Learning, Loving, Adventuring

So, it’s been about a month since I have last blogged and this past month has truly been one of the best I have ever had, and will definitely be hard to top.

In the past four weeks I have been to 3 different countries, seen more of the city that I now consider home, and seen some beautiful places around the Czech Republic. In the past four weeks I have also learned more about myself, the person I am, and the person I want to be. You know that quote that says “Travel far enough, you meet yourself”, well I have never found a quote that resonates quite so perfectly with what I have been going through.

Lesson Number 1: Don’t expect the unexpected; Expect Nothing.

I never thought that going abroad would be what it has been. I went into this experience knowing that it would change me, and like every person, I had a certain amount of expectations that I thought for sure would be met and I had a set idea of what my weekends were going to be, the countries I would see, and what I would do there. I can say that some of my expectations have been met, but some have been thrown out the window and abandoned. In the past weeks I have realized that you can plan and plan and plan until your fingers fall off and you have every second planned. You can make dinner plans, you can book museum tours, you can call and set up segway tours. But no matter how much you have planned, no matter how much research you do, and no matter how many times you see pictures on Google, it will not be what you expected. I have learned that life is life; the Universe and God have a plan for you and no matter how many things you look up on TripAdvisor and book, won’t compare to the days that you role out of bed and go explore wherever you are without any pre-disposed ideas of what it will be like. The days that you don’t plan are the days that you remember the most, the days that turn into adventures and you end up in places you would have never seen if you had stayed on the pathway you planned out. I have given up on plans, and I have given up on expectations. Expectations for a place, for a day, for a meal are only ways to limit yourself. Letting go is one of the best lessons I have learned.

Lesson Number 2: Go with the flow

While in Ireland not one thing went the way I thought it would go, but I am so glad they didn’t. (Mainly transportation wise) We got picked up from the airport in a malfunctioning bus that had to be stopped in the middle of the road and restarted at least 3 times. We then went to a bus yard where we transferred into a smaller van. (This one actually ran) We were then transported to a different area to pick up a different bus, that was supposed to be working, but had to be jumped. Needless to say it was not what I had expected when my roommate informed me that the hostel we were staying at had a free airport shuttle. The rest of the trip again consisted of being shifted from bus to bus at different locations; and in Cobh deciding to let the bus leave us behind because we weren’t ready to leave and spent the evening in a local dive bar hanging out with locals and drinking Guiness. (Although I must admit I was quite apprehensive when my roommate told me to get off the bus because we were staying). I have not one complaint about that weekend. I have never laughed so much while sitting in the middle of the road in a broken down bus. If things had gone as planned, I wouldn’t have had the experiences I had with local Irish people, and I wouldn’t have as many fun, random stories to tell. Going with the flow is freeing and allows you to see and experience things that you never would have seen if you hadn’t. Accepting the fact that traveling almost never goes as you expect it to go is one of the best things you can do for yourself. It allows you to laugh when your luggage gets lost, or when your bus breaks down, or when you have a lay over in a completely random place.

Lesson 3: Its okay to not get on the bus

In the past 3 weeks I have decided to let the bus leave me behind. I fell in love with Budapest and just couldn’t bring myself to leave the day that I had planned. It has since become my second favorite city. I honestly don’t have very many words to explain what is was about this city that made me fall so hard, sometimes you just click with a place. Everything kind of feels good and you meet wonderful people and you spend 90% of your time smiling and laughing, for reasons that you forget after, but remember that feeling you had; when your heart is so full, and your face hurts from smiling and everything is where its supposed to be and everything is the way the universe intended for it to be. That’s how Budapest was for me. So I decided to not get on the bus and spend an extra day exploring. I have absolutely no regrets. And again had no regrets about staying in Cobh, Ireland. Staying a couple extra hours and meeting, interacting, and talking with some totally weird people.

Lesson 4: Every Single Day is an Adventure

I used to think that adventures were the ones you planned, the days that you woke up said “Let’s go on an adventure” the days that you planned to go do something different and experience something. I have since realized that the days you don’t plan anything, the days that you think will be quite normal and average are sometimes the days that become the biggest adventures. I have also learned that adventures don’t always come in the biggest packages. The grandest adventures aren’t always on the days that you see a different country or visit the Cliffs of Moher. One of my favorite days so far was yesterday when I went on a hike right outside of Prague, visited the seafood festival and spent the evening in complete and total dive bars surrounded by Czech people that didn’t speak a word of English.

(Are you starting to see a trend here?)

Lesson 5: You are allowed to grow, to change, to become.

The lessons I have learned while abroad, some of them mentioned, but most not explainable all compile into the realization that you are never too old, too young, or “too anything” to change or grow or become. I have realized that life can be compared to a hand, and yourself as clay (stay with me here). Life is the hand that is constantly, and forever molding you into something, sure the growth and changes may vary in size and magnitude but to me the hand of life will always be molding me into the person that I am ultimately supposed to become. This discovery has also made me realize that it’s okay to not have everything, if nothing at all, figured it out. These lessons I’ve learned have taught me to let go, to let love, to let the universe do, to go with the flow, to let the bus leave me, to let adventure find me, and search for it when it doesn’t. These lessons have shaped me, and the shaped stories that I’ll tell to the children that I don’t want to have. These lessons have taught me to accept life, and myself, as it comes and more importantly grows.

This wasn’t my usual blog post, but I felt the need to share. Stay tuned tomorrow for three more short blog posts about the countries I have visited!

Ireland, Germany, and Hungary!