In roughly two weeks I will depart from the Atlanta International Airport and head to Brussels, Belgium before taking a train to Maastricht, Netherlands for a month long stay in Europe. To get ready for my trip I have set reminders for myself for all the important things I need to get done before I head off. I have started planning ahead and checking off things on my calendar with all those essential pre-departure tasks. With my international flights already booked, I’ve informed my bank that I will be going to Europe and using my credit card overseas. I’ve made photocopies of all my important travel documents (including my itinerary) and exchanged my US dollars for Euros. I’ve also taken care of all my medical needs by informing my psychologist that I will be traveling overseas so that I make sure have enough of my prescription medication to last me for the duration of the trip.
As I start preparing to pack, I’ve bought some essential items that I know I will need on my trip such as a European power adapter and converter, a small first aid kit, dry shampoo, and a personal alarm and pepper spray (since you can never be too careful, especially when you’re traveling alone). I’ve also made reservations for accommodations, major sights, and popular tourist attractions.
For my first free weekend in Europe I will be staying in Luxembourg, so I pre-booked an Airbnb for three nights and purchased tickets to the Bock Casemates which is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Luxembourg City and the Mudam Museum. During my second free weekend, I will be staying in Amsterdam, so I pre-booked a Hostel for three nights and purchased tickets to the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam City Museum – two of the most popular tourist attractions in Holland. During my third and final free weekend, I will be staying in Cologne for two days and one night before heading to Munich, so I pre-booked a Hostel in both Cologne and Munich and purchased tickets to the Ludwig Museum, the Deutsches Museum, Schloss Nymphenburg, and a guided bike tour around the city of Cologne.
Next week I will start packing up everything that I have accumulated so far into my suitcase and it won’t be long before I have to print out my boarding pass and head to the airport. Here’s to the start of an unforgettable adventure!
Making The Most Out Of My Experience
As a young adult who has just recently graduated college, I have always had a pretty established comfort zone. At home with my parents and younger sister, in a neighborhood that has known me for a good part of my life, and a college community that has come to know me for the better part of four years, I have established friendships, activities, and set way of living. I’ve become comfortable in these daily roles and the idea of breaking out of them is at times a bit daunting and uncomfortable.
The problem is though is that I have always been taught that you learn the most in uncomfortable, unfamiliar situations. In my daily routines, I know how to act and respond to people and my surroundings. Being in a new place, with different people, who hold different values and go about life differently (or not so differently I may find) strips all that familiarity away.
It can be daunting and at times scary, but once I figure out that I can connect with people despite differences, and I can navigate foreign environments, I know I will become a smarter, more competent individual. I hope to learn to embrace the discomfort and eventually search for it, because its in these situations that I will grow.
Throughout this experience I hope to grow and be impacted in the following ways:
1. Become More Patient
I know traveling will test my limits. My train might be delayed or even cancelled and waiting in line for the Rijksmuseum may leave me feeling like I’ve aged five years. Either way, I hope these experiences will teach me to become more patient.
2. Change My Perspective
It know that at some point during my trip that I will experience some level of culture shock whether it be in the type of food that is served, the way locals dress, or simply my perspective or view on life or a given culture not living up to reality. It’s in these moments of culture shock that I hope to embrace the differences in other cultures and ways of living. And who knows, it may even allow me to confirm my beliefs and understand myself better.
3. Make New Friends
Traveling alone on weekends and being away from home, I’ll be surrounded by strangers, so I hope to make friends along the way, even if it is in the most unlikely of places such as my hostel, on a train, or at a local café.
4. Adapt To Change
The only constant is change. I hope to keep this in mind for my not only my trip but also for life, especially if, say, a train strike breaks out and trains are delayed or even canceled – Which of course happened at one point on my trip in Paris five years ago. Nevertheless, the better I prepare, the better I’ll be able to handle curveballs life will inevitably throw at me.
5. Reconsider My Attachment To Things
I hope to reevaluate what I consider to be valuable or important to me as what may be valuable to me may not always be available. So when my hair dryer blows up since it was on the wrong voltage, for instance, I might realize that my hair dryer isn’t actually that important, and instead rock my natural waves once it air drys.
6. Be More Appreciative
They say you never appreciate what you have until it’s gone. So I hope to not only unplug as much as I can when from all my devices but also soak in as much of the local culture of each of the of the countries I visit when I’m overseas, so when I return to the USA, I will have a greater appreciation for the things that I have and my established way of living.
Sarah's European Voyage 