10 days to 24.

Ten days shy of my 24th birthday, and I write to you from the island of Naoshima, where I’ll be staying for a couple of days. For a town with a population of less than 4,000 people, and one traffic light, you could say that I’ve had some downtime. That’s not to say that there’s not much to do on Naoshima (because for an island, there’s plenty), but I’ve just decided to really pace myself with my visit about here.

This island has the perfect setting to reflect in. Seaside, by the pier, with the company of a refreshing breeze, the occasional ship, open-air sculptures, and just all around stunning coastal views… I’ve been so caught up in my travels that it’s really just hit me that it’s already April. It’s so wild for me to think that I left teaching almost exactly three months ago, and have been traveling ever since. This birthday will be so different from past birthdays, most especially based on the fact that I’m far from home, the usual celebrating party, and my favorite cake from Publix.

You know how on your birthday, someone always asks: “do you feel any different? Y’know, being another year older?” I don’t think I’ve ever answered “yes” to this question before. It’s always been a “no, not really.” But as a soon to be 24 year old… things are different. I feel different. Being a world’s away from home for the majority of this past year, I’ve gained and learned so much from the experience that comes with it.

One thing that hasn’t changed is how grateful I am for everything. From being on this island on this perfect day, to being able to spend my 24th birthday in Japan of all places, and to have been on this incredible adventure for the past 8 months… it really warms my heart that I have friends and family who, despite my limited internet/traveling lyfe, take the time to let me know that they’re thinking of me. Come the holidays and now my birthday is when home is missed most.

I’m playing birthday plans by ear this year. If there’s one solid thing I’ve learned since last August, it’s that you really can’t plan everything out, and I’ve become a lot more accepting of that. So here’s to another year of uncertainty, adventure, trying to figure things out, failing, succeeding, old friendships, new friendships, and being back to an even-numbered age again!

Love from Japan ♥

Farewell, Tianjin: What I’ve Learned, What I’ll Miss, and More.

The time has come for me to leave my teaching internship. I can easily remember my first night when I landed in Beijing… and the next morning when I woke up late to orientation due to jet lag. That could have been five mornings ago, and not five months ago. Since I’ve landed in China last August, I’ve picked up on a few things. These include but are not limited to: how to play dice, command a classroom, command a taxi driver in Mandarin, pick a lock, and to be more appreciative of things I took for granted before moving to China.

How to play dice. This is a game I learned to play in Foshan, a town a few hours from Hong Kong, over Golden Week. I reunited with pals from the internship who were placed there. There are lots of variations of dice games in China. It’s a very popular pastime. It’s played everywhere, so be prepared to learn as well! The dice game I was taught involved a lot of fibbing, but all in good fun.
Command a classroom. The main reason I came to China was to gain teaching experience. I’m very grateful for my co-workers, and how helpful and supportive they’ve been from the beginning. Holding the attention of children for a few hours after school and on the weekends can be exhausting. Keeping a mental note of games to play, songs to sing, and having coloring sheets on hand are true lifesavers. I remember being so nervous to teach my first couple of weeks. Public-speaking has never been my forté. But from this experience, I’ve become fairly comfortable presenting in front of group of people… well, a group of children at least. C:
Pick a lock. #wheninchina… that’s all I’m going to say on this one.
Command a cab in Mandarin. Mandarin is the hardest language I’ve ever tried to learn. Not picking up more than I’ve learned is my own fault, for not taking the initiative to teach myself more, and feeling really self-conscious when it came to mingling with the locals (especially when they assume I’m a local as well, and they speak very quickly). But, I am very proud of the fact that if I know where I’m going, I can give directions to a taxi driver.
Be more appreciative of the little things… I’m speaking toilet paper, common courtesy when it comes to lining up, and being able to pass complete strangers with a “hello, good morning!” without getting a strange look. These are things I took for granted when I was home. There is certainly a “China level” of organized chaos I probably won’t experience anywhere else. While I’ve been cut in line more often than I can count, I also no longer question how ruthlessly my taxi driver cuts off other drivers/motorcyclists. When it comes to toilet paper, that is one thing to never be without. I will never take toilet paper for granted again. Or Western styled toilets. Or drinkable tap water. Lastly, I miss and love how easy it is to make small talk in America. Be it that my Mandarin is really basic, or that passerby’s here aren’t always the most approachable people, but a “good morning!” and a smile goes a long way.

