...but home equals Christmas and family and friends.
Despite a weird grilling from the passport guy in London before my connecting flight to Dublin, I got in without incident. It was a quiet night, doing some work online before getting to bed early so I could get to the airport alright.
I was a little worried about the current storm systems going around the Midwest, but my Aer Lingus flight touched down right on time in Chicago. By the way, if you're going to Europe, look into Aer Lingus. While they only go to a few US hubs, my round trip flight direct to and from Dublin cost $420, which has shocked everyone I've mentioned it to.
So there it is, the end of my two month trip in Europe. I had an incredible time, I spent more than I expected, my head is exploding with random little facts. I saw many great friends and made several more. I was often uncomfortable and confused and a little lost, but it was never too bad, and I came out the other side feeling much more in control of where I was going and how I was doing it.
Since I was bored on the plane, here's my trip by the numbers:
57 days
12 countries
42 towns or cities (this includes some layovers)
18 hostels or hotels
26 train trips
9 planes boarded
4 ferry crossings
10 books read
19 new beers tasted
1 celebrity met
6 different currencies in my wallet now
When I was visiting Angela in England, her brother James remarked in conversation how skeptical he was of people who do trips in Europe to "find themselves". Likewise, my friend Stevo said that it seems like everyone does a trip like this, and so many of them claim that it changed their life, but how often is that true? I became pretty preoccupied with both of these opinions, and it's made me look with a more critical eye at how I describe my experiences.
Did it change my life? Probably not in so many words. I'm still planning on living in the same place and doing the same stuff in the immediate future that I was before I left; I still think many of the same things about politics, my friends, etc. I'm not planning on disowning or deifying America by any means.
Maybe the most accurate thing to say would be that my trip informed, expanded, and electrified my life. I saw so much and learned so much, many things that I know I will always remember and take me, from the gothic towers of Edinburgh and the indescribable beauty of Vatican City to the cold watchfulness of Russia and the beggars and schemers and sellers of Marrakech. I have more images and experiences to compare to my daily life, more possibilities and considerations.
One important thing I learned is how incredibly accessible Europe is. As an English speaker, it's really never that hard with the tourist infrastructure there, and the internet has really intensified that even more. Everything there feels so much closer and real now. And in a larger sense, the rest of the world feels closer. In Russia and Morocco, I was right on the edge of a whole other mess of stuff, and it really wouldn't have been much more difficult to just keep going.
I'm more self-reliant now. I was originally going to take this trip with two other people, but I think it turned out to be a fantastic thing to go alone. (But Ari and Colin, I still want to travel with you guys sometime.) It made me stretch myself, get used to meeting people out of the blue constantly, which might be one of the most valuable lessons I learned. As Mike said in Barcelona, there are good people everywhere.
The first thing I noticed when I got back was how easy everything was suddenly--I knew the area I was in, I knew the people, I had all kinds of stuff suddenly. Living with just a small backpack for 2 months made me start to question the way I consume normally. Travel throws all your needs into sharp relief, shows you what you really focus on, what is important to you when you don't have much time or money to throw around.
And God, this stuff is addicting. I was planning new trips while I was on this one, figuring out where else I could go, how I would get the money.
However, despite all that, the big umbrella realization over everything else was how incredibly lucky and blessed I am to be able to do something like this trip. So many people in the world will never have this kind of an opportunity, and at first that made me feel incredibly guilty when I really thought about it. However, I think a better reaction is to live well with what you're given, and not to waste it. I don't know exactly how to do that, but I think I know a little more about the questions I need to be asking.
And I am so grateful for my friends and family. So many different people have commented on the blog or sent me emails because of it, and the support really helped and made me focus on my trip in new and different ways. It makes coming home all the sweeter.
Thank you so much to everyone who ever read a post on this blog. I hope you guys enjoyed it; it was sometimes as much fun to tell the stories as it was to live them. Maybe I've inspired a little wanderlust in some of you, and if you do a blog I'll be its biggest fan.
Happy Holidays.
This is Europe Equals Adventure, signing off. (I've been wanting to say that for weeks.)
Despite a weird grilling from the passport guy in London before my connecting flight to Dublin, I got in without incident. It was a quiet night, doing some work online before getting to bed early so I could get to the airport alright.
