So, school starts...tomorrow. On the one hand, I'm always disappointed to see summer go, and this one is no exception (except for this heat...ready for fall, please!). On the other hand, I'll get to recount stories of Germany to all my friends that I haven't talked to all summer, and relive the experience!
Looking back on the five weeks I spent abroad (I stayed one week after), I can definitely say it was a Life Experience (yes, capital letters). You always hear about people backpacking through Europe, and it goes on a lot of people's bucket list, but for me it was one of those things I wasn't sure I'd ever get around to actually doing. And while it wasn't a 2-month hitchhiking trek across the continent, I did live out of a backpack for 5 weeks, so I count it close enough. The advantage of such a long trip is that you get to completely immerse yourself into a different culture. I loved that we spent nearly an entire week at TiHo and Utrecht, allowing us to really get to know the students and realize that, yes, where and how they grew up and how they went down to road towards becoming a veterinarian may be completely different from anything I know, but they really are so much like us (although I think the internet helped out with that).
It truly was a "live for the moment" kind of trip. My family believes in packing as much as possible into a day of vacation, so that when you're done, you kind of need a vacation from your vacation. That was exactly how I'd describe this trip. It was phenomenal- I saw and learned so much from it- but I felt that there were times where you don't really have a chance to just stop and appreciate what exactly it is that you're seeing. If you're reading this as advice for next year, I urge to do just that. Take a moment and step away from the learning, come out from behind the camera, and just stop and look around. There are so many things to see and do in Europe that just take your breath away, and sometimes it seems that they speed by you like one of the bullet trains. It's those snapshots that I remember the most...for the rest, I have my travel journal (I also highly recommend keeping one of these- trust me, despite the hectic-ness I've just described, you spend a lot of time on trains- perfect for recording your adventures!).
I don't really have a final statement that can sum up this whole trip. All I can say is that the memories will stay with me forever and I'll probably still be looking at the pictures and telling stories years from now (hence the capital letters earlier)...and that I can't wait to go back!
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