It's Pronounced "Buda-peSHt": 6 Things You Will Learn Abroad

 As is sit here back in Nac in my little one bedroom apartment, with my new kitten Toulouse pestering me by climbing over the keyboard, I stop to take a minute to remind myself that just a few short months ago I was on the other side of the world. Wait....what?! Oh yeah! I really did do that! So in honor of remembering my amazing experience abroad, I have decided to write a blog post dedicated to those crazy Slovakian, Czech, Hungarian, Austrian, and Italian nights ;)

Onto the things I learned in Europe! 

Now it is really impossible to write about all of the things I learned. I was taking a political science course and did a research project on political culture and how it effects the style of democracy different places use. We compared the United States, Texas, and Slovakia--the country I spent most of my time in. But y'all don't really want to hear about the STUDY part of my study abroad, do you? So instead of boring you with all of my new political knowledge, I have comprised a list of random, silly, funny, and also important things I learned while in Europe!

You can totally live without a car.

Learning to navigate in foreign cities and use public transit was easier than expected, and saved us a TON of difficulties. It's really not that hard! The first time I had to learn to navigate was when our group split up in Prague. We had taken a walking tour across the city and then we all split to grab food at different places. There ended up being just a few of us who had to work our way back to our hostel and we did it and didn't die! We found our bus stop on the map, found which buses ran through that stop, and even managed to read pick up and drop off times by ourselves. In Czech! Public transit was convenient and cheap, and saved us the hellish experience of being ripped off by a taxi driver and dropped on of the wrong side of the city (it happened to other people on the trip!). While I missed my little car, it was refreshing to not have to drive to unknown destinations. Down side-- if you miss your bus you might be stuck waiting another hour and not get home until 4AM. 

Boat cruise in Budapest. Hey y'alllllll.

The parties in Europe are way more exciting.
But for some reason Europeans really want to go to a frat party. This might only apply to the friends we made, but most of them were so excited to find out that movies don't exaggerate frat parties. Beer Pong? Yeah...people in America really play that. *Shock and awe* Seriously?! Beer pong is exciting? Y'all would die if I told you about rage cage! The first Slovak party I went to was an outside rave type thing and had a DJ, all kinds of crazy laser lights, and fire dancers. Yes, FIRE DANCERS. That's some high class stuff. When was the last time you went to a frat party that lit anything on fire except an old couch? Oh yeah...NEVER. Don't even get me started on the Pub Crawl in Prague or the Bath Party in Budapest. It was AH-mazing!

The crew.

You will make the coolest friends.
I am beyond thankful for all of the amazing people I met. Not only our host friends and the people on the trip with me, but the random strangers I met while traveling! So many young adults were just meandering their way through Europe and I got to meet some interesting folk. Guys from Canada that we randomly invited to go to a hookah lounge/hippy tea shop with us (we proceeded to have in depth conversations about school systems in our own countries), fellow hostel goers from California, going on a boat cruise with a guy from El Paso, meeting Irishmen and one very impressive and endearing Australian who also happens to be an award winning film artist (his short film was in the Cannes Film Festival...and he gave us a copy *hair flip*)..the number of people you meet is overwhelming! And it is surprising how much everyone has in common. I met another Australian who was working the staging/lighting and filming for the One Direction concert in Milan the weekend we were there. Just listening to people's stories (even if they were making them up!) was so fun. You can learn a lot if you are open to it :)

Ohhhh hey there gorgeous back drop for a selfie ;)

You will miss weird things.
Like free condiments, ice water, and free refills. But then there are cool things like the fact that McDonalds sells beer and you can get $4 pizzas that are way better than Little Ceasar's, to make up for it. Oh yeah...did I mention the drinking age is 18? And they have grocery stores in malls. People just walk around the mall drinking beer. Mind blown.

Before our hike in Trnava, Slovakia.

Introspection is a must.
If you don't take advantage of the "me" time offered while traveling the world... you're doing it wrong. Do cheesy things like sit on a hillside coffee shop, overlooking the city, sipping a cappuccino out of a mug bigger than your face. Or you know...stick to your #superwhitegirl Fraps like me. Mocha-coconut just tastes so much better in Prague ;) Stepping out of your comfort zone forces you to learn a lot about yourself, and traveling to a new country definitely falls into that category. I believe that to be true for everyone, and therefore I also believe the bond you make with people you meet while traveling abroad is a different kind of bond. It's sort of indescribable, but my study abroad friends and I have decided that it is almost like all of you dreamed the exact same dream. 

Being silly at the bus stop :)

Don't waste a single moment.

Stay up way too late discussing hot topics like terrorism, gun control, and abortion. Get your hungover self out of bed at 7 so you can go tour a castle. Try to visit as many bars and restaurants as you can. Go into bookstores and souvenir shops. Stop at food stands and street performers. Take too many pictures, but not so many that you miss what is right in front of you. Sit on a bench eating sausage while looking out over the Danube. Pet a hedgehog. Watch a soccer game. Go to class and actually pay attention and participate in discussion. Watch a sunset. Take the later train just so you can spend a few more hours in the city hanging out with your new friends. LIVE every moment because that time goes by so quickly.

In a castle tower in Slovakia...NBD.

Every person you talk to who has studied abroad says something super cliche like "I really found myself" or "I learned so much about life. Like the world....and me...." or some other eye roll inducing statement. But guess what? It's completely true. So don't be afraid to spend too much money, or stay out to late, because I guarantee you that after you come back it will feel like the whole thing never happened. Several people have asked me how my trip was this summer and it is probably one of the hardest questions to answer because it is indescribable. I hope I did it some justice and if you ever get the chance to study abroad....PLEASE do it. I promise you won't regret it.

-L