Why Go Around The World? How do you decide where to go?!

Hey guys, I know I said I was going to keep you updated with my various excursions on the way to planning my Big Trip for when I graduate, my Round the World (RTW) trip. As I had a semester of school between the last time I posted and now, I haven't had a lot of time to plan my trip, therefore there was nothing new to report! But, summer is in full swing, and besides reading Tolstoy's War and Peace for class, relearning Spanish, and working/ finding a second job, I'm devoting all of my time and energy to figuring out the details of the trip - where and when I'm gonna go, what visas/ work permits/ whatever I'll need for my trip document-wise and what materials I'll need to collect (read: a super nice pair of tennis shoes!) and what I can borrow from friends (for example, I have a friend whose family is Pakistani Muslim and she has appropriate dress for a woman to fit in there that I can hopefully borrow while I'm gone). What I've found is this: even with my well-traveled friends and family, this is going to be a tough decision! The world is so big and every country is different. I do, however, have one advantage over others completing this trip: I'm an international relations student with a lot of friends. This means I am surrounded by peers and professors who study and hail from all over the world. My last dorm roommate and current roommate are both going to Russia, and my FAVORITE history professor was born and raised in Moscow. I made a friend in a class last semester who just got back from his study abroad in China. I have a professor who studies sub-Saharan Africa. I have a friend from my guitar class who lived in Costa Rica and a friend from Peru. Additionally, I lived in Europe. When I did so, I met people from all over the world: Brazil, Belgium, The Netherlands, England, Lithuania, Italy, Russia, China, Australia, and Germany, to be exact. I am still in contact with many if not all of these friends and know they would give me recommendations as to where to go in their countries. Finally, I have a friend I work with at the National Museum of Crime and Punishment who just spent time in Ethiopia and another friend who is spending a few weeks of her summer leading a service group to Rwanda. All of these people will be able to give me ideas on where to go and what to do when I'm there. Something you have to do when planning a trip like this is to have a focus. You could do an "alcohols of the world" tour, or a food tour, or something like that. Because I'll be doing this trip at the end of my college career, I'll have my focus on something historical. I study the Cold War, World War II, and the European Union, so I plan to make my "abroad home base" the wonderful city of Berlin. This is for several reasons - you can see the Cold War and WWII remnants there everywhere, it's a city I've been to a few times, and you can never grow tired of it. I also have a friend who lives there, and plan to speak German by the time I graduate. Germany is also relatively central in Europe, and it's pretty easy to get anywhere from there. It was a central figure in WWII, the "battleground" of the Cold War, and is crucial to the functioning of the European Union today. It's really easy to get to Poland, for example, where I know I want to tour Auschwitz. I'll go to the Ukraine, where I'll see the remnants of Chernobyl. On to Russia, where I'll see Moscow and St. Petersburg. I'll head south through China, and I hope to see Cambodia and Thailand. Hopefully I can do some community service over there working with young children who were forced into the sex trade, a large industry. From Asia, I want to loop back around to the middle east. On the way, I want to stop in India. If I can, I want to see Afghanistan rebuilt by the people. I want to see Pakistan and Israel. I want to see Egypt, both the ancient civilization and their rebuilding after this weekend's elections. I'll travel south through Sudan and South Sudan, seeing the remnants of the destruction caused by the ethnic conflict. I'll see Kenya, a country AU Abroad takes students for sustainable development. I'll see Tanzania and Angola, two countries I studied in middle school for reports. I'll see South Africa and the changes made since Apartheid. I want to see Morocco, which I've heard is beautiful. I would travel all over Africa if I could, because all of the cultures are different and each has a story to tell. I would go to Australia at some point. This might come after Africa but maybe just after Asia and before Africa. I'd visit with my friend Dan and see Sydney and Melbourne. I want to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef. Back in Europe, I want to see more of the Balkans and Southern Europe. I want to see the rest of these war-torn countries and the countries on the brink of chaos. I want to visit Turkey, Cyprus, and Greece in that order. From Greece, I want to go to FYROM (the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) whose only barricade to European Union membership is its name. I want to go back to beautiful Croatia, see Bosnia once more, and visit the free Kosovo before venturing back to Serbia. I will head to Romania where I have a friend and see what his culture is like. Once I'm finally done with my beloved Europe, it will be time to see South America. I have heard South America is very Americanized, but if that's true, my best guess would be that it was made that way by the Cold War. In a desperate fight to ward off Communism in the countries closest to us, America tried to spread its influence in the form of wealth all over South and Central America. We opened the controversial School of the Americas and trained their militaries. I want to see how effective our influence has spread. I want to see Haiti, and do more service - this time rebuilding from the hurricane. By this point, whatever clothes I have will be good work clothes anyway! More or less because it's very difficult for an American to do, I want to go to Cuba. I want to see the Cold War history still very much alive in the streets of Havana. Even in writing this, I'm realizing things I missed. Somewhere in there, I want to see the United Kingdom - particularly where I have friends in England and where I have some roots in Ireland. I'm currently finding the process nearly impossible to decide, but I have exactly two years to go! If anyone has any suggestions for any human rights/ EU/ WWII/ Cold War-esque places to go, do leave a comment and let me know! I want to hear your opinion of where I should go!