This blog isn't about sex. Sorry. I was just kind of curious if a post titled "sex" would have an abnormally high amount of views.
Instead, it's a hodgepodge collection of thoughts, pictures, lists, etc. that I am putting together now for two reasons:
1) To give me something to do during my 25 hour journey home (that's from door to door).
2) Because I would hate it if some of this stuff got forgotten.
I will try and organize it categorically.
Pictures with Captions
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| Sometimes this happens. Don't fight it. Just accept it. |
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| Heart Stop Light, Barcelona |
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| Harry Potter Bar/Train Station, Barcelona |
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| If you walk on the tracks, you will be smited. (Smitted? sp?) |
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| Big warning signs you can't understand. A bit unnerving. |
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| Is she doing what I think she's doing? |
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| Amsterdam. |
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| What I would look like if I was an old time Amsterdam knight guy. |
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| This is me. |
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| World's fluffiest bunny. |
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| If anyone buys me this, I will love you forever. |
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| Cool "behind the scenes" stilt shot. |
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| I'm guessing all of you just understood a word in German. |
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| Teatro Dimintri Kids, Tuscany Italy |
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| Too true, Mex. Too true. |
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| The only squatty potty in Europe(??) |
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| Like a boss. |
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| Me, Nadja, & Philipp |
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| Artsy napkin flower + beer picture, Prague. |
A Letter To Pedestrians
Dear Pedestrians,
I think Europe has done a fairly good job of curing cyclists of the split personality syndrome many of them have in the States ("I'm a car! No, I'm a pedestrian. Car again!"). However, by creating the specialized bike paths that cures the cyclists of this syndrome, a new syndrome has been created: pedestrian confusion. I would like to kindly ask you not to walk, or worse, stand in the bike lanes. Now, pedestrians, I know it can be a bit confusing to sort out what is a bike path and what is a sidewalk, so I'll try to help you out a little bit in pointing out some of the things you can look for.
1) Bike paths may be a different color. Bright red, for example, is a popular choice.
2) There may be signs of bikes basically all over.
3) Bikes may be painted on the bike path.
4) There may be bikers biking on the bike path.
5) It might be a different texture. For example, it might be paved while the side walk is uneven cobble stone.
6) It may be on a completely different level from the sidewalk. You would actually have to step down off the sidewalk onto the bike path.
I know that it can be difficult, but hopefully with these little hints, you will be able to detect the subtle signs that quietly scream, "Bike Path!"
Love,
Lila
(Now I'm in the plane - we're flying over Greenland right now. It's skyrocketing to the top of my "places I want to go" list. It looks like National Geographic. PLUS I could wear a MusucBag all the time!)
Introduction
Hi, I'm Lila. No, I don't think my name is Arabic/Spanish/German, but it's cool you have a similar name. Ya, I'm traveling alone. No, I'm not scared. Yes, I'm from America. No, I don't own a gun. Yes, I know people that do. Yes, we drink from red cups. Yes, I've played beer pong. No, I'm not in a sorority. Yes, we really have kegs and big parties. Yes, I've been to football games. I'm from California. No, I don't live next to a famous person. No, I don't surf. No, I don't smoke pot. Yes, we have beaches. No, it's not always sunny. I went to Berkeley. Ya, that Berkeley.
How To Not Be A Horrible, Obnoxious Tourist
1) DO NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES write on old, important things. This includes, but is not limited to, the Roman Colosseum, Concentration Camp remnants, or important buildings. Nobody cares that you were there, or that you love someone forever. Please save it for bathroom walls.
2) Keep control of you children. This may mean altering your schedule if you can't. Do not bring loud, whiny kids to Auschwitz. Do not let your kids pee in the middle of paved, public squares.
3) Respect "no photographs" signs. In some cases, it's extremely disrespectful. In others, the signs are there in order to preserve the art for future generations. Please be respectful. If you for some reason feel like you're an exception to the rule and don't need to be respectful, snap a quick picture without flash and put your camera away. And feel guilty.
4) Don't touch things you're not supposed to touch. If for some reason, you feel like you really, really, really have to touch it, even if it's only because there's a "don't touch it" sign, trust me - I understand you. If it'll bother you all day, at least have the courtesy to just poke it quickly to alleviate the "I need to touch it" anxiety. Don't slowly run your gross, sticky hand along whatever it is you're not supposed to be touching in the first place. Not cool.
