A Noteworthy Anniversary

A moment of silence…

B

R

E

A

T

H

E

Thank you for that. I should tell you what that kind pause in your day was for. Well, one might think it is for Pearl Harbor, and probably should be, but actually it is for me. It is the 2 year anniversary of returning back to this country as a new person. I looked the same (besides the way the chocolate and gelato had hit me), I smelled mostly the same (but a little more like hotel shampoo instead of my own), and I definitely was still hilarious. I was new not because I had gone out seeking a change but because I was returning home from 4 months of transformation, exhaustion, learning, laughing, traveling, challenging, bonding, eating, reading, touring, capturing, dancing, listening, questioning, and growing, that some might call Europe Semester. It was the best , and thus deserves a moment of silence.

Specific Gain to Recognize: My desire to learn: I returned back to Westmont a new student. I cared about what I was learning, not just for a good grade but for application, connections, and my own self. I fell in love with learning again. I miss the classroom and the opportunity for knowledge. I know I can go out and find it still but it takes a special self discipline that I will be hopefully practice in the time after college.

Food Most Eaten: Every time our coach stopped, I bought one of these. I had an addiction and I miss this drug of choice.

Most Worn Clothing Item: I bought a black jacket at H&M in Austria (visit number 6 of 42 to this store). I wore it a lot on the trip (even though everyone, male and female, copied me) and still wear it all the time.

Random Tradition I Miss: Every time we went on a coach (which was a lot as it was our main means of travel), particularly if the trip was expected to be 3+ hours, you would just have to choose a "bus buddy". It became this "bus buddy" scheduling friendzy (i.e. “You are sitting with Marleigh on the way to Interlaken. Well then I get her when we drive to Paris.” Or “I really haven’t spent much time with you, Lauren. Want to share life stories while driving to Prague?”) It truly was the most clear indication that you wanted to get to know someone, wanted to spend time with someone or they had really good notes on a test coming up. Particular people had to always sit on the front of the coach due to coach sickness (MB) and some people wandered around talking to everyone (RZ). The rituals and culture of the coach were a much bigger part of the trip than one could imagine. I mean I am sure you can just picture the first day Charley and Hanna sat together, and then did it the very next time as well (a rare occurrence). They are now engaged. One might say the coach spurred it on but we all know it was the infamous club, Tiger Tiger. Sharing ipods, quizzing for tests, memorizing art, singing , sleeping, holding your pee, making the bus driver pull over to go pee, flirting, and did I mention…sleeping? The coach is underestimated in the way that it took part in changing me. I am glad on this 2 year anniversary, I can properly recognize it.

Coldest I remember being: Walking to class in Leiden (The Netherlands) about a mile away and feeling like I was dying. The windmills and bridges were adorable and I thought, “what a great last place to breath.”

Random Place I found myself quite a bit: Stairwells (ahem). When you get used to living in a hotel and realize that the elevator truly is not the fastest mode of getting to breakfast, we got very good at finding stairwells to take down to the lobby.

Number of times I did laundry: 3, maybe 4 times

A Best/ Worst moment: Marleigh. Fancy Group Dinner. Bruges. Challenged to put a lot of food in her mouth at once. Barb (wife of prof) looks over and sees. Anger (Barb)àLaughter(us)à Red Face(Marleigh). Food Comes back out (And the aforementioned cycle repeats). It was truly a beautiful and painful site. I would include the picture but I am on my work computer and I want Marleigh’s friendship to remain intact.

An American Moment: Arriving in Vienna and FREAKING OUT about the T.G.I.F that was not too far from our hotel. We were craving comfort food and fru-fru drinks and so we went there not once, but twice. It tasted damn good.

Something that Lived up to the Hype: The Eiffel Tower. I couldn’t get enough. I took like 100 pictures from every angle. It amazed me.

Something that didn’t live up to the hype: Wienershnitzel . Maybe there isn’t hype around it but if there is, it did not live up to it.

A touching moment: The US Memorial D-day cemetery where our professor read us the address that Bill Clinton gave at the 50th anniversary of D-day. Our professor’s father fought and returned on the anniversary.

I could continue but for now, this is my tribute to the most life changing experience I have had. Maybe next year the list will continue. I hestitated using "most favorite..." or "best..." because that is too diffcult. I miss the ES '07 family.