As far as the little things go in China, China certainly has it’s own missable charms. It’s here where I’ve slowly built up my tolerance to sesame seeds, spicy food, and the taste of beer. I’ve gained so much experience in Tianjin: as a teacher, student, cat lady (I spent way too much time at this cat café not too far from my work), solo traveler, amateur blogger…

my favorite fat cat.

Five months may feel like five years to some, but it’s been a blur to me. Who will I miss the most? My kids. My students have had an immeasurable impact on me, just considering how much time I’ve spent with them over the past few months. I’ll miss the friends I’ve made: both locals (my coworkers) and expats alike (aka Indie Bar).

I know that I will crave jian-bing, my favorite street food and a Tianjin staple. I will miss living where I can walk everywhere, but also have the convenience of the subway and cheap cab-rides at hand. China is a place where a trip to the supermarket was always an adventure, and it was in Tianjin where I learned to be flexible with my grocery list. Not everything was packaged familiarly, things came in odd flavors, and sometimes I had no choice but to purchase “mystery” snacks… #wheninchina.

As I spend the next three weeks traveling further South around China, I will miss that I was able to plant some roots here for a little bit, even if it did mean living in one of the most heavily polluted cities, and having to fight my way through the subway Saturday mornings for work. But, I am looking forward to refreshing scenery, fresher air, meeting whoever I may cross paths with, eating loads more delicacies and making the most of the rest of my time in China.

Next stop: Shanghai!

Three weeks into teaching… go saints! (And bingo!)

I woke-up late to my first day of orientation in China a month ago (Florida-time). It’s crazy to think that I’m midway through my third week of teaching! These past few weeks have been really busy getting settled into my new teaching center, meeting a ton of new students, remembering and forgetting a ton of new names, and creating a ton of new lesson plans. New, new, new… I came to China to teach, an extraordinarily new direction for me to go in, both professionally, and literally in terms of geography, but I’ve become quite fond of the thrill that comes with being in a foreign place.

A word on my teaching center: I have been referring to it as a “teaching center” as I don’t work at a traditional school. Rather, I work at tutoring facility, similar to Kumon in North America. It’s called MaxEn International, and they have centers all over China (we use workbooks and programs designed by McGraw-Hill, if that educational publisher rings a bell for anyone back home). Classes are either two or three hour sessions, and children attend these classes after-school or on weekends to learn and practice their English.

So while I do work evenings and weekends, the classes are very small, thus manageable (I have never had more than twelve students to a class), and rather than teaching one grade level, after these three weeks I will have covered the spectrum from pre-school to high school aged students (3-14 years old), which I think is terrific experience. Also, if you can’t tell from the photos below, we have a uniform of sorts, so that you can easily spot us teachers in a sea of students. As unflattering as this shade of green is, I’m actually really grateful for this uniform. It saves me a lot of time in the mornings. Also, more importantly, the mascot for MaxEn is a lion: go saints!!!

I’m learning that while I thought I would enjoy teaching a younger group of kids more (2nd grade and below), it’s certainly a lot more difficult than teaching the older kids, who already have a foundation of the English language. The little ones are so adorable, but they just require a lot more attention (and not to mention bathroom breaks). Even trying to explain certain vocabulary words, like “teamwork” and “salty,” in terms they can understand have stumped me a couple of times.

I am pretty exhausted leaving my younger level classes. Since the littlest munchkins have the shortest attention span, I try to keep the students as active as possible with role-play and games. My go-to games are “hot potato” and bingo, depending on the age group. Kids love games, and if you can turn vocabulary review into a game, you’re golden. A typical school day in Tianjin begins at 7AM and ends at 5PM. To follow these hours with another class at 6PM makes for an incredibly long day. Really, it’s just essential to me that the kids have fun while learning.

