Monday, October 26, 2009

Each of us can’t survive without the other

Alanna

I realize this next adventure is not going to be barefoot. At least, it’s going to be completely different from my blog’s last two experiences abroad in Africa.

This May, my boyfriend Eric and I are going to backpack around Europe for a couple of months.

I know for some this plan may seem inherently flawed. Some couples (even ones we know) would never embark on a journey like this. Fighting is surely to ruin our beautiful, romantic vacation – right?

But Eric and I have a history of international travel. At the end of 2005 in our final year of high school, we travelled to China on a group trip to commemorate the release of Canadian POWs in Hong Kong after the end of the Second World War.

And this trip went well – in fact, we found we’re great travel partners. Eric even ended up becoming my personal bodyguard when locals got too friendly.

We very rarely fight, and work well under pressure. We even took a couple of days out tripping in Algonquin Park this summer to make sure we could handle high pressure situations as a team.

I want us to use our ability to compliment each other so well when we travel this summer.

I want us to experience as much of the local European lifestyle as we can while also visiting the stereotypical tourist hotspots.

I’ve never backpacked like this before and I’m (tentatively, with a pang of longing) excited to be a tourist and not an aid worker this summer.

And lastly I want to have fun!

1. Cycling along the Danube I’ve looked into this and I think it’ll be a great change after taking trains and buses everywhere

2. Turkey I’ve never been to an Islamic country before and I look forward to the culture

3. Budapest everyone I’ve told about our plans to visit here get really excited. Apparently it’s one of the untapped resources of European tourism!

Eric

Not only is Alanna my girlfriend, but I also consider her one of my best friends. Our personalities match perfectly so I can’t think of anyone else I would like to go on a trip with but her. Alanna’s going to be the smart brain and I’ll be the fun brain for the trip.

By this I mean she’ll be in charge of museums, historic sites, government buildings etc, While I’ll be in charge of food, the bar scene and which hostels have the best bathrooms.

As you can see, one of us can’t survive without the other.

Even if were going to 10 different countries in 6 weeks, my main goal when travelling is to get a sense of how people live in their respective countries.

Being a sociology and anthropology major, I’m all about the social and cultural aspects of countries.

So even if were doing a fast paced trip, I would like to get a brief sense of what it’s life to live in each country.

1. I’m a big scenery lover, so one of the main things I’m excited about is being surrounded in sceneries I’ve never experienced. I hope to see everything I possibility can!

2. For anyone who knows me, they know I love my food (No fat jokes). I cant wait to taste every dish from every country and get a sense of what pizza is like in Italy, or bread and cheese in France, or chocolate in Belgium. Cuisine is a big part of my personality, so it’s only naturally I want to experience the cuisine of every country.

3. New experience! I’ve never been to Europe so I can’t wait to experience everything is has to offer with Alanna by my side, and hope to see and experience things we will never forget.