Traveling alone through Europe during college as an American was one of the most amazing and life changing experiences of my life.
It was what yanked me firmly out of my US-centric world view and I realized how profound it was on my return trip back seeing all the people in line and being able to so easily spot "obvious Americans" (or at least that's what my brain at that age thought).
I also surprised myself with how confident it made me in myself and socially with some of the random connections I made that led to once in a lifetime adventures like meeting a woman on a bus in Italy, dining with her and her brother+wife at the oldest restaurant in Rome ordering all off menu+house wine, then getting a personal insider tour of Rome by night in their convertible.
Or getting lost in the Vatican, missing a museum tour, then realizing the crowd I was watching was listening to the Pope on his balcony.
Or wandering through the Lanes in Brighton at night with a pint on the street while visiting my college roommate who was doing a semester abroad there.
Or visiting our other roommate who was from Vienna and at home who gave me a guided tour of the mountains and then made me terrified for my life driving down them in a torrential downpour in his tiny smart car.
Or happening to be in Siena during the Palio horse race, completely unplanned.
It wasn't quite as extreme as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but about as close as I've come. It has the potential to change you in ways you cannot expect.
Comments
Traveling alone through Europe during college as an American was one of the most amazing and life changing experiences of my life.
It was what yanked me firmly out of my US-centric world view and I realized how profound it was on my return trip back seeing all the people in line and being able to so easily spot "obvious Americans" (or at least that's what my brain at that age thought).
I also surprised myself with how confident it made me in myself and socially with some of the random connections I made that led to once in a lifetime adventures like meeting a woman on a bus in Italy, dining with her and her brother+wife at the oldest restaurant in Rome ordering all off menu+house wine, then getting a personal insider tour of Rome by night in their convertible.
Or getting lost in the Vatican, missing a museum tour, then realizing the crowd I was watching was listening to the Pope on his balcony.
Or wandering through the Lanes in Brighton at night with a pint on the street while visiting my college roommate who was doing a semester abroad there.
Or visiting our other roommate who was from Vienna and at home who gave me a guided tour of the mountains and then made me terrified for my life driving down them in a torrential downpour in his tiny smart car.
Or happening to be in Siena during the Palio horse race, completely unplanned.
It wasn't quite as extreme as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but about as close as I've come. It has the potential to change you in ways you cannot expect.