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Europe was unreal. I don't even know where to start or how to describe it. One thing for sure is that coming home and sitting in my room was the strangest feeling. It was strange waking up in the middle of the night because of jet lag instead of Lindsay stealing my blankets or Stacy's butt trying to shove me off the bed. It was strange having to make my own breakfast instead of a vast German meal already prepared infront of me. It was strange, although it was heaven, eating asian food for the first time in forever. It was strange not living out of a suitcase. After being surrounded by people for 2 weeks straight, it was so unbelievably quiet. It was so eerie, that against my better judgement, I was tempted to play that stupid Hotel Room Song. And then I remembered that if I never hear that song again, along with any of the songs in the following video, my life will be perfect.


Thank you Alicia for the wonderful ending.

After 2 weeks of bus rides with a bunch of choir kids and band kids (minus the instruments, plus a ridiculous amount of terrible singing), I think I'm good for music for the next little bit. I still wonder why we chose to sing the same songs over and over again instead of... I dunno... Something different?

Anyways, this trip has proved to reveal so many different sides of people. I was with a group of some of the sickest kids you'll ever meet, and I never realized how different it is seeing people around at school as opposed to living with them. I mean, you don't really notice how loud and obnoxious some people can get until you sit with them on a bus for 7-hours at a time. And oh man, the weather brought out some of the worst in people. I mean, you stick 29 students, unprepared (the weather report said "light flurries," not blizzards), in -15 degree (5 degrees fahrenheit for you American kids) weather, and there's bound to be some sense of discouragement. Surprisingly, I think it brought out something good in me. Despite the snow and rain taking a toll on all of us physically and sleeping with sick roommates every night, I somehow was able to stay optimistic and healthy.

Europe is a place that is so rich with culture and history. I mean, I come from a country that has barely any history of its own where as a city like Venice has a church on every corner with thousands of years of back stories. Seriously though, the churches, palaces and castles over there are insane. It's so humbling just stepping inside and admiring all the intricate architecture. It's so hard not to walk down the streets with your head up looking at all the buildings. Some places have rooms that are bigger than my house with paintings that are bigger than my room. Some places are so freaking extravagent, with art that looks like paintings, but are actually thousands of glass chips pasted together. It's mind-blowing to think about how many years of work went into every single detail. There was so many times I wanted to just lie on the floor and stare at the ceiling, but I knew the security guards wouldn't be too happy with that. It's just so different from Canada, where everything's new and efficient. During my trip, I was allowed to take the time to soak up all the small details. It was strange, since I'm so used to intaking everything in at once, even though everyone knows that eating too fast will give you indigestion.

And oh man, the acoustics in the churches were incredible. Even though our choir sounds like crap compared to the St. Thomas Boys Choir (Seriously, what the heck. They have these little soloist boys that come up to my knee with huge voices that can fill up entire churches without the help of a mic.), it was still cool to listen to those songs sung in context in the places where they were written for. Even the off-key notes sounded good when they resounded. At the same time, I didn't always understand the culture behind the things that were inside though, like how some of the churches would keep the hands and other body parts of saints and popes in jars, and to me, that was just wack.

Venice was by far my favourite place that we went to. I don't think there's anywhere else in the world that has a transit system made of boats. I mean, their boats are equivalent to our skytrains. Imagine getting up in the morning and going to school like that. I've never been to a city so unique. It's like you walk 10 minutes from civilization and end up in a whole other world. When we first arrived there, we were all so surprised when Myung led us into a crack in the wall to our hotel. Sorry, not a crack in the wall, a street. As much as the churches were so powerful, there's only so many churches a person can visit before they all start looking the same, and you start getting sick of looking at nude statues, so I was really glad for all the free time we got. It was so much fun exploring all the little streets and shops with people that I legitly enjoy being around. I had my fill of the best pasta and pizza, and ate gelato basically everyday. It was pure bliss. And ohmygoodness, I never in my dreams thought I would actually go for a ride in a gondela. It was so crazy, 'cause we were just chilling along the canal and our gondeleer starts singing to us in Italian. Movie-esque? I think so. All I needed was a good-looking European boy beside me. (Just kidding... Although, I have to admit that European boys are absolutely gorgeous.)

It was really sweet being able to compare the bigger cities with the small towns in Europe. You get strange places like Vienna with huge shopping districts, McDonald's and city lights and then a random humongous cathedral over-shadowing everything. And then you get small towns like Eisenach with cobblestone streets and castles on the outskirts. Although, I have to say I don't miss the uneven streets... I already have enough trouble with flat ones.

I'm really surprised how I managed not to get sick of people. I guess it was because we all got so comfortable with each other that we could just tell when someone needed space or when someone wanted others to be around them. One of the best things about it all was that I got the chance to hang out with people that I wouldn't really talk to at school. Sometimes, people can really surprise you. I learned a lot on this trip about being responsible for myself, and even more so, about taking care of others. I never realized how important it is to have people's backs, whether it's backing up someone who didn't bring enough Euros or making sure your sick roommate brushes her teeth and wakes up on time. I think Felicia's motherly instincts have rubbed off on me.

Holy, I've already written so much, and I know it doesn't even describe the just of my trip. I would love to go on about all the hilarious moments and inside jokes, the sleepovers with girls piled into our penthouse suite with the overheated floors, Fritt and enormous ice cream, but it would take me hours to talk about all my experiences and tell stories about little things that made my day. I still can't believe that not that long ago, I was on that tour bus that we're all sick of, driving around Germany, Austria and Italy. It's nice to be home, back to consistancy, but I'm starting to miss it already. Now it's time for reality (and my chem test mark) to slap me in the face.

Goodbye Europe, I never knew you.

PS: No big deal, that's just me and my girls chilling at one of the sets of The Sound of Music.

PPS: I got snow but I'm not a snowman.