March 22, 2014

It's Over, Facebook

It's been real.

As real as an internet connection can possibly be.

But I'm ready to move on.

I've felt this way for a while now. Like for over two years.

I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. But couldn't you tell I was distancing myself from you?

I don't like how much you've changed. Yes - YOU are the one who has changed, not me. I miss our early days together, when you didn't try to sell me stuff and gossip about everyone.

You always pry into my personal life, and you'll never be satisfied until you know every little detail about who I am, who I want to be, who I want everyone to think I am, and every way to contact me in the history of mankind. Anything I have told you, you've told the entire planet. Thanks for your discretion.

Guess what. I don't want you to always know where I am.

Don't give me the, "If you leave me, you won't have anymore friends," line.

And the, "But they won't know how to get a hold of you without me!"

Right. As if Gmail, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube accounts aren't enough. As if I don't have a real life husband, sister, mother, or father who can get to me at a moment's notice. As if my blog doesn't keep my family and friends "in the know" about what's happening in my life. Even a Google search can find a way to contact me.

In fact, the only reason you've lasted this long is because of my blog. I thought it needed you. Turns out, it does just fine without you.

Be honest with yourself; you knew this day would come. After getting rid of my cell phone, it was only a matter of time before you would be next. Your "Wall" has been disabled for years. The "Only Me" privacy setting is my favorite button. That and the "Unfollow" click.

Really, you're better off without me. You have a large majority of the earth's population to keep you busy, and they actually like you. After a few hours, you probably won't even remember my name.

I'm more than okay with that. Please forget me as soon as you can.

You're probably thinking I won't be able to do it. Sure, I can be clean for a week, maybe two, but eventually I'll just come crawling right back to you, begging to be let back into your world.

Even after ten years together, you still don't know me at all. I'm That Girl Without a Phone. I definitely don't need you to be happy.

Losing you is gaining freedom. Freedom to choose who I listen to, whose photos I see, and who will talk with me. But most of all: it is the freedom from the time I have spent with you.

It used to be said that after you break up with someone, you find out who your real friends are.

These days, you find out who your real friends are when you delete your Facebook account.

Goodbye, Facebook.

Hello, Real People.

Continue »

March 8, 2014

Have ONE Bag, Will Travel

Like I said before, the fact that this vacation was the consolation trip in exchange for Iberian Insanity...means that my life is pretty dang cool. I'm just happy to be here, there, and everywhere!

Roman ruins in Lyon.
Aside from my entirely free trip to Hawaii back in 2011, this cheapest two week trip of my life shook down like this:

New foods eaten: 8
Cities explored: 10
Nationalities met: 11
Trains ridden: 18
Money spent: 500 euros

Love me some Lyon Eiffel.
A full fifteen nights for around $700. And about half of my expenses were spent on Marc's and my 3 days in Lyon, just for the hotel, food, and transport.

Where's the difference? Five nights with a friend, five nights at a volunteer program, and only three nights at a budget hotel. I could have made it even cheaper by carpooling (see link below) and buying groceries.
Glad to have a book & water bag!
I took a medium-sized rolling backpack and a cloth shopping sack (Lindsay, I took the one you gave us bridesmaids! Thank you!) for luggage. I felt like I packed way too much this trip, just the same, because I had to cover my bases for winter weather, volleyball/working out, hotel hang out clothes, and one dressier outfit. This meant: FOUR pairs of shoes!?!?! This is a cardinal sin in my packing book, where 2 pairs of shoes are correct, and 3 pairs is living on the wild side. I took my long-dead tennis shoes and dying snow boots, worked them one last time, then tossed them before traveling onward. My Toms and flip-flops got me back to Paris just fine, especially in the pleasant sunshine.

But what if we want to swim good?
Which brings us to the next point: the weather was INCREDIBLE. Germany? In February? No chance for happiness! But this year was THE year to be there, as even the worst days of weather brought minimal showers and stayed in the 40s. It snowed overnight when I was up 3,000 feet in the Black Forest, but that was expected. I am very happy that I was able to experience these places with weather that was more akin to October or April. It was the best possible way to spend this February vacation!

So I didn't spend very much money, I packed light, and the weather was phenomenal. On top of this excellent foundation, the wide range of adventures and people this trip brought to my life was awesome! My Ba-Wu blog was so much fun to write because every paragraph was an entirely new and very different topic. Even more fun were the actual moments of jumping out of my comfort zone over and over again. Like, what the heck was I doing, playing 2-on-2 soccer during my free time?! My travel notebook will forever remind me of those wonderfully paradoxical experiences.

A beautiful day over Lyon!
This is how I am able to travel. I'm not rich, but I am smart. Maybe that means, someday, I will be rich? Either way, until then, I'll enjoy playing the in-the-know hobo, and gratefully soaking in all that this planet has to offer.

Here are the websites I used/have used/just learned about and will use in the future...

I always find the cheapest flights on... kayak.com. I don't always buy them on that website, but that's my starting point, and I compare from there.

