Part 7: Who's Cutting Onions??

Sitting middle row, middle seat, running on 5ish hours of sleep, knees cramping, eyes somewhat open, and LOVING LIFE.

What is it about planes that make my armpits itch?? Is that normal?? Probably not.

Why am I talking about my armpits.

Anyways,

As I sit here, uncomfortably, on yet another airplane as I have done so many countless times this semester, it doesn’t feel like I’m going home. It feels like I’m just going on another weekend adventure to explore a different part of the world, which I guess is true to an extent since I’m not flying directly home. However, reality will hit in approximately 5 hours and 31 minutes when I exit the Houston airport to find that I cannot tram back to my incredibly below average dorm twin bed. Sounds luxurious, doesn’t it?

Let’s hope I still remember how to drive!! That’s actually something I’ve really missed these last 4 months, but I already know once I get even a sliver of road rage, I’ll be wishing I was back in Prague riding the tram.

I’ve been thinking about this last blog post for a long time (I’ve been home for almost 2.5 weeks and have only gotten this far ha ha :,) ). But really, how do you put an experience like this into words? Everyone keeps asking me, “So, did you learn anything?”, and I don’t even know what to say other than, “Yes, that was the best four months of my life”. Because honestly, I’m still trying to process everything I’ve experienced, and I’m not sure that I even realize certain things living abroad has taught me. It kind of doesn’t feel real in a way, like did I really just travel around Europe for the last 4 months?? It sounds silly when I say it out loud, but I don’t know, it’s just a weird feeling being home. However, now that I’ve had some time to reflect and come to terms with being back in Kansas, I think I’m going to be… ok?

If traveling taught me anything, it’s that my new life motto is: I will freaking figure it out. Don’t know if you’re on the right tram? You’ll figure it out. Missed your bus back to Prague and now your homeless for 15+ hours? You’ll figure it out. Don’t know what your doing with your life and have a continuous growing pile of debt? Guess what!

YOU’LL FIGURE IT OUT.

My parents asked me how I knew we were on the right train to get to our brewery tour in Pilsen (1.5 hours from Prague), I was like, “Um honestly, I don’t, but it’s alright, we’ll figure it out”. While they gave me a very unsettled “why did we put you in charge” kind of look, it made me realize that there’s a weird sort of beauty in the unknown. And maybe I’m just young and naïve, but I find it kind of fun being lost or not knowing exactly how I’m going to get where I’m going. I mean, I’m not saying you should get on a random train and hope it’s going the right way. Obviously make some sort of preplanning efforts, but the universe has a funny way of guiding you exactly where you’re supposed to go. You never know what kind of adventure awaits, ya know?

Aside from the care free vibe I’ve caught on to, I’ve also learned that while traveling is full of jaw dropping views, late nights that turn into early mornings, and incredibly detailed architectural designs that you know nothing about but look really important, it all comes at a cost. Because while I’ve been on vacation time, everyone else in my life has been on US time, which is quite literally night and day. So, it was really difficult to stay in touch with everyone, which is an obstacle that never really occurred to me before moving abroad. I feel like the only time I got to talk to my parents before they visited was on their way to work at 7am their time, 2pm my time, and that was depending on if I had class or not. Part of me feels a sense of guilt and selfishness that maybe I didn’t give enough attention or put enough effort into the relationships I hold closest. However, it’s sometimes challenging for me to differentiate the amount of selfishness involved with both putting myself and/or my relationships first.

But, regardless

I have an immense amount of gratitude for every experience, friendship, emotion, obstacle, hangover, and so much more that this opportunity has bestowed me.

Actually, being away for so long made me realize a few things that I didn’t even know I missed. The first one being, probably the closest thing I had to reverse culture shock, I can actually understand what everyone around me is saying! After several double takes to make sure I was hearing correctly, sure enough, it was the beautiful sound of English.

So, if you catch me eavesdropping, mind your business.

Shortly after that, a random stranger smiled AND held the door open for me. I was like, “oh yeah, this is normal”. Crazy what living in a different country does to you.

Culture is weird.

To wrap up my attempt to describe this whirlwind of a semester, it’s safe to say that Prague left an everlasting impression on my heart and my liver, and I can’t wait for the day I reunite with all my tram 9 people (you know who you are) in my favorite city.

Na zdravi, Praha.

<3

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