"I'm leaving because the weather is too good. I hate London when it isn't raining." - Groucho Marx
The above quote applies because it hasn't rained in the past two days and I am actually upset. I decided to stay at home today because it's just too hot for me and I'm sad that it isn't cold like London should be!
Anyway, here are some fun stories and facts that I heard while on tour in London. I found them intriguing, fascinating and/or hilarious so I'll try to animate them enough so that you feel the same way! It's just a fun post, nothing serious or thought-provoking!
It is illegal to die in the Palace of Westminster, where Parliament is located. Why? Because that means that the state will have to hold your funeral in the famous Westminster Abbey Church (where the Royal Family gets married)! Typically, they will run you out to the nearest hospital before allowing anyone to declare you dead. Since it hasn't happened, no one knows what would happen if you did die in the palace. Everyone assumes that it would be considered a crime; therefore, you wouldn't actually get your funeral to be in the church. Who knows?!
The Duke of Buckingham built a beautiful home for himself because he enjoyed bragging and showing off to others. Once he finished building it, he invited everyone to come and see it. He would take them around and show them all of the many rooms and watch as they all admired his work. He loved when they were jealous! Silly Duke, he invited King George to visit because he knew his home was better than the King's. He took the King around and watched as the King really admired everything. He then said 'So George. What do you think of my home? Isn't it just lovely?' And the King replied, 'Yes. It is lovely. Duke. Give me your home. I want it to be my palace.' ...and who has the guts to say no to the king? So sadly, the Duke replied, 'Of course, King. But I spent all of my money building it. Pay me for it.' And the King agreed, and gave 28,000 pounds (which was nothing back then) to the Duke who gladly took it since it was better than nothing! And from then on, the King lived in Buckingham Palace although it didn't become the official Royal palace until later on!
I'm going to grab dinner and try to hop back on to tell you a few more things, including my most favorite story about London!
"People who have never had an addiction don't understand how hard it can be." - Author Unknown at the moment
So the quote probably doesn't have to do with what I'm talking about, but it relates to my sob story (my typical first world problems) that I'm about to share with you. Background story: I'm in London! It's a great experience...but unfortunately (the main story) I don't have a converter so I can't charge my laptop. Sadly, I am having issues using my cousin's laptop because it isn't a MacBook. I know! I'm so spoiled-but I can't help it. That means that I'll have TONS of writing to do when I'm back, but I'm trying to remember everything so in order to do that, I shall jot down some questions I have for myself, some things I've done and other miscellaneous things. I'll be back in the states soon so I shall expand when I can!
You can read this post if you're bored, otherwise you can wait until the expanded versions are there. This will give you a little bit of insight as to what I'm thinking about on a daily basis!
Rome
It's totally okay to just sit around all day and chill. Why? Most people are unemployed. Do they care? Are they in search of great jobs? Are the servers in search of better jobs? Are there even better jobs? If yes, what?
The rest of the people? They are tourists. How must it feel as a local person to know that there are more foreigners in your home town/city than locals? Do you love it and feel proud of your city? Do you hate it and wish they would leave you alone? Are they exploiting your culture and lifestyle? Or are they admiring it? Are they criticizing you? Do they have the right to? Do you love it because you make money off of them
Great Britain
We were talking about people that have jobs that allow them to make a comfortable living, but aren't where they planned on being in life when my Aunt simply asks: 'If they're happy in the box, then why leave the box?' So intriguing. Can't wait to jump into that topic!
My Uncle and I were talking about education in America, the UK and India when he proudly says: 'I want my daughters to come out of the education system not as employees, but as entrepreneurs.'
The same Uncle visited us in America a few years ago and said that there were three main things that he clearly remembers. 1) The houses are big. 2) The people are big. 3) The meal portions are big.
Random lady at the passport after she saw my passport beamed at me and said: 'Americans are nice. Most British people don't like them because they think you're all fake...Actually, they think that you're polite out of habit because you always say 'nice to meet you' or 'it was great seeing you again' even though you don't really mean it. It makes us think that you don't care about people. But I think you're great. I love Americans.' Well, thanks lady! I'm glad you like us but you've given me a lot to think about that we overlook on a daily basis.
The first family I stayed with was perfect. They were the most functional family I've ever seen! I felt like I was living in a movie. Wait until I blog about them, you'll feel it too :)
My Uncle has lived in London and India for most of his life...so he's known lots of Indians living different lives. After visiting America, he stated that Indians in America are hard workers, more so than other places. Why? What makes them so determined in a place where they don't even know the language? How do they last? Why don't they all?