Lesson planning itself is a lot more basic and simple than I make it out to be sometimes too. I overthink everything, lessons included. The center itself is well equipped with any resources I may need though, aside from the occasional piece of realia, such as fresh fruit. But we have workbooks for each level with vocabulary and phrases depending on the topic of the lesson that I am expected to teach. My lessons are comprised of either Powerpoints or PDFs with some visuals for the vocabulary (which includes photos, videos, realia, etc), worksheets, flashcards, and games, of course. Each lesson comes with an online version complete with a couple of games that we also have access to, so there are plenty of ways to drill the vocabulary and help the kids learn.

Since I’ve started teaching, I’ve dealt with students who are disruptive to the class, students who are unwilling to participate, or who are only speaking Chinese, and students who won’t speak at all. Yes, these situations can, and have been frustrating, but slowly and surely I’m learning the best ways to handle these different scenarios. When it comes down to it, they’re just kids though, y’know? One of the toughest parts is going into a new class and not knowing what level of English the children already know. Did I make my lesson too hard? Too easy? Both have happened a couple times because every class is different. Even students at the same level have different strengths and weaknesses in their English. I’m learning that flexibility is key as a foreign language teacher.

It can be a little disheartening feeling like you haven’t taught students anything in a class, and sometimes I feel that way with the youngest kids. But, I know that with the youngest group of students, the kids are just really small. They’re still learning social skills, fine tuning their motor skills, and it’s hard for them to grasp so much new vocabulary, especially in a second language.

I do always finish class with an older group of kids feeling much more accomplished, and it just feels very rewarding, knowing that my kids are leaving having learned something new. I’m so honored to have this opportunity to be a mentor to these students. They’ve given me something to look forward to each day, and I feel like I have a real sense of purpose here, no matter how much of a class is spent coloring more than anything. I may be the teacher, but I have undoubtedly, and still am, learning just as much as my students. China is one big classroom in itself for me, where around every corner there’s something unfamiliar and refreshing to see, a different dish to try, a new phrase to learn… and for this experience, I just feel really grateful.

Love from Tianjin ♥

China: Week One – Let’s Get Down to Business II

BEIJING SIGHTS – AUGUST 26

While in Beijing, we also had a day of sightseeing organized by LoveTEFL. We began the day climbing the Huanghuacheng section of The Great Wall. The Great Wall was originally built by seven different kingdoms. Each section of the wall is built a little differently according to what materials are available in that area. But, the walls were eventually united by The First Emperor of China. It served as a national defense structure of China, where troops burnt wolf dung during the day and bonfires at night to transfer signals.

It is over 5,000 km long, Definitely give yourself a few hours or maybe even most of your day to dedicate to exploring this world wonder. We only had two hours, and I was not prepared for how difficult it was going to be to climb the wall and climb down within that time span. But the view and the breeze makes the trek all worth it. As our tour guide Kathy said:

“You are not a true man unless you climb the wall.”

The Great Wall was followed by a tour of a cloisonné factory. Seeing the amount of detail that is put into the ceramic work is insane. It’s a very tedious process, and I had always wondered how those pieces were made. A lot of teamwork and patience. And some magic, because it really is incredible.

We visited the Ming Tombs, specifically the tomb of the emperor who moved the capital of China from Nanjing to Beijing. He spent 18 years building his tomb, and as a result, it is the largest tomb in the area. I learned that he had 16 concubines, all of whom commit suicide when the emperor dies by hanging themselves, and their bodies are carried from the Forbidden City to the area of the tomb. Ironically, the tomb itself hasn’t even been opened for preservation purposes, yet it is amazing how many visitors the grounds generates. The area of the tombs are really nice, though. Beautiful architecture, and plenty of shade, seats and trees about.

We quickly passed by Tiananmen Square, named for the “Gate of Heavenly Peace” to the North of the square, which is recognized as the entrance to The Forbidden City. The square is one of the largest public squares in the world and is the home to the National Museum of China, several monuments, and the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao Zedong. Zedong led the reconstruction and renovation of the square in the 50s to it’s present glory of being able to hold over half a million people.

We also saw The National Grand Theatre (also known as “The Giant Egg”) where they hold operas, ballets, and concerts. Very briefly we saw the Bird’s Nest (Beijing National Stadium) and the Water Cube (Beijing National Aquatics Center). Both were built for the 2008 Olympics and will be used again in the 2022 Olympics. It was a relatively busy area, and security was tight. So while it would have been neat to check out the inside of both structures, I understand why security had to keep an eye on the traffic in the area.

