Back in the Old World

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Well I am back in Europe! I have a 6 hour layover in Germany before I head to my final stop in Bilbao. I am so excited to see my roommate from when I studied abroad, Kim. She is living in the Basque country teaching English and I’m really looking forward to seeing her life there. Travelling was weird this time around, in an unexpected way. I haven’t had any huge thrills like I’ve had in the past. This time around it’s all felt very natural and easy. My main flight from the states to Europe was about 11 hours and went by fairly quickly and somewhat comfortably… somewhat. The distance doesn’t seem so far anymore. I haven’t been overly challenged in getting here. I love the problem solving that comes with travelling, but I haven’t had any circumstances that have really called for that. I think what has been greatest this time around is just how comfortable I am with knowing that I’ll figure out where I need to be as I go. It’s something I’ve known, but last time I was in Europe I was <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">learning how to travel confidently and without fear. This time around it’s just come naturally. Which is encouraging and something that I think applies to new chapters in life. Graduating left me with a lack of direction and it’s been painful to face certain fears and break negative patterns that I’ve developed to try to cope with my lack of control, or to try to feel in control. Right now I’m in the <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">learning process of maturing emotionally and it’s stressful and painful because I’ve never consciously faced my emotional immaturities. But comparing things like that to travelling, I realize that before I know it, the healthy habits I am choosing to develop will start to come naturally and the fear of the unknown will lessen.

I was also proud to discover that I can still, generally, differentiate between who is American and who is European before they even speak! Maybe that’s a silly thing to be proud of, but it makes me feel like I’ve got some sort of skill… too bad it would mean squat on a resume. I really like the Frankfurt airport, it’s very comfortable. I went into the classiest bathroom here too! Roomy, quiet, private. Nothing like what you get in the states. It made me dread getting to Italy though. Public bathrooms there are not very appealing. You’re lucky if you get just 1 of the following: toilet paper, soap, or hand towels. And if you get all three… than hot damn, you hit the jackpot! (Don’t judge me for talking about bathrooms; I like places that have nice ones). This airport also has a ‘leisure zone’ with some of the most comfortable chairs where you can stretch your legs out and lay back and the space between your chair and the chair next to you is far enough that you’re not sitting awkwardly close to someone you don’t know. This is not a good representation of a lot of Europe though… usually you get to know the stranger next to you in a café or on the street way more than you intended. It’s also nice to be back in a place where you overhear a variety of languages. It’s so refreshing and intimidating in a way that makes me want to learn everything I can. Communication is such a beautiful and complex thing to me and its fun to watch people speak words I don’t understand in the same way that I speak to my friends. I also have come to love the challenge of trying to communicate in new ways. Don’t get my wrong though, I’m very nervous about being back in Italy because my Italian is incredibly rusty and was never very strong to begin with. But maybe I won’t have to use it all that much. I’m pretty sure this month is going to go by much too fast. After living 4 months abroad, 1 month feels like a weekend camping trip!

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