All The Questions

When I returned home after my time abroad, the phrase I would soon be sick to hear was “tell me everything.” After the first two rounds of storytelling my experience abroad was summed up to a short 2-minute speech. It went something like this: 

“I went to Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. It was super nice, and I loved it all! My favorite place was Bulgaria because it was absolutely beautiful, and all the people were so nice- it reminded me a bit like home. I am sad to be back and really want to plan another trip soon”

This speech would slow the person I was talking to down for a long enough time for me to breathe and then answer the next round of twenty questions. But after a week of this I thought that my experience can’t be condensed to saying it was super nice or I loved it. Sure, those things are all true, but I wanted more than the surface level conversations I kept having. I finally found myself in a conversation so interesting and fascinating at the strangest time. The middle of the freeway at 6 am on the way to Oregon with my sister. I couldn’t stop crying because my car was broken into that morning, but my sister was determined to change the mood. She began asking me questions about my trip that I hadn’t been asked before. She asked the differences in each culture and the thing I loved most about my experience that I don’t get at home. These types of questions made me think, and we talked about the weirdest things like bathrooms for an hour. One thing on the trip I had to get good at was using the squatty potty- something I definitely don’t miss at home. Going to the bathroom in a hole on the ground was an adjustment and I definitely feel spoiled with my toilets at home. We also talked a lot about food and meals and that got me thinking. While on a city tour in Greece we talked about how people often enjoy coffees for up to four hours. Now that seems ridiculous when you think about how we are at home. In the world of fast food and fast paced days, no one takes the time to stop and even digest their food. For me, it’s important to take the time to reflect and enjoy the days that go by so quickly. While abroad I didn’t even notice one drive through restaurant and meals were mean to take a few hours. This is something I love, I think eating shouldn’t seem like a chore. While on the trip I began to look forward to each meal and loved how long they lasted. It seemed like no one had sense of time and just truly paused life to enjoy good food and company. This is something in my daily life that I have been forcing my family and friends to implement because it’s not often we get an hour or two altogether. Four hours over coffee might sound ridiculous to some but I would love the opportunity to spend that time with a person I love and take in all the world has to offer. I began to use my meal times as a way to go more in depth of what my trip was like and talk about the small things because sometimes it could lead into the best conversations.