For the past ten weeks, I've been travelling Europe with a group of twenty students from my university. The trip has had it's ups and downs, but every moment has been amazing for me. Suddenly it's coming to an end. Last night was our last night together as a group, and today is our first day of independent travel for two weeks.
This morning, I took a pretty big blow. I'm in Germany flying out of Frankfurt to Barcelona, Spain. I booked my flight to Barcelona at a different airport, and I came to the wrong one and didn't have a way to get to the airport I had to be at to make my flight in time. So, I had no choice but to book a last minute flight to Barcelona at the airport I accidentally went to. I lost about $250 on the whole deal. I'm feeling pretty crappy about that, and I thought that writing about it may help. Instead of going straight to Barcelona, I have a layover in Brussels, Belgium. I'm nervous about that given all that's been happening in Belgium.
I started thinking more about this whole situation as I was sitting in the airport feeling slightly sorry for myself. What will it matter in the long run? Two hundred dollars is just a drop in the bucket. I've learned a lesson from this experience, so will that help me in the future to not make the same mistake twice?
A lot of this trip is just going with the flow. If you miss a train, you bite your tongue and wait for the next one. If you miss a bus, you figure out when the next one comes by or you suck it up and walk. Now, if you screw up flights like me, you just do what you have to do to get to your destination. Sometimes, that involves spending more money than you'd like.
But again, what will two hundred dollars matter in the long run? I'm going to freaking Barcelona for two weeks! It sucks I couldn't make my cheap flight at the other airport, but at least I'll have a story to tell my kids and grandkids someday, and maybe they'll learn from my mistakes. Every time I make a mistake on this trip, I try to think of it that way. If I do it wrong this time, maybe my kids will learn from that and not make a similar mistake.
So maybe all of the mishaps I've had on this trip are a good thing. My wallet has come to hate me, but maybe one day I'll be able to look back on this and learn from it myself, or teach someone else what they should or shouldn't do. It's hard at the moment, and I almost went into the bathroom to cry a little (I didn't, but I almost did), but sometimes making mistakes can be much more valuable than getting from point A to point B flawlessly. I hope that this won't just be a bad memory.
I'm going to be in Barcelona alone for 6 days before five of my friends come to meet me. I've been alone before on this trip when I went to Norway a few weeks ago, so I know how to do ok by myself. I'm just more worried about being lonely. We had three days of independent travel between each city, and I always found myself so excited to see the rest of my group in the new city. Now, I have to go 13 days without seeing all of them, and when I do see them, it'll be at the airport to go home. I've never felt so connected and close with a group of people before in my life. Growing up, I was so painfully shy that I am pretty sure I had social anxiety. Now, I'm friends with everyone on this trip and they all say I'm the most positive person here. Our assistant group leader told me last night that I was the glue that kept the group together with my positivity when things got tense. I love that I can go up to any person in the group and have an easy going conversation without feeling awkward and uncomfortable, like I did when I was younger. Just a few days ago, me and one of the guys were walking down the street singing random songs, me and my best friend on the trip played leap frog across the road, and I went to a nude spa with five other girls. I've gone so far out of my comfort zone that what used to be uncomfortable for me is now comfortable. I went from being quiet and reserved to outgoing, always smiling, and positive. This trip has shaped me into the person I've always wanted to be, and I feel like my life truly began on this trip. I don't want this to end, but I'm excited to go home and live my life as a better person.
And I need to go home to work and make money. Europe is not cheap.
Until next time :)
