A Week Already?!

So here I am, trying desperately to finish this blog post that I started about 5 days ago, and it just wasn't happening. I had all of these assorted paragraphs trying to break down the past week into different aspects and describe each, but it just wasn't working. For those of you who don't know me, I am a perfectionist to say the least, and that post was no where close to my usual standards, it didn't really sound like me. And tonight, sitting in bed snuggled with a blanket, book and mug of tea I realized why; what I've learned and experienced in the past week can't be broken up into categories and taken by hour (well literally yes it can, but not effectively), it's a much bigger picture than that.

My first week here was mostly spent doing my orientation with Monash Abroad during the day, and the Monash Student Association putting events and activities on during the evenings. To say it was a busy week would be an understatement. And while we learned so many things about the school, working and travelling in Australia, the history and culture of this amazing city and how to be an effective ambassador for our home countries and universities (all wonderfully useful information), there was two things said to us that really hit home with me.

The director of the study abroad program should be commended for being so effective in the way he speaks. He did not talk for a long time, but what he said in those few minutes made me think more than anything anyone else said (sorry to the others, but it did!). We he first got up, he just looked around the room for a moment, taking it all in. We had just gone through the process of calling out the list of 40+ countries represented in that room by the 400 students in the theatre, and the magnitude of that was still in the air. "This is our own united nations", he said after a few words of welcome, and it is incredibly true. Looking around the room and realizing how much of the world we have present here is incredible; from every race, country and walk of life we have all come together in this experience. Not only that, but we could all talk and laugh with each other without a second thought. That first day hardly anyone knew each other, and we were all in the same boat of having to make new friends from scratch. What was amazing was that all it took was asking where someone was from, and bam there goes the conversation. You had groups of people from 10 different countries standing and talking over coffee, laughing about jet lag and comparing this place to their own homes. The amount that I learned just from talking to these people this past week is unmeasurable. This really is our own United Nations, working together and sharing in this experience.

The second thing that the director said that struck a chord with me was that when you take full advantage of this experience, "you will be able to travel around the world and never have to pay to sleep because there will always be an open door with a couch for you". Thinking about this for a minute it is incredibly true. Being put in a situation like this you make friends with the people around you, and in an exchange program those people are from all around the world. Literally around the world. From Brazil, to the UK, to Spain and to China we've got it covered. These are friends that could be bridesmaids at your wedding, future roommates, life-long pen pals, people you loose touch with for years and reconnect by chance, or better yet, life-long friends. These are the people that are going to help shape who you are, how you look at the world and experience things. They will share you adventures in a new city, understand when you're missing home more than anything and pack up a car and roadtrip with you on those long weekends off. These people have the power of making a permanent impact on your life, wether it be a passing day of fun or a lifetime of friendship. And this has really made me realize just how much people matter. We always say friends and family are the most important things in life, but do we really mean it? Do we really realize what we're saying or is it just a reflex? I think it takes being pulled completely away from all of those people, starting from ground zero or square on to really understand that. And it's hard, not having that support system around is a huge shock to the system, but building a new one is one of the most rewarding and amazing things. It makes you look at yourself, see what kind of person you are and have to find what works with that. If you can be open and honest with yourself, about yourself, there is nothing stopping you from making that new system. And yes, while it may take some time (I don't think I've ever eaten this many meals alone before!), it will all be worth it.

That's another things I've learned; if you can't live with yourself how do you expect anyone else to live with you? If you can't accept who you are and be true to that, how can you expect anyone else to accept you and do the same? There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing things on your own. Who says you can have dinner in a nice cafe, with you, your food, a beer (so many amazing local beers here!) and a book? It's actually pretty fun! That's not really something I would ever have done at home, because there's always people around to see and we default to doing that. It's when there's no one around all of a sudden that you realize that it's okay to just be you for a while. Why not go an adventure the city for a day, take a camera and a bag and not come back until the sun is long set and your feet are sore. That's what I've been doing and it has been the most incredible time. Sure it would be fun to have someone to comment to about the art on the walls in the gallery, or the funny things the pigeons do in the park, or the outrageously lavish stores in the downtown core, but that's what a camera is for. I have friends here to talk about all that stuff with later on, but in that moment I can take a picture. Documenting it for myself and for anyone else that is interested. A photo captures a moment and, when done right, and emotion, which is why I love photography so much. I have been capturing my days through pictures, sharing them with my SIM card and (when I finally find my camera cable) all of you.