5) Be respectful of the other people in your hostel dorm. Make your bed when you first get in so you're not doing it in the middle of the night, pack your bags the night before you leave so you're not doing it in the wee hours of the morning to catch you 6am train. Basic stuff. Actually, all that night action doesn't really bother me, because I'm an awesome sleeper, but it apparently bothers other people. So please be aware.
6) Be mindful of what you're wearing. Don't wear booty shorts to places of worship or religious significance. It's inappropriate and disrespectful.
7) Don't always be trying to beat everyone. If someone says that they were on a 6 hour train ride, don't say, "Ya, well I was on an 8 hour train ride." If someone says they're traveling for a week, don't say, "Ya, well I'm traveling for 3 weeks." Nobody cares.
8) That's all I can think of for now, but I think the very basic rule applies: Be respectful.
(A movie is on in the plane, and Professor McGonnagall is in it!)
(Just so you know, I'm now in the Seattle airport, and I'm writing this instead of watching Batman on Amazon. That's how much I love you guys!)
(Also, you should know that the Professor McGonnagall movie also had Slum Dog Millionaire kid and was set in India, and then India jumped my travel list. I want to go back to India. If they had said, "Hey, do you want us to turn the plane around and go to India?" I would have said, "Ya!!!!")
My Shoe
As I mentioned, I'm in the Seattle airport. And when I picked up my baggage to go through the baggage-customs-whatever-we're-America thing, I noticed one of my cute boots had fallen out of my bag. When I inspected how it fell out, I realized it fell out because it was very poorly strapped in. Go figure. Anyways, I stood there at the thing where the baggage spins around, kind of hoping for a boot to be tossed out on the conveyor. I knew it was unlikely, considering it could have easily fallen out in Austria and not even made it on the plane in Germany, but they were my cute Amsterdam boots, and I couldn't give up on them. So I was just standing there with one boot, looking for another one. It was very sad. Then an announcement came on that someone had lost a nikon battery. Nikon batteries are not the same as boots, but during the announcement I saw the guy making the announcement, so I figured he would be a good person to talk to to see if there was any hope in finding my boot or if I should just give up. So I walked over and said, "I didn't lose my battery, but I have another question. My boot!" The last exclamation was because there was my boot, sitting on a chair next to him. Just in case someone came looking for it. Huzzah! I would have been bummed to have lost those. They're cute boots.
Pictures With Short Stories and/or Thoughts
This is one of my FAVORITE pictures of the trip. It's David, in case you couldn't tell. When we were in Arrezo (I think), David and I were trying to take a picture together. The kind where you sit next to each other and someone holds the camera out in front of you and you take it. But what we didn't know was that the camera was super zoomed in, so this is what we got. Oh my gosh, I'm seriously cracking up here in the airport. I don't know if you find it as hilarious as I do, but I really, really do. Ya, I think this may be one of my favorite pics of the trip.
Isn't this picture cool! I feel so artsy with it. I took this picture at a flea market in Brussels, Belgium. But I can't take all the credit for it, because I got the idea from a guy I saw taking this picture before me. It looked really cool, so I went and awkwardly stood near it waiting for him to leave so I could take my picture. But then he asked me if I could look in the glass so he could take a picture of it. Turns out he's a local artist, and he had an idea to do a painting of a girl looking in the mirror with the clouds behind her, but he didn't have a picture to work from. So I was like, "Sure" and I looked in the mirror and he took a picture, and now there's probably a famous painting of me somewhere. jk. Not famous. But still kind of cool. Then I took this pictures, and I really like it. The end.
I've thought a lot during this trip about how some people feel the need to leave their mark. Notes saying they were there or locks or pieces of fabric attached to fences. I know the locks on bridges are part of an Italian tradition made popular by a movie of locking it to a bridge with a loved one and then throwing the key into the river, symbolizing the permanence of your love. Very cute. Romantic. Whatever. By what about the old pieces of string or ripped shopping bag carefully tied to fences? Not quite so romantic, huh? I think we all have a desire to be remembered, to be thought of, to feel like we left our mark. I've done the same thing. But I can't help but wonder if this is satisfying enough for them. Later on their death bed, I don't think that they'll be thinking, "Oh, it's okay. I locked that thing years back." So why is it that we do it? I don't have the answer. If you do - or even thoughts - please let me know. I would love to hear them. I feel like this is a purely human thing. Maybe some animal expert will correct me. But I feel like this want to be remembered and to leave our mark is something that makes us unique. I think it's also something that I want to keep in mind more than just when I'm traveling. Not only to leave my mark and be remembered, but to be remembered for something good. Live by the boy scout mantra of leaving something better than you found it. (Is that boy scouts?) I guess that more like building a legacy. Making something that lives on after you, whether it's a big business or a simple way of treating someone. Or tying a ribbon to a fence. We want to live on after we've finished living. Is that right? I suppose nobody wants to be forgotten. . .
