Was It All A Dream?!

My notebook has officially begun the use it was intended for, artistic explorations that were oh so plentiful in Europe. Looking back on the past few weeks of blogging and notes I realize that perhaps it wasn't always the most exciting things to share (a LOT of notes on museums which perhaps wasn't exciting for people who weren't there) but I wanted to document the trip as I was seeing it, however boring it may have come across! This morning I woke up at 6:30 and continue to be slightly dizzy and funky feeling as the day progresses, gotta love that jet lag, but it gave me a bit of time to flip through my experiences from the past few weeks. Coming back to the city and walking onto the slippery streets, running underground to the subway and all that is in between is disorienting. The entire three weeks seem like such a wonderful blur and being able to jump back into city life so quickly makes me wonder if it was all just a dream. After looking forward to this trip for over a year I can't really believe or accept that it is over. Of course I will always have the little reminders of daily European life that were instilled in me including my new addiction to coffee and crescents. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to explore and challenge my artistic tastes for three weeks on top of getting the chance to perform overseas. Where do I go from here? Perusing this morning, I found this entry from my journal which sums things up pretty well....even though it is CHOPPY.

2-22-07

On the train to Rotterdam (oh, de Kooning!) and can't believe Europe is almost over. Oddly enough I don't have any individual memory that takes the cake from the past three weeks. There was so much to experience, how could I ever begin to choose?! The activities were so eclectic and I am proud to know that I took advantage of all of it. Glad to be capping Amsterdam with some culture today in the double feature of Foam and NDT. Sometimes I take this all for granted but every experience has meant so much to me. I'm glad that I'll have some museum notes to look back on because there were so many, how can I ever keep track? Newly converted to a photography fan, I can't wait to check out more in the States. Writing that makes me realize that I'll miss being able to treat home like some far off Kingdom. Being here makes me less and less scared to move here some day....Paris and Amsterdam are calling me. Only time will tell.


(Perhaps I have a future as a circus performer? Only if it's in Europe.)

(Blaine shows off our lovely final hotel...as I cry behind the camera like everyone involved with "Dreamgirls" when they got slapped last night.)

Comments

[tonya]

When I returned from my study abroad in England, I was so depressed. I had this recurring dream where I was trying to go back but something was always preventing me -- getting stuck in traffic and missing my plane, the plane getting re-routed mid-air, etc. etc. It finally went away but it took awhile. It's funny how Europe can do that to you...

[Tania]

Look at your perfectly turned-out foot balancing on that ball, haha. And is it wrong that I can no longer encounter the whole Holiday Inn hotel chain without hearing that awful/amazing Chingy song in my head?

I always get depressed when I think about my study abroad experience, which I was anticipating for SEVERAL years, and how I no longer have it to look forward to. And how it was going on at this time last year. I think it was at almost exactly this time that I was in Amsterdam actually. And one week post my trip to Carnivale in Nice, France (the French Riviera is PARADISE, when I look at the pics I took I still can't believe that it actually exists. Same with the Italian Riviera).