Sunday, August 5, 2012

T minus 18

I can't put my finger on when it started, but I've always wanted to see more of the world.  One of my first tastes of travel was in high school.   I lived with a Belgian host family who thought Americans ate ketchup with everything.  It took me a while to realize why it was always on the table but no one was using it.  Andree had thoughtfully bought a case of it in preparation for my 6-week stay and put it out at every meal.

I was 17 during that first trip abroad and had never been away from home for more than a week.  I battled some fierce homesickness and struggled mightily to communicate with a host family that did not speak English.  But I learned so much in such a short time.  Like teenagers irritating their parents is universal.  And that you can be admiring a field of sunflowers in the bucolic French countryside and still lock your keys in the car.  Things weren't so different after all.  So that's what I need to remember as I prepare for the move to Denmark.  18 days left.

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