This is a monument to a new personal hero of mine: Johann Georg Elser. He was an average guy who tried to assassinate Hitler. For nights leading up to a speech he knew Hitler was going to give in a local bar, he hid overnight in the bar and worked carving out the podium at which Hitler would speak. He then installed a bomb in the newly hollowed podium. Unfortunately, Hitler gave an uncharacteristically short speech that night and left the podium before the timed bomb went off. Elser was captured. When Elser was questioned about why he tried to kill Hitler, he said, "I just wanted to end the war." Despite the failure of his efforts, I find it pretty awesome that an average carpenter used his skills and abilities to the best of his ability to work towards what he saw as a simple goal. Ending the war. Pretty cool.
Japanese legend says that anyone who folds and strings together a thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish. In this case, I think I can guess what they wished for. This was a picture taken at Auschwitz. The cranes were placed on a memorial calling for peace. I don't know why, but the bright colors against the dark grayness of everything else there. . . it felt hopeful. I wanted to share.
This poster says, "Every child deserves a chance," or something to that effect. I snapped a picture of it as one of the many examples of stuff that would never fly in Berkeley. I find it amusing. Here: white woman saves cute black baby! Other things were stuff like Chinese food restaurants called "Mr. Ching Chong" with a picture of a Chinese caricature pulling the edges of his eyes. It's just different.
War Thoughts Addendum and Possible Addendum Retraction
Before I wrote about war like a football game, and how people should suit up and go watch because it's their country playing down there. But then a good friend pointed out to me that the world works better if not everyone is working on the same thing, which I honestly really agree with. Anyone who has taken a PACS or GPP class knows I agree with that, because people get all freaked out about, "There are so many problems in the world, and I don't know how to fix them all!!!!" and I say something along the lines of, "Do what you're passionate about, and if we all fight for what we're passionate about, everything will get fought for." Which I still kind of believe. So then it turns into more of a "Support your team, but pick your sport" kind of thing. If you don't care a lot about football, go to a basketball game. Or rugby. Or gold. Or whatever. There are a lot of causes that I know are important, but they're not causes that I get personally riled up about. Global warming, for example. (I know, I'm a horrible person). Yes, I know it's important. Yes, I know it effects lots of people, (thus the adjective "global"), but it's not where I end up spending my time or energy. Although I do feel guilty if I don't recycle, so I hope that counts for something. Animal rights is another one. Yep, animals are great. Love pandas. But as long as there are girls being sold into prostitution, you won't see me devoting my life to sea turtles. Not a priority for me. Not my sport, so to speak. So then I think, "Okay, everyone go to their own sporting game..." But then I go somewhere like Auschwitz, and I think, "People have to care about this." It doesn't sit well with me to sit on the sidelines. (But are you really on the sidelines if you're at a different sporting event?). I think about countries like Switzerland who went neutral. But is there really a neutral? What about the Edmund Burke quote, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing," and the many others like it? But then again, could that quote be applied to anything? To global warming? Or animal rights? Or food security? Am I just applying it to my sporting event because it's the one I care about the most? Am I biased just because I think I'm right? (Duh, that's the definition of being biased). It's all very confusing to me. But there are my thoughts. Also, I'm definitely not saying that people that care about the environment don't care about WWII, because that would be a completely ridiculous and dumb thing to say. I'm fast forwarding to conflicts like what's going on in the DRC, which has developed into the bloodiest war since WWII. I guess it's good I think it's so important, and it's good other people think their stuff is so important, because then everything will get covered, right???
Why Do This?
I think this is a good note to end on, especially since I'm getting on my (last!!!!!!) plane momentarily. At my last hostel, someone asked me why do a trip like this. I didn't have a chance to answer him because I said I'd think about it and fell asleep (narcoleptic, remember?). But now I think I have an answer. It's threefold.
