on her list.) One would think, through all of her hard work, she would be able to afford to save up enough for a weekend jaunt over to Russia (which, to hear her tell it, is a matter of a few steps across a few well placed stones in the Bering Sea) to trade some moose meat for some nesting dolls.