All posts tagged: europe

| just call the germans & tell them a lie |

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The title of this post may lead you to believe I want to write about god knows what — however, this post is about music. And no, I have nothing against Germans. Being surrounded by music is something that I’ll always look for in my life. I can’t imagine my life without it. Even though I play around with the guitar a little bit, it’ll never be like hearing truly talented musicians play. I was lucky to have grown up in a home that always had music on the radio, a CD playing, or melodies pouring from my brothers bedroom from one of the few instruments he plays. Then when I went to college I surrounded myself with talented friends who could play the guitar, sing, and simply had a love of performing. And now again, my life here in San Sebastian, I have found myself in the midst of artists from around Europe. I couldn’t imagine spending my Sunday evening any other way – glasses of wine, freshly baked cookies, and good friends sitting around and making …

| WHAT’S BRAVE TO YOU? |

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We sat  in a bar during ‘las navidades’ sipping on glasses of red wine and nibbling on a selection of pintxos as we talked about being away from our families over the holidays to the meaning of the word brave. Julie is one of the few American woman I’ve met here in San Sebastian and we are kindred souls, despite the 35 year age difference. She’s adventurous and, as some would say, brave. To us, this is a silly word, but we hear it often. She recently dropped her life in the United States to move to San Sebastian and better her Spanish. Even though she doesn’t plan on staying here as long as I do, I did the same exact thing just a few months ago. Many friends back home and many new friends here have told us the same thing: you’re brave for packing your bags and taking off. We’re always humbled when people compliment us on our decision to move, travel, and leave our own country, however, we would never consider ourselves brave. Adventurous, yes. Free-spirited, maybe. But brave? We don’t feel …

| the beauty of couch surfing |

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When I say that I use CouchSurfing [CSing] to meet new people when I travel or while living in my own city, I get mixed reactions from isn’t that really dangerous? to wickedddd. When I first heard the idea of CSing it seemed a bit odd to let a stranger into your home, possibly give them keys and trust them openly with your things. But then I realized that’s essentially what you do with moving into a shared apartment with strangers – except you live there a bit longer than a few days. I started little by little with CSing and decided to make a profile. I went to visit a friend of a friend in London and we made references for each other and so it began. She was the first one of my friends to actually use it for real while traveling through Spain, and little by little I started to become more involved and more open minded about the idea. Since then I’ve travelled through nine different countries using CSing to meet locals …

“A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are built for.”

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“A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are built for.” -John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic, 1928. This will be my inspiration for my new adventures in Donostia-San Sebastian. I have to keep reminding myself that without big risks, there will never be big rewards. I’ve taken on something that most people might decide not to do. I’ve jumped into a new life with no idea of what’s going to happen in the future. But I guess that’s half the fun of it.

| I’ll MISS THIS |

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Driving to Augusta this morning with the country radio station revving me up for an all day conference I needed to be awake for – it hit me: I only have two weeks left in this country for a long time. I only have two weeks left driving my truck, listening to country music on the radio, and living with my parents. Some things I’ll miss more than others, some will just become fond memories. I’ve realized these are some of the things I’ll miss the most from the USA: My family My friends Snuggling with Lily Driving the yota a.k.a. my toyota tacoma Blasting country music and driving down back roads The way the leaves change & the smells of fall in Maine Not having to pay rent (or the heating bill, the electricity, etc.) Relatively cheap peanut butter – but let’s be honest, I’ll probably still buy it in Spain I’m sure as time goes by once I’m in Spain I’ll realize more things that I miss about this country. But I can’t dwell on …

| THE WORLD KEEPS TURNING |

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I made it to Madrid in one piece, but slightly delusional. The one thing I didn’t prepare myself mentally for was the jet-lag. I had never traveled far enough for it to every have an effect on my body. Here I am, two two hour naps later, and I’m up at 3:50 AM . . . whoops! Before jetting off I said my farewells to my parents and Rodrigo (our Chilean exchange student). We parted ways and I made it through security where I met Ryan at Terminal E5 in anticipation of our adventures to begin! The first stretch of our flight took us from Boston to Dublin – a five and a half hour flight. Ryan and I took our seats; he was solo in the four-across row and I had two others sharing my row. Of course, I moved to join Ryan – I wasn’t going to let him enjoy his four seats all to himself. Aer Lingus blessed us with a large selection of movies, games & tv shows to choose from …

| IF THERE’S A BOOK OF JUBILATION’S |

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It’s been awhile since I’ve put my adventures into writing. Although I’ve jumped into a routine of working 40 hours per week, dinner dates Monday and Wednesday’s, and going to the gym, I still manage to explore new parts of my city every week. I have also bought a new DSLR camera that I have been learning how to use. It’s been a great way to capture my new city the way I see it. Although there are moments of nostalgia and missing the coastal life – I have grown to like Madrid a lot in these past couple months. It’s simply a different way of life: from hearing a man playing the accordion on our street corner, buying churrors from a street vendor to buying my fruit and veggies from a fruteria. However, my newest venture living in a big city: taking the metro to and from work (which still remains an interesting part of my day). Whether I am able to embrace the 40 minute journey by taking a nap, or simply sit, …

| MOVE LIKE YOU GONNA DIE |

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My oh my. Bull fights. I knew what to expect before I even decided to go to the bull fight, but for some reason I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to watch. I knew before I entered Las Ventas that the object of the fight was to kill the bull. I knew there was going to be blood. I knew I was going to watch this creature die. But I didn’t realize it was going to make me feel so sick. While making the bull angry by waving a flag in it’s face, the men run around in sparkling tights with giants spears trying to poke the bull – bringing it closer to its death. The blood that dripped down the side of the bull wasn’t gruesome to see since I was so high in the stands. But because I knew that the darker patches on the bulls back – now decorated with spears – was blood, it made me feel pity for the bull and I started hoping the man would get …

| Ill DISAPPEAR IN SOME FLAMENCO, MAYBE Ill REACH THE OTHER SIDE |

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It´s been awhile since I´ve written about my adventures and I think it´s about time I reflect on everything that has happened in these past few weeks. In the few months we´ve been dating, Ryan and I have shared quite a few holidays together (yes, I´m including our birthday´s as holidays) … Even though I´ve never been one to care too much about Valentine´s Day, it is always a fantastic feeling when you´re surprised with candy and flowers. The combiniation is simply perfect — especially coming from someone you´re crazy about. Only three days later, we were celebrating Ryan´s 26th birthday. I don´t want to gloat, but I think I did a pretty good job with my gifts. Since the beginning of our time in Spain Ryan has mentioned, on more than one occasion, his interest in seeing a live flamenco performance. However, we had never gotten around to going to see a show. So, that´s what I bought — 2 tickets to see a show at a famous flamenco bar here in the center …

| THE HILLS FILL MY HEART WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC |

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I love trains. I love the mumbling of a foreign language. I love the soothing motion of rocking back and forth on the tracks. I love passing landscapes of small towns and big cities that I may never ever see again except in that one. fleeting. moment. Its a feeling I can’t quite put into words, but somehow it engulfs me and puts a pressure in my chest as if I’m about to cry. But it’s happiness. It’s pure bliss of the moment. Traveling across Austria this afternoon I’d never felt a greater happiness even though I’m alone in this country. Time on the train has given me the opportunity to let my mind wander and allow me to really think about what I want out of traveling, life, the people I love and care about. It made me appreciate everything I have and look forward to everything to come in the future. As these thoughts passed through my mind, so did small glimpses of Austrian life. I saw children pulling sleds up hills, mothers …