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9.24.2003and i'm proud to be an american, where at least i know i'm fr-- er, sorry...
some reflective thoughts from my trip so far.
apparently, a lot of nations in the EU are really starting to crack down on americans (and other foreigners as well, but americans are the largest group) who are working illegally in europe. many people find jobs that pay under the table and sleep on a friend's floor until either they get caught and sent back home, or their application for a visa goes through. being an american, i have found that the only people who really give me any problems about being american are other americans or canadians. many american backpackers sew the canadian flag on their backpack or will lie and tell someone they meet that they are from Vancouver, for example. i don't understand why. canadians i've met tell me that i'm brave for admitting to being american. um, i guess... i may not be proud of certain stereotypes about america (some of them rightfully deserved), but i'm not going to go so far as to lie to people about where i'm from. i love the US (but not in that blind "i love my country for no discernable reason, now pass me another beer and my gun" kind of way). so far i've found that most locals and other travelers are more interested in who i am as a person as opposed to what nationality i am. i think most of them know that the young people who are traveling around europe for such a lengthy period of time are probably different than many other americans. which i do think is true. for whatever reason, a majority of the people who i've met in my travels (from all countries, not just the US) have at least some interest and knowledge in liberal politics and geography. which, unfortunately, is more than i can say for a significant number of my fellow countrymen. now, i'm sure that if i was like some loud mouthed american travelers, i would get dirty looks and nasty reactions. but i would think i would get the same if i was a loud spaniard, or german, etc. actually, most people i've met seem to hate the british just as much, if not more, than americans. they may not appreciate the attitude and arrogance that the USA exhudes, but, like it or not, at least they understand where it comes from since we are probably the most influential nation on the planet, for better or for worse. but britian's arrogance is seen as an unwillingness to accept the fact that they are not what they once were, and are desperately trying to cling to their past greatness while refusing to reconsider their position in the world, and more specifically, europe. as far as bush goes, they all hate him from what i can tell. i haven't heard one positive thing about bush from anyone. if anyone has anything negative to say about the usa it always is something like "here's what i hate about bush..." another interesting thing is that many europeans see traveling to the US in the same way that americans view traveling to europe. that is to say, they feel that it is almost beyond their reach, that it's so far away. well, it took me 6:30 to fly from new york to london. it took me almost 4 hours to fly to denver. that doesn't seem like such a huge difference to me. the bigger difference is the money thing. we make more of it, even if it's worth a little less right now. so i can understand the apprehension of a european (especially an eastern european) to consider travel abroad. plus, the US also makes it difficult for people to get visas here, and i believe they require them for some european visitors (i know they do for people from the czech republic, even though we don't need one to go there). traveling here has also given me an appreciation for what is at home that i haven't seen. the grand canyon, yellowstone, california, las vegas, and countless other places. there is so much to see in the world, and the more i see, do, and learn, the more i become addicted. i am hoping that when i get home i can seriously learn to speak another language. first spanish, because i should be able to pick it up fairly easily after having stuidied it for so many years. but i would also like to ultimately learn 3 or 4 other languages (a lofty goal, i know), because i feel that it would give me a definite edge in the job market, especially one where travel may be an integral part. as far as the rest of my trip goes, i had a bit of trouble getting to berlin. i met these two girls at the train station in amsterdam, so we hung out on the train. actually, one was from west chester, pa. go figure. anyway, the train was having technical problems, so we stopped a couple of times. the girls and i napped, and when we woke up, we were only a few minutes from our stop. or so we thought. we got off the train and realized that we had gotten off a stop too early. so i suggested we hop on a train to düsseldorf to catch a train to berlin. it saved us about 2 hours of having to wait at the wrong station, so i was a hero. woo hoo! but berlin was very cool, and i was a sightseeing freak. it's a much more modern city than any of the others, so it kind of reminded me of home in a good way. there is just so much stuff to see, i couldn't possibly do it justice by describing it here. next i went to prague. of course, this was an adventure. i got to the train station in berlin to get my czech eurail pass validated. i thought the train was leaving ast 5:47. unfortunately, when i got to the counter, i found out that i was at the wrong train station, and that the train for prague had left the station at 5:31 (it was 5:35). oops. well, not knowing what to do, and having no way of making it to the other station by 5:47, i decided to try and catch a train to dresden, so at least i would be close to prague. i asked at the information desk when the next train to dresden was, and the woman said, "right now, if you can catch it!" shit! i ran up the steps and found, to my surprise, that not only was the train to dresden pulling into the station, but it also happened to be the same train to prague, 15 minutes late! once i arrived in prague i had the most kick ass of kick ass times. the people were cool as hell, the beer and food was cheaper than you could possibly imagine, and the city was a great mix of big city buzz and beautiful surroundings. again, i can't do it justice, so you'll have to wait for the pictures. but i will say that i have never seen so many beautiful women in my entire life. seriously, the ones that are like a "6" in prague are a "9" in the states. there are ugly girls in prague... they're called "tourists." now i'm in münchen (munich, but i like using the "ü" key because it's on the keyboard). i got a sore throat on the train here, so i haven't been able to do oktoberfest yet. but you best believe that when i wake up tomorrow i'm drinking. why? well, it's my FUCKING BIRTHDAY, THAT'S WHY!! shit. i'm going to drink so much beer that you could probably drink my piss and get drunk. i know that wasn't a pleasant image, but i can edit the blog, so if it really bothers you i'll take it out :p anyway, it's bedtime for bonzo. hopefully i'll update the blog again sooner ratehr than later. ciao! 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