A gold medal doesn't mean that you won. It means so much more. What does it mean to you? I'll share what we discussed about it at the dinner table!
Comparing ourselves to athletes competing in the Olympics--What are we doing in life while they train so hard? Was it right for Mo Farah to make his family to train? What's right and wrong? Who decides?
I was taken to a HUGE temple to check it out. I'll show pictures and explain everything later-it was just incredible (and I'm not into idol worship so it wasn't really my scene). But anyway, I heard a man talking about the difference between religion and spirituality. What's the difference to you? Are you religious? Spiritual? Both?
So much more but all of the above I don't want to forget!
"A minute of perfection was worth the effort. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection." - Chuck Palahniuk
I really don't know what to say about Germany...because I haven't yet figured out how I feel about my visit. I will say a quick few things and then one day I'll come back and write more. I'm sure you won't be back to read it because it might not be anytime soon, but that's alright. It'll be written and recorded somewhere so one day I can look back and remember how I felt.
Well, before talking about Germany let me share some thoughts I had at the airport (very briefly) which I'll expand on in another post. I've noted this a few times and I want to figure out why I keep experiencing it. While I'm at the airport, I see people nod and smile at each other out of courtesy. They do the same with me; after all, I'm just another girl wandering around. But then, I take out my passport and people start giving me looks! There's something about being an American that makes people uncomfortable. I can't wait to write about that more...I've been doing research to figure out why :) Just a few questions I'll be answering later -
What are stereotypes of Americans?
Are they different by country or city in Europe?
Which are true?
Why have they been formed?
When did they form?
Can they be altered?
Do they need to be?
What are people's thoughts on colored Americans? Are they considered Americans or something else?
Anyway, I'm going to write a few things I found different in Germany and then quickly explain my theory as to why it's that way because for once I think I have answers to my own questions!
The streets are so clean (SO clean) but...
There are barely any trash cans around. I probably spent a total of 2 hours looking for a trash can!
Pedestrians are perfect! They don't cross the street even if there are no cars for more than a mile if they aren't supposed to.
Along with that, drivers are perfect when there are pedestrians nearby. They're so great!
So in other countries, it's polite to ask in their respective language 'do you speak in English?' and then have a conversation in English. In Germany, most people get extremely offended if you ask them if they speak in English. Why? I think they're expected to know it. But of course, more about this later!
Everything is actually open late--all of the shops too. In other cities, lots of things were closed around 6pm which was very frustrating!
I saw at least thirty people go through different trash cans pulling out plastic cans and put them in bags that simply stated, 'go green!' Were they collecting them to recycle them? Were they collecting them to make money like we can in New York? Who were they? I never quite figured that out but intend on finding out soon.
So much more to say, so much more to research but I'll come back. Promise!
So long!
P.S. Here's your homework assignment- Think about how the quote relates to the blog. I'll explain it later :)
“It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say 'It's as plain as the nose on your face.' But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?” - Isaac Asimov
The reason I'm sharing this link is because I accidentally came across it and find most of it to be true now that I've stepped out of America and talked about our country to so many others! I'll probably expand on my own thoughts later, but if you're in America and haven't really been out of the country much, you should do the following: 1) read this blog post 2) write down your thoughts somewhere 3) leave the country for awhile 4) come back to America and re-observe the country 5) look at your written thoughts and see how they've changed! It would be an interesting project :)
Original link: http://postmasculine.com/america
Copied & pasted: Imagine you have a brother and he’s an alcoholic. He has his moments, but you keep your distance from him. You don’t mind him for the occasional family gathering or holiday. You still love him. But you don’t want to be around him.
This is how I lovingly describe my current relationship with the United States. The United States is my alcoholic brother. And although I will always love him, I don’t want to be near him at the moment.
I know that’s harsh, but I really feel my home country is not in a good place these days. That’s not a socio-economic statement (although that’s on the decline as well), but rather a cultural one.
I realize it’s going to be impossible to write sentences like the ones above without coming across as a raging prick, so let me try to soften the blow to my American readers with an analogy:
You know when you move out of your parents’ house and live on your own, how you start hanging out with your friends’ families and you realize that actually, your family was a little screwed up? Stuff you always assumed was normal your entire childhood, it turns out was pretty weird and may have actually fucked you up a little bit. You know, dad thinking it was funny to wear a Santa Claus hat in his underwear every Christmas or the fact that you and your sister slept in the same bed until you were 22, or that your mother routinely cried over a bottle of wine while listening to Elton John.
