The last 6 months... achievements and lessons learned
1) Family is important. I recently went to Bury St. Edmunds in the UK to spend Christmas with some of my distant family members. Beforehand, I didn't know anyone, however all 16 of them welcomed me with open arms. It was touching to see the kindness that comes with family, no matter how distantly related they are. At the same time, spending time with this family over Christmas made me realize how truly homesick I am. I miss knowing the people I spend time with, I miss being able to reminisce about good times shared together. Most of all though of course, I miss my puppy. Although I can barely call Tessa mine nowadays, I still do. And I miss her sooo much.
2) Friend are important. Both the old and the new. Old friends are important because they have been there to share memories with you. Whether you shared hard times together, or whether you shared laughs together it is important to keep in touch with your old friends. They are almost like family. You don't necessarily talk often, but when you do talk it's like you never left each other.
But the lesson that I have really learned this year is that new friends are important. Not just acquaintances at work, or passing friends, but friends that you can spend time with, that you can open up to. Friends that you aren't afraid to call up when you need a hug, or just when you need someone to relieve your boredom. I also learned how difficult it is to make friends in the real world. At school you are thrown into a situation where you are with a group of people your age with similar interests, and the likelihood you'll get along with the person sitting next to you is high. In the work world you have to make an effort. I came to Switzerland, moved to a city where I knew no one and I didn't speak the language. And it was hard. It is still hard. But I have learned a lot about myself through the process of adjusting. And I am thankful that I got to experience it.
3) Work. I have learned so much from my job. I lucked out and got a job that was perfect for me. I get to assist on such a wide variety of projects. From manufacturing engineering tasks, to administrative duties, to project management. Sure you might say, "it's an engineering internship, why are you doing admin and project management work?!" And maybe I shouldn't be, but at the same time those are two job paths that I had always considered doing so I am very happy that I am getting a small dose of them. I could ramble on and on as to what I have learned from work, but I am just going to sum it up with this: I have learned A LOT.
4) Canadians aren't that nice. I don't mean to bash my own country, but having grown up in Canada and not traveled around much I grew up under the impression that "Canadians are the nicest people on the planet" because that is what everyone told me. I agree, Canadians are nice, but in no way do I think we are the nicest people on the planet. While standing on the sidewalk attempting to read a map to figure out where I am, people have stopped to help me. While struggling to speak German with a cashier, the lady next to me in line has helped act as a translator. All around Europe I have experienced great kindness. And most of all, through couch surfing I have been invited into the home of perfect strangers and they have hosted me for multiple days, shown me the city, and welcomed me as if I were an old friend.
Couch surfing has been such a fantastic experience. It has really shown me how kind and trusting the majority of the world is. Don't worry mom and dad, I am cautious, but at the same time we live in a society where we are protected from every possible thing that might possibly go wrong. Don't talk to strangers, don't pick up hitchhikers, don't walk in the dark by yourself. Don't, don't, don't. Why are we so untrusting of others? It is just as likely to be kidnapped in the dark at night as it would be to get in a car accident. So what, don't drive your car will be the next thing they are telling us? I guess couch surfing has just opened my eyes to the fact that the majority of people are kind and trustworthy people.
5) Perspectives on travel. Over the last 6 months I have traveled to 11 countries on many different trips and I have learned that traveling can be done in many ways. Mainly it can be summed up by the tourist traveler and the culture traveler. The first is where you go somewhere just to see the famous sites, without really interacting with the culture beyond trying the local cuisine. And then the latter is where you go somewhere and immerse yourself in the culture, really get to know the local traditions from local people. Most of my traveling has been the tourist traveler, but I would say that through couch surfing, especially my experience in Finland, I experienced a little bit of the culture traveler.
Although each have their advantages, I think in the long run I prefer the culture travel method. Sometimes, as a tourist traveler, when I go to see the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or Buckingham Palace, I feel like the only reason I am really going there is so that I can say "I've been to see the Queen"!! Yes it's cool, but at the same time, is it cool for me personally or is it just cool for me to brag about to others? I guess that's part of the difference. As a tourist traveler you are mainly traveling for others, to take the pictures as proof and do it for the "novelty" aspect. Whereas, when you are a culture traveler you are really doing that for yourself. It's about socializing and meeting others. As a tourist traveler your friends will be impressed by the pictures you've taken. As a culture traveler your friends will get bored to death while you share stories about your great memories and adventures. But it doesn't matter if they find it boring, because YOU were there and YOU had a great time.
I had a little mini rant there... but hopefully anyone who reads this blog understands what I am getting at. (I think there is a third type of traveling as well that I haven't experience much of and that is the group travel. Where in a way you are all there for the tourist traveler aspect, but the part you enjoy most is just being together with friends and having fun.)
The upcoming 6 months... goals and expectations
1) Keep in touch with family and friends more. I guess this comes from point 1 and 2 above. It's important to keep in touch with loved ones cause they are the ones that are always there for you.
2) Travel more. Hopefully make it to 20 countries this year (mainly just for the novelty aspect =P)
3) Continue learning lots at work. Be more motivated and independent.
4) Get involved more in Winterthur.
5) Be honest with myself, and change the things I am not happy about.
I guess that is all I have to say this time! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and Happy New Year to all!!
Oh, and I already have 9 trips booked over the next 6 months (with as least a couple more to be added)... so here are my upcoming plans:
Jan 16-19: Alicante, Spain
Jan 22-25: Prague, Czech
Feb 6-7: Brussels, Belgium
Feb 18-20: Warsaw, Poland
March 6-7: Porto, Portugal
March 11-18: Ireland! (St. Patty's day)
April 16-19: Krakow and Auschwitz, Poland
April 29-May 2: Amsterdam, Netherlands
May 8-10: Nice and Monacco
July - travel Europe more with Ali!! (mostly France and Italy)
And lastly, as a reward for reading the entire post, here are some photos from my British experience! To sum it up: wet and cold. Rain sucks. Cold rain sucks even more. And cold, windy rain is just plain miserable. But I still had great time. :-)
Me and my Great Uncle John at the Abbey Ruins in Bury St. Edmunds
Lara, my cutest little cousin (twice removed or something, I dunno the official terms)
Fries and mayonnaise in front of the Tower of London
Cold and windy day at Stonehenge, but worth it!
Enjoying a Roman Bath in Bath :)
A very wet and muddy walk in the English countryside