We concluded the day with a Chinese acrobatic show. It didn’t tell a story like I was expecting it to, but showcased a variety of acrobatic and stunt acts, from gymnasts, to jugglers, to motorcycle stunt daredevils. My favorite act were the female gymnasts who synchronized a performance on bicycles. For the finale, over a dozen of them managed to balance on one bicycle. Their performance was so graceful and mesmerizing.

I still unreal to me that I’m here in Beijing. The highlight of today was seeing and climbing the Great Wall. I think that was a highlight for all of us, to have been able to visit a Wonder of the World. It really is such an incredible site. It’s been such an amazing day, a nice break from the TEFL training and being cooped up inside for the past couple of days. I’m sad that I’m going to have to leave busy and bustling Beijing so soon, but I am grateful that it is only a half hour journey by train.

Beijing Bound: ONE WEEK

I am excited to share that one week from today, I will be flying into Beijing!!!

————-•••————

The journey to this day, where I can finally share on my blog that I’m actually leaving, hasn’t been without its obstacles. I didn’t receive my Visa until this past Wednesday, which to me, is cutting it a little close. This is the first time I’ve had to acquire a Visa for traveling, so I’m not sure if the timeline is the same if I was to visit a different country for a prolonged period. Anyways, after I had that in hand, I purchased my travel insurance (also a first for me!) and submitted both these documents to LoveTEFL (more on that in a bit), and received this email yesterday:

it's really happening! — djkaljfkh!!!!!!

Lucky for them, I’ve been packed for almost a month now, aside from some toiletries. I’ve learned that the earlier I start packing, the better. I’ve always been a planner. This trip has been in the works for about a year. I committed to going on August 22nd last summer, and August 22nd this year is when I will land in Beijing. Surreal.

Why Beijing, you ask? Well for one, I’ve never been there before. And if you know me, you know that visiting new places is a favorite hobby of mine. Adventure is out there, and I think we need to take it upon ourselves to try new things, meet new people, and explore spaces and places that are foreign to us, especially if you’re young/able/still trying to figure things out. You learn so much about yourself, other people, and other cultures while traveling, not to mention the memories you’ll make! Traveling always puts me in the happiest state of mind.

After Europe last summer, I looked into going abroad almost immediately after returning home. And that was where I learned about the benefits of teaching abroad. I did a lot of research and decided to complete a TEFL course through LoveTEFL. LoveTEFL is a UK based company who provides accredited TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) courses, as well as teaching internships such as the one I am completing, recruitment for permanent placements, and more. I was certified last December, became a US citizen in January, booked my one-way to Beijing in May (because hey, if the stars align, I’d like to spend as much time abroad as possible), finally booked a return flight home a few days ago at a price I couldn’t pass up, and now here I am: one week until I leave for Beijing, and what looks like will be total of ten months being abroad. I’m still organizing my post-China plans, but I will keep ya posted on those as best as I can.

I liked that LoveTEFL offered an internship option, so I can experience what it would be like to teach English abroad without committing to an entire year. Aside from volunteering at my middle school, I don’t have any experience teaching or commanding my own classroom. But that being said, I really enjoyed the teaching course. Lesson-planning came pretty naturally, and the course itself wasn’t hard, but I know that teaching isn’t for everyone. You have to be patient, organized, disciplined, and basically ready for anything. I know I’m in for a few surprises, but I see this all as part of the adventure that awaits.

I have a feeling this week is going to fly by. See you in seven days, Beijing. ♥

My Best Friend’s Wedding: The Maid of Honor Speech

Dear everyone/anyone/whoever stumbles upon this blog,

On the off-chance that you’re a bridesmaid or maid of honor for an upcoming wedding and you’re looking for some inspiration, look no further. Below you will find my incredibly embarrassing-but-for-all-the-right-reasons-speech I presented for my best friend’s wedding last summer.

If my speech eases your burden of one of the most dreaded wedding party duties in some way (maybe you needed a reference, or what’s more likely, reading my speech has made you ten times more confident about yours because you think mine sucks), please do share!