The point is we don’t really get perspective on what’s close to us until we spend time away from it. Just like you didn’t realize the weird quirks and nuances of your family until you left and spent time with others, the same is true for country and culture. You often don’t see what’s messed up about your country and culture until you step outside of it.
And so even though this article is going to come across as fairly scathing, I want my American readers to know: some of the stuff we do, some of the stuff that we always assumed was normal, it’s kind of screwed up. And that’s OK. Because that’s true with every culture. It’s just easier to spot it in others (i.e., the French) so we don’t always notice it in ourselves.
So as you read this article, know that I’m saying everything with tough love, the same tough love with which I’d sit down and lecture an alcoholic family member. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you. It doesn’t mean there aren’t some awesome things about you (BRO, THAT’S AWESOME!!!). And it doesn’t mean I’m some saint either, because god knows I’m pretty screwed up (I’m American, after all). There are just a few things you need to hear. And as a friend, I’m going to tell them to you.
And to my foreign readers, get your necks ready, because this is going to be a nod-a-thon.
A Little “What The Hell Does This Guy Know?” Background: I’ve lived in different parts of the US, both the deep south and the northeast. I have visited most of the US’s 50 states. I’ve spent the past three years living almost entirely outside of the United States. I’ve lived in multiple countries in Europe, Asia and South America. I’ve visited over 40 countries in all and have spent far more time with non-Americans than with Americans during this period. I speak multiple languages. I’m not a tourist. I don’t stay in resorts and rarely stay in hostels. I rent apartments and try to integrate myself into each country I visit as much as possible. So there.
(Note: I realize these are generalizations and I realize there are always exceptions. I get it. You don’t have to post 55 comments telling me that you and your best friend are exceptions. If you really get that offended from some guy’s blog post, you may want to double-check your life priorities.)
OK, we’re ready now. 10 things Americans don’t know about America.
1. Few People Are Impressed By Us
Unless you’re speaking with a real estate agent or a prostitute, chances are they’re not going to be excited that you’re American. It’s not some badge of honor we get to parade around. Yes, we had Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison, but unless you actuallyare Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison (which is unlikely) then most people around the world are simply not going to care. There are exceptions of course. And those exceptions are called English and Australian people. Whoopdie-fucking-doo.
As Americans, we’re brought up our entire lives being taught that we’re the best, we did everything first and that the rest of the world follows our lead. Not only is this not true, but people get irritated when you bring it to their country with you. So don’t.
2. Few People Hate Us
Despite the occasional eye-rolling, and complete inability to understand why anyone would vote for George W. Bush, people from other countries don’t hate us either. In fact — and I know this is a really sobering realization for us — most people in the world don’t really think about us or care about us. I know, that sounds absurd, especially with CNN and Fox News showing the same 20 angry Arab men on repeat for ten years straight. But unless we’re invading someone’s country or threatening to invade someone’s country (which is likely), then there’s a 99.99% chance they don’t care about us. Just like we rarely think about the people in Bolivia or Mongolia, most people don’t think about us much. They have jobs, kids, house payments — you know, those things called lives — to worry about. Kind of like us.
Americans tend to assume that the rest of the world either loves us or hates us (this is actually a good litmus test to tell if someone is conservative or liberal). The fact is, most people feel neither. Most people don’t think much about us.
Remember that immature girl in high school, who every little thing that happened to her meant that someone either hated her or was obsessed with her; who thought every teacher who ever gave her a bad grade was being totally unfair and everything good that happened to her was because of how amazing she was? Yeah, we’re that immature high school girl.
3. We Know Nothing About The Rest Of The World
For all of our talk about being global leaders and how everyone follows us, we don’t seem to know much about our supposed “followers.” They often have completely different takes on history than we do. Here were some brain-stumpers for me: the Vietnamese believe the Vietnam War was about China (not us), Hitler was primarily defeated by Russia (not us), Native Americans were wiped out largely disease and plague (not us), and the American Revolution was “won” because the British cared more about beating France (not us). Notice a running theme here?
(Hint: It’s not all about us.)
We did not invent democracy. We didn’t even invent modern democracy. There were parliamentary systems in England and other parts of Europe over a hundred years before we created government. In a recent survey of young Americans, 63% could not find Iraq on a map (despite being at war with them), and 54% did not know Sudan was a country in Africa. Yet, somehow we’re positive that everyone else looks up to us.
