I've been home for over a week now, putting this off, but I think it's time that I sit and reflect on everything that happened in the past four months.
There is a quote that says, "the traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see." Now, while I did spend plenty of time as a tourist, I also spent much of my time as a traveler and this is what I "saw"...
Lesson 1: Just because someone is technically an adult, doesn't mean that they are grown up.
This may sound harsh, but some of the people that I encountered on my journey really should not have been on their own. Just because someone is 18 and a legal adult does not mean that they are capable of taking care of themselves and navigating their way around foreign countries. It's really sad how little common sense or street skills some people have…
Lesson 2: Don't always listen to others; sometimes you need to make your own opinions.
If you've kept up with my blog, you might have noticed a trend. Many of my stories started with "people told me that ___ was overrated, boring, or simply shouldn't waste my time there". However, you might have also noticed that that statement was often followed by "I'm glad that I didn't listen to them". While listening to others and taking people's advice can be a good thing, sometimes you need to make opinions for yourself. Some of my favorite memories from this whole experience were the times when I ignored the nay-sayers and decided to do something despite others' negativity. For example, if I would have listened to others, I would have never gone to Paris or Lucca - two of my favorite trips of the semester! What I'm trying to say is that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but sometimes you need to make an opinion for yourself rather than just going with the crowd.
Lesson 1: Just because someone is technically an adult, doesn't mean that they are grown up.
This may sound harsh, but some of the people that I encountered on my journey really should not have been on their own. Just because someone is 18 and a legal adult does not mean that they are capable of taking care of themselves and navigating their way around foreign countries. It's really sad how little common sense or street skills some people have…
Lesson 2: Don't always listen to others; sometimes you need to make your own opinions.
If you've kept up with my blog, you might have noticed a trend. Many of my stories started with "people told me that ___ was overrated, boring, or simply shouldn't waste my time there". However, you might have also noticed that that statement was often followed by "I'm glad that I didn't listen to them". While listening to others and taking people's advice can be a good thing, sometimes you need to make opinions for yourself. Some of my favorite memories from this whole experience were the times when I ignored the nay-sayers and decided to do something despite others' negativity. For example, if I would have listened to others, I would have never gone to Paris or Lucca - two of my favorite trips of the semester! What I'm trying to say is that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but sometimes you need to make an opinion for yourself rather than just going with the crowd.
I have always been a firm believer in that everyone has their own story to tell. I love hearing everyone's stories and learning about people's lives. Oftentimes it is easy to get caught up in our own lives that we forget that everyone else has lives of their own. However, my friend Erin reminded me that there is always time to take a moment and listen to others. Anytime we traveled together, we would make new friends with the randomest of strangers. For instance, one time in Krakow, we went to get a Kebab and ended up talking with the shop owner for at least an hour, listening to his life story. During our time with the man, it was easy to see that he was so happy that someone was interested in his life. People really like it when someone takes interest in their life and you never know what you can learn from others.
Lesson 4: People don't hate all Americans.
Before I went abroad, everyone told me to be wary because "everyone hates Americans". During my time abroad, I realized that this statement was very true but also very false - "everyone hates certain types of Americans". I had no problem getting along with locals and no one seemed to care that I was American. I was always very gracious and eager to learn about the culture of where I was. I tried as best I could to learn a few words of the language and communicate in a way that made sense in the host's culture. However, I did run into Americans that people did roll their eyes at. There are plenty of people - especially Americans - who act very entitled when they travel. They expect people to know their language and cater to their every need. Many American tourists are very rude and hostile towards other cultures and give all other Americans a bad name. As long as you go in with the right attitude, people will be kind to you.
Lesson 5: Love is universal.
I got the unique opportunity to attend an Italian elementary school musical (thanks to my roommate, Sam). While Sam and I did not understand a single thing that was going on, that didn't stop us from feeling so incredibly joyful watching these kids stumble over their lines, trip over their costumes, and forget their dance moves. However, the joy that we felt was so minuscule compared to the pride of the parents in the crowd. Just like in America, parents all had their video cameras out, recording their kids. They gave a standing ovation at the end and congratulated their stars with flowers. It was just really cool to see how even in other cultures, love, pride, and joy is very present and something that everyone can relate to.
Lesson 6: People can really make or break an experience.
This one is kind of self-explanatory. All I can really say is that you can be in the coolest place, but if you aren't with good company, it can really be a bad time. On the other hand, you can be in a really boring place, stuck in the rain, or lost on a subway but as long as you have good company, it can be a fun experience. Some of my favorite memories are the random times where nothing seemed to be going right, but I was in good company so it ended up being a wonderful adventure.
Lesson 7: Getting lost can be fun.
I know that this may sound weird coming from me - the girl that likes order and planning - but I've learned to really enjoy just wandering and seeing where getting lost can take you. It is really cool to just start walking without any plans or sense of where you are going and see where life leads you. By wandering around, you will often find random hidden gems that aren't necessarily tourist attractions but still pretty cool. Some great stories come from getting lost, let me tell you... If you are open to see what the world has to offer, you will encounter some pretty incredible things.
Lesson 8: Plans change. Life happens. Just go with it.
If you followed my journey, you'll know that not everything went according to plan. My first day in Italy, my luggage was lost and I ended up going to Rome without a change of clothes. My first big trip to Paris was postponed due to air traffic controller strike. The list goes on. As easy as it would have been to let all of that discourage me, I decided to just go with it and not let it get me down. In the end, life happens and all we can do is just go with it; it's really amazing how everything seems to work itself out on the end.
Moral of the story: Life happens whether you want it to or not. All we can really do is embrace the crazy twists and unexpected turns thrown our way and take what we can from each experience. Beauty and joy can be found anywhere, it's just a matter of opening up your eyes and seeing it.
And with that, this boondoggle has come to an end. If you would like to vicariously relive my experience, I have made a little video to commemorate my time abroad.
Thanks for coming along on this crazy journey with me! Stick around for more thoughts, travels, truths, and tales from the life of Just Another Orignal.
Sincerely yours,
Just Another Original
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