What's scarier? The world or not living your dreams?
To give some minor context, my name is Erika and I have never been "across the pond" until this summer. So far, I have been abroad for a month and I have had quite a whirlwind of experiences! To start, I spent my first two weeks traveling with my cousin. Our trip started with London, then we went to Amsterdam and then ended in Paris where I have stayed for my global seminar, Jazz in Paris. To be completely honest I am still in shock and in awe of the fact that I am actually here and have done so many incredible things. It has always been my dream to travel and see the world, but for far too long this seemed impossible. I never thought I could do it. But what I have always known for certain is that if there's a will, there's a way! So here I am, in Paris-flippin-FRANCE!
And my journey is far from over. I have categorized my 2017 Eurotrip into 3 Phases. Phase 1 was my 2 weeks of travel before my global seminar with my cousin, which is now complete. Phase 2 is the 5 weeks I spend on my global seminar and Phase 3 will be the two and a half weeks I will spend traveling with my family when they arrive at the end of my program!
To summarize Phase 1, I think those experiences were more than I could have ever expected. I did come in with some ideas of the things I thought I would experience, but none of the cities I visited were anything like I imagined them to be. They were better! London was such a welcoming city and it felt so easy to just go with the flow. Granted that my cousin and I are city girls, figuring our way around wasn't too difficult. In fact, we were able to see so much in so little time! I'm pretty sure I did more walking in London than I have ever walked in LA or SD. From Buckingham Palace to Camden Market, to the London Bridge. We didn't get to Stonehedge which was one of my goals, but we did basically everything you could possibly want to do in the city! So we felt accomplished.
Amsterdam was interesting because everyone there speaks at least 4 languages! English is one of them so getting around and asking for help wasn't a problem. To anyone who plans on going, I would highly recommend getting the IAMSTERDAM city card. You get on the city metro lines and into all of the museums for free! (Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House are not included) While it took us a minute to get adjusted to the culture and customs of Amsterdam, I left feeling like Amsterdam is truly a model city. It's a city all cities should aspire to emulate. The people are free-spirited and very accepting of others in regards to diversity and otherness. I also learned so much about Amsterdam's history and the famous people who came from there. I could honestly write a whole blog post about how fantastic Amsterdam is, but I'll leave you curious enough to hopefully make the trip yourself!
And alas, Paris! While my cousin was here we did all the touristy stuff, naturally, and had an incredible time. However, language barriers were officially a challenge for us because until then we were able to get around comfortably speaking English. But not in France! Still, we used our Spanish to get by with some people and I tried out my 2 years of book French with as much confidence as I could muster. However, it was very hard to set my insecurities aside.
Now as I am half way through my global seminar I feel like I have had many shifts in perspective when it comes to being in a foreign land. More often than not it's fun and truly exhilarating. Meeting new people and finding the local spots is what really makes an adventure! Absorbing a new city, its people and its culture, those are some of the things I live for. However, when your wallet gets stolen or you're on a crowded bus with people who are being difficult and you don't speak each other's languages... that's when things get interesting. This is exactly what happened to me this week when I went to Brussels for a day. On the bus ride home I felt frustrated with how sneaky pick pocketers are and how hard it is sometimes to try and get along in a country where you are a complete outsider. After visiting 4 large European cities, and just having had that experience, I felt very pessimistic about traveling to any more major cities. Of course, every major city in the world is beautiful in its own unique way and can be rich with history and culture. However, the idea of having to deal with people and always being on guard against thieves or danger just wasn't out weighing the pros of traveling for me anymore. I once dreamed of living abroad, in France possibly. But now, in that moment, I felt very disillusioned. I no longer found the idea of starting new in a foreign land appealing. Apologies for being a debbie downer, but I'm just being real.
It's here, however, where I bring you back to my title opener, "What's scarier? The world or not living your dreams?" Yes, the world is a scary place. Yes, people can be very scary. However, after more reflection, this is the conclusion I have come to (written as an internal monologue)
"You know what? Even though those things are true, that's far from everything traveling can and should be about. If you want to travel to London or Brussels or Rome or Madrid, go for it! Simply be wise in the way you conduct yourself and be aware of your surroundings. Be a visitor, not a tourist. As for me, though I am still living my dream being in Paris, I'm starting to feel my heart yearn more for nature. With the troubles of city life being so overwhelming at times, I find myself longing to visit the coasts of France, the Verdon Gorge! The fjords of Norway or Iceland are incredible sights I imagine! I can't wait to see the stunningly green Highlands and Lowlands of Ireland... Paris is without a doubt an enchanting city and, even though I've been here for a little over 3 weeks now, I'm still nowhere near finished exploring it. However, I have officially realized that my kind of traveling is not city hopping, but rather nature exploring. The only city I'm really keen to is LA, my home. I have no problem finding my way through any city at this point, and, if given the opportunity to go to other cities, I most certainly wouldn't turn it down. But my dreams and desires have definitely shifted to a new type of travel. Though I have yet to make it happen, I know I will find more satisfaction seeing the world through the nature lens. I would much rather live my dreams to travel than be scared off by a few bad experiences or fears of the worst."