4. We Are Poor At Expressing Gratitude And Affection
There’s a saying about English-speakers. We say “Go fuck yourself,” when we really mean “I like you,” and we say “I like you,” when we really mean “Go fuck yourself.”
Outside of getting shit-housed drunk and screaming “I LOVE YOU, MAN!”, open displays of affection in American culture are tepid and rare. Latin and some European cultures describe us as “cold” and “passionless” and for good reason. In our social lives we don’t say what we mean and we don’t mean what we say.
In our culture, appreciation and affection are implied rather than spoken outright. Two guy friends call each other names to reinforce their friendship; men and women tease and make fun of each other to imply interest. Feelings are almost never shared openly and freely. Consumer culture has cheapened our language of gratitude. Something like, “It’s so good to see you” is empty now because it’s expected and heard from everybody.
In dating, when I find a woman attractive, I almost always walk right up to her and tell her that a) I wanted to meet her, and b) she’s beautiful. In America, women usually get incredibly nervous and confused when I do this. They’ll make jokes to defuse the situation or sometimes ask me if I’m part of a TV show or something playing a prank. Even when they’re interested and go on dates with me, they get a bit disoriented when I’m so blunt with my interest. Whereas, in almost every other culture approaching women this way is met with a confident smile and a “Thank you.”
5. The Quality of Life For The Average American Is Not That Great
If you’re extremely talented or intelligent, the US is probably the best place in the world to live. The system is stacked heavily to allow people of talent and advantage to rise to the top quickly.
The problem with the US is that everyone thinks they are of talent and advantage. As John Steinbeck famously said, the problem with poor Americans is that “they don’t believe they’re poor, but rather temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” It’s this culture of self-delusion that allows America to continue to innovate and churn out new industry more than anyone else in the world. But this shared delusion also unfortunately keeps perpetuating large social inequalities and the quality of life for the average citizen lower than most other developed countries. It’s the price we pay to maintain our growth and economic dominance.
In my Guide to Wealth, I defined being wealthy as, “Having the freedom to maximize one’s life experiences.” In those terms, despite the average American having more material wealth than citizens of most other countries (more cars, bigger houses, nicer televisions), their overall quality of life suffers in my opinion. American people on average work more hours with less vacation, spend more time commuting every day, and are saddled with over $10,000 of debt. That’s a lot of time spent working and buying crap and little time or disposable income for relationships, activities or new experiences.
6. The Rest Of The World Is Not A Slum-Ridden Shithole Compared To Us
In 2010, I got into a taxi in Bangkok to take me to a new six-story cineplex. It was accessible by metro, but I chose a taxi instead. On the seat in front of me was a sign with a wifi password. Wait, what? I asked the driver if he had wifi in his taxi. He flashed a huge smile. The squat Thai man, with his pidgin English, explained that he had installed it himself. He then turned on his new sound system and disco lights. His taxi instantly became a cheesy nightclub on wheels… with free wifi.
If there’s one constant in my travels over the past three years, it has been that almost every place I’ve visited (especially in Asia and South America) is much nicer and safer than I expected it to be. Singapore is pristine. Hong Kong makes Manhattan look like a suburb. My neighborhood in Colombia is nicer than the one I lived in in Boston (and cheaper).
As Americans, we have this naïve assumption that people all over the world are struggling and way behind us. They’re not. Sweden and South Korea have more advanced high speed internet networks. Japan has the most advanced trains and transportation systems. Norwegians make more money. The biggest and most advanced plane in the world is flown out of Singapore. The tallest buildings in the world are now in Dubai and Shanghai. Meanwhile, the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
What’s so surprising about the world is how unsurprising most of it is. I spent a week with some local guys in Cambodia. You know what their biggest concerns were? Paying for school, getting to work on time, and what their friends were saying about them. In Brazil, people have debt problems, hate getting stuck in traffic and complain about their overbearing mothers. Every country thinks they have the worst drivers. Every country thinks their weather is unpredictable. The world becomes, err… predictable.
7. We’re Paranoid
Not only are we emotionally insecure as a culture, but I’ve come to realize how paranoid we are about our physical security. You don’t have to watch Fox News or CNN for more than 10 minutes to hear about how our drinking water is going to kill us, our neighbor is going to rape our children, some terrorist in Yemen is going to kill us because we didn’t torture him, Mexicans are going to kill us, or some virus from a bird is going to kill us. There’s a reason we have more guns than people.
In the US, security trumps everything, even liberty. We’re paranoid.