•••

Good evening everyone.*

For those of you who I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet tonight, I’m Jackie, Kim’s right hand lady. And on behalf of the Bride and Groom, thank you all so, so much for coming out to celebrate their special day.

Now, once upon a time, Kim and I both ended up in Ms. Noel’s 9th grade English Class. And in class, you know, we were assigned some really wonderful, classic texts to read. But in our freetime, we liked to enjoy our own books.

One of the series we got into, which you may have heard of, goes by the name of Twilight. I’m sure some of you are familiar with the story, don’t be ashamed! But for those of you who aren’t – it’s a love story between a girl who falls in love with a guy who ends up being a vampire.

And we loved this series to pieces. We memorized quotes, dreamcasted our own characters for the movies, and when the cast of the film was announced, don’t even get me started. We may have gone to every. single. midnight. premiere. It’s safe to say we were obsessed.

We became one with the characters, the plot line, the passionate and forbidden love between Edward and Bella, forever cheering them on. The only time Alex, Kim and I ever played hooky in high school, we ended up at Target where we bought matching Team Cullen T-shirts. Yup, that was thing. It was ridiculous how crazy we were about the characters in a novel. Looking back, it’s downright embarrassing – but I’m proud to say it was all just a phase. As obsessed as we were with this series, we couldn’t help but wonder about our “Edwards.” Kim got so depressed after reading the second book that she died her hair black as an act of mourning!

She was so worried that no one would love her the way Edward loved Bella and she’d end up much like Jane Austen who we learned about when we were assigned to read Pride and Prejudice for class. But as her best friend, I knew she was being silly. She’s beautiful, talented in so many ways, and has one of the biggest hearts out there. All the guys we went to high school with – they just really sucked (no offense to Henrique). They just didn’t stand a chance to our Edward Expectations.

Enter David. You should be really proud of yourself, sir, for sweeping Kim off her feet. But it’s not like you had to try so hard since you’re just so naturally dashing, charming, and most of all, have such heartfelt affection for Kim. You two are truly meant to be.

I only wish you guys the most dazzling future – an eternity of happiness, love, and adventure – strength to overcome whatever hurdles test your relationship, and everlasting joy in each other’s company. I adore you two. Here’s to Kim and David’s Happy Ever After ~

*Disclaimer: I have never been comfortable about public speaking. Of all the duties being a maid of honor requires you to fulfill, I was dreading completing this one the most. The struggle was REAL. But I did it. It happened. I know I talked way too fast because I was so nervous and just wanted to get it over with. And then I burst into tears afterwards. And that was that. So if you’re nervous, from one incredibly anxious public speaker to another: you. can. do. this!!!

POW! is right. Despite my nerves and feels, I think I did a pretty decent job. Anything for this gal. ♥

I’m a very lucky girl.

My parents celebrate 24 wonderful years of marriage today. Congratulations you two crazy kids! This post is for you. It expresses a smidgen of how much you guys inspire, motivate and have taught me about support, teamwork, love, and hard-work. I’m lucky to be your daughter. I adore y’all, so much. ♥

•••

Dearest Mother & Father,

You two have always been my biggest fans. Through every little victory of mine (like, everytime I finish a meal that weighs more than me), and every major milestone (such as graduating from college), you two have been there, and I am so fortunate to constantly have your support. I don’t think I could put into words how grateful I am for both of you. You taught me discipline, the value of a penny, and the importance of having a goal and working towards it. Despite the fact that my sisters and I grew up without having a so-called “allowance,” we were never without anything we needed. You guys always made sure of that.

But it was because I was raised without an allowance that I knew I wanted to be able to earn and pay for things myself without having to go to you guys. You’ve always provided me with anything I could ever need, and you both work so hard. So from my thirteenth birthday and every Christmas for those next few years, I saved money I had been given, giving it to father to put towards what I called “My Retirement Fund. To be thirteen and saving for retirement… yep, I’m definitely y’alls daughter.