I refuse to let my fears and negative experiences get the best of me and ruin the remainder of my time here in Europe. I am resolved to simply carry these lessons on with me so that I can be better prepared for next time. In my life so far I've been to Mexico, Canada, London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam. It's only in France and Belgium, however, where have I begun to really understand what it means to be a foreigner. It's shocking almost to the point of being numb to it all at times, so I make it a point to remind myself of where I am every now and then. I don't want to take this experience for granted because I know this is not something many people get to experience. I have to make the most of everything because who knows when I'll get to come back, if ever!
So there you have it! My experience abroad thus far "in a nutshell". Till next time!
P.S. If you've read this far, thanks and I hope I have entertained you or given you some valuable insight 👍
To summarize Phase 1, I think those experiences were more than I could have ever expected. I did come in with some ideas of the things I thought I would experience, but none of the cities I visited were anything like I imagined them to be. They were better! London was such a welcoming city and it felt so easy to just go with the flow. Granted that my cousin and I are city girls, figuring our way around wasn't too difficult. In fact, we were able to see so much in so little time! I'm pretty sure I did more walking in London than I have ever walked in LA or SD. From Buckingham Palace to Camden Market, to the London Bridge. We didn't get to Stonehedge which was one of my goals, but we did basically everything you could possibly want to do in the city! So we felt accomplished.
Amsterdam was interesting because everyone there speaks at least 4 languages! English is one of them so getting around and asking for help wasn't a problem. To anyone who plans on going, I would highly recommend getting the IAMSTERDAM city card. You get on the city metro lines and into all of the museums for free! (Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House are not included) While it took us a minute to get adjusted to the culture and customs of Amsterdam, I left feeling like Amsterdam is truly a model city. It's a city all cities should aspire to emulate. The people are free-spirited and very accepting of others in regards to diversity and otherness. I also learned so much about Amsterdam's history and the famous people who came from there. I could honestly write a whole blog post about how fantastic Amsterdam is, but I'll leave you curious enough to hopefully make the trip yourself!
And alas, Paris! While my cousin was here we did all the touristy stuff, naturally, and had an incredible time. However, language barriers were officially a challenge for us because until then we were able to get around comfortably speaking English. But not in France! Still, we used our Spanish to get by with some people and I tried out my 2 years of book French with as much confidence as I could muster. However, it was very hard to set my insecurities aside.
Now as I am half way through my global seminar I feel like I have had many shifts in perspective when it comes to being in a foreign land. More often than not it's fun and truly exhilarating. Meeting new people and finding the local spots is what really makes an adventure! Absorbing a new city, its people and its culture, those are some of the things I live for. However, when your wallet gets stolen or you're on a crowded bus with people who are being difficult and you don't speak each other's languages... that's when things get interesting. This is exactly what happened to me this week when I went to Brussels for a day. On the bus ride home I felt frustrated with how sneaky pick pocketers are and how hard it is sometimes to try and get along in a country where you are a complete outsider. After visiting 4 large European cities, and just having had that experience, I felt very pessimistic about traveling to any more major cities. Of course, every major city in the world is beautiful in its own unique way and can be rich with history and culture. However, the idea of having to deal with people and always being on guard against thieves or danger just wasn't out weighing the pros of traveling for me anymore. I once dreamed of living abroad, in France possibly. But now, in that moment, I felt very disillusioned. I no longer found the idea of starting new in a foreign land appealing. Apologies for being a debbie downer, but I'm just being real.
It's here, however, where I bring you back to my title opener, "What's scarier? The world or not living your dreams?" Yes, the world is a scary place. Yes, people can be very scary. However, after more reflection, this is the conclusion I have come to (written as an internal monologue)
"You know what? Even though those things are true, that's far from everything traveling can and should be about. If you want to travel to London or Brussels or Rome or Madrid, go for it! Simply be wise in the way you conduct yourself and be aware of your surroundings. Be a visitor, not a tourist. As for me, though I am still living my dream being in Paris, I'm starting to feel my heart yearn more for nature. With the troubles of city life being so overwhelming at times, I find myself longing to visit the coasts of France, the Verdon Gorge! The fjords of Norway or Iceland are incredible sights I imagine! I can't wait to see the stunningly green Highlands and Lowlands of Ireland... Paris is without a doubt an enchanting city and, even though I've been here for a little over 3 weeks now, I'm still nowhere near finished exploring it. However, I have officially realized that my kind of traveling is not city hopping, but rather nature exploring. The only city I'm really keen to is LA, my home. I have no problem finding my way through any city at this point, and, if given the opportunity to go to other cities, I most certainly wouldn't turn it down. But my dreams and desires have definitely shifted to a new type of travel. Though I have yet to make it happen, I know I will find more satisfaction seeing the world through the nature lens. I would much rather live my dreams to travel than be scared off by a few bad experiences or fears of the worst."
I refuse to let my fears and negative experiences get the best of me and ruin the remainder of my time here in Europe. I am resolved to simply carry these lessons on with me so that I can be better prepared for next time. In my life so far I've been to Mexico, Canada, London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam. It's only in France and Belgium, however, where have I begun to really understand what it means to be a foreigner. It's shocking almost to the point of being numb to it all at times, so I make it a point to remind myself of where I am every now and then. I don't want to take this experience for granted because I know this is not something many people get to experience. I have to make the most of everything because who knows when I'll get to come back, if ever! So there you have it! My experience abroad thus far "in a nutshell". Till next time!
P.S. If you've read this far, thanks and I hope I have entertained you or given you some valuable insight 👍
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