I’ve probably been to 10 countries now that friends and family back home told me explicitly not to go because someone was going to kill me, kidnap me, stab me, rob me, rape me, sell me into sex trade, give me HIV, or whatever else. None of that has happened. I’ve never been robbed and I’ve walked through some of the shittiest parts of Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
In fact, the experience has been the opposite. In countries like Russia, Colombia or Guatemala, people were so friendly it actually scared me. Some stranger in a bar would invite me to his house for a bar-b-que with his family, a random person on the street would offer to show me around and give me directions to a store I was trying to find. My American instincts were always that, “Wait, this guy is going to try to rob me or kill me,” but they never did. They were just insanely friendly.
8. We’re Status-Obsessed And Seek Attention
I’ve noticed that the way we Americans communicate is usually designed to create a lot of attention and hype. Again, I think this is a product of our consumer culture: the belief that something isn’t worthwhile or important unless it’s perceived to be the best (BEST EVER!!!) or unless it gets a lot of attention (see: every reality-television show ever made).
This is why Americans have a peculiar habit of thinking everything is “totally awesome,” and even the most mundane activities were “the best thing ever!” It’s the unconscious drive we share for importance and significance, this unmentioned belief, socially beaten into us since birth that if we’re not the best at something, then we don’t matter.
We’re status-obsessed. Our culture is built around achievement, production and being exceptional. Therefore comparing ourselves and attempting to out-do one another has infiltrated our social relationships as well. Who can slam the most beers first? Who can get reservations at the best restaurant? Who knows the promoter to the club? Who dated a girl on the cheerleading squad? Socializing becomes objectified and turned into a competition. And if you’re not winning, the implication is that you are not important and no one will like you.
9. We Are Very Unhealthy
Unless you have cancer or something equally dire, the health care system in the US sucks. The World Health Organization ranked the US 37th in the world for health care, despite the fact that we spend the most per capita by a large margin.
The hospitals are nicer in Asia (with European-educated doctors and nurses) and cost a tenth as much. Something as routine as a vaccination costs multiple hundreds of dollars in the US and less than $10 in Colombia. And before you make fun of Colombian hospitals, Colombia is 28th in the world on that WHO list, nine spots higher than us.
A routine STD test that can run you over $200 in the US is free in many countries to anyone, citizen or not. My health insurance the past year? $65 a month. Why? Because I live outside of the US. An American guy I met living in Buenos Aires got knee surgery on his ACL that would have cost $10,000 in the US… for free.
But this isn’t really getting into the real problems of our health. Our food is killing us. I’m not going to go crazy with the details, but we eat chemically-laced crap because it’s cheaper and tastes better (profit, profit). Our portion sizes are absurd (more profit). And we’re by far the most prescribed nation in the world AND our drugs cost five to ten times more than they do even in Canada (ohhhhhhh, profit, you sexy bitch).
In terms of life expectancy, despite being the richest country in the world, we come in a paltry 38th. Right behind Cuba, Malta and the United Arab Emirates, and slightly ahead of Slovenia, Kuwait and Uruguay. Enjoy your Big Mac.
10. We Mistake Comfort For Happiness
The United States is a country built on the exaltation of economic growth and personal ingenuity. Small businesses and constant growth are celebrated and supported above all else — above affordable health care, above respectable education, above everything. Americans believe it’s your responsibility to take care of yourself and make something of yourself, not the state’s, not your community’s, not even your friend’s or family’s in some instances.
Comfort sells easier than happiness. Comfort is easy. It requires no effort and no work. Happiness takes effort. It requires being proactive, confronting fears, facing difficult situations, and having unpleasant conversations.
Comfort equals sales. We’ve been sold comfort for generations and for generations we bought: bigger houses, separated further and further out into the suburbs; bigger TV’s, more movies, and take-out. The American public is becoming docile and complacent. We’re obese and entitled. When we travel, we look for giant hotels that will insulate us and pamper us rather than for legitimate cultural experiences that may challenge our perspectives or help us grow as individuals.
Depression and anxiety disorders are soaring within the US. Our inability to confront anything unpleasant around us has not only created a national sense of entitlement, but it’s disconnected us from what actually drives happiness: relationships, unique experiences, feeling self-validated, achieving personal goals. It’s easier to watch a NASCAR race on television and tweet about it than to actually get out and try something new with a friend.
Unfortunately, a by-product of our massive commercial success is that we’re able to avoid the necessary emotional struggles of life in lieu of easy superficial pleasures.