You two have always stressed the importance of school from when I was very young. In high school, I became aware of how important grades were for scholarships and getting into college. I’d always been a good student (I like to think), but I made sure to work extra hard in high school, completing the IB program and receiving both my high school and IB diploma come graduation. All that hard work paid off. I got into a beautiful school with a great art program located in the ever-so-lovely St Augustine. Fortunately, I also received a generous amount of financial aid between the school, Bright Futures, and private donors. Again, getting into college and receiving the financial aid I did would have been more difficult to accomplish had I not had you two behind me, cheering me on and encouraging me to put 110% into everything I do.

I worked through college, holding a few different part-time jobs. Like you two, I like to stay busy. While not completely aware as to how student loans worked as a college Freshman, I knew what interest was and that it was not in my favor when it came to student loans. So, I started to pay off a bit of my loans with each paycheck, also budgeting for rent, books, art supplies and other necessities.

I am very proud of the fact that I never asked you guys for money towards school. Although, I knew that if I ever needed some extra funds, you wouldn’t hesitate to send me some. But that just made me want to work even harder to be able to support myself. You guys raised an incredibly independent daughter (arguably a little too independent). Although I have to say that I was always thankful for your visits during my college years when you would bring me groceries. Freshman Year, you told me that if I kept up my grades throughout school, you would pay what was left of my student loans upon graduation as my graduation present. I had forgotten this until you announced it as my graduation party *cue tears* in front of everybody.

Being the kind of driven student and person that you raised me to be, I am proud to say that I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree debt-free. Not too many graduates can say that. Money I would have spent paying off that last chunk of loans I instead put towards my month-long European trip post-graduation (another thing I had been slowly saving for for ages). I would not have had the same great experience on that trip without your support.

Even when it does get tough and you’re living that broke college student life where you’ve been living off nothing but pasta for weeks… we’ve all gone through, or are currently experiencing those tight times. But even when you feel like you’re at your low, things can only go up from there, especially with support behind you. Thank you mother and father, for pushing me to work hard, because hard work really does pay off. I learned that emulating the strong work ethic of both of you. I know better than to let anyone tell me otherwise.

I owe everything to you two for helping me see the silver lining through anything life has or will throw at me. Thank you guys. Love your favorite eldest daughter, Aiko. ♥

The First Fourth

Last December, I was very, very blessed to participated in a beautiful, emotional naturalization ceremony where I became a citizen of the United States of America. Today is my first Fourth of July as an American and I’m really excited about that. Not everyone lives with the same freedoms and rights that we as Americans have, and celebrate. And not just on the Fourth of July, but everyday. Patriotism is such a big part of American culture. And boy, is it everywhere today.

My family and I are staying in Fort Lauderdale this holiday week. Our timeshare is right across from the beach. There are Fourth of July activities on the pool deck and along the beachfront all day, complete with BBQs, a handful of different contests, a DJ, and of course a fireworks show later tonight. And despite the fact it’s a little overcast today, the beach is still busy and bustling.

•••

Even though I’m not much of a beach person, we haven’t gone on a vacation as a family in awhile, and seeing as I don’t know when our next one will be, I rearranged some of my summer plans so I that I could be here. So far, I’ve spent most of my time in our hotel room watching movies, or keeping the balcony door open to listen to the ocean. Beach life can be nice, I have to admit it.

11719876_10153001687007547_579899239_n — A little overcast, but look at all that bluuuuue

I haven’t opened a playlist since we arrived. Between the sounds of the sea, and a DJ spinning tunes out by the pool a few floors below our room all day, we’ve been covered. I imagine that we won’t even have to deal with crowds when fireworks start going off, and instead be able to enjoy them within the comfort of our balcony. I really am in love with our ocean view. I just think it’s easier to appreciate the beach and the ocean when there aren’t so many distractions and a lot less people. So while I spent my morning watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding, half of Brideshead Revisited, and the people on street/beach level below me, I decided to participate in my first ever pie-eating contest this afternoon. I tied for fourth, which I’m pretty proud of, considering I had some preeeetty worthy competitors (two of the guys I went against had the unfair advantage of being superheroes)!

