During my sophomore year of college, I was fortunate enough to spend two months in Vienna, Austria and four months in Marburg, Germany studying abroad. I was also lucky enough to have Thursdays and Fridays off. I was determined to do lots of traveling while I was abroad because I knew I would never get another opportunity like that. I visited many countries and countless cities and I got to see some pretty awesome things.
Traveling around Europe was an amazing experience. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my time there, but as happy as all that traveling made me, I feel like I left a big part of myself every place I visited and a year later, I still haven’t quite recovered. I know I’ll be back someday to pick up those pieces and leave some more behind, but I truly miss all the places I visited. For those who can relate, and for those who can't, here’s what it’s like to leave your heart behind in another country:
1. Not a day goes by that you don’t think about that special place.
You struggled, you thrived and you had one of the most memorable trips of your life and now, you can’t get it out of your head. You constantly find yourself daydreaming about your days spent wandering around that place and what it would be like if you went back. For me, it’s London. I see something every day that reminds me about my time spent in that wonderful city. It doesn’t matter how unrelated something might be, at some point during the day, my brain always find a way to wander back there, most likely because that’s where I want to wander back to as well.
2. You’re drawn to just about everything related to that place.
Shopping is a nightmare because you continually have to stop and say, “Awww, this reminds me of…” It doesn’t help when the city or country you love is so mainstream you can find bath towels and spatulas pertaining to it. It’s never annoying though because it makes you so happy to see little reminders of your travels.
3. Your friends and family start becoming obsessed with your favorite places.
Because you get super excited every time you see pictures, throw pillows or a food item from your favorite cities, your friends start acting the same way. It’s totally contagious. You start to get bombarded with little gifts or pictures from friends and family (okay, really just your mom and grandmother) who see things pertaining to that one country and think of you. This also never gets old because these precious reminders are both thoughtful and meaningful.
4. You get upset when other people go where you want to be.
Really, let’s call this jealousy. When you see a friend or family member, or even some celebrity posting pictures of themselves in your city, it hurts. You get kind of territorial. You wish you were there and you wish you were the only person posting picures of that one special street and that one special bakery.
5. You use every chance you get to post a picture from your favorite place.
Every Way Back Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, and Flashback Friday, and maybe even a Transformation Tuesday are used to post pictures of all the places you’ve been. People may get annoyed that all you do is post old pictures of you in the exact same travel outfit with the exact same backpack but you don’t care because you cherish those memories and pictures.
6. You are always thinking of ways to save money and find a way back to your favorite city.
Can I sell my childhood Pokémon collection? Should I look into becoming an au pair? Is school really that important? Sometimes your brain goes a bit too far trying to think of ways to get back to your favorite country or city. This, however, combined with posting all your old pictures is just about the only thing that keeps you sane because the thought of never returning to get back all those pieces of your heart that you left behind is too scary to even think about.
