Redux

This was my old travel blog. I began with the good intentions of chronicling my first ever transatlantic trip abroad to friends and family back in California, but quickly abandoned my efforts once my time abroad turned sour and I publicly expressed my feelings of isolation. At the time, I was having trouble bonding with the other Americans in my study abroad program. I never really cultivated the close friendships that others did, which consequently left me on the outside of many group dynamics. So, on a particularly miserably and rainy day, I decided to blog about it. It is the last, and most recent post. I stopped blogging thereafter, too ashamed to draw anymore attention to what I had written.

Unfortunately, this means that I also had neglected to document what followed March 5, 2011. Admittedly things initially worsened. Shortly thereafter, I ended my four year relationship. I had cut away someone that I had known since I was fourteen years old, and while I had chosen to do so, I didn't quite know how to deal with the consequences.

But there came a turning point. In late March, I flew to Amsterdam and put my trust in a complete stranger. We had met in a hostel in Paris, and had only really spent one day together, but he had offered his couch if I ever chose to visit. So I took his offer. 

The hostel group in Paris. A fine bunch of people. My Dutch host is on the left. 

To be fair, two other girls from the hostel couch-surfed at his apartment before I did, and they were clearly not murdered. Nevertheless, I was travelling alone and staying in the home of some guy I only kind of knew. And it turned out to be one of my fondest travel memories!

Amsterdam

I got to see the city as more than just "coffee shops" and prostitutes. It helped that my host and I shared a love of good food, good beer, and cappuccinos. The trip was more low-key than others, as I didn't really have a set itinerary and mostly went along for the ride. Overall, it felt more like hanging out with someone than travelling. After spending months of living in someone else's house in a foreign country, you begin to miss just casually spending a laid-back evening with someone. Moreover, the whole trip restored my faith in humanity (pardon the drama). Some people can be pretty awesome.

That trip also taught me a lesson in being alone. I met my Dutch host (and some other equally great people) after my original Parisian travel group more or less abandoned me. I got to experience a local's view of Amsterdam because I went ahead bought a plane ticket without anyone to accompany me. Being alone forced me to reach out and accept new people and experiences.

I had just met everyone that morning

I started going to intercambios for this reason. I didn't want to spend my days in Madrid sitting in my room. So I went out, and forced myself to meet people. For those unfamiliar, an intercambio is a language-exchange--usually held in a bar--where people get together and try to practice speaking their desired language. Many Spaniards go there to practice their English with expats, who in turn try and improve their Spanish. The experience helped me to improve my language skills, and introduced me to some people I would not have otherwise met.

This is actually from my trip BACK in January. This is what happens when you leave your comfort zone. You make friends in foreign countries.

As cliché as it may sound, the experience changed my life. I boarded my plane to the United States in May 2011 with the clear intention of returning to Madrid. A year has passed; since then I've traveled up and down the state of California, rung in the new year in Madrid, been hired AND fired from a new job, trained for a 5k (after being a self-proclaimed non-runner), and said goodbye to two childhood pets. Nevertheless, I've maintained an unwavering devotion to finding my way back to Spain. As of last Tuesday, I have officially been accepted as a North American Language and Culture Assistant in the communidad de Madrid.

Now begins Part II of the adventure. Here we go again. 

Madrid, here I come!