Throughout history, every dominant civilization eventually collapsed because it became TOO successful. What made it powerful and unique grows out of proportion and consumes its society. I think this is true for American society. We’re complacent, entitled and unhealthy. My generation is the first generation of Americans who will be worse off than their parents, economically, physically and emotionally. And this is not due to a lack of resources, to a lack of education or to a lack of ingenuity. It’s corruption and complacency. The corruption from the massive industries that control our government’s policies, and the fat complacency of the people to sit around and let it happen.
There are things I love about my country. I don’t hate the US and I still return to it a few times a year. But I think the greatest flaw of American culture is our blind self-absorption. In the past it only hurt other countries. But now it’s starting to hurt ourselves.
So this is my lecture to my alcoholic brother — my own flavor of arrogance and self-absorption, even if slightly more informed — in hopes he’ll give up his wayward ways. I imagine it’ll fall on deaf ears, but it’s the most I can do for now. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some funny cat pictures to look at.
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Hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think about these. Maybe you already agree with someone, maybe some were shocking to you, and maybe you completely disagree with others. I'm interested in finding out =)
"People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you will know what to do."
- Michele Ventor
At
the beginning of a new friendship, there's no telling how long you'll
be friends with someone, how great your friendship will be or anything
about the relationship for that matter. Regardless, you continue to meet
new people and make new friends. Why? Overall, the people you talk to
shape the person you are becoming. I have met so many people here in
Europe. There are some people that I would love to see again, but they
probably won't even remember me. There are those people that probably
want to continue a conversation with me, but I might not even remember
their names. There are those people that really want to keep in touch
but just aren't good at it (like me). There are also those people that
really do become friends for life, and whether you see them all the time
or not, you keep in touch because you genuinely care about what's going
on in their lives and they care about you. Ten years from now, maybe
I'll know how to categorize each of these people, but right now, it
doesn't really matter. Without going into too many details (for their
privacy), here are some of the people I've met and what I'll always
remember because of them.
Jasmine
- my first friend in Europe! Our trips to Florence, Milan, Venice and
Lido will never be forgotten. This girl helped me transition into the
slow-paced lifestyle in Roma because I'm not as relaxed as I should be.
She also allowed me to break out of my shell and experience being a
different person.
Megan
- She made me do the craziest thing I've done thus far (canyoning) and
as much as I hated her during those few hours, I am so grateful. She's
been making me push my limits to see what I can really do, and I love
it! She's also taught me to just deal with things when you can't change
them. I really admire her ability to just "suck it up" and "go with the
flow." Hopefully that's something I can take back with me!
Jim -
I met him while I was at Rutgers because he came to present at the
pre-departure meeting. I ended up seeing him at least 5 times in Roma
before he headed back to the states. What have I learned from him? Be
opened minded. Things are different--that doesn't mean that they're bad.
Take in as many experiences as possible, and don't forget to share them
with others because that's the only way they'll be able to understand
you.
Alex,
Robin & Hasan - I guess I'll give in and say that awesome
conversation I had in Barcelona was with Alex. I learned from these
three guys that it's okay to be a normal person that has fun in life
while having a professional life. Once you start working, it doesn't
mean that everything's over...Back at home, I feel like my friends
forget about experiencing new things after they start working, but now I
know it's possible to have it all!
Andy
& Quintin - These guys have jobs in the states and they just
decided to leave the country and travel for a month! That's awesome! It
made me realize that this isn't my last chance to do what I want. There
will always be time if I make time...it's up to me. I guess I never
realized how much control I have over my life and what I do with it.
Sarah
(and Megan, Andy, Quintin, Daniel, Isaac, Simone, Timmay, Helen, Jon) -
I'll never forget them because of our absolutely awesome canyoning
experience together. It showed me that you can trust people within
minutes after meeting them only because they saw you fumble, trip and
fall!
Professor
Serafino Amato - I haven't really learned much about photography from
him but when he talks and is taking pictures, I can feel his passion. I
know that if I truly want to be happy in life, I need a passion like
that...and I don't need to know what it is yet, but I do need to start
working on it and figure it out by exploring my options!
I have to leave my apartment in five minutes to head out to Berlin but I hope to continue growing this list :)
"Even if you stumble, you're still moving forward." - Unknown
For those of you that are not so up to date with the lingo, YOLO means "you only live once" and is becoming a popular "word" to use among youth. I am usually not one to jump on the bandwagon, but during my amazing experience this past weekend, I kept reminding myself that you really do only live once, so why not live it up? Before I tell you details, you must watch this video because this is pretty much what I did while in Interlaken, Switzerland.