So as of right now those are the couple things that have really stood out to me over the past week. That's not to say there aren't many more, and actually I'll probably think of at least 3 more the minute I post this and climb into bed. But hey that's what the next post is for right? Next post is going to be Thursday probably to sum up my week adventuring and exploring my new city. I've got pictures to put up as well so don't worry, they're coming! But for now I have to say good morning to everyone back at home, good afternoon to all of you in between and good night to everyone in Oz.

Whole New World

Stats so far

A day and a half : the amount of time that I've been in Melbourne

A week : how long I should have been here for the amount of new things and info I've picked up

14 hours : amount of jetlag that I'm trying to manage

2 Australian guys : my new roommates (also the only people here that know much about me at all)

UK students : some of my new favourite people here, they're so funny!

40 : amount of countries represented at our exchange student orientation

3 : number of times I've gotten lost (even my good sense of direction can't help me when I don't know the city at all)

3 : number of types of public transit (trains, trams and buses, it's crazy!)

So the expression "separated by a common language" has become incredibly real to me here, it's quite entertaining. Here's come things I've learned

-rubbish : garbage (no one uses garbage here)

-petrol : car gas (if you say gas they assume bodily functions...not so good)

-mate : friend (actually used commonly, definitely need to pick up that one)

-robe : closet (you get really funny looks if you say closet)

-Coles : grocery store (not a book store like it is back home)

-Myki : Melbourne equivalent of Ottawa's presto card transit pass (scan every time you get on and off public transport, also way more expensive than it is back home because of the amount of transport services)

-ARF : Australian Rules Football (follow it, be loyal to your team, and you had better understand how its played...still working on all of those parts - it's nothing like football back home)

-snow skiing : skiing (if you don't put the snow in front they assume water skiing apparently)

-ice hockey : hockey (if you don't put the ice they assume field hockey, or as they call it grass hockey)

-cheers : bye, seeya later, talk to you later (actually spoken and not just used to sign off e-mails)

-how ya goin : what's up (when starting a conversation with it add "hey" in front)

And that is only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more that I can't even remember right now, I know this list is just going to keep getting longer and longer. It's quite fun to learn all of the expressions though! I definitely need to pick them up and start using them so I can come back to Canada with them. 

For now that's all, not to say I don't have a million things to write (I could probably get a pretty good novel going to recap the past few days) but I can't bear sitting at a computer inside writing today when I could be out exploring! I've got the afternoon off since registration was so fast this morning which means it's time to go buy some of my own sheet and pillows. Kmart here I come...so weird buying this kind of stuff when I have perfectly good sets back in Canada. Then tonight we've got a walking tour of the Melbourne street art (beyond excited for that) and a trip to the casino/arcade complex in the city! So many things to do, the days just don't have enough hours for all the fun and adventures. More to come soon, and I promise I'll get on posting some photos as soon as I find all of my cables!

Let the Adventure Begin

Travel update #1, brought to you by my over tired self writing on the plane from Toronto to Vancouver... and posted from the Sydney airport thanks to their wonderful free wifi. 


This is one of those moments when my life doesn’t feel like it’s real. I’m currently sitting on an Air Canada 777 from Toronto en route to Sydney Australia (and then to Melbourne) with a brief stopover in Vancouver. Yes, that’s right, Sonia is finally going to Australia!!

For those of you who know me, or just happen to read this blog, this is probably not a surprise to you. This trip has been an long time coming; the paperwork process started back in September 2012, and it has been a content list of things to do since then. But it was all worth it in the end of course! However what only family and good friends know is that this has been a dream of mine since somewhere around grade 11 when I learned that exchange programs were actually not as impossible to achieve as I had previously thought. This has been one of those huge dreams of mine that I worked towards from that point onwards, knowing that I needed to keep my marks high and stay involved. I have to say, sitting here in the airplane with the setting sun outside of my window and the adventure of a lifetime just ahead of me, all of that hard work was more than worth it.

