Thoughts on Five Months Away

As I head back to Austin for my MBA graduation, I've been giving some thought into what I have learned over the past five months in Europe. I am sure that I will be thinking about this for months to come, but for now I wanted to put some thoughts in writing.

1. Living in Europe: Game On! I might as well start with this as it was the biggest test of all. Joe, who spent nearly two years living abroad in Dublin, told me at the beginning of this adventure that I would walk away with one of two conclusions. First, I would love Europe and want to move there. Second, I would enjoy my time but determine that I never want to move to Europe. Well, this probably is not a shock, but I definitely want to live in Europe. Or at least somewhere that is not the US. It is such a different experience and lifestyle, and I loved it. In the past few years, I've positioned myself to make an international opportunity a real potential, so we will see what happens.

2. Connectivity + Deliberate Communication. I had a cheap cell phone in Spain which I rarely used, and thus relied on an internet connection for everything. If I was going somewhere new, I had to map out a route in advance instead of rely on real-time google maps. I went long periods without email. I haven't sent a text message in five months. But I actually really enjoyed this because I had to be deliberate when I used the internet, thinking out what information I would need before the next period of disconnectivity. Ironically, I feel like my communication improved too. I used my internet time to Facetime with my parents, call Joe, and respond to emails. I stayed off Facebook for the last month, and this made talking with people intentional. I enjoyed using my blog as a mass form of communication. I also liked being disconnected, too. It's so rare to experience that in the US. Somehow I doubt this will continue once I'm back, but I'm glad to know I am capable of disconnecting.

3. Consumerism. I am not really a shopper, as I don't really like to spend money on physical things. However, I realized how much of consumerist lifestyle I was leading in Texas. With no Targets to drop $50+ without realizing it, nor stores with things I felt I needed, nor storage space to bring things home... I basically stopped shopping unless I really needed something. I would love to continue this upon returning. I was totally sufficient for 30 days with just a backpack, so that should be a guide for how much stuff I own.

4. Walking. I got a little obsessed with how many steps and how many miles we clocked every day. (We averaged 9.4/day in case anyone is wondering.) I had no idea I loved walking so much, and I really hope to keep that up back home. Obviously it helps relying on public transportation and not having a car, but I might just be one of those pedometer-obsessed people even when I'm not traveling. I guess I should add how much I enjoyed not driving. It's obviously easier in cities that are made to be accessible via public transport, and I suppose that demonstrates that I would like to live in a city like that.

5. Sam + June. I had no idea I would miss my dogs so much. I totally turned into a crazy dog lady, uttering "ohmygosh! thatdogissocute! puppies!!" at each dog I saw. I can't wait to go kiss June's face!

6. Travel-snobbery. I can't help it, but I have developed a bit of travel-snobbery. By this, I mean that it takes more and more to impress me when I travel. I am probably going to get ostracized for this, but places like Paris or Prague do not impress me anymore. Luckily, I found that I still can go to new places that are ridiculously impressive. (Take Dubrovnik, Pompeii, and Rothenburg for instance.) I think this also means I need to branch out from Europe because I know there is a whole world waiting to take my breath away.

7. FOMO-Guilt, i.e Some things never change. I went through some guilty-feeling times where I felt like I was not making the most of my exchange adventure. I didn't want to start partying at 10:00pm, or go out every night, and because of this I missed getting to know a large number of students at ESADE. However, it's just not my style and I learned to be okay meeting a smaller number of people and living the way I wanted. I kept a quote from Jen in my phone whenever I was veering down the FOMO-guilt path: "I don't feel like I'm missing out if I'm doing something else that makes me happy."

8. Language. I wish I had been able to learn more Spanish while in Spain. I can come up with a ton of excuses, but at the end of the day I just didn't do enough to learn it. My goal is to remedy this during the summer. On a larger scale, I am totally embarrassed that I only know English while most of Europe knows a minimum of two languages. I have a huge sense of regret for not sticking with Spanish in high school and college.

9. Travel Love: Of course I am excited to come home and see people, play with my pups, sleep in my own bed, do laundry whenever I want, and establish routine again. Not living out of a backpack will be nice, no doubt! But the travel bug has permanently implanted itself in me and I already can't stop thinking about where I can travel to next. The above part where I talked about not wanting to spend money on physical things... well I hope to spend all of that saved money on travel for many many years to come.

10. People: I met some pretty damn awesome people. I think it's important to be open to meeting people while on the road, and in many ways I wish I had been more outgoing. (Yes, I said I need to be more outgoing. That actually happened.) I should have worn more "U of Texas" stuff - that's a great conversation starter anywhere in the world.

There aren't really any great breakthroughs in all of this. Perhaps trying to learn Spanish, spend less, walk more, and be deliberate with the Internet. I'm excited to put these into place upon returning. However, I am so glad I am coming out of this experience knowing that living in a different part the world is something I do in fact want to do. (Versus something I say I want to do.) This was such a safe way to figure this out, so I'm excited to see what will happen in the next few years.