Three years ago this week I departed on the trip of a lifetime, my three months of studying abroad in Europe. I wrote a letter to my former self in reflection of that incredible experience. And it was a great excuse to share some of my favorite pictures :)
Dear Girl Before the Trip,
Welcome to some of the most growing, challenging, confusing, stretching, funny, amazing months of your life. You have the big backpack, a new camera, and suitcases stuffed with sensible clothes (you'll buy new ones, because black is boring and then eventually everything in your suitcase will be boring). You have a Skype phone number. You've sat through endless meetings and read all of the materials. You're ready. At least you think you are.
As much as you've listened and read, you are still clueless about the trains. When you arrive, you'll follow the herd and think that navigating public transportation with signs posted in other languages is hopeless. You'll resign yourself to sticking with someone else who "gets it" for the duration. But sister, by the end you'll be riding along the Italian coast for seven hours by yourself, leaving your mom in Milan and finding your friends in Nice. The walk from the train station to the hostel that night may be the most scared you will ever be, but you are savvy and you can do it, without GoogleMaps.
Sprinting through train stations with a big old backpack will become a weekly hobby, at least.You should probably take video footage because it's hilarious and such a rush when you land on the right train. Except for that first weekend. That time, you will all get kicked off the train because you didn't realize it was a private line. You might spend 25 hours on a train in a single weekend. You won't die in a sleeping car. You'll learn how to read as you ride. You'll also run down a mountain on a Sunday morning to catch a bus in Germany and lose your Eurail pass in Switzerland. But like a movie, you'll stalk down that bus route and check each bus on it until you find it. Have watchful eyes now, because your friends will be pick-pocketed. The group will come back to America with 6 less iPhones, a handful less cameras, a few different passports and backpacks.
When you explain to people where you're going now, you're justifying it. Because who would go to the Netherlands, much less an unheard of town? Well, I'm studying in a town called Maastricht, but that's because Baylor has a really great program and I can go anywhere I want on the weekends. So I'll mostly just be there during the week. But by the end, you'll kind of wish you had just spent more time wandering that sweet Dutch town. The initial tour will be confusing and knobby trees a little scary, but Maastricht is a beautiful place that will capture your heart.
In the preparation meetings you weren't so sure about your "colleagues" as Dr. Hanks would call them. You're comforted by the fact that your friend Sarah and your roommate Alex are along, but you still wonder where you'll fit into the group. As people introduced themselves you could practically hear your mind sorting each into a category: nerds and party people. Nerd. Wild child. Nerd. But by the end of three months, you'll realize that you're a little more of both than you would have ever realized. Kidding, you already knew that you were a nerd. You'll come back to America more sure of yourself and more giddy with new, real friendships than you could have ever hoped for. Even the ones who don't become best friends are worth getting to know, and somehow between walking to class and studying and varying circumstances you'll get to know and appreciate each person individually.
You need to brace yourself. Because this isn't an escape from real life, it is an intensified version of it. You're going to go through and work through a lot. At first, you'll have to accept that you've faced some depression and dark times in your life. You'll be more acutely aware of your social anxiety than you ever have before, because you always think people are too cool for you. But you need to move forward, and the people around you will help you. Soon you'll be experiencing community unlike any you've ever had before. Together you'll experience innumerable pieces of life: seeing the world, living together, being sick together, communicating the best you can with foreigners, missing home and things happening there, growing and learning how the world works. The compact highs and lows you'll be seeing together along with so many amazing and hilarious parts in between should be written into a TV show.
As much as you've heard about people who frolic around Europe and simply take cooking classes, you're going to have to work hard. In eight weeks you'll read 18 books, if I remember correctly. And you'll actually read them, because lecture-and-test isn't a thing in Europe. It's more like discuss-and-write. The Oxford Christians class will blow your mind though, because you get to discuss CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien and you're going to figure out a lot more about your Jesus along the way. In fact, Jesus is going to show up a lot of places. One friend will do her morning devotional in the lobby of the hotel in London, and then others on trains, and you'll get to see what really spending time in the Word daily looks like. No vacation excuses. You'll be inspired, and you'll grow.
At first, you'll be very hesitant about drinking and going out. It's legal here for you as a 20 year old, but it's something you're very confused and pretty judgmental about. You'll take your first shot on Valentine's Day. You'll learn that it's okay, and you'll find a balance. You will be with people you trust, and you won't make incredibly poor decisions. Once you let yourself get past that, you will be able to befriend the people on your trip much more easily. And you'll learn to be more accepting, of others and yourself.
Food won't be your enemy here. There are no scales. Despite all the chocolate and bread, your clothes will start to fit better and you'll feel truly beautiful because you'll be walking everywhere and too busy experiencing a full life to feel any different. Your picky self will have to try other things, and you're going to start to like them. You will return home with a much expanded palate. Someday you'll even miss walking through the halls of that strange dorm/hospital to get to dinner and the man in the apron who asks "More sauce?" meal after blessed meal. Take note that stealing food from breakfast to make a picnic lunch is a great survival strategy, especially in hostels.
Don't be afraid to talk to strangers. You can meet all kinds of interesting people who are willing to cross the language barrier on trains, in bars, and at the market. You're smart and will be safe; there's nothing wrong with being friendly. And you're worth getting to know.