My check-in at the airport earlier this afternoon was definitely an adventure to say the least however. Here I was thinking I was so organized with my folder full of organized paperwork and tickets, boy was I wrong! Word of warning to anyone getting a work or study visa for another country: if you renew your passport after you have gotten your visa, it will not be transferred over to your new passport. You would think it would, but no, it does not! How do I know this you might ask? Well being a good little citizen I renewed my passport a few weeks ago because it was due to expire less than 6 months after I would be returning to the country. The problem was that I applied for my Australian visa with my old passport about 2 months ago, because I was told to do it months in advance because of processing time. Other word of advice: getting an Australian student visa from Canada is incredibly painless, it takes about an hour to fill out the form but you get your visa within a few days if it’s done properly! So I get to the airport with all of my visa paperwork and ticket information, and for some reason when they’re scanning my passport there is no visa showing up. New passport problems-it wasn’t connected to the old one. And normally you get to keep your old passport, in which case they would have been able to scan that one and all would have been well, however I got some new employee when I renewed my passport and she insisted that it needed to be shredded. Thank you passport Canada for that one. Luckily though, because most Australian visa’s are able to be done online, the people at the airport desks can actually put through a new visa for you right then and then, problem solved! Hopefully. I don’t want to jinx it by saying it’s all good until I’m standing on the other side of Australian customs at the airport. Problem number 2, go figure, was overweight baggage. It is so bloody hard to pack for 6 months in just a few suitcases! I had accepted the fact that there was no way I would be able to get it all into my one allotted checked baggage and would need at least 1 or 2 more, but I had not planned on them being overweight. Thank goodness I ended up getting a wonderfully helpful ticket agent who helped me manage the weight between the bags which took the extra charges down to a much smaller sum. Not to say it wasn’t a decent charge, but some battles you just can’t win!

Okay, so check-in adventures aside, I finally made it to the gate to catch my flight from Ottawa to Toronto. Somewhat ironically security was an absolute breeze to get through. A combination of an very efficient security crew and the fact that I have become a master at packing/dressing to get through security as painlessly as possible (leggings and a long shirt means no pockets or metal). I can’t actually remember the last time I flew to Toronto, or had a flight that short for that matter so it was pretty entertaining to start descending about 15 minutes after we had reached altitude. Gotta love short hops on efficient planes! Had a few hours in Toronto to browse the shops (so many more than Ottawa) and stretch my legs (the extremely long flight to Sydney looms ahead of me) and get some food which was quite nice. You forget to eat sometimes in all the last minute packing and it struck me all of a sudden why I felt like i was about to pass out at 6pm, I hadn't eaten anything since early in the morning! It’s a good thing that I didn’t have to talk to many people until I got food in me though, I tend to get “hangry” (hungry angry) at a certain point and having to make polite small talk with people usually does not bode well. I did have two wonderful older ladies sitting next to me though en route to vegas (you go girls!) who wanted to hear all about what my future life was going to be like down under.

That actually got me thinking, what is my life going to be like down there? I actually don’t have an answer for that one. Which is kind of nice actually, the promise of a blank canvas full of possibilities that are yet to be decided is amazing! I’ve had some many people tell me I must be so scared or nervous about going to a foreign country all alone to a life that is a completely strange concept to me. That question always catches me off guard because that is the exact opposite of what I have been thinking and feeling! I guess that’s just my personality, but excitement and happiness have always been the dominant feelings as my departure date got closer, not anxiety and fear. I would be lying to say there wasn’t a whole lot of stress and craziness leading up to it, but hey everyone needs a little bit of chaos sometimes. It’s when people ask that kind of things that you realize some of your more dominant personality traits; independent, adventurous and determined seemed to be what everyone was always telling me about my attitude towards all of that. I mean yes, I’m going to be on the other side of the world from all of the people I love and am used to seeing all the time, but it’s not like I won’t be able to talk to them. Skype is an absolutely wonderful invention, snapchat fills in the hole for people you can’t text and of course there’s always e-mail and facebook! We are so blessed to live in a time with so many means of communication. Now all of that is not to say it isn’t hard to leave everyone behind. There has been quite a few tears shed and countess tight hugs the past weeks that were difficult to say the least. But, as I tell people, it’s not like I’m moving there forever, I’ll be back in January! You won’t even have time to miss me before I’m back. 

However now I have to give into my ever drooping eyelids and try and take a nap. So this is the end of the surprisingly long first travel update! I will try my best to get another one done on the flight to Sydney, considering I’ve got 15 hours to kill that shouldn’t be too hard. 

Also as a side note, being the photography junkie that I am there will probably be many pictures posted on here both with and without posts to accompany them. I find most of the time the good old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is dead on. Once I have gotten settled in Melbourne and will have all my camera cables and such I'll upload the ones from the trip over!

Australia here I come!

Yesterday I received probably the best and most exciting e-mail that I have ever gotten. Better than any funny joke, trip confirmation and possibly even better than finding out that I got into University. Yesterday I got the e-mail telling me that I have been approved and accepted to go on exchange next semester to Melbourne, Australia :D Cloud 9 doesn't even begin to describe my excitement, I am completely over the moon!!

