Lessons Learned

    It's finally that day.  I'm down to less than 24 hours in Bilbao and Europe too.  I'm packed for the most part and I think I should be able to make it home with all of my things.  Keep your fingers crossed, though because it's going to be close.

    I leave at 6:45 in the morning from the Bilbao airport and thank God my host family is driving me.  Most kids have to take the bus or a taxi.  I know I wouldn't be able to handle the bus with 3 suitcases!  From Bilbao I fly to Brussels and from Brussels to Chicago.  I believe we land in Chicago around 1 in the afternoon and then we have a 7 hour layover before I get to come back to Nebraska.  If I did the math right (which I'm sure I didn't) it will be around 25 hours of traveling before the drive back to Broken Bow.

    For my last blog entry, I thought I would share some of the lessons I've learned over the past 4 and a half months.

1. Some people just weren't created to backpack through Europe.  I am one of these people and I am perfectly happy checking my suitcase so I can travel more comfortably.

2. There may be a word for "excuse me" in Spanish, but it isn't a part of daily vocabulary-- Which is fine because I love knocking old people over.

3. There are other people in the world besides my mother that appreciate my sense of humor.  This week I was voted "Funniest Girl" in our CIDE Superlatives.

4. Driving lanes and speed limits are just suggestions.  It's a miracle I've survived European roads, but I still have one more car trip.

5. Also just a suggestion-- Customer Service.  If I was that rude my own mother would fire me!

6. But if you ask people for help in the streets, especially in Spain, everyone is more than happy to help you and they appreciate that you are learning their language.

7. If you want to learn funny or naughty words, the best place to look is to the 10-year-olds who think you must be famous since you are American.

8. People from other countries hate it when we call ourselves Americans. Did you know we aren't the only country on the American continent?

9. There is absolutely no reason why you need to buy a completely new European wardrobe.  But if you do and have the ability to get it all home, more power to you.

10. Do Not-- I repeat, DO NOT under any circumstances help friends with money emergencies unless they have done a full psych evaluation beforehand.

    Thank you so much for reading along with me on my journey.  It meant so much knowing I had a full support system back at home (and knowing that people actually took the time to read these).

    Next stop- America!