THIS IS IT!

So, it’s been over a year since my return to the wonderful US of A. I’ve been saying all year that I wanted to have a final post on my blog and the time has finally come.

All that I’ve learned and experienced in my year abroad could not fit into this single post, but for my own personal reminiscing (and scrapbooking purposes) and those of you that might also be interested, I’ll sum up what I’ve learned and will take with me…

Everything does happen for a reason (as cliché as it may sound)

Some people say “everything happens for a reason,” maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t, but I’m a firm believer in the first. It may be because I need some explanation for myself on why I didn’t get into grad school the first time around (other than that I enjoyed college a little too much), or that I really think there must be some bigger plan for all of us. But, for one reason or another my “going through the motions” plans of getting my masters and getting a job were put on hold. The best way to put it….a blessing in disguise.

Stop wasting time worrying and just do it. What do you have to lose?

My decision to become an au pair was a quick and VERY informal process.

July 21, 2010, I logged onto the au pair website

July 22, I received my first “interested in” email

July 31, I received my first of many emails from the Mackintosh’s

August 2, my first and only phone call with Lisa

August 4, just two weeks later, I decide to move to London, England

August 12, bought my one-way ticket to London

August 30, leave Cleveland

August 31, arrive in London…and the rest is history J

Reading back on my first post or two kind of makes me laugh because I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. It all happened so fast I hardly had time to think about how horrible this could have turned out. There I was with two suitcases, a one-way ticket, and one single phone conversation to go by, taking me 3,700 miles with not a worry in the world

The best things happen when you least expect them. 

Leaving for London I really had no expectations, no plans…for all I knew I might meet some awesome European and fully embrace the easy living and “enjoy life” attitude most Europeans possess and never come back. Ok, to be honest that’s what I had hoped, c’mon a girl can dream can’t she? But really, I had no idea all that would come from this amazing experience. I think that’s what made it so much greater…

Traveling is addicting and I LOVE it! 

The most obvious and exciting part of this year is clearly the traveling. To have experienced some 20(ish) countries and that many more cities is really something you can’t put a price tag on, although my bank account would say otherwise. With each trip my love of traveling grew more and more and I become a little bit obsessed with planning and seeing all that I could. There is just something about going somewhere new, somewhere so unknown and unpredictable that just pulls you in and you can’t get enough.  Andy Warhol put it pretty simply, “the world fascinates me.” It’s enjoying a glass of wine in Italy, a bike ride down the canals of Amsterdam, a cruise through the fjords of Norway, tapas in the main Plaza of Madrid, new friends in London, the Cliffs of Moher & surfing followed by a fresh pint of Guinness in Ireland. It’s the feeling after leaving Auschwitz, a photo shoot in the castle gardens of Vienna, couch surfing in Budapest, walking through the grand bizarre of Istanbul, enjoying a private beach in Croatia, and savoring my favorite pastries in Germany. It’s the beauty of Prague, the architecture of Stockholm, sidewalk cafes of Paris, the unbelievable wealth in Monaco, history of ancient Greece. It’s the helpful hostel owners, the understanding bus drivers, the friendly locals, the adventurous travel companions, the on-the-spot translators, the strangers who become friends (if only for a short time). It’s the moments you stop, look around, take it all in and realize just how lucky you are to be right here, right now, living your life.

Have a little faith

After many trips, I’ve found things rarely go as planned and it’s really left in the hands of God to make it back safely. More than once I’ve been in a situation as a lone traveler, not speaking the language, just trying to find my way in a new city, sometimes in the middle of the night where everything seems to be working against me. It’s those moments when your on the verge of tears (frantically texting your “host dad” that you’re fearing for your life as a drug deal goes down in your cab) that you 1. Have an escape plan…and 2. Have a little faith. Not only did you make it home alive, you’ve got a hell of a story that you may or may not tell your parents…

The majority of people in the world are good

Coming back from my 10 day backpacking in Italy and France I could not for the life of me figure out the German train ticket machine, nor did I have change and it didn’t accept bills. It was the middle of the night and I thought this had to be the worst case scenario. An older couple came up, luckily the man spoke a little (in German terms, in reality it means they are practically fluent) English, bought my ticket and took me to my exact train stop. I remember sitting in Starbucks the next morning waiting for my train and writing in my travel journal about good people….