Ever since early high school I have dreamed of studying abroad, and it was always something I knew I wanted to work towards. That was part of the reason that I chose to come to Carleton: our exchange program works with hundreds of universities around the world, and you pay Carleton tuition instead of the university you're going to (which makes a huge difference let me tell you). So I always knew I would apply for exchange, so last semester in the fall I began looking into the process and seeing what needed to be done. Needless to say it was a lot of work, and I have been actively working on this since way back at the beginning of October. The application itself involved a lot forms and signatures, along with 2 short essays and 2 handwritten letters of recommendation n by professors. Now that was an intimidating amount of things to get together! However I always try and make a personal connection with my professors which proved to be extremely beneficial when it came to this. So by the end of November I had everything together and ready to go, and in the application went. Now it was time to wait.

Ever notice how time crawls by when you're waiting for something? While I won't lie and say that the past months have gone by so slowly (I actually have no idea where all that time went), that application was always in the back on my mind. Waiting and waiting for that fateful e-mail.

Then came the beginning of February, and the first e-mail. This one informed me that I was approved to go on my exchange, WOOHOO! However I would have to wait until the end of the month to find out where I was going. You have to put your top 3 choices of host institutions when you apply, and while they try and give you your #1 it is not always guaranteed. These were mine:
1. Melbourne, Australia
2. Trento, Italy
3. Lancaster, England
And while I would have been overjoyed no matter where I got sent, I really did want Australia. The reasoning behind that being primarily because of the program offered there. I am going to Monash University, and they offer a joint degree in Fine Arts and Business. Perfect for what I want to do (run an art gallery)! This means that I can take the fine art classes that I love, but also take the business classes like marketing and accounting that are necessary for running a business. If I could hand design a university program that would literally be exactly what I would do! The other plus side to going there is that there is no language barrier. And while it is a similar culture in some ways, it is also extremely different in others. I love that I get to immerse myself in a new culture but that I will still have that common ground of language and such so that I will not be completely lost.

What is different about going to Australia however is that because their seasons are opposite of ours, their school year is as well. So technically I am going in my fall semester here at Carleton, but it will be their winter semester in Melbourne. Oh and it runs from July-Novemeber. Just to make it even more confusing. Which also means that I leave in 5 months, and I will be gone for 6 months all said and done. Because the plan is that since the semester only goes until mid November, I am going to take the next month before Christmas to backpack and travel around the country since December is summer time over there :) Perfect set up right? That's what I'm talking about!

And so now I sit here trying to study for midterms, but my mind is on the other side of the world. I can' believe how lucky and blessed I am to have this opportunity. I literally feel like I'm dreaming! I am so thankful to my incredible parents, who have always supported me and encouraged me to do this, and who were almost more excited than I was when I talked to them yesterday when I got the e-mail. I could no have done this all without having them behind me, and it means the world to me. That being said this also gives them an excuse to come to Australia, so it's looking like we might have a Hildesheim Christmas down under this year! Who knows :)

So here's to new adventures. To students going around the world. To all my family and friends that have helped me get here. To finally achieving my dream! I really could not be happier :) And my happy dance around the house yesterday for hours proves that one...

Drowning in Snow

So I think I have found my utopia. It's right here, in Whistler and I never want to leave! But seriously this place is amazing, for oh so many reasons.

Reason #1.
The snowboarding. Obviously. There is SO much mileage on the mountains here it is incredible! There is always somewhere new to go, somewhere where the powder is untracked and somewhere where the chair lift lines don't exist. There are incredible glades if you want to play in the trees, wide open bowls if you want some steeps and powder, groomed runs if you decide to be a boring tourist and every kind of backcountry and natural trails and conditions imaginable. What more could a girl ask for? Oh yeah and they've got demos at the top of the mountain so you can try out any board that your little heart desires. I rode a GNU B-Pro the other day and absolutely loved it. If I can come up with the money there may be a new snowboard in the future... Oh and did I mention that the double black runs here are the best things ever? Like trees, pitches, cliffs and all the good stuff. So much fun.

Reason #2

The scenery. This place is absolutely stunning. Even the drive here was gorgeous! There is something about the mountains that just can't be beat. Wether it be completely cloudy and only a few mountains poke through, or its a rare blue sky day and you can see for miles, it is incredible what surrounds you here. You are literally enclosed by mountains here, nestled into a valley with their tall protecting silhouettes towering over you. There just aren't words for how beautiful this place is so I'll try and show it through pictures...

