And the journey back to Nevada begins. Wow. How did this year fly by so quickly? I remember how my mom was yelling at me the night before I left because I still hadn’t cleaned my room. It feels so close yet so far away at the same time. 

I’m starting off in Berlin on the hunt for some incredible Christmas markets and to find the best mulled wine ever. As per usual, I don’t really have a plan. I just know that I have to be in Paris to catch my flight to LA in a little over a week, and that I am visiting a friend along the way. The trip started off a little rocky as my flight out of Ghana had a 12 hour delay. I got to spend the night in an airport hotel for free courtesy of vueling- though I made the bold choice to stay out exploring Barcelona until pretty late. I can always sleep later. It was probably the best place to be stuck in for 18 hours. My room even had a bathtub- let me tell you, that hot bath was life changing after having to share a bathroom for the past year. 

Berlin is definitely way colder than Accra. While walking around today I had to stop to buy a hat and a scarf. My toes are numb, my face is bright red, and my hair might be frozen. You’ll find me hiding away in coffee shops and in museums. It’s way too cold for my usual aimless wandering. Hopefully I’ll get used to it quickly, otherwise I’m going to be struggling until Spokane decides to turn to spring. 

A lot of people asked me (my mom and dad) why I’m choosing to travel instead of going home to make the most of the couple of weeks I’ll have back home. As nice as it sounds to be fed and taken care of back home I know that I needed some time to decompress and reflect on what the past year has been. I needed some time alone to make me realize that this whirlwind of a year is finally ending and that I am going back to my ‘normal’ life. I don’t know exactly how I feel about that but I’ll have to face it head-on pretty damn soon. For now though, I’m just going to enjoy my last few days of this life I created abroad. I know it’s not ending forever, just being put on pause until next time. 

Cheers from Germany,

L