Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Sometimes shit happens...

1.

Wow, it seems like an eternity since I’ve written anything. I would say that I’m sorry, except that I’m not, because I’ve been too busy gallivanting around Ireland and Scotland and enjoying (almost) every minute of it.

I say “almost” because no one can expect to travel anywhere and not encounter a disaster or two (or three). This trip in particular involved a train strike in Germany that meant I almost wasn’t able to leave the country, a woman who sold me a 5 pound meat pie (the form of currency pound, not the weight pound. Not that I wouldn’t have accepted the challenge of eating 5 pounds of meat pie, because I totally would have), and then shortchanged me 10 pounds, making that damn pie just about the most expensive meal I’ve had thus far while abroad, and a train ticket to Glasgow that I accidentally purchased for the wrong day, meaning that I was out yet another 15 pounds (side note: money conversions suck).

Anyone who has traveled (either in the U.S. or abroad) is bound to have disaster stories, so today, ladies and gentlemen, here are some of my best ones (punctuated by random pictured from Scotland and Ireland, because why not). These stories span about five years of travel, twelve countries, and numerous friends/travel buddies who can vouch for their legitimacy.

2.

Sometimes disasters come in simple forms, such as your electronics breaking or doing weird things. Sometimes your American phone doesn’t work. Sometimes your Italian phone doesn’t work. Sometimes your German phone doesn’t work. Sometimes you break two pairs of headphones within a week. Sometimes your laptop stops charging because it is five years old, which is like a dinosaur in electronics years. Sometimes you’re not sure which converter or adapter goes where and maybe your hair dryer makes a sound like it wants to blow up and destroy us all.

3.

Occasionally disasters come in more complex forms, like when you fear for your mental health, and by “fear for your mental health” I mean “fear for the safety of others because they are making you really mad and you are about to slap the shit out of somebody”. During the four months when I was studying in Rome I actually needed counseling so that I didn’t murder my crazy roommate. Previous to that roommate debacle, I actually once moved out of my room so I didn’t murder yet another roommate while in Paris (and I let my temper fly a little bit that time, therefore making one of my friends scared of ever making me angry).

4.

There are also transportation disasters, like my entire trip to Croatia. There was the boat cruise from hell, when we got stuck out on the water in a storm and everyone but a handful of us spent the entire trip sea sick in the back of the boat (while the rest of us hid up front and rode it out like champions). Then there was the car accident, when a car flipped on the highway and hit our tour bus, resulting in us sitting on the side of the road for hours waiting for the police to show up.

5.

And then there are the random daily disasters, like getting lost (like I said before, I have a habit of being convinced that I am heading in the right direction, when it turns out that I am actually heading in the exact opposite direction of where I should be going), having money problems (I have had debit card problems more often than I’d care to discuss), getting extremely sunburnt (in both Greece and Spain, because they are dangerous countries for pale peoples like myself), and, you know, maybe accidentally forgetting to pack all of your pants (I will never live that one down).

6.

But here’s the thing; not only do these disasters make for great stories, but also for every one of them, I have at least five amazing, wonderful adventures that I’ve had. I’ve stalked Italian waiters, trespassed on Greek construction sites, eaten snails in France, tripe in Portugal, and whole anchovies in Spain. I’ve tackled Carnivale in Venice in the freezing cold and snow, explored an Italian mall where no one spoke English, wandered around Montreal with no plans and no idea what I was doing, spent a day trip to Pisa doing little more than eating and taking a nap in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (and I enjoyed every second of it), watched flamenco dancing while drunk in Barcelona, seen a stunning waterfall park in Krka, Croatia, been hit on by strange, creepy, and possibly Polish men in Liverpool, performed a belly dance routine in front of my whole school in Rome, drank whiskey with two other English teachers in Edinburgh, gone on a ghost bus tour in Dublin…and the list goes on and on.

7.

When traveling you accept the good and bad, because it is always worth it. Yes the disasters make good stories, but they also make you stronger and more resilient. I’ve never been big on regrets, because I think you can always learn something from your mistakes.
For example, the next time I go to Edinburgh I will pay more attention when buying both train tickets and meat pies (also I will never forget my pants ever again).

