Heading to London, I was delayed three hours in Kuwait, but as we flew over I thought I was in Denver by how much snow was on the ground. I met up with my friend Jay who was staying there for business and crashed on his couch. We ended up going out with his roommate and her boyfriend to a little Thai place that evening. I was starving and so were they, so naturally dinner was delicious. It was a cute little place nearby their apartment (somewhere near Great Portland Street Tube Stop for you cleaver English folk) and then we went to a wine bar after wards. Hmmm wine. Oh how I missed you. I do not think I could live in a dry country. I just really enjoy a glass of wine every once in a while, I feel so old saying that but I guess I am not your typical college student drinking Keystone and Nadie’s light. Yuck. I prefer wine, cheese and bread. Simple. I say this and I would still choose to go to any continent other than Europe. :-) In the morning, I went to grab coffee with Alex, Nella’s (I think that’s how you spelled her name, Jay’s roommate) boyfriend and grabbed a little breakfast. We had a great conservation; he was a really nice guy and showed me where to catch the underground (tube/metro). I was cutting it a little close and the train took longer than I was expecting, so I am glad my bag was already checked in from my earlier flight. I printed my boarding pass there and once getting to my gate had to go through extra security in order to wait yet another 2 hours of being delayed before eventually getting on the plane. Then we had to be de-iced for an hour. Ug. I am so ready to be home. I am typing on the plane and very exhausted. I wonder how everyone else on my trip got home okay or were delayed at all. Stupid weather, go away. Come again another day.
For my last entry (wait I feel like I am said that before…) I hope this experience and reading about it has opened your eyes to a world different than your own. I hope you have learned and will teach others than even though you hear things about certain places and develop ideas of how the place might be like or how the people might act, that you make your own definitions. Read, learn, ask questions about places and cultures you have not been to or experienced. Do not just believe everything you read on the news. Please take a big hammer, baseball bat or wrench and smash those stereotypes of whatever the news or others tell you to believe. Yes, there is a war in Iraq, Afghanistan and others all over the world. This does not mean when you switch on the CNN and “Terror in the Middle-East” flashes on the scene it refers to every single country in the Middle-East. There are terrorists in our country and all around the world. Just because you are somewhere different does not make it any more or less safe that you are in your backyard at home. Remember to keep an open mind and always ask questions. I had been told before leaving so many times NOT to go and to be careful because I am Jewish, young or a woman. I was told in Kuwait by many not to be afraid and that Jews are welcome there, not all women are completely covered up or even wear scarves around their heads. Yes, I do tend to take risks, but if I did not take them and try new things, who will?
I look forward to learning about more cultures, traditions, languages, people and visiting new and different countries in my future. A friend asked me where I have been in the world the other day and I honestly did not want to answer. I do not want to act like a brat and snobby about the place I have been lucky enough to see (I hope I do not act this way), but I wanted to be honest. So, naturally I told him I have never been to Antarctica and he laughed. I still have four years until my current passport expires. Without putting in the extra pages before SAS it would be full by now. In just 6 years, I have been to 25 countries and I am not even 25 years old. I feel so lucky and fortunate to be able to do all the traveling that I have experienced, thanks to my mom. I have no idea what goes through her head when I suggest some new place I want to see. So in case you did not know, I think I might have a travel addiction problem. Though I do not consider it a problem, I was told by a friend once not to refer to it as an “addiction” but as a very good habit. :-) I hope all of you reading consider this habit and go somewhere new. Hopefully, this economy will get better (what goes down must come up, right?) and when it does, remember life is WAY too short. I hope to hear from all of you from time to time about what you are doing and how things are going. As for now, I will be heading back to Colorado. I have seen enough sand for the past three weeks; I need my Colorado Rockies as a backdrop again. Good luck to all you, never stop having adventures (big or small). Here’s one of my favorite quotes (at least at the moment) to keep you thinking.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
- M. Twain
(reunited at last!)
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