That is just a quick video for those of you that are in a rush. If anyone has more time, please check out the crazy things we did in the following videos! (Don't watch all, some are repetitive. I can't filter them because my Youtube isn't working so well here.)
Here are a few pictures of us before we went canyoning:
This is the team before we started. We barely knew each other at this point, but were pretty much best friends after such an experience!
Megan (who is awesome!), Sarah (studying in Florence, from NC) and me!
After watching those videos, my quote seems to make more sense, right? In the literal sense, it makes complete sense. But that's not how I meant it. This past weekend, I did something that was completely out of my comfort zone. I was scared like you won't even believe, I honestly thought I wouldn't make it, and I simply didn't want to do it at some times. But after every big jump or repel or slide, I realized that I can conquer anything. I might not have been the most graceful or the happiest doing it, but I was able to do it regardless!
I wish I could properly explain what I feel right now. There will be a million times in life when you just want to quit-when you think that you've had enough. But find a friend that will push you or a quote that will inspire you, and keep on pushing because there's more to you than you even know. And until you actually push yourself to your limits, you won't even know how much you can possibly do in life.
I really wanted this post to be extremely motivational but it's so hard to express how I feel. I repelled 150 feet down a cliff. I jumped 30 feet into a body of water off of a cliff. I jumped onto a rock just to slide down it. I zip lined without properly being tied to anything, and let go half way through to fall into a body of water. I got pushed down a rock to slide sideways and fall into a body of water. I did all of these things and became a new person. Sound ridiculous? Maybe, but don't judge until you try it out.
Quick promotion for Interlaken: Go! Why? You can go skydiving, canyoning, bungee jumping, canyon jumping, hang gliding, paragliding, go to a chocolate show, whoa...just so much! It's a beautiful little town with beautiful mountains and lakes and rivers. I loved it!
"Most of us spend our lives as if we had another one in the bank." ~Ben Irwin
But not anymore! I'm trying to do anything and everything I can to make the absolute most of this little time I have in Europe. To re-cap what I've done thus far:
Florence (since we were off on the 4th of July!)
Milan
Venice
Lido
Barcelona
And what's next on the agenda?
Interlaken, Switzerland this weekend! Leaving in a few hours :) going CANYONING! (Youtube it)
Berlin, Germany next weekend! Yet another experience alone...I doubt my roommates will be as awesome as they were in Barcelona
A total of 4 classes + 1 final exam left! I officially finish on August 3rd and then fly out that night to go to...
London! I will spend time with friends and family here (which is good-that means I don't have to pay for living!)
Although I haven't planned it yet, I am 90% sure I will go to...
Edinburgh
...while I'm in London because it's nearby and apparently just beautiful! Including Rome, that'll be 10 cities I've visited in Europe in the span of 6.5 weeks. That works for me :) Expensive, you ask? Yes, a little bit. But when am I returning to Europe? Not any time soon, so I might as well make the most of it.
I must go grab some food if I want to catch my ride to Interlaken :)
So long!
P.S. My NEW camera won't work...and I refuse to buy a new one since you know, I'm spending so much money traveling. The pictures you'll see from now on will be the ones taken on my iPod Touch. The quality isn't so great, I can't really zoom in and it's obviously automatic so the pictures won't be as great as my memories. Just a heads up!
It's not the places you go but the people you meet that make an experience - Not an official quote but that's exactly how I feel now that I've been to Barcelona!
I know that I've totally skipped everything I wanted to blog about but while this is fresh in my mind, I just wanted to share it with you! In Barcelona, I ended up spending more time with my roommates (strangers in a hostel from London) than actually walking around and exploring everything. Maybe one day I will regret that, but at the moment, it seemed like it was the best decision I ever made! (Well, maybe I won't because I spent a whole day just walking around alone discovering new things before I met them so technically I got a taste of both!) Before I skip to the important part of this post, here are some google images of what I saw (since I have yet to upload my pictures and don't want to forget later).
The cathedral that I stumbled upon on Day 1! There was an orchestra playing beautiful music...and about 100 old people dancing to it! Very relaxing environment - a great place to people watch.
The work of Antoni Gaudi. So much to learn about him! Although he only built a part of this building (because he had no funds), it is still gorgeous because they are using his designs. Hopefully in the next 10 years they will finally finish building it and I can go back to see the finished product! If you're in Barcelona, definitely take a look inside because your contribution will go directly towards building it!!
