I had a thought regarding my plans for the spring semester of 2004 while driving home from a birthday party of a friend with Tiffany tonight. First, I mentioned that I was originally thinking of travelling around Europe, since I had never done it and it seemed like a good idea. But then, while talking to her, I realized that I had also never really travelled around the US. Sure, I've been to a few places here and there (flying only, to visit friends), but I've never gone on a road trip out of the state to see other places in the US. It occurred to me that I've got friends in the Northwest (Andy!), Midwest (Tiffany's family), East (Matt and Eric), and the South (Trent), so why not give a round trip tour of the US a shot? Over the course of two weeks I could go from the bay area to seattle to colorado to minnesota to maine to new jersey to texas to nevada to southern california and then back to the bay area. It could be a really fun trip. And also, there wouldn't be the language problem that would plague me in Europe. That could perhaps be the most important lesson that I learned in Norway; that not knowing the language can be a real problem when trying to enjoy yourself in a foreign country. Even (as is the case in Norway) when most of the population speaks English, you still feel uncomfortable, or not quite accepted, when you speak not in the native tongue of the country. Maybe if I was fluent in another language I would feel less bad about not speaking the language of the country I was in, but I can barely understand basic spanish, and that's it.
So, I have suddenly started leaning towards a trip across the US. The only thing is, I can't imagine it taking longer than three weeks, unless there were extended stays along the way. But even then, it still would not consume all the available time I will have in the spring of 2004. But then again, perhaps a little extra time before I go to grad school is not such a bad thing...
So, as it stands of now, exploring the US appeals to me more than exploring Europe. We'll see how that evolves in time.
Posted by Shane at July 25, 2003 1:53 AMThat's a tough call. After doing Europe a bit, I'm definately ready to tour the US. Lindsey and I were talking about tripping around like that next summer after we graduate. There's so much stuff to see just in the US too, and you can totally spend a long time doing it, especially if your just camping and bunking with friends. I say we have just as much to offer as anywhere in the world.
Posted by: Andy at July 29, 2003 10:36 PMYeah, that's basically what I'm thinking.
Posted by: Shane at July 29, 2003 11:43 PM