I was a little worried about the current storm systems going around the Midwest, but my Aer Lingus flight touched down right on time in Chicago. By the way, if you're going to Europe, look into Aer Lingus. While they only go to a few US hubs, my round trip flight direct to and from Dublin cost $420, which has shocked everyone I've mentioned it to.
So there it is, the end of my two month trip in Europe. I had an incredible time, I spent more than I expected, my head is exploding with random little facts. I saw many great friends and made several more. I was often uncomfortable and confused and a little lost, but it was never too bad, and I came out the other side feeling much more in control of where I was going and how I was doing it.
Since I was bored on the plane, here's my trip by the numbers:
57 days
12 countries
42 towns or cities (this includes some layovers)
18 hostels or hotels
26 train trips
9 planes boarded
4 ferry crossings
10 books read
19 new beers tasted
1 celebrity met
6 different currencies in my wallet now
When I was visiting Angela in England, her brother James remarked in conversation how skeptical he was of people who do trips in Europe to "find themselves". Likewise, my friend Stevo said that it seems like everyone does a trip like this, and so many of them claim that it changed their life, but how often is that true? I became pretty preoccupied with both of these opinions, and it's made me look with a more critical eye at how I describe my experiences.
Did it change my life? Probably not in so many words. I'm still planning on living in the same place and doing the same stuff in the immediate future that I was before I left; I still think many of the same things about politics, my friends, etc. I'm not planning on disowning or deifying America by any means.
Maybe the most accurate thing to say would be that my trip informed, expanded, and electrified my life. I saw so much and learned so much, many things that I know I will always remember and take me, from the gothic towers of Edinburgh and the indescribable beauty of Vatican City to the cold watchfulness of Russia and the beggars and schemers and sellers of Marrakech. I have more images and experiences to compare to my daily life, more possibilities and considerations.
One important thing I learned is how incredibly accessible Europe is. As an English speaker, it's really never that hard with the tourist infrastructure there, and the internet has really intensified that even more. Everything there feels so much closer and real now. And in a larger sense, the rest of the world feels closer. In Russia and Morocco, I was right on the edge of a whole other mess of stuff, and it really wouldn't have been much more difficult to just keep going.
I'm more self-reliant now. I was originally going to take this trip with two other people, but I think it turned out to be a fantastic thing to go alone. (But Ari and Colin, I still want to travel with you guys sometime.) It made me stretch myself, get used to meeting people out of the blue constantly, which might be one of the most valuable lessons I learned. As Mike said in Barcelona, there are good people everywhere.
The first thing I noticed when I got back was how easy everything was suddenly--I knew the area I was in, I knew the people, I had all kinds of stuff suddenly. Living with just a small backpack for 2 months made me start to question the way I consume normally. Travel throws all your needs into sharp relief, shows you what you really focus on, what is important to you when you don't have much time or money to throw around.
And God, this stuff is addicting. I was planning new trips while I was on this one, figuring out where else I could go, how I would get the money.
However, despite all that, the big umbrella realization over everything else was how incredibly lucky and blessed I am to be able to do something like this trip. So many people in the world will never have this kind of an opportunity, and at first that made me feel incredibly guilty when I really thought about it. However, I think a better reaction is to live well with what you're given, and not to waste it. I don't know exactly how to do that, but I think I know a little more about the questions I need to be asking.
And I am so grateful for my friends and family. So many different people have commented on the blog or sent me emails because of it, and the support really helped and made me focus on my trip in new and different ways. It makes coming home all the sweeter.
Thank you so much to everyone who ever read a post on this blog. I hope you guys enjoyed it; it was sometimes as much fun to tell the stories as it was to live them. Maybe I've inspired a little wanderlust in some of you, and if you do a blog I'll be its biggest fan.
Happy Holidays.
This is Europe Equals Adventure, signing off. (I've been wanting to say that for weeks.)
3 comments:
Sweet man, cant see wats in ya mouth but im sure it was good!
mikE
(as someone blaring Michael Jackson drives past my window)
Great read, the pics look awesome and i can't wait to get Marrakech myself!
Hey Creighton,
I happened to find a 256 MB miniSD card that belongs to you, containing pictures from your Europe trip. It was lying on the sidewalk in Evanston. With a bit of sleuthing, I deduced that it must have belonged to you. If you would like it back, email me:
"forrest" at northwestern.
~Forrest
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