By crstein1
If I were to return to the States and only take away one lesson, it would be a lesson in adventure. It seems appalling, I presume, that I could discount every other tidbit of knowledge and experience, just to sum up my time here in the one minuscule word ‘adventure’. However, I can maintain that everything I see, every person I meet, every event I’ve witnessed, has been an adventure in itself. With the language barrier and the differences in culture and customs, even the most routine tasks are out of my comfort zone, and for this reason, are mini-adventures. Yet for risk of sounding overly cliché, I’ll digress…
My most crazy adventure thus far has been my Semana Santa, or the Spanish version of Spring Break. We had a week free from classes due to the holiday surrounding Easter. My friends and I decided to go on a crazy trip. I set out with just my backpack and my jacket, to see 3 countries in 7 days. Our first stop was Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. What an interesting city. It’s almost as if every social norm there is inverted. We walked into coffee shops and asked for a coffee and a muffin. The man behind the counter responded, “would you like marijuana in your muffin?” I was in disbelief. On our tour of the city, we walked through the famous red light district, where our tour guide showed us a church, a nursery school and a store where you can buy prostitutes, all right next to each other. Yet apart from the drug and sex scene, the city is filled with art and history. Amsterdam is home to the Van Gogh museum, the historic Ann Frank house, and the most beautiful tulip gardens you’ll ever see.
After Amsterdam we continued on to Budapest, Hungry. Unfortunately, soon after my friends and I arrived, so did a terrible blizzard, and we were massively underprepared to weather a storm of that intensity. I put on every layer of clothing I had packed in my backpack and braved the outdoors. Yet after a short time, I was freezing and soaking wet from the snow. Unfortunately, I didn’t really think through the decision to wear all of my clothes at once, and for the rest of the trip, I was left with only smelly, already worn, clothing. We spent quite a bit of time hanging out in our hostel meeting chatting with people from all over the world. I probably added 15 friends on Facebook just that night (thank god for the ease of modern communication via social media). I guess they didn’t mind that my clothes were smelly, although I’m not surprised; backpackers tend to be ‘laid-back, everyone is amazing no matter what’ types.
My last and final stop was in Brussels, Belgium, where I was reunited with two of my best friends from school, who are studying abroad there. I’d forgotten how much I missed them- seeing them made me homesick for the first time since I’ve been here in Europe. However, I felt homesick for my friends and family, no as much for America itself. Why would I ever want to leave here? We spent our time together seeing the monuments in the city, eating the most delicious Belgian waffles, and visiting museums. I had an amazing time. At the end of the trip I was happy to return to my house in Madrid, I was sad to see the end of one adventure, but positive that there would be many others.