High on life

Rare token blue sky day

Reason #3

The vibe. This place has the typical ski hill feel and atmosphere but on steroids. Every store and bar has ski racks outside of it, and it is completely acceptable to go anywhere in town in complete ski gear. I love it. Seriously snow pants and plaid shirts are basically the uniform, and the beer is all local and the taps never run dry. The people are all so chill and laid back, they just want to have a good time and lay down some fresh tracks. You could pretty much sit down at any table and strike up a conversation about anything skiing, snowboarding, outdoor or beer related and it would be completely fine. So easy to make new friends! This is also a common occurrence on gondolas and chair lifts. Everyone us just so refreshingly friendly, wether it be saying thank you to the bus driver or helping a little kid to carry his skis, the whistlerites have got it down. Even the shops and the bars manage to carry the same feel. There are so many awesomely unique ski and snowboard stores, each with that small town and personalized feel. They make up for all the overpriced brand name stores, but those are easy to just walk past! To sum it up, it's a village full of people who just love to ski/snowboard/be outside which is just the best of combinations. 

And that is where the list will have to end tonight because it is getting late and I plan to be on the first gondola up at 8:30 tomorrow morning. So bed time for me! But I will do a post on all the areas of the mountain that I've tackled and what they're all about, and add to that list as well :) Seriously can I please never leave here?

Whistler Adventures

      Oh hey there blog world how’s it going? Long time no chat. I guess that’s what happens when school takes over you life and you don’t have time to travel right... I mean as entertaining as my daily bus commutes are downtown, I don’t think anyone actually wants to read about them. That being said it is now reading week, a wonderful week of freedom that they give to us university students right in February to go do something fun for a week. It’s a beautiful thing. And for the moment I will try and forget about that fact that I have 4 midterms and a paper due the week I get back, because that is besides the point. So what to do with a week off from school in the middle of the winter? Why go out west and snowboard of course. Whistler here I come!

See out in central Canada we have these funny little hills that we like to call mountains and ski down. However once you have been to anything remotely big and interesting, seen real powder and carved some fresh tracks down a double black diamond they almost completely loose their appeal. So then you are left itching to go out to western Canada, to Colorado or Utah, to the Alps or even to South America to get some good true skiing and snowboarding every year! And I have been lucky enough to get to act on that itch this year and head out to Whistler for 5 days of incredible snowboarding. I may be just a tad excited.

I was in Whistler the winter before last and I have to say it is a wonderful place. The entire town is a ski village, and there is hundreds of kilometers of every kind of trail and off-trail kind of riding you can image at your fingertips. Or ski tips should I say. I do have to admit that it is pretty Hollywood and touristy though, but hey that’s what happens when you turn a sleep ski town into an olympic village. It’s popularity has given it ratings higher than some would say it deserves, but if you look past the souvenir shops, the tourists on rental skis and the amateurs taking on runs way too difficult from there you find an incredible world of skiing and snowboarding. Going a little bit off the beaten trail will land you in fresh powder, untouched lines to hit, and wide open snow bowls to play in. You just have to know where to go, or be willing to go on a few adventures to find out! It is definitely worth your while to do so. 

Sitting on this plane writing this I want nothing more than to have a board strapped to my feat and be headed up the mountain rather than the sky. Don’t get me wrong I love to fly, I find it quite relaxing actually, but this has been such a long time coming that I just want to be there already! Though I have to say that the drive from Vancouver is absolutely breathtaking, taking you along the coast line and then plunging you into the heart of the mountains; it is some of the most beautiful scenery especially covered in a blanket of snow. And by blanket I mean a very very thick one, upwards of 500cm at the mountain already and still going strong. Sitting here writing this has also lead me to one very obvious conclusion:

I love snowboarding. And while this is nothing new or surprising, every time I go somewhere good to ride I get this giddy feeling like I’m a 5 year old getting let loose in Disney Land. There is nothing like the feeling of tearing down a mountain, wind blasting in your face and snow flying everywhere, just on the edge of control but never loosing it. You forget about the rest of the world and it’s just you, your board and the snow. It’s challenging and adrenaline inducing (if you so the serious stuff), but it is so incredibly calming and peaceful at the same time. Something about it completely clears my head and can, without fail, put a massive dopey smile on my face at the end of every day out. I don’t think I would ever be able to hang up my board and call it quits unless my body demands it because I just love it way too much. And I think that’s why I enjoy teaching it so much for that matter. There is nothing like watching someones eyes light up when it clicks with them, they figure out that one thing that was holding them back or learn how to stop catching that edge. That look when you see that they’re about to become as addicted and happy with it as you are. And that look makes all the long days, frustrating students and cold chairlift rides worth it more than a thousand times over. Because no matter how bad you think it gets you are still doing something you love and you get to share that passion with other people. 

