You know you are on an adventure when …
– You’re a little scared to use your host family’s shower.
– An Australian guy and British girl wake you up by arguing in the next room.
– An government official lets you slide through the system without the correct paperwork because you plead to him or her.
– You only understand about every other word from your foreign language teacher.
– You hike up ruins at six o’clock AM.
– You get on the wrong subway car, but that’s OK because you don’t need to be back for awhile.
– You eat something that still has a face on it.
– You belly dance in a bar.
– You go abroad to teach a language.
– You are sitting on a floor in a hostel because they cannot find your reservation.
– You are so tired and anxious all you can do is cry.
– You talk to a stranger for an hour without pause.
– Bartenders invite you to dance on a table.
– You witness a brawl during a festival.
– You hike a great trail.
– You are seated with the plebeians in the back of the plane/bus/train.
– You work on a farm.
– You do something without a tour guide.
– You travel with someone you love.
– You find a pig head in your host family’s fridge.
– You have to fill out customs forms.
– You can give someone a tour of a place you just arrived in three days ago.
– You go to a parade.
– You discover large amounts of money in your host family’s oven.
– You try to speak a different language to no avail.
– You and a vendor start verbally abusing each other while bargaining.
– You go to a holistic healer.
– You can dance in the street without inhibition.
– You try vaguely “diarrhea inducing” street food.
– You get in a “heated discussion” about homosexuality and religion in a foreign country.
– You say goodbye to your loved ones because you have to go.
– You’re stuck at a bus stop because your train was late.
– You go into a hole in the wall bar and befriend the owner.
– You drink something that may or may not be alcoholic, but you’ll feel hungover from it the next day anyway.
– You almost die in traffic.
– You are lost.
– You become friends with a food stall worker and then proceed to make fun of the other customers together.
– You are almost deported by a customs agent because of a corny joke you told.
– You find love.
This sound familiar? Hopefully, it does! Those funny situations you find yourself in one way or another are all stories and anecdotes to be told later. Brush off the fear, and just try to enjoy the whirlwind that life is. More quotes, stories, and adventures are ahead of us at Expat-terns. Let’s start this fall season off right!