Europe

When I was in high school, back in the early 1980's, I was always questioning things.  I suppose I haven't changed too awfully much.  But back then the thing that was on my mind the most was the US relationship with Russia and communist countries in general.  This is before Ronald Reagan asked Gorbachev to tear down this wall.  During this time I was also involved with AFS.  AFS is a student and teacher exchange program that was created by the American Field Service which was an ambulance corps in World War I.  Basically, the founders beliefs were that there had to be something better than war and that perhaps getting to know each other was a good start.  So they developed an exchange program.  I didn't really believe that Russia was bad, or China, or any of the others.  I had this idea that people were people all over the world and that they had some pretty similar desires - food, water, comfort, love, and happiness. I applied for the program and was accepted.  When they asked where I wanted to go I said "whatever place is least like America."  They chose Istanbul, Turkey which I'm here to tell you wasn't that different.  Sure they didn't have running water 24 hours a day and there was only one TV station.  But they liked to eat, talk, laugh, play games.  It seemed proof of my belief.  I still believe it.

Well, that was the beginning of my travels.  I think too, that as an American I didn't feel rooted.  I mean countries in Europe have histories going back thousands of years.  You could say Native American history is that old, perhaps even 10,000 years old but that's not the history of Anglo-Americans - though it would be good to know more about that history than I do.  As a result, I've felt a strong desire to see where "my" people come from.  America the salad bowl or melting pot.  

The first trip I did with my friend Rob.  We were college roommates.  I was in Tampa and stacked one year's vacation on top of Christmas and New Year holidays and some of the next year's vacation and had a 19 day trip through Europe.  We landed in Frankfurt, Germany, took the train to Paris, Avignon, Rome, Naples/Pompeii, Sicily, Florence, somewhere in Switzerland, back to Frankfurt, to Vienna and back to Frankfurt.  Whirlwind!

The next trip I did was about 10 weeks long and is described more full in the Western Europe page.  

I went to England and Ireland with my girlfriend for 2 weeks - that wasn't long enough.

Most recently, I went to Eastern Europe.  Imagine how 20 years ago Bulgaria and Romania were essentially off limits behind the iron-curtain, they couldn't have been any closer than the dark side of the moon.  Now, I'm flashing my American passport and getting by with no visa and no hassles.  20 years and now I can say I have friends in Bulgaria.  Friends in Bulgaria.