Spontaneity: I’m Leaving Europe

My summer abroad has been full of rash decisions. Some have been amazing, and others have led me to terrible travel experiences.

Today, I made another rash decision, and I feel like it’s a good one.

Spontaneity is a word I had to look up to spell. Don’t judge, we’ve all been there, and I’ve been on a bus for eight hours. Recently, it’s something my life has been full of.

My last overnight bus brought me to a bad place. This one’s taking me farther, yet somehow, I know I’m headed in the right direction.

I’m leaving Europe.

(For a few weeks)

People who know me have probably heard me talk about how much I love traveling, especially across Europe, and this past summer, that’s exactly what I did.

By early September my travels typically come to an end. This year, however, that’s not the case…

Over the past month, I’ve been in the middle of nowhere, in a small Bulgarian town called Blagoevgrad. While the chance to recoup was at first welcomed, my girlfriend and I started staring at the walls of our BnB, just a little too long. The highlight of our day was the twenty-minute walk to the gym, and the only real flavor from our food came from a giant wicker bag of onions we hauled back from the grocery store on our second week there.

Blagoevgrad was sometimes pretty, always sleepy, and though boring, this break was necessary for our survival abroad.

We needed to make travel more sustainable and stow our bags in a corner for a minute. In Bulgaria, I applied to online job boards, found work as a content writer, and discovered this strange, mostly gaming-oriented YouTube channel (which totally isn’t me by the way).

But by the end of it, we needed out, fast.

So, with a few weeks left at our BnB, we decided to meet up with my sister and her boyfriend in Istanbul, Turkey.

And after spending a week on the Asian side of Istanbul, I can say without a doubt that it was a good idea.

Istanbul is the best budget option for travelers near Europe that I’ve visited so far. The touristy European side was busy and more expensive, but by hopping on the ferry to the Asian side, you’ll find meals from 2-6 USD in trendy neighborhoods.

The difference between leaving for Turkey and walking blindly into my worst travel experience is the feeling I had before making the decision.

When I bought the bus to Croatia from Italy to work for some random vegan dude on Workaway, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, cold sweats, and felt caught between two stones.

Boarding the midnight bus from Blagoevgrad to Istanbul, I didn’t feel sick. Sitting in the back seat reminded me of the feelings I had when I took my first trip abroad: pure excitement, innocent joy, and determination simply to see.

To some extent, following my feelings more will bring me to better places, and keep me from worse ones.

Intuition is something to keep in mind, I guess. Sometimes, we feel faster than we think.

Live your way,

Noah