1) To get a better perspective on things back home - it gives you a chance to step back from relationships, plans, people, to-do lists, etc. and see if what you're doing and what you're planning to do really feels right. You get to make up answers to questions until you find one that fits (not questions like, "What's your name?" although you could. More like questions like, "What do you want to do?"). You get a chance to think about things without having to act on them right away.
2) To get a better perspective on things in the world - you can see if things are as you heard/thought they were. Ask people in the countries, "Hey, what do you think about _____?" Try new food. Talk to people. See ruins for yourself. Experience the world for yourself. Ask Aussies if they really throw shrimp on the barbie (they don't), see if all the eat in Poland is beets (it is - just kidding), see if everyone really hates America (they don't), etc. Traveling changes things.
3) It's a hell of a lot of fun.
1) Bike paths may be a different color. Bright red, for example, is a popular choice.
2) There may be signs of bikes basically all over.
3) Bikes may be painted on the bike path.
4) There may be bikers biking on the bike path.
5) It might be a different texture. For example, it might be paved while the side walk is uneven cobble stone.
6) It may be on a completely different level from the sidewalk. You would actually have to step down off the sidewalk onto the bike path.
I know that it can be difficult, but hopefully with these little hints, you will be able to detect the subtle signs that quietly scream, "Bike Path!"
Love,
Lila
(Now I'm in the plane - we're flying over Greenland right now. It's skyrocketing to the top of my "places I want to go" list. It looks like National Geographic. PLUS I could wear a MusucBag all the time!)
Introduction
Hi, I'm Lila. No, I don't think my name is Arabic/Spanish/German, but it's cool you have a similar name. Ya, I'm traveling alone. No, I'm not scared. Yes, I'm from America. No, I don't own a gun. Yes, I know people that do. Yes, we drink from red cups. Yes, I've played beer pong. No, I'm not in a sorority. Yes, we really have kegs and big parties. Yes, I've been to football games. I'm from California. No, I don't live next to a famous person. No, I don't surf. No, I don't smoke pot. Yes, we have beaches. No, it's not always sunny. I went to Berkeley. Ya, that Berkeley.
How To Not Be A Horrible, Obnoxious Tourist
1) DO NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES write on old, important things. This includes, but is not limited to, the Roman Colosseum, Concentration Camp remnants, or important buildings. Nobody cares that you were there, or that you love someone forever. Please save it for bathroom walls.
2) Keep control of you children. This may mean altering your schedule if you can't. Do not bring loud, whiny kids to Auschwitz. Do not let your kids pee in the middle of paved, public squares.
3) Respect "no photographs" signs. In some cases, it's extremely disrespectful. In others, the signs are there in order to preserve the art for future generations. Please be respectful. If you for some reason feel like you're an exception to the rule and don't need to be respectful, snap a quick picture without flash and put your camera away. And feel guilty.
4) Don't touch things you're not supposed to touch. If for some reason, you feel like you really, really, really have to touch it, even if it's only because there's a "don't touch it" sign, trust me - I understand you. If it'll bother you all day, at least have the courtesy to just poke it quickly to alleviate the "I need to touch it" anxiety. Don't slowly run your gross, sticky hand along whatever it is you're not supposed to be touching in the first place. Not cool.
5) Be respectful of the other people in your hostel dorm. Make your bed when you first get in so you're not doing it in the middle of the night, pack your bags the night before you leave so you're not doing it in the wee hours of the morning to catch you 6am train. Basic stuff. Actually, all that night action doesn't really bother me, because I'm an awesome sleeper, but it apparently bothers other people. So please be aware.
6) Be mindful of what you're wearing. Don't wear booty shorts to places of worship or religious significance. It's inappropriate and disrespectful.
7) Don't always be trying to beat everyone. If someone says that they were on a 6 hour train ride, don't say, "Ya, well I was on an 8 hour train ride." If someone says they're traveling for a week, don't say, "Ya, well I'm traveling for 3 weeks." Nobody cares.
8) That's all I can think of for now, but I think the very basic rule applies: Be respectful.
(A movie is on in the plane, and Professor McGonnagall is in it!)
(Just so you know, I'm now in the Seattle airport, and I'm writing this instead of watching Batman on Amazon. That's how much I love you guys!)
(Also, you should know that the Professor McGonnagall movie also had Slum Dog Millionaire kid and was set in India, and then India jumped my travel list. I want to go back to India. If they had said, "Hey, do you want us to turn the plane around and go to India?" I would have said, "Ya!!!!")
