the world as i know it.

66 days, 8 countries, and 3 continents..in one summer. that’s pretty darn good. i think it’s safe to say that i’ve learned a lot about the world..and myself to say the least. this was the best experience of my entire life and i wouldn’t trade any of the memories from summer 2010 for the world. i have a serious disease now..they call it the travel bug. some would call this the end of a great experience..but i call it the beginning. this just makes me want to see so much more of the world. i don’t know if i’ll be able to stay in any place for an extended amount of time now. i just want to wander the world and use it as my playground. why is the united states so boring? there’s so much more to the world than this bubble that we live in. above all, if i’ve learned anything, it’s that i believe i can live pretty much anywhere and get along with everyone and make due with whatever you’re dealt. i spent hours with people that didn’t speak a word of english and still had a great time..and that’s just the beginning…

so i was thinking..and these are a few things i’ve learned from this whole experience

1. people are generally good - although we may be completely different and live totally different lifestyles..we all generally have the same goal. just trying to get by. contrary to my prior belief..not everyone in the world is out to rape, stab, rob you, etc. they’re more like you than you think they are. we wandered the dark alleys of Istanbul at night and we’re still alive to tell about it..that’s got to mean something.

2. the media isn’t always your best reference - if we all listened to what the media had to say about the world, i would never leave my house. they make it out to seem like an awful place. i was in Greece during some of these so-called riots and yeah it was scary, but they make it seem much more dramatic on television than it really is.

3. the world is boring and amazingly interesting at the same time - locals go about living their lives and you just visit and observe what they do on a day to day basis. if there isn’t some sort of tragedy happening then the world just goes on..

4. not everyone hates Americans - sure, we got some pretty evil looks from people in Naples and people made fun of us, but in reality, most foreigners are fascinated by Americans and want to learn more about us. Maybe we were Spice Girls to them, but they still wanted to know our opinion on Obama and the world and just thought we were the coolest new toy they had ever purchased

5. Americans aren’t as stupid as everyone thinks - some people make the rest of us look bad on television, but for the most part Americans can hold their ground in other countries. no one died. only a few people did really stupid things. I think we were pretty successful. I think that a lot of people believe Americans aren’t very bright because they don’t know much about other countries, while everyone else seems to know everything about America. I don’t know who the Prime Minister of Japan is, but the good news is, I’m willing to learn and I think most Americans feel the same exact way

6. not very many Americans travel - compared to the rest of the world at least. when we were in Ios, we may have been the only Americans on the entire island. It’s really a bummer because there’s so much out there to see and this may be one stereotype that is actually true

7. the rest of the world is not full of germs - so it’s not really that safe to drink water in Africa and whatnot, but other than that..we ate alllll the delicious food and didn’t get toooo sick. I’m proud to say I’m the only one of my friends that didn’t get TD hahah. I was a rebel..I got ice in my Starbucks and still ate all kinds of fruit and what do you know, I’m still alive

8. you don’t need too much stuff - it’s amazing how much stuff you can fit in 2 suitcases for 3 months. granted you have to be an outfit repeater which totally sucks, but other than that..you can take a little backpack all around Italy for a week and be completely content

9. traveling doesn’t have to be all that expensive - meet the right people, don’t stay in 5 star hotels, and you’re golden. transportation kills you, but other than that..if you just do the simple things in life and don’t fret about the best of the best, you end up having a better experience anyways.

10. culture is a big deal - the way people live is so different in every single country, yet they still all strive for the same goal - to make money to support their families. the way people interact is especially different, and you really see culture shine through by just sitting on a park bench and people watching. it’s extraordinary.

11. everyone is so proud of where they are from - i learned this real quick by being in Barcelona during the World Cup game with Spain. It was hard to find someone that wasn’t wearing some sort of Spain paraphernalia. Every single bar was jam packed with people that were so excited about the same thing. It was awesome. Also, I don’t know if I just don’t notice this here in America because it’s so normal to me, but every single country had a ridiculous amount of flags displayed anywhere and everywhere. They had so much pride and spirit for their country..it was incredible. I got to give Americans a pat on the back though..when we were in Spain during the US vs Ghana World Cup game, I’ve never seen so much American pride in one little bar. It was so neat to be in such a foreign place and still see people singing America songs while wrapped in American flags..made me proud :)

12. you can find internet pretty much anywhere - sitting in nargile cafes in Istanbul, our little riad in Morocco, McDonalds in pretty much every country..it was never hard to find a place to do a quick catch up on the internet. Even when I was walking through the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and main street of Dubrovnik, there was free public wifi. I never would have guessed.

14. the problems we think we have in America are nothing compared to the problems in developing countries - don’t even get me started on the corruption of the government in Egypt. It’s sickening to think about. We fight over taxes and health care..there’s no such thing in Egypt. Well there are taxes..about 25% to be exact and it all goes to the KING. who could even imagine living in a country that was ruled by a king?! it’s crazy to even think about.

15. English is universal - every single place we went..we found people that spoke good amounts of English. Do we speak Spanish? (kind of) Croatian? Greek? Arabic? Berber? Never in a million years. It’s really sad how everyone can speak our language but no one even puts in the effort to learn to speak theirs.

16. modernization and westernization are completely different - just because other countries have electricity and running water does not make them “Western”. It just makes them functioning. Places like Hong Kong and Japan have these things and I would never call them Western..they are clearly Asian. There’s a difference.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST…

17. EVERYONE should travel the world - there’s no better way to learn about the world (and yourself) than to see it firsthand. i believe that the only way to fully understand how the world works is to leave your own country and explore. better yet, leave with no plans..showing up in a country with no accommodations is way more fun. You might even end up staying at Popi’s Place in Ios (not really recommended). but for real, I can’t stress enough how important it is to do something like this at least once in your life. This was the best summer EVER and I don’t regret a single thing. I wish it could have gone on forever and if I was offered a chance to do it again..I wouldn’t even think twice.