3 continents, 6 countries, 4 months, and a lifetime of impressions

Needless to say:

My summer of '06 was CRAZY.

From May 22nd to June 17th I ran around Europe with my wonderful friend Katie. From June 26th to July 26th I lived in Ghana, West Africa. From September 11th to the 29th I stayed in the slums of Manila in the Philippines.

And during my travels I found, discovered and experienced some crazy things:

In Germany I found my distant relatives, discovered a beautiful countryside, and experienced the German club scene.

In the Czech Republic I found a country trying to recover from the recent end of their communist government, I discovered the necessity of an umbrella, and I experienced, for better or worse, the strength of absinthe.

In France I found Van Gogh and Monet, discovered the beautiful combination of crepes and nutella, and experienced some true French hospitality, both good (thanks to Katie's friend) and bad (thanks to our sketchy hotel).

In Italy I found the rumor that Italian men are extremely sketchy to be extremely true, I discovered the bones of St. Peter in the Vatican, and I experienced directional confusion from being on the leaning tower of Pisa for too long.

In Ghana I found true beauty, discovered my deep love for Africa, and experienced genuine Ghanaian hospitality.

In the Philippines I found unconditional joy, discovered the pain of lacking, and experienced humility.

So now what.

What in the world do I do with this past summer? Do I take my memories, fold them up, and stuff them in the back pocket of my mind?

That would be a waste of a summer.

If you know me at all you probably (or hopefully) know that I hate blogs. I would rather talk to a person than have to remember to read his/her stupid online journal. Furthermore, if you know me you hopefully know that I don't even like to write. So let me explain to you why I am doing this.

When I was trying to figure out what to do with all of these experiences, I realized that there was something I wanted:

I want to be affected by this summer.

And so, I am starting this blog to remember and adjust accordingly.

Why use a blog to do this? A couple reasons:
1) You get to hear about wonderful, crazy, beautiful, strange, important people and experiences in my life, and
2) I get to remember them while I continue with my wonderful, crazy, beautiful, strange life.

I guess at first I will write mostly about the people I met this summer who I hope to never forget. But don't worry, my summer of '06 may have been my inspiration to start the blog, but I will be writing about much much more than just those past few months.