My Shoe
As I mentioned, I'm in the Seattle airport. And when I picked up my baggage to go through the baggage-customs-whatever-we're-America thing, I noticed one of my cute boots had fallen out of my bag. When I inspected how it fell out, I realized it fell out because it was very poorly strapped in. Go figure. Anyways, I stood there at the thing where the baggage spins around, kind of hoping for a boot to be tossed out on the conveyor. I knew it was unlikely, considering it could have easily fallen out in Austria and not even made it on the plane in Germany, but they were my cute Amsterdam boots, and I couldn't give up on them. So I was just standing there with one boot, looking for another one. It was very sad. Then an announcement came on that someone had lost a nikon battery. Nikon batteries are not the same as boots, but during the announcement I saw the guy making the announcement, so I figured he would be a good person to talk to to see if there was any hope in finding my boot or if I should just give up. So I walked over and said, "I didn't lose my battery, but I have another question. My boot!" The last exclamation was because there was my boot, sitting on a chair next to him. Just in case someone came looking for it. Huzzah! I would have been bummed to have lost those. They're cute boots.
Pictures With Short Stories and/or Thoughts
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| Cinque Terre |
War Thoughts Addendum and Possible Addendum Retraction
Before I wrote about war like a football game, and how people should suit up and go watch because it's their country playing down there. But then a good friend pointed out to me that the world works better if not everyone is working on the same thing, which I honestly really agree with. Anyone who has taken a PACS or GPP class knows I agree with that, because people get all freaked out about, "There are so many problems in the world, and I don't know how to fix them all!!!!" and I say something along the lines of, "Do what you're passionate about, and if we all fight for what we're passionate about, everything will get fought for." Which I still kind of believe. So then it turns into more of a "Support your team, but pick your sport" kind of thing. If you don't care a lot about football, go to a basketball game. Or rugby. Or gold. Or whatever. There are a lot of causes that I know are important, but they're not causes that I get personally riled up about. Global warming, for example. (I know, I'm a horrible person). Yes, I know it's important. Yes, I know it effects lots of people, (thus the adjective "global"), but it's not where I end up spending my time or energy. Although I do feel guilty if I don't recycle, so I hope that counts for something. Animal rights is another one. Yep, animals are great. Love pandas. But as long as there are girls being sold into prostitution, you won't see me devoting my life to sea turtles. Not a priority for me. Not my sport, so to speak. So then I think, "Okay, everyone go to their own sporting game..." But then I go somewhere like Auschwitz, and I think, "People have to care about this." It doesn't sit well with me to sit on the sidelines. (But are you really on the sidelines if you're at a different sporting event?). I think about countries like Switzerland who went neutral. But is there really a neutral? What about the Edmund Burke quote, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing," and the many others like it? But then again, could that quote be applied to anything? To global warming? Or animal rights? Or food security? Am I just applying it to my sporting event because it's the one I care about the most? Am I biased just because I think I'm right? (Duh, that's the definition of being biased). It's all very confusing to me. But there are my thoughts. Also, I'm definitely not saying that people that care about the environment don't care about WWII, because that would be a completely ridiculous and dumb thing to say. I'm fast forwarding to conflicts like what's going on in the DRC, which has developed into the bloodiest war since WWII. I guess it's good I think it's so important, and it's good other people think their stuff is so important, because then everything will get covered, right???
Why Do This?
I think this is a good note to end on, especially since I'm getting on my (last!!!!!!) plane momentarily. At my last hostel, someone asked me why do a trip like this. I didn't have a chance to answer him because I said I'd think about it and fell asleep (narcoleptic, remember?). But now I think I have an answer. It's threefold.
1) To get a better perspective on things back home - it gives you a chance to step back from relationships, plans, people, to-do lists, etc. and see if what you're doing and what you're planning to do really feels right. You get to make up answers to questions until you find one that fits (not questions like, "What's your name?" although you could. More like questions like, "What do you want to do?"). You get a chance to think about things without having to act on them right away.
2) To get a better perspective on things in the world - you can see if things are as you heard/thought they were. Ask people in the countries, "Hey, what do you think about _____?" Try new food. Talk to people. See ruins for yourself. Experience the world for yourself. Ask Aussies if they really throw shrimp on the barbie (they don't), see if all the eat in Poland is beets (it is - just kidding), see if everyone really hates America (they don't), etc. Traveling changes things.
3) It's a hell of a lot of fun.
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