Wrapping up my European experience

See other entries regarding my first EuroTrip at http://neevita.net/tag/travel

I’ve been back state side, for a week or so now. I took my vacation hair out on Thursday, which felt like a final nail in the pretty coffin for my first jaunt through parts of Europe. I brought a few things with me from the trip, ideas about life, and further understanding of what it is I value in my human experiences.

One of those things is food. I want more freshly prepared food in my life. A large portion of my meals come out of clif bar wrappers and the like. When I do cook, I’ve rarely eaten a meal at the time I’ve prepared it. Usually I cook for the week and refrigerate. I’m really just done with that.

Another is time. I want more time for me between sessions, commitments and projects. Since 2007, I’ve been excessively busy. It started when going to school and working full time and just never stopped, until now. I want time to ride my bike in the sun to my office. I want time to stop and take pictures of the interesting things I see or jot something down in a journal. Since coming back I’ve reached for my camera a few times, and my journal as well, to find they are not there. I didn’t carry these things before, but will carry them now.

From the moment I touched down in Seattle, I went on an elimination diet. Which sounds awful I know, but actually it’s rather enjoyable to only eat good food. I’m making a concerted effort to create the time, space and reward to improve my diet and take more care for myself now that I’m back home, and to figure out just how much my diet is related to my ailments.

They say that your first international experience is a big one, and I agree with that. This trip opened a lot of doors for me in many ways. I’m already thinking about where I would like to go in the world next, based on my likes and dislikes during my trip. I have very little desire to return to France or England. I feel fortunate to have visited, and I also don’t need to do it again for pleasure.

I will return to Holland at some point, and I am currently learning Dutch in some of the spare time I am slowly carving open for myself in my life. It’s an awesome language and it sounds awesome coming out of my mouth, too. I tried to learn French first, because I have a friend who speaks and can practice with me, but I really just didn’t like it. So if you know Dutch and want to practice once I get a little better, hit me up!

Though I was generally indifferent to the city itself and I think the South of France is overrated based on my experience there, I really enjoyed the beach in Nice. This is interesting considering I have historically been avoidant of beaches and large bodies of water, and generally uncomfortable with the idea of weird shit living in the oceans. It was nice to visit a clean, clear water beach that didn’t smell like dead marine life. Majestic really. I guess it makes a difference if I can SEE the stuff in the water..

I’d like to visit Spain and Italy at some point. The Cinque Terre specifically. However, I’d like to visit someplace other than Europe next time around. I’d been thinking perhaps Bermuda, since it’s beachy and clear and clean(ish) and has less crime than Jamaica does. Upon further reflection, though, I really think I’ll be visiting Thailand next.

It was my intent to go to Thailand to teach English this year, however financially that simply hasn’t been feasible and is even less so after additional expense in changing Europlans due to the volcano. The key thing though is that I’ve been drawn to Thailand for multiple reasons over the course of time, including my work, just as I’d been drawn to Holland at various times throughout my life.

The fluke stay I had in Amsterdam was by far the most enjoyable part of my trip and the woo in me says that’s probably somewhat connected to having been drawn to it in the first place. Having seen a little bit of the world and enjoying a growing appreciation for beaches, as well as requiring a much less expensive destination than the .eu next time, Thailand is a bit of a no brainer really.

Another thing I learned on this trip is a matter of welcome and chemistry. 3 days is the key amount of time I’d like to plan to stay in any one household with people I don’t know very well; Just enough time to get past the logistics and pleasantries and see if you actually jive with someone. In future travels, my rule of thumb will be a short stay with the potential for staying longer, rather than the other way around.

Also; After watching Twilight and New Moon during down time in Europe, I’m excited about Eclipse. I stand by my extremely rare guilty pleasure and I don’t care what no one’s got to say about it!