Vieux Lyon, from the river SaƓne.
For transportation in France, and around Europe...
French Trains
ID Bus
Eurolines Buses
blablacar.com 

For hotels, hostels, or sleepovers...
AirBnB
EuroCheapo
The Hospitality Club
Couchsurfing

The sweet language volunteer program...
Diverbo


For more on my #strasbawulyontrip...
My Sunniest Strasbourg
Down in the Ba-Wu
Say What You Want To Say...In English

Continue »

March 3, 2014

Say What You Want To Say...In English

I love Europeans.

Yes, I love my fellow Americans - of course. But European strangers are so much more interesting (read: way cooler conversations) than American strangers!

I could rattle on and on about all of the funny moments, little victories, and great laughs that were had during my week with Diverbo at Englischhausen. But we are all familiar with the excitement and fun that a camp culture creates, so you know these stories already - take a moment to smile back on those memories as often as possible.

American Crazies: Courtney and I instant-friended.
I don't know how the magic happens when people cluster for a week and bond instantly, but it definitely does happen, and these camp friendships can sometimes last a lifetime (we can remember a certain husband who is proof of that). Personally, I think it's the skits.

So I'm not going to tell you about MY week of being an English teacher and supporter, explaining the term "swag" to Germans, and hiking trails in the Black Forest. You are more than welcome to ask me later how the time passed, and my stories will be ready.

We're going for a walk-hike! It's sunny, but this Californian is COLD!
You need to know about this program, and you need to do it for yourself.

America, despite the "we-are-so-progressive" propaganda of our media, lacks some serious cultural awareness. It's not really our fault; as Americans, we are taught to adopt others into our own culture - not to adopt the culture of others. Why waste time taking extra years of language courses, if everyone who wants to live in America has to learn English eventually? We simply equate "culture" with country-specific foods 99% of the time. This is what we know.

But the national cuisine is a result of deeper connections within an individual culture. Even the language, clothing, and weather can vary widely within the countries themselves.

What really creates, stimulates, and maintains culture? The people. Their traditions. Their passions. Their ideas. These are the roots from which the things like food, language, and fashion grow. 

A cultural exchange of ideas is necessary for understanding between people. Diverbo provides this for us in a "hotel camp" atmosphere that makes language learning intensely fun for everyone involved. The students come to learn and practice their English, and the "Anglos" (native English speakers from all kinds of places) come to give their English and learn about humanity.

There is no losing in learning.

Life is full of joy when one can make friends.
The language learners pay a tuition to attend the camp; their fee covers their own room and board, and also is enough to cover the room and board for one of the Anglos. Yes - a true 1:1 ratio for the ultimate personal tutoring sessions. All we Anglos have to do is pay for our transportation to and from the welcome city (usually by a large airport, like Munich, Berlin, Madrid, etc.).

What did we talk about during our 50 minute sessions? Everything: weather, history, war, health care, church, sports, carpentry, coaching, cars, moss, sailing, food, education, movies, death...everything. And that doesn't even get to when we talked about grammar, pronunciation, verb tenses, and spelling!

Meal times are arranged for maximum communication: German-Anglo-German-Anglo.
FACT: If you're an interesting person who wants to learn interesting things about other people, you will never run out of things to talk about.

GO: Be interesting!

Here to work hard and entertain!
Breakfast kicks off everyday at 8am, and you talk, talk, talk through the end of lunch time, around 2pm. You have free time until 4pm, then back at it again until the end of dinner - 9pm! There is optional hang out time after all of that, and this time really is the best part - mostly because I love playing Taboo, singing, and dancing.

A lot of us Anglos had similarities: expert packers, bargain hunters, and thrifty travelers. We connected easily through our willingness to give of our time and words in exchange for a free week of fun. But we were dissimilar in just about every other area of our lives: ages, countries, states, accents, politics, religions, personalities, occupations, financial strata...no two of us were exactly the same...and this is what made us great together.

Diverbo is an excellent way to tag on an extra week of vacation in Europe without making a dent in your budget. It is also fabulous for networking and finding even more free places to visit through all of the new friends you will make. I'm already conspiring how I will add a week of Diverbo in Spain before finally tackling my Iberian Insanity trip!

The American adoption concept - "come, become one of us" - does have a certain level of acceptance; but true open-mindedness tells the outsider, "come, be who you are, so we can learn from each other."

Consider Diverbo the next time you open up your travel maps. You'll be a better Anglophone for it.

My squirrel pal on our free time jaunt to Triberg.
P.S. Nobody paid me to promote or write this post (or ANY of my posts, for that matter). I wish someone had. Let me know if you can be that person.

Thanks to everyone - Anglos, Germans, the one Swiss, Diverbo - for a fantastic week! I hope to see you again in France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, or the USA someday!

None of these photos are my own, so thanks to all of you who took pictures!


For more on my #strasbawulyontrip...
My Sunniest Strasbourg
Down in the Ba-Wu
Have ONE Bag, Will Travel

Continue »