Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

Summer is more than halfway done. School is in a month. I'm nervous to go back. Not that it's going to be hard or anything I'm not ready for... just the idea of it, and how much the last one sucked. Get through this and I'll be good. That's the way I should be thinking about it.

Three more weeks of Quest. (or should I say tres?) Who sends autistic kids that don't speak english to a summer camp in Alamo? The kids are funny and annoying, and annoyingly funny. I laugh at them and with them, and most of the time it's a combination of the two.

Haven't written in here in a while. There wasn't much need besides the Europe trip. Everything was going fine. Was.

I don't like not feeling like I have my space. Not like "leave me alone" space, but just a place to call my own, or rather yet, a place I want to call my own. Hopefully things will change. There's really no choice now, they need to.

Sensitive feelings are hurt easily. It's not even hurt feelings, it's more of a 'okay, I'm done for now' kind of feeling. I feel beat down a lot of the time, especially now. Even the simplest things are bothering me; snide remarks, the way things are said, etc. They probably shouldn't. I'm just on high alert.


[more to come]

Europa

I've been back for almost a month now. The whole trip seems so surreal, almost like I can't believe I actually went.

It's funny to think back on the things we saw and experiences. It makes me wonder what the others thought or felt at that particular time. Maybe they felt nothing, maybe that's why they have no other expressions. Whatever the case, I feel like I got the most of the trip, and everything I wanted to do\expected do, we did, so that's always a nice feeling.

Paris: Our first stop. We were all tired, lost, and unable to speak the language. Parisians were the most unfriendly when it came to helping us find things, or answering questions. Conquered the usual tourist sites in about half a day. Wouldn't necessarily want to go back. Been there, done that.

Berlin: My favorite. Overnight train ride was a nice little adventure. Anna was an awesome host. We saw the wall, a bunch of parks, had local food and walked the city. The Germans were all so kind and welcoming, not to mention that almost all of them spoke english, a nice change from Paris. I felt most comfortable here. I would definitely want to go back.

Stuttgart\Tubingen\Tuttlingen: Beautiful. Again, the Germans were so welcoming. Mary's parents were beyond nice, and made us feel right at home. The food was good, and the scenery was amazing. The little German towns and countryside were nice to see after seeing the city -life of Berlin.

Chur\Zurich: Not enough time. Zurich was just a passing point, although actually couch surfing was fun and funny. Chur was breath taking, and the train ride from Z-C was so eye opening. The alps on either side of you really makes you re-evaluate things. I would like to have gotten to spend more time here.

Europe in a nutshell.