Be nice to your family when they come to visit. You'll be confused that your friends are traveling to exotic places without you, and staying in one city for four days will feel slow. But that doesn't mean it's bad. It's okay to be confused, and it's still going to be good even though it's different. And it's not every day that you get to climb the stairs of the Eiffel Tower with the people you love, or eat your way through Italy and have dozens of travel mishaps with your mom.
You should continue to take pictures, even when the architecture and the places are starting to blur together and feel the same. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and someday you'll wish you could look back at pictures from those last couple of weeks. You should also probably not wait until after the trip to figure out Instagram exists, much less how to take decent pictures. And for the love, please journal and blog everything!
When you come home, you won't know how to tell the stories. How can you convey the other side of the world, much less the person you were while you were there? How do you put into words sledding at night down the Swiss Alps or jumping off of a canyon? The sights and sounds and wide open soul you experienced? You won't want to brag, but the trip has become such a magnified part of your life. So much living was done there. But don't forget the stories. Write them down. You'll also have new friends, and don't you worry love, those friendships will last.
In a few years, you'll look back one morning and think "I want to be the girl I was in Europe," and so that day you'll try to go out and live in the moment and love big. Laugh more and stress less.
With love,
The Girl After the Trip
Dear Girl Before the Trip,
Welcome to some of the most growing, challenging, confusing, stretching, funny, amazing months of your life. You have the big backpack, a new camera, and suitcases stuffed with sensible clothes (you'll buy new ones, because black is boring and then eventually everything in your suitcase will be boring). You have a Skype phone number. You've sat through endless meetings and read all of the materials. You're ready. At least you think you are.
As much as you've listened and read, you are still clueless about the trains. When you arrive, you'll follow the herd and think that navigating public transportation with signs posted in other languages is hopeless. You'll resign yourself to sticking with someone else who "gets it" for the duration. But sister, by the end you'll be riding along the Italian coast for seven hours by yourself, leaving your mom in Milan and finding your friends in Nice. The walk from the train station to the hostel that night may be the most scared you will ever be, but you are savvy and you can do it, without GoogleMaps.
Sprinting through train stations with a big old backpack will become a weekly hobby, at least.You should probably take video footage because it's hilarious and such a rush when you land on the right train. Except for that first weekend. That time, you will all get kicked off the train because you didn't realize it was a private line. You might spend 25 hours on a train in a single weekend. You won't die in a sleeping car. You'll learn how to read as you ride. You'll also run down a mountain on a Sunday morning to catch a bus in Germany and lose your Eurail pass in Switzerland. But like a movie, you'll stalk down that bus route and check each bus on it until you find it. Have watchful eyes now, because your friends will be pick-pocketed. The group will come back to America with 6 less iPhones, a handful less cameras, a few different passports and backpacks.
As much as you've heard about people who frolic around Europe and simply take cooking classes, you're going to have to work hard. In eight weeks you'll read 18 books, if I remember correctly. And you'll actually read them, because lecture-and-test isn't a thing in Europe. It's more like discuss-and-write. The Oxford Christians class will blow your mind though, because you get to discuss CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien and you're going to figure out a lot more about your Jesus along the way. In fact, Jesus is going to show up a lot of places. One friend will do her morning devotional in the lobby of the hotel in London, and then others on trains, and you'll get to see what really spending time in the Word daily looks like. No vacation excuses. You'll be inspired, and you'll grow.
At first, you'll be very hesitant about drinking and going out. It's legal here for you as a 20 year old, but it's something you're very confused and pretty judgmental about. You'll take your first shot on Valentine's Day. You'll learn that it's okay, and you'll find a balance. You will be with people you trust, and you won't make incredibly poor decisions. Once you let yourself get past that, you will be able to befriend the people on your trip much more easily. And you'll learn to be more accepting, of others and yourself.
Don't be afraid to talk to strangers. You can meet all kinds of interesting people who are willing to cross the language barrier on trains, in bars, and at the market. You're smart and will be safe; there's nothing wrong with being friendly. And you're worth getting to know.
Be nice to your family when they come to visit. You'll be confused that your friends are traveling to exotic places without you, and staying in one city for four days will feel slow. But that doesn't mean it's bad. It's okay to be confused, and it's still going to be good even though it's different. And it's not every day that you get to climb the stairs of the Eiffel Tower with the people you love, or eat your way through Italy and have dozens of travel mishaps with your mom.
You should continue to take pictures, even when the architecture and the places are starting to blur together and feel the same. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and someday you'll wish you could look back at pictures from those last couple of weeks. You should also probably not wait until after the trip to figure out Instagram exists, much less how to take decent pictures. And for the love, please journal and blog everything!
When you come home, you won't know how to tell the stories. How can you convey the other side of the world, much less the person you were while you were there? How do you put into words sledding at night down the Swiss Alps or jumping off of a canyon? The sights and sounds and wide open soul you experienced? You won't want to brag, but the trip has become such a magnified part of your life. So much living was done there. But don't forget the stories. Write them down. You'll also have new friends, and don't you worry love, those friendships will last.
With love,
The Girl After the Trip
"Jesus is going to show up in a lot of places." I love that line, that concept. He is everywhere if we take the time to look!
ReplyDelete