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Phew!
Well, as time consuming as that may seem, in retrospect, it really was quite exciting! It was not quite as exhausting as it sounded, now that it is all over. There I was, an American on his first extended train trip through Europe, alone with provisions for a year abroad, carrying way too much, actually dragging two duffel bags weighing way too much. (the big green bag actually wore several holes from being dragged through airports and train stations with the other big darker green duffel on top of it.) Being in a foreign country is quite dramatic. I have always been intrigued by how different countries solve different simple problems; or how does it, relative to how I know it, look different in the Madrid train station than in the Rochester train station? |
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I recall, as a small child, being interested in the small details of life. Once I was traveling with my mother and grandfather in the autumn to visit my great aunt who was in a retirement home for nuns. For some most likely dumb reason, I was angry at my mother and we stopped in north central Pennsylvania to look at a beautiful view, my mother and grandpa were admiring the view with all of the splendid fall colors and I was mad so I hung out the window on the other side of the car, and looked at the small rocks on the ground beside the car and thought to myself that I can see beauty in the details (regardless if I could or not). This bit of stupid anger towards my elders set me off on a life-long journey of curiosity about details. (It is not in spite of what they wanted me to do that I still do this)(at least I don't think!) but it did open my eyes to appreciating the uniqueness of generally less appreciated details. So, for years I have been interested in the common, ordinary details of what a different part of the world looks like. |
