So I guess I have to leave tomorrow....

I know Ive only been gone for 3 months, but it feels much longer than that. Its very strange to think that Ill be back on a plane tomorrow and flying to California. I cant wait to see my family and friends, and get my hands on a Cali burrito, some sushi and Del Taco. All of Europe has been the most exciting place in the world. There is always something going on, always something to see or do. I wasnt bored at all for the whole time Ive been here.

I know everyone is going to be asking me what my favourite cities are and stuff like that, so I have been thinking about that a lot lately. The places that I consider my favourite will be based a lot on my personal experience there for example, if I met nice people, stayed in a decent hostel, found some cool locals, and ect. I think I had the best experiences in Budapest, Dubrovnik, Ljublijana, Munich, Paris with Hammi, Florence, and Spain in general (which is strange because I wasnt even planning to hit Spain before I left).

I am so happy that I chose to travel alone, I have met so many good people and a couple of them I was blessed enough to get pretty close to and feel quite comfortable with. What I consider a good friend would be someone I can talk for hours with about things we both find interesting, but at the same time be able to sit in a quite room with for just as long and feel completely comfortable, no awkwardness thinking one of us has to speak sort of thing.. if you know what I mean. I guess I just appreciate silence every once in a while, and finding people that can appreciate that along with me is a cool thing. I actually have met a couple people that I had pretty emotional goodbyes with. Most of those people were Australian funny enough. I traveled with Sean for pretty long time, and we went through a lot of crazy stuff together. I met an Australian guy named Mark and we had a pretty emotional goodbye, nothing like a firm man hug that you know means a lot. It was that situation where we both have to leave, both go in opposite directions but had formed such a bond in such a short amount of time. It was pretty neat. He had a girlfriend traveling with him and they were such a cool couple. I really would love to have a companion like that to travel around the world with me. I met a girl that had been working abroad for 4 years and we got along so well had so many good conversations, but unfortunately she was 29 haha. One of these days I guess. I am not coming home married like some people joked would happen, but I did get pretty close lolz... Thats a good story. I guess just the fact that I was traveling alone and got to meet so many people was one of the best experiences of the trip. I havent been alone for a while, meeting new people all the time, and it just working out that you spend the entire time with them.

I learned a lot and got to see so much, but I am not coming home 'a completely different person'. Just a more experienced one I guess. Traveling like this is a great way to get out of some bad habits, which I didnt think about too much. Having no cell phone, no computer is a relieving experience. Making plans to meet people at a certain land mark at a certain time, and just hoping things work out is awesome. I would think I would have anxiety in those situations because I have no way to communicate and find out if they will still be there or any other complications that may arise. I think of myself as a pretty laid back kind of person, I am good at going with the flow. I think I am even more so now because I have adopted the attitude of not worrying about any sort of deadline, or timetable in regards to certain things. Of course I was always punctual and think I am even more so now after getting used to catching trains at certain times and meeting people at certain times, checking out on time, waking up on time are all pretty important when traveling.

I have learned some important things on this trip. Maybe learned is not the right word and 'realized' would be more specific. I will not compromise my values or morals for any one, or anything. I dont and wont succumb to pressure of societies thoughts of what I should be, what I should do. However I will always continue to look upwards, look for ways to do better and be a better person. I am so thankful for the pleasures and joys I have experienced on this trip and the pleasures and joys I have not yet experienced in this life. I have learned to take advantage of the opportunities I am presented with. However, I will remain a skeptic. I dont give away my trust too easily. Its hard sometimes to speak your mind, but I have learned to continue to do so as much as I can. I have learned to put myself in vulnerable situations more often, no matter how uncomfortable I think they might be. Life is a giant risk. Most importantly, I will keep trying to understand Gods plan for me. This trip has taken my faith to another level and for that I am grateful.

Im going to fly into LAX and spend some time at home home, and then make my way down to San Diego. Take some tests for grad school applications. Do some research on studying abroad maybe. Do some reasearch on jobs I can do as well. Ill also be taking a trip to San Francisco pretty soon to see all my friends up there. I really want to keep traveling, I want to visit Australia, and Argentina. Maybe do an Egypt Greece Turkey Israel kind of trip, of course that is probably a little ways off since Im going to need a job first. Love you all.

Ciao

-Kyle