Goodbye 23

Every year I have a ritual that on my birthday and my friend’s birthdays I ask the questions: what was the best part of this past year, and what do you hope to accomplish in the next year. For me twenty three was a difficult year. It was filled with lots of ups and downs. I faced heartbreak too many times, had dear friend’s lives cut short, uprooted my life and moved to the middle of nowhere…twice! Pushed myself to the intellectual, physical, and emotional breaking points by going back to school to pursue my Master’s, running in and completing the Houston Marathon, and by moving to two new places where I didn’t know a single person…or even the language in my most recent move. Despite all the challenges that twenty-three has brought on I am grateful for each and every one, yet I do hope I don’t have to go through some of them again. I tried to learn my lesson from them the first time (that they happened this year…) With a year filled with hardships it has also been filled amazing blessings. I have made some amazing new friends through all the moving and travelling that I have done. I have wonderful roommates who both have amazing dogs, I have some of the best fellow graduate students in my program who share in the struggles and triumphs of academia, and I have met people in all corners of the world while travelling the globe who inspire and encourage me.

The best part of my year is very difficult to decide on because it has been filled with insurmountable moments of joy and accomplishment. However, the best part of this year had to be the opportunities I took to travel and the airport arrivals. The moment when I landed in Panama City and was greeted with a huge hug by my best friend. The moment when I stood in customs in Mexico City in the middle of the night hoping someone was waiting outside to pick me up, and the relief of seeing that UT sweatshirt. The moment when I rode with the window down in a taxi feeling the sea breeze in Puerto Vallarta. The moment I anxiously got off a plane in Mexico and took a chance. The moment I decided to take on Paris for a day. The moment I met my friend from Panama in Budapest and made the world feel small for the first time. This year I fell in love with airport arrival gates and the joy that they have brought me.

This next year I will accomplish many of my goals that I have been working towards for some time. I will graduate with my Master’s in English. I will have finished my memoir. I will move…again…to who knows where this time, all I know is there will be a beach nearby! I will travel somewhere…anywhere I can and as often as I can. But what I hope to accomplish isn’t a bucket list item or something I can put on my resume; it is bigger than that to me. It is a perspective change. It is to love myself and send as much love into the world as I can. To think of others first more often. To give and expect nothing in return. To laugh until I cry more. To give up control and just trust in life’s direction. To worry less. To be open and honest. To forgive. And the concluding item…to continue to grow.

Goodbye 23. 

At the summit of Vulcan Baru in Panama

Mexico City shenanigans with the the bestie!

Most beautiful beach I have ever visited. Yalapa, Mexico

Don'y be mad mom...

Tequila tasting in Tequila, Mexico

Castles in Budapest

Galata Tower in Istanbul with new friends.

Hello 24!

"My House in Budapest"

“My house in Budapest.

My, my hidden treasure chest.

Golden grand piano.

My beautiful Castillo.”

The song echoed on repeat in the playlist in my mind as I sat in the cab in the middle of the night whipping through the outskirts of Budapest heading into the center of the city. To ### József Krt where a friend, Manuel, who I met while travelling in Panama lived and had offered up his apartment to me during my stay. I was in a strange city, suffering from extreme exhaustion and jet-lag, and heading to a strange apartment in the middle of the night with a phone that couldn’t contact my friend if I got lost. What could go wrong? So many things crossed my mind that I had worked myself into a tight knot of tension by the time the cab stopped and I looked out onto a dimly lit street hoping to see the number on one of the many identical buildings. In the shadows I see Manuel standing there staring at the cab. Thank goodness! I am where I need to be, which is perfect because all I want to do is go to sleep.

The next day I had every intention of getting up early and getting my train ticket to Brasov, Romania so I could spend the rest of the day exploring the city. My plan was shot to hell when I slept in past noon…and subsequently got extremely lost trying to find the train station. What should have been a ten to fifteen minute walk turned into a three hour stroll through the Jewish district of Budapest where I saw numerous signs of the persecution that they experienced. It was unsettling, but it was a chance to explore a section of the city in which I hadn’t intended on visiting. After eventually finding Keleti Train Station I then had to figure out where to buy my ticket…I wandered around aimlessly pulling out my Eastern European phrasebook hoping to find guidance. I didn’t. The next step was to try to find someone…anyone who spoke English; I found someone who could understand me I think because she pointed to where I needed to go. All in all I got my ticket (or at least I hoped I did) and rewarded myself with a cappuccino and some delicious pastry filled with custard!!

At this point it was nearly five o’clock and I had agreed to meet Manuel at his apartment when he got off work, so I headed there and managed to find my way back in 15 minutes, how long it should have taken on the way there. I didn’t want to risk getting extremely lost again so I stayed put, and waited for Manuel because I figured he would serve as a good tour guide for the rest of my time in Budapest. I was right!

Lets hope this gets me to where I am supposed to be going...

 

Keleti Train Station 

I saw all the sights. The iconic Hungarian Parliament Building, Buda Castle, Hero’s Square, Vajdahunyad Castle, Széchenyi Thermal Bath, St. Stephens Basilica, walked across the chain bridge, Margit-sziget Island, and I got acquainted with the bar and club scene! All of which was packed into two days! 

The Hungarian Parliamentary Building

The back of the Hungarian Parliamentary building.

Buda Castle from Chain Bridge! 

Hero's Square!

Vajdahunyad Castle

Széchenyi Thermal Bath