8.

Photo Key
1. Edinburgh
2. Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh
3. Glasgow Cathedral
4. Glasgow Necropolis
5. Double rainbow in Edinburgh
6. Waiting for the bus in Dublin
7. Dublin
8. Grafton Street, Dublin

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

I have been procrastinating (what else is new)...


(Look, a picture. Finally. Guys, this is Hamburg. This beautiful city is where I live.)

Last week a student told me that American English sounded sexier than British English.

I didn't have the heart to tell him how very wrong he was.

Speaking of British English, I am off to the U.K. next week for my October break, and I am unbelievably excited. I may or may not have made a gigantic list of bookstores that I want to visit (I really, really miss English bookstores. There is apparently only one in Hamburg and I went there this week and it looks like a hobo with a hoarding problem lives there in the store, and it made my soul hurt, so I am definitely not going back).

But time for serious talks now. I’ve been writing and re-writing this for about a week, because I want to talk about changing, but I’ve been having a really hard time clearly articulating what I want to say, so I’m just going for it.

Some things never change. Coming back to Europe has reminded me that here, my wallet always weighs about ten pounds because of all of the one and two euro coins (but this also means I can pay for things entirely with coins, and that is awesome). Here, you always have to either bring your own bags to the grocery store, or you have to buy them (no free plastic bags). Here, I still break things as much as I do back home (I’m pretty sure I still owe my roommate a cutting board and a mug or two. Or three). Here, I still have the worst sense of direction ever, and am forever heading in the exact opposite direction of where I am supposed to be going.

But sometimes things do change. Graduating and moving to Germany has reminded me of this. People always talk about how they changed in college, or how they changed when they studied abroad, but it can be really hard to pinpoint the specifics of these changes and explain them in a way that makes sense to other people, but I am going to try.

When you are placed in a strange and new environment (i.e. college or a new country), you suddenly become hyper aware of the individual parts that make up who you are. Suddenly some parts aren't as important any more. Suddenly it isn't as important whether you grew up in a big city or a small town, or what you did in high school. Suddenly your friends and family members back home are no longer the absolute center of your focus, because you are making new friends and building a new “family”. 
Suddenly the past doesn't matter as much, because what people are interested in is who you are now, what you are doing now, and what you are planning on doing in the future.

And this is always proves to be problematic, because I’ve never been good with those subjects: the present and the future. The present has always been somewhat unsatisfactory for me, I have always been too easily distracted to stay in the moment and appreciate what is going on in my life right now. Instead I spend my time either remembering the good times that happened in the past, or making outlandish and unrealistic plans for the future. But the future has always been complicated for me too, for while I love making plans, inevitably I either change my mind, or I jump recklessly into something else without making any plans at all, or reality sets in, and I have to remind myself that yes, your school would notice if you simply didn't return from your weekend trip and instead decided to go live in Morocco.

But now, here in Hamburg and outside of my comfort zone, I am being forced to re-examine these things. I am being forced to stop and really look at who I am, here, now. And I am being forced to carefully re-think what it is I want to do with my life and my future.

Every time I have studied abroad (or started another year of college) this kind of re-examination has changed me. Sometimes it caused me to have the courage to stop hiding and being shy. Sometimes it allowed me to be myself more and not be afraid of what others think about me. Even now, having only been here a month, I just keep changing my mind about myself and who I am and who I want to be. Do I really want to get my masters and then work at a college? Do I want to teach English instead? Do I want to go on some trip and simply never come back? Other questions keep popping up too, like why does everyone keep badgering me about getting married? How will I ever be able to pay off my student loans if I keep spending all of my money on travel? What would happen if I just up and decided to move to London or Paris or Cairo after my work contract ends in June?


It seems like every day I change my mind and rethink my choices. Am I ever going to really figure out what I want to do and who I want to be? Maybe. Am I going to continue dreaming up impossible scenarios in the meantime? Absolutely. Am I going to buy a ridiculous amount of books in Scotland and Ireland next week? Most definitely.