Settling Back to Normal Life

After returning to the U.S. in December 2011, I found myself a little scattered in my mind.  The food tasted different, yet I wouldn't imagine trading my American greasy food with the French cuisine, I decided not to look at my photos in the hope I would forget Strasbourg quickly so as to fit back into my ordinary routine, alas, was I wrong or what.

Just until recently, when I visited Washington, D.C., I finally let go Strasbourg and now I think I might dig out my photos and enjoy the moments and memories of France.

Stay tuned, I shall keep you posted on what is going on with my interesting life.

This is It

So I am up getting ready to head to home!  What a strange feeling.  Much like before I left, when it never quite hit me that I was really going to Europe, right now it really doesn't feel like I'm going home.  Instead it feels like I am embarking on yet another exciting weekend trip.  I guess all will feel new, so it will be its own adventure.

This semester has been incredible.  It has been full of opportunities to see more of Europe than I thought possible while still taking a full load of courses.  I visited somewhere between 7 and 9 countries, depending on your personal counting system.  I spoke a lot of French, bits of German, and even a few words of Hungarian.

I certainly learned a lot, and most of it had nothing to do with a classroom.  I learned that you can, in fact, still catch a train if 3 minutes before it leaves you haven't even made it to the train station.  I learned that spoken language makes things easier, but it's not a necessity.  I learned that a hostel is a hostel, really no matter where it is.  I learned that you can easily travel to distant lands for 4-5 days with only a half-full backpack.  I learned that contrary to my prior beliefs, a car isn't a necessity, and can be a hindrance.  Most importantly, I learned a lot about my self and about those I had the privilege of traveling with.

So this is it, goodbye everyone!  I will see a lot of you in Morgantown, but nothing will ever be quite like this experience, that's for sure!

Much Smaller

So I lied, this will be the real last "catching up" blog.

I was thinking about all I have had the chance to do, and one quote from my cousin Bela came to mind.  As we were leaving, he asked us "So have you had this thought that perhaps everything in Europe is Smaller than in the US?"  Why yes Bela, now that you mention it, I have.

What an interesting thought, in my opinion.  Just look around, especially at the roads, the houses, the cars, even the people!  Everything is just plain smaller.  At first, it kinda made it seem a bit claustrophobic, but at this point it's completely normal.  That makes me nervous to return home, everything will be gigantic!

One of the "small Europe" characteristics I have really noticed is that there is never just one house, everyone lives in a community.  A very close community at that.  Bela lived on the edge of a Budapest suburb, and had open fields in front of his house, and yet he had neighbors 15 ft on either side of him.  The don't seem to mind living close to other people, maybe because they ran out of room!  It will be weird to return home, or especially to return to WV where your "neighbors" are defined as any house you can see from yours.  Everything will seem huge!

An Intimate History of Humanity

My secondary book was An Intimate History of Humanity by Theodore Zeldin.  Overall, I did rather enjoy the book.  His survey of humanity is a very interesting idea, and the stories he portrays  really help to paint the portrait he is trying to paint.  For anyone interested in psychology, the book would be fascinating!  I have a laymans interest in psychology, so I did like it.

However, perhaps the parts of the book applicable to travel could be used, rather than the entire book.  I enjoyed it, but Zeldin does offer some lengthy analysis of his stories, leading to a rather long book.  The good thing is each chapter is not dependent upon the last, so it would be possible to offer excerpts of this book in future classes.

So overall, it was a good and applicable book, and I would recommend you keep using it- just in excerpt form instead.

Book Review

For my supplemental book, I read a book of haiku's by Matso Basho and I enjoyed it. The haiku's were sometimes hard to understand but always entertaining. Some were sad and some were funny. Overall, the book was interesting because the main character gave up everything he had to travel and learned a lot about Japan and himself along the way.

Christmas How it Should Be

The last of the catching up series!

So we have all visited at least the Christmas Market in Strasbourg and Heidelberg, and I visited them in a few other cities as well.  I just have to say, I absolutely love this part of German culture! It's like Christmas without the department store craziness that takes over back home!  No one is freaking out, fighting over deals, or ridiculously stressed out at these markets, which is a nice change from back home.  It seems that they really see Christmas as a time for family bonding and fun!  Not to mention food, these markets have the best food, and for cheap!  Bratwurst, crepes, fried potato cakes, all kinds of deliciously unhealthy food!

This is probably one of the things I will really miss.  It definitely made Christmas shopping a whole lot easier this year!  I liked how each city was different, yet also they all had the same types of vendors and the same types of food, just different ways of presenting them.  The whole atmosphere was fun, all the food was great, and it was just a general good time.  Macy's could never top that!

Old versus the New

For my supplemental reading I was assigned The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux. It follows a man across Europe and into Asia. The majority of his setting takes place in train carts, and records who meets and all of the interactions he has. It embodied the idea that the destination was not the goal, it's the journey. Theroux meets many people who have tiny effects on his life, and it is interesting to see those.

When I heard that Theroux came back to take this journey again after long years after I was intrigued. I typically love the new things rather than the old, because it is fresh and clean and usually has a more relatable vibe. It would be interesting to see a newer perspective on his journey, but I always have to remind myself that Classics are world renowned for a reason.