Anyway, I will spare you useless details but I would like to share some conversations I had with my roommates. I will put them in conversation form, labeling the roommates as A, B and C as to protect their privacy! To give a little bit of background information, A is a cardiologist, B is a physiologist and C is a recruiter for a pretty big firm. All of them are situated in London, love to travel when they get the time off and are very open to meeting new people and doing new things.
My absolute favorite conversation with the cardiologist, who has many patients from the UK, other countries in Europe, America and Asia frequently.
A: So want to hear a funny story from today? (This was an hour or so after I met my roommates.) We were on the bus and I wanted to ask someone how to get to the beach but none of us know how to say that in Spanish and can't say much else but "hola" (hi) and "habla ingles?" (do you speak in English). After looking around, I saw a lady without headphones and tapped her on the shoulder so I could see if she could help us out. I expected her to turn around smiling and thought she would want to help us out. Instead, she slowly turns her head and looks at us with disgust, fear and surprise. After looking at me for a few seconds, she slowly walked away from me and stood behind another person. I just stood there. I was so confused. I still don't really get it...it was the weirdest experience ever.
(Yes, quite interesting isn't it?)
Me: Well actually...haven't you noticed how people are just so different everywhere? For example, in certain places in India, it is not typical for someone to approach a woman. It's looked down upon, makes her look bad--even if she's not at fault, and makes her extremely uncomfortable. It's also not typical for a woman to approach others depending on where you are.
A: Really? As a doctor, I'm always trying to learn about body language but the more I practice, the more I realize that it's almost impossible to know everything about everyone because there are just so many cultural differences. When I was a junior (which is equivalent to an American intern), I only dealt with people from the UK so it was easy treating every patient the same. They reacted similarly and I fell into an easy routine. Now that I have many international patients, I get so confused. Let me explain. So with someone from the UK, I can check them out and then say "I'll call you in 2-3 weeks if it's anything serious, otherwise you'll be fine" and they'll be happy and walk away. But the first time I had an American patient, she just kept asking me exactly what was wrong, what the medical terms were, what she could do until I gave more results, if I could call her regardless of the level of seriousness, etc. It took me by surprise and I had to walk out for a second to take a deep breath because I was definitely not used to it! No offense or anything but why are you Americans so detail-oriented?! Why can't you just relax and trust the doctor?
(Side note: by this point, I was so interested in the conversation because I'm pretty sure I would have done exactly what that American lady had done. If I'm not wrong, most of you would have also done the same.)
Me: We're so used to knowing everything. I bet that she went home and Google-ed everything to make sure that you were accurate, and then even asked a few medical-field friends of hers to get their opinions as well. That's just the way we are!
A: So can I ask you something that you don't have to answer? (Sure...) You are from India but you live in America. What does that make you? Does that make you the American lady in most aspects or the Indian lady in most aspects? You seem to actually connect to the Indian people...I'm Chinese but I was born and raised in the UK so I don't really associate myself with that culture. When asked, I state that I'm from London and that's it.
...so I don't want to bore you guys but to sum it up, we spent the next hour or two discussing different cultures and what we know about people. We talked about how important body language is, how much it can tell you and how much it varies in places. We also tried to figure out why it's so different in so many places. The cardiologist has been studying body language in different cultures for a few years now but even that hasn't helped much when it comes down to real life because there's just so much to accept and understand. After that first night, we would always take note of how people reacted to us (the American and Britishers), how they behaved in groups, who was the Alpha in the group, etc. It always added lots of flavor to our conversations.
What's the point in sharing this with you? I'm not sure. It was my favorite part of Barcelona and I just wanted to invite you to also think about this and learn more about it!
Besides hanging out with my roommates in Barcelona and visiting those two major places, I didn't do much besides talk to strangers on the train or walk around and explore the city. Oh, no offense to absolutely anyone, but every single person we met that was born and raised in Spain did not like us...they refused to help us because they just didn't want to associate with us. On the other hand, every "outsider" that had been living there for 5, 10, 15 or even 20 years from Cuba, England, Argentina, Ecuador, etc. LOVED chatting with us in Spanish and English! I was always looking for ways to use my Spanish skills and I surprised myself when I realized how much I really knew. There were some people that told me about their families, why they're in Spain, how long they've been there, where they live, what they do, where they travel to, etc. in Spanish and I understood it all! Overall, we learned a lot about people and the way they are. I know that this one trip will enhance the rest of my stay in Europe because I will notice many details! I think it will also come into good use for when I'm back in the states!
Anyway, I'm exhausted! I hope to blog more tomorrow :)