Looking out the window I can see the flatlands of Saskatchewan disappearing behind us and the majestic Rocky Mountains rising up beneath the scattered clouds. I have to say it’s my favorite part of the flight, it is just so darn beautiful. And exciting because that means we’re getting closer! Another handy thing about ski trips is usually by the end of the day you are so wiped that you come home and sit around for a bit and just recuperate before you can do anything else, perfect blog time! So this should be a week of funny stories about epic falls (hopefully not too many but they are inevitable), tons of pictures of snow and more of me rambling about how much I love snowboarding. Have to say I’m pretty excited about getting to do this again, I actually quite enjoy blogging and sharing my adventures with whoever happens to be reading this :) 

Wanderlust

So waiting for class to start, and of course what does my mind start to do? Go through the running list of places I want to go and things I want to see around the world. Apparently I like to live with my head in the clouds, which is totally fine until I trip and fall off the sidewalk because I wasn't paying attention,  not that that happened... But someday, when I'm all old and wrinkled like a prune, I want to be able to look at photos of all of those places on my list and say yeah I took that one and yes I was there. Everyone always says to live life without regrets, and I think the biggest regret I could ever have it to not see the world and experience the wonderful things it has to offer. Now I know I may not like every place I go to, or enjoy everything I have to do to get there, bust hey life isn't perfect, shit happens, and I can deal with that. It's all worth it in the end.

So life kind of went as planned, and I got a job at the beginning of the month. Job means money, money means food and hydro. We like money. But money also means travelling. Somehow I have ended up having a million trips I want to go on just this winter with people, so if I want to be able to go on even one of those, this job needs to start soon. Don't you wish money trees actually existed? Travelling sure is expensive... first world problems right here. The thing is though that I don't really care if I stay in a hostel sharing a bunk room with 10 other people to save some money, or eat in a tiny hole in the wall place because it's all I can afford, because those are usually where you meet the best people and get the yummiest food. Don't get me wrong, 5 star hotels and restaurants and wonderful, but I want to experience the culture of places and live like I'm from there, and that's not how you do it. Another thing I've thought about a lot lately is who I would travel with. Tour groups are out of the question, been there and did that in France and it was terrible. 2 hours in the Louvre but 6 hours to shop? You've got to be kidding me. Art history nerd inside of me was so mad about that. Don't get me wrong, that trip was amazing, but I cannot handle having me entire trip planned out for me hour by hour and being forced to so some things and not having time to do others. 

Travelling with a friend, or a small group, I think would probably be one of the best ways to go about it. That way you never end up alone in a bad situation or strange place, but you also have the company and the fun of people you know around. the problem though is if your travel personalities don't match, it's not going to be pretty. And that traveling with a group might stop you from making new friends wherever you go because you don't "need" to. For every pro there's always a con... which brings me to travelling alone. Now I know it can be very dangerous in some places, which is why some places I would only ever go with other people, but almost any first world country you go to you can get away with being by yourself, and I think that might be the way to go. You never have to change what you want to do to fit with other people, you can take as long or as short as you want in a single place, and you can alter your plans in a heartbeat without having to run it by people. That's one of my big things when I travel, I hate having everything planned out. I am totally fine flying into somewhere and maybe having a hotel booked for the first night when I fly in and then nothing after that. It's just a blank canvas for me to do anything, go anywhere or see whatever I want. And yeah it backfired sometimes and you end up driving until 3am because you can't find a hotel, but hey, it's an adventure. And I love adventures. Just incase that wasn't already clear. I'm pretty much willing to try everything once in life to see what it's all about, I mean you'll never truly know what you think about something until you experience it right. 

The funny thing though is that as much as I hate having an entire trip planned out, my life right now is the complete opposite and if I want to travel somewhere I have to completely organize my schedule around it. I feel like I'm two different people sometimes, the super organized and time scheduled university student and the crazy adventure loving girl who just wants to see the world. Both lives are fun don't get me wrong, but I wish I could spend a little bit more time on adventure and a little less being a hermit student studying for 5 midterms in one week (not cool professors, not cool). So for now I can just look ahead at the travelling opportunities I have in the near future and that gets me through the crazy over-scheduled weeks now. More to come on these ramblings... I feel like this is a fairly productive way to procrastinate...even though that's an oxymoron. Oh well!