I just wanted to share a goal that I accomplished this past year. First off, I want to clarify what the “Seven Wonders of the World” are. There are many categories: The Natural Wonders, The Water Wonders, The Ancient Wonders, and The Man Made Wonders, the latter being decided by a popularity poll let by the New7Wonders Foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland. They announced the winners on July, 7th 2007 with 100 million votes cast. The reason why the number seven was so important was that it takes seven times for a person to remember something. The Seven Man made wonders of the world are: The Great Wall of China, Petra, Chichén Itzá, The Statue of Christ Redeemer, The Colosseum, Machu Picchu and The Taj Mahal
Machu Picchu (June 2009)
When I graduated from high School in 2009, I went on my “senior trip” to Peru. It was a service trip with a small organization called Eagle Condor. It was the first time I decided to go outside the country, without my parents and be by myself. On the trip, we went and saw Machu Picchu. I remember waking up around four in the morning and got on a bus, and then we started hiking Wyna Picchu. (It’s that big mountain I am resting my hand on.) It was a very intense hike with a beautiful reward of seeing the ancient city of Machu Picchu. As we all were talking about this hike, someone in my group mentioned this was one of the “Seven Wonders of the World.” I had no idea, at the time, what this person was talking about, but thank you, whoever gave me this idea! Right when I got home, I looked it up and set the goal right then to see them all
Chichen Itza (November 2009)
I knew that when I set a goal, I would have to accomplish it.With this huge goal, I needed money and a lot of it. Currently, I work for my parents who are full-time farmers in Brigham City,Utah. They grow over eighty acres of fruits and vegetables.
My family and I went to Cancun, Mexico for Thanksgiving. It was there that I saw my second wonder, Chichen Itza. This is a beautiful sight with many things to see. We saw hundreds of stone buildings, and, of course, the pyramid in the picture. You used to be able to climb the stairs, but, unfortunately, you can’t anymore.
Christ the Redeemer (December 2009)
My brother served his LDS mission in Brazil. He spent two years teaching about Jesus Christ. I had an opportunity to go and pick him up at the end of his service. We went to Christ the Redeemer. Not only a beautiful statue of our savior, but it means so much more than that. My brother taught me about this country. This wonder is on top of a huge mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. It’s breathtaking. A little history, the statue took five years to construct and was inaugurated on October 12, 1931. Christ the Redeemer is also a symbol of the city and warmth of the Brazilian people, who welcome visitors with open arms. You must watch this video of Christ the Redeemer. The Piano Guys had the same goal to see all the seven man made wonders but with playing their instruments on each wonder. SO COOL!
Great Wall of China (January 2011)
I was not giving up on this goal yet. I had a year to prepare for this next wonder. I have always been keeping my eye out on how to get to each of these places. I already knew Petra was going to be the hardest for me. One of my frie
nds in college went abroad to China. She told me about this organization called ILP. I was so excited. I signed up with one of my best friends and went. We taught children to speak English. This program was four months long. Not only did I get to check off my list to see the Great Wall of China. I made 20 new friends and memories with the locals there. I also ate so much rice. Everyone in our group had rice cheeks. I loved my time there, and I recommend this organization for anyone who is sick of college (me at the time) or needs a break and wants to live in a different country. The Great Wall is the longest man-made structure in the world. If you don’t know a lot, it was built to protect China’s boundaries. You can even go down an alpine slide or carried on the great wall. Oh, Just kidding that’s only if you areJustin Bieber. Also, they say you can see it from space. I wouldn’t know because going to the moon is still on my list.
Taj Mahal (January 2012)
Remember how I talked about my trip to Brazil and my brother serving an LDS mission? Well, I decided I wanted to go on a mission as well. I got called to Anaheim California teaching the gospel in ASL. Before I left for eighteen months, I wanted to go India. When searching to go to India, there were a lot of fun service trip my friends went on. But they always ended up being in the summer. I worked in the summer, so this never could happen. I found this great tour of India that included the Taj Mahal. One month before I left my mom and I went for three weeks.The Taj was a beautiful mausoleum which 20,000 workers helped in the built. I saw the Taj from many views. My favorite was from the back side. India has a lot to offer not just only the Taj. It has food, religion, and craziness. I loved just seeing random cows on the street and farmers markets on every road.
The Colosseum (May 2014)
After my mission in July 2013, I worked super hard so I could backpack Europe the following summer. Is it everyone’s dream to do this right? Well, I knew I needed this to happen soon or else I would procrastinate. I went with my dear friend that I met in on China group service trip and her friend. Just the three of us. We started in London and ended in Greece. We went to 10 countries total. We had a blast. We bought a Eurail pass and just bounced around Europe. We made it to Rome and went to the Colosseum. I just want to stop and say the wonders are not only picked because of the beautiful man-made structure but because of its surrounding beauty. Rome has so many fantastic sites that are not only historical but beautiful. Just thinking about Rome makes my feet hurt, again!! I wore sandals this day. BAD IDEA! The Colosseum has so much to offer. This place was built in 72 AD and is located right smack in the middle of Rome. I loved hearing the stories of the gladiator contests. Before you go, you must watch Ben Hur, Eat Pray Love, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, When in Rome and Gladiator.
Petra (May 2015)
AHH PETRA!! Like I said I knew this was going to be the hardest and last wonder to see. I knew I needed to finish my goal. I had to make my way here. Not only to see my last sights but with all the conflicts in
the middle east, I knew it might get too dangerous if I waited. I kept looking up tours. They would include the Holy City and Petra. They were too expensive for me and also very lengthy. Apparently you need to be a senior citizen that has four weeks of vacation to go to the Mid
dle East. I didn’t have the time or money to do a lengthy tour. Also, my family didn’t have time as well. I was stuck. I couldn’t go alone. Just because I have bright blonde hair and would stick out. I had one last wonder on my list. Guess what happened? One of my friends accepted an internship in Amman, Jordan. I told my friend I am coming, and you are going to see Petra with me. My friend said DONE. There it was I was finally seeing my last wonder. My favorite part was walking through a sandstone slot canyon known as the Siq that leads directly to Al Khazneh which is called the Treasury. Petra contains tombs and temples that are man-made carved into pink sandstone cliffs. This place is so far and seems so hard to get to, but it was worth it. Have to throw in a clip fromIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
I took me seven years to see all the Seven Man-Made Wonders Of the World. Thank you to all that have supported me and been on these trips with me I hope you know this was not about me boasting about my travel, it was about the goals of this journey and how I accomplished them. I hope we all share our goals with each other. Everyone achieves small and big goals throughout our lives. I will always treasure this one goal. It taught me hard work, determination, friendship, patience, and courage. It’s also not about where I went but who I was with.
Laci Tagge 