It has been 4 years since we returned from Bratislava. I had some time today (May 30th of 2016) and thought I would go ahead and complete this blog. It was short two blog posts: one of our visit to Barcelona and a final post to wrap it all up. I had already started this in draft 4 years ago. I took what was already there and finished it up. It is hard to believe it has been 4 years since we got back to the US. We really miss our time there. We would happily pack our bags and go abroad again, even now that we have a child. We would love for him to experience living and traveling internationally.
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I sit in a half empty flat (with only the furniture that was here when we arrived two years ago) waiting for the car service to pick us up and take us for the all too familiar ride into Vienna. To me, the flat is empty. Besides the few kitchen and other household items that we're leaving, there is no real mark that we were ever here. There are two years of memories and a king size mattress pad that says "Jenn and Joey were here". To our landlords, they probably have a more positive view. There is hope that the flat will be filled with new tenants who will bring new energy and make new memories here.
As we depart Bratislava and head back to the US, I've been thinking a lot about my world view. I don't think I'm a negative person, but I'm definitely not overly or proactively positive. I'm pessimistic, generally looking at why things won't work rather than how they will. I want to attribute part of that to my job as an auditor because I'm paid to look at things and identify risks, weaknesses, and failures, but in a conversation last week, my boss reminded me not too subtlely that maybe this is my personality more than it is the job. I know he's right.
We've had an amazing two years. We've gotten to do things that most people don't get to do in the lifetime. We've hiked the Great Wall of China, stood in awe of Da Vinci's the Last Supper, strolled past the Roman Coliseum and Forum, skied in the Austrian Alps, ate our way through Provence, walked on the D-Day beaches in Normandy, hung around in Red Square, I went to a British Open at St Andrews (the home of golf), and we were in the grounds at Wimbledon. None of these moments or experiences did we take for granted. We know we are lucky, and I would like to think we took advantage of that luck. It's a lot like taking advantage of a good run in blackjack. You try not to think about why the cards are coming your way and just get as much money on the table as possible to capitalize.
We had a great going away party at a restaurant overlooking the Danube the other night. It was very cool to look around and see all the new faces and personalities that are now a part of our lives. We made a lot of new friends, learned a lot about ourselves individually and as a couple, and expanded our world view. We leave Slovakia as better people.
Given all of this, I don't know if I'll turn into a more optimistic person, but I hope to do a better job of at least acknowledging the positive outcomes and aspects of a situation. There is always going to be a downside risk or possibility, but there is upside too.
So, we leave behind the furnished apartment on Gorkeho exactly as we found it when we arrived, as if untouched for two years. Besides a few minor things we picked up along the way, we really are only going back with what we brought. This chapter closes and another begins as we make our way back to Austin.
We will continue to seek out opportunities for new and different experiences and take advantage when we can. We will travel and expose ourselves to new things.
We will live life to the absolute fullest and leave no room for regret.
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I sit in a half empty flat (with only the furniture that was here when we arrived two years ago) waiting for the car service to pick us up and take us for the all too familiar ride into Vienna. To me, the flat is empty. Besides the few kitchen and other household items that we're leaving, there is no real mark that we were ever here. There are two years of memories and a king size mattress pad that says "Jenn and Joey were here". To our landlords, they probably have a more positive view. There is hope that the flat will be filled with new tenants who will bring new energy and make new memories here.
As we depart Bratislava and head back to the US, I've been thinking a lot about my world view. I don't think I'm a negative person, but I'm definitely not overly or proactively positive. I'm pessimistic, generally looking at why things won't work rather than how they will. I want to attribute part of that to my job as an auditor because I'm paid to look at things and identify risks, weaknesses, and failures, but in a conversation last week, my boss reminded me not too subtlely that maybe this is my personality more than it is the job. I know he's right.
We've had an amazing two years. We've gotten to do things that most people don't get to do in the lifetime. We've hiked the Great Wall of China, stood in awe of Da Vinci's the Last Supper, strolled past the Roman Coliseum and Forum, skied in the Austrian Alps, ate our way through Provence, walked on the D-Day beaches in Normandy, hung around in Red Square, I went to a British Open at St Andrews (the home of golf), and we were in the grounds at Wimbledon. None of these moments or experiences did we take for granted. We know we are lucky, and I would like to think we took advantage of that luck. It's a lot like taking advantage of a good run in blackjack. You try not to think about why the cards are coming your way and just get as much money on the table as possible to capitalize.
We had a great going away party at a restaurant overlooking the Danube the other night. It was very cool to look around and see all the new faces and personalities that are now a part of our lives. We made a lot of new friends, learned a lot about ourselves individually and as a couple, and expanded our world view. We leave Slovakia as better people.
Given all of this, I don't know if I'll turn into a more optimistic person, but I hope to do a better job of at least acknowledging the positive outcomes and aspects of a situation. There is always going to be a downside risk or possibility, but there is upside too.
So, we leave behind the furnished apartment on Gorkeho exactly as we found it when we arrived, as if untouched for two years. Besides a few minor things we picked up along the way, we really are only going back with what we brought. This chapter closes and another begins as we make our way back to Austin.
We will continue to seek out opportunities for new and different experiences and take advantage when we can. We will travel and expose ourselves to new things.
We will live life to the absolute fullest and leave no room for regret.
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