The new school year is about to start and I've been knee deep in preparation for it. A question I got today, and one I've been consistently getting since I've been back from my summer siesta, is "how did your travels go and what did you enjoy most about them." Well to be quite honest, my travels went okay this summer. However I think what I enjoyed most from this summer and what I continually enjoy every time I travel is learning about myself.
Years ago when I first saw the movie The Nanny Diaries (yes I know what you're thinking, give me a second here...) I heard this great line, "you must immerse yourself in an unfamiliar world in order to truly understand your own" and I really think that traveling has helped me do this in so many ways. Spending about a month in Los Angeles taught me a lot about myself, for one that my love affair with living in a big city needs to end soon. Gasp, yes I know I proclaim my love for NYC, all the time and trust me I do love this place however the constant noise, commotion, barriers it puts on my daily life (grocery shopping, laundry, traffic, etc.) is getting tiresome. So being in LA really magnified all of that. Also driving everywhere in Los Angeles really made me hate driving! Towards the end of my stay in LA I would beg friends to pick me up or only make plans very locally so I wouldn't have to drive; and dear god the anxiety that driving in so much traffic for hours was not fun. at. all. Being in such a big city just made me crave simplicity and nature.
So as I was having this discussion with a colleague at my new school (which I L-O-V-E), he shared with me some things he learned about himself while traveling through Portland and SF, I thought to myself gosh this is what education is all about, being able to adopt things you learn and make your life better.
Well I wanted to round up some of the things I've learned and things I've about myself on some of my travels very quickly, and they are:
* Paris: Spend more time outside, I love creme brulee, talk with strangers, flaneur, love openly.
* Rome: I need to know more about Italian/world history, guys and girls can be friends, I love gelato, I am fearless, everything can become new again, be open to love again.
* San Francisco: The Castro must only be enjoyed with friends, don't be so judgmental, I love gardens, I hate dive bars.
* St. Paul, Minnesota: I love Minnesotans, I love Minnesotan's accents, canoeing= soul soother=anxiety curber (that's not really a word I know)= heaven, I must live closer to nature.
*London: Learn to let go, embrace being a newbie, I love British fashion x10, I love fish n' chips, always have the courage to stand up for myself - always, things are better shared.
*Mexico: Be nicer, note to self staying with grandma equals major anxiety, I need to learn more about my culture, I love french fries with sour cream, I love 6a.m. mornings with my grandpa, try to be more understanding, be silly.
+ some pictures from my travels over the years...
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| Nope, no I don't like escargot. |
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| I want to live in the Versailles gardens, forget the mansion, I'll take the clubhouse! |
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| We can all take selfies together! |
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| Singing Spice Girl's "2 Become 1" on the train is totalllly okay. |
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| This didn't hurt at all. |
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| My gals. |
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| Mexico has great grass to lay on. |
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| "Ohhh take a picture of me with the flowers!" I want to come back as a butterfly in my next life or a bee, a bee would be cool. |
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| Cielo. |
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| I love family gatherings because my cousins and I do things like this. |
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| Just too funny (read the title of the book) |
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| I hate carrots. |
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| Thank you lovely CA man for helping me down the pyramid as I sobbed, there are some good people out there, good people I tell you #FearOfHeights |
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| My cousins and I at the top of the pyramid! |
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| Yes, yes I feel the same way David. |
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| I mean what else do people do on a trip to the Roman baths...ohhh look at the Roman baths?! |
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| Aimee!!!!!! |
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