In our attempt to save a little cash, my friend, younger brother and I all decided to consider couch surfing…for anyone not aware of the phenomenon…there is a website, couchsurfing.org, full of profiles of people willing to host you for a night/weekend/or longer, for free, just because…might sound crazy, maybe a little weird but it’s FREE! I found a girl and her boyfriend living in Budapest who seemed to be nice, normal, trustable (as far as you can tell from a simple profile and a few reviews) and most importantly, spoke great English! The dates were set, it was official, we would be sleeping on her couch for 3 nights during our 2 week euro trip. Getting off the train and following the map to her apartment we immediately had second thoughts. I’m one of those people who loves crime shows: Law and Order, Unsolved Mysteries, Cold Case, etc…at that moment, with every horrible thing running through my head standing outside her apartment door waiting for someone to let us in, I hated myself for ever watching one episode.  Then the door opens and the sweetest girl invites us in, Evelin, our host for the weekend. She showed us to our room, invited us to try her homemade Hungarian liqueur, took us to a traditional Hungarian restaurant for dinner and spent hours chatting about Hungarian life and all that she wanted to learn about America. It was the BEST couch surfing experience I think we ever could have had…and yes, I plan to do it again in the future!

Meeting people while traveling is one of the best parts. People are willing to drop everything to help you out, point you in the right direction, suggest a good restaurant, share experiences. One of the most important things I think I took from this whole experience is that with all the bad things in the world and all the negative new, there are truly good people all around us and if that’s not comforting, I don’t know what is.

Take time to enjoy the little things

Obviously I went over to be an au pair and not just a year-long vaca, although it seemed that way at times. The majority of my time there was spent with the kids I watched: Beth, Abbie, Kate, Connor, Aiden and Whitney. And as if I didn’t know this already…kids rock! Life is so good and simple when you’re a kid. It doesn’t take a lot to make them happy…take them to the park, on a bike ride or to the corner restaurant for an ice cream cone and that’s a solid day in their book. It’s totally different when you actually live and work in the same place and you form relationships that are different than any other. A three year old doesn’t understand your “job” is to take care of her during the week…she knocks on your door at 8am on Saturday morning because she thinks you want to play just like every other day. And you play. They cry and fight and drive you crazy at times. They bug you when you’re tired, make a mess for you to clean up, and don’t understand the words “personal space.” They also rub your back when you’re sick, make you laugh uncontrollably, pop their heads in just when you need a friendly face. They cuddle up with you on your favorite chair, make artwork for your wall, say goodnight, every night on their way to bed. They are so unassuming, untainted and love unconditionally. They can turn you into a softy! They make life THAT much better.

There’s no place like home

By the end of my year, sitting in the airport waiting to board my final flight from Dublin to Chicago (to CLE), I was exhausted.  After this life-changing journey all I wanted to do was go home. Like John Ed Pearce put it, “Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to go back to.” But I returned a different person. It didn’t take long to settle back into my “old” life. I was back with my friends I’d been missing all year, I had my own bed, room and SPACE, I ate what I wanted when I wanted, stayed out late and slept all morning…I fell into my old routine rather nicely. I know however far I venture out and however long I’m gone, there’s nothing like setting foot on American soil and just feeling…home.

Sitting here, a year later, I feel like a different person. When you spend a long period of time in a place very foreign to you, where you know nobody and for a large part of my time didn’t even speak the same language, you have two options: sit in your room and miss out on all that’s around you or put yourself out there and step out of your comfort zone. I got use to doing things on my own. With no iphone or GPS getting lost was a given. I learned very quickly that strangers were my new best friends. With calls to the US being insanely expensive, I basically lived without a cell phone for a year. That was amazing.

Most of my time was spent alone, so it was inevitable that much soul searching would take place. I feel that I grew more as a person in that year than I had in the past 22 years. For the first time I didn’t feel like I was going through the motions, but choosing for myself where I was going with my life. I found more of myself with each new experience, each person I met, each plane or train ride home from an indescribable trip, each “pinch me” moment. I shared moments with some of my closest friends and family in the most amazing cities.

My days as an au pair are over, but my days of traveling have just begun. If one thing’s for sure it’s that this girl will be traveling the world as long and as far as life will let me. Where to next? That’s yet to be decided…but with all that’s left to discover, it’s going to be one wild ride!