Twenty Five Countries in Thirty two Days

Once the travel bug bit, I had two halves to my life----the time I spent traveling, and the time I spent planning my next trip.  After my first year of college, spending my summer living in the dorms of Boston College, made me realize that I loved living away from my home, with other people my own age, making my own decisions, and not spending my life feeling like I was always explaining myself or always disappointing someone because my opinions did not agree with theirs.  I felt alienated from my family--like I had nothing in common with them, and it was their constant job to tell me all the things that were wrong with my actions and my decisions.  Of course it was no different when I told my family that I had decided to go to Europe for the summer, and I planned the trip myself.  NO ONE in my family thought that was a great idea.  They told me I was selfish, flighty, irresponsible, and tried to make me feel guilty by saying things like, "If something happened to you, what would we do?"  No one wished me luck, or was happy for me.  No one saw it as a learning experience, or as a good idea.  I saved my own money from my waitressing jobs and planned my own itinerary.  For my first experience in Europe, I decided to go on an organized group trip---one of those "25 countries in 32 days" experiences--designed to see a little of everything, but no details of any country.  That was fine with me---there were about 30 college-age students from various backgrounds and experiences, traveling on a luxury coach, with Wolfgang our tourguide, and Joe, our busdriver.  I drank beer in the Hoffbrauhaus in Munich, went to the red-light district in Amsterdam, gambled in Monte Carlo, and had an awesome time.  I knew that my travel experiences were just beginning, and the feeling of freedom that came along with being away from home could not be duplicated.  I decided that as soon as I returned, I would start planning my next trip....and that's what kept me going through another year of commuter college.