Anyways, I hope everyone is enjoying, and enjoys the rest of their Fourth! I’m really looking forward to the fireworks tonight. We are celebrating the birth of ‘Merica today, after all. Don’t let me down, Ft Lauderdale!!! Stay safe out there, y’all. And if you’re heading back home after this weekend, safe travels.

Baby’s First Trip Abroad

One year ago today, myself and three gal pals embarked on a 30 day trip across the pond. And I’m going to do something I didn’t do when I went abroad… I am going to blog about it. I did however, keep a journal throughout the trip, which re-reading, has allowed me to do some reminiscing about this trip. Most of the details in this post I’m probably going to take directly from my journal. I don’t have the best memory. Writing down things always helps.

To start, I’ll tell you about who I went with: Stephanie, Gabriela and Chelsea. We were all recent graduates and friends from college. Steph and I hadn’t been abroad before. Steph had never even ridden on a plane before this trip. Aside from Gaby, none of us had never been to Europe before. But all four of us were ready to take on these three weeks of fun, fun, fun!

: Steph’s mom took this at the airport. Us U.S. gals, ready to take on Europe!

Now, where did we go? We visited three countries: the UK, Italy, and France in that order. I don’t want this post to be a million miles long, and as there is A LOT to say about this trip, so, I think I might indulge and dedicate a separate post for each city we stayed in. Yes. I think I will do that. It will give me another reason to re-live some great memories. ♥
We spent months planning before we left. And even after all the work that was put into planning, I don’t think we could have been prepared for how overwhelmed we were going to feel after arriving. There was just so much to do and see, and plenty of moments where we were like, “what now?” And boy, did we got lost. A lot. Basically 90% of the time we weren’t exactly sure where we were.

An 8+ hour flight is the longest flight I’ve ever been on. Flying isn’t my favorite form of transportation, but this flight was so incredibly smooth and comfortable. A toothbrush, pillow, and blanket were waiting for each of us in our seats and every passenger had their own personal television with an incredible selection of movies to choose from. I played Her, Labor Day and Winter’s Tale — and I fell asleep halfway through all of them. This is what happens when you’re the sleepiest person on the planet and a flight includes complimentary wine.

Around 5AM, we were served breakfast. I enjoyed traditional English breakfast tea as we were flying over the UK and I remember being over the moon thrilled about that. We landed on schedule, 6:50AM and stepping off the plane you could already feel a temperature difference. We definitely weren’t in Florida anymore and even though we would have been sleeping Florida-time, we were running on excitement once we landed (although that was a little short-lived)… more on London Town, soon!

I still can’t believe we left for Europe a year ago today. Things were so different. I think we returned from Europe as different people, our worldview widened, and our hearts and minds still in travel-mode but also in that “I’ll be home soon and will have dependable WiFi again” mindset. Despite the fact that this trip had it’s stressful moments, we learned a lot about each other as fellow travelers. This trip undoubtedly strengthened the friendship I have with Gaby, Chelsea and Stephanie. And if y’all ever read this, know how I much I love you girls. And miss you. It’s been a few months since I’ve seen any of you (and this needs to change). I couldn’t think of a another group of friends I would have wanted to share this experience with.

Things I’ve Done… Things I Will Do

I think it’s important to reflect on your achievements, however glorious or frivolous they might have been. They might not be the biggest nor most important accomplishments, but when you think about the people you may have shared some of those moments with, what doors those events opened up, and what obstacles you’ve overcome, everyone has something they should be proud of. You are where you are today because you’ve done something, because you’ve had the support of people who care about you, and you’re a human being with goals and their own battles to fight, just like everyone else.

I was the 2nd place winner of the 2006 Imagine Schools State Science Fair. I’m a blood donor. I once out-ate all of my cousins at Cici’s Pizza when I was like, 12. I’ve held a job since I was 16, supporting myself through college. I’ve been a pescatarian since I was 18. I recycle. I make magic happen on the daily for guests at work. I am a college graduate. I was the Maid of Honor in my best friend’s wedding. I planned and saved for a trip abroad to Europe for the longest time and actually made it happen as a post-graduation present to myself last summer…

I’ve got things I have yet to do, goals I’m determined to make. When it comes down to it, aside from my accomplishments, I’m most proud of how good I feel about some big, somewhat nerve-wracking things to come.