About that whole travel blog thing...

That was... a joke, right?

I honestly don't know WHY I thought I would have or take time to write blog posts this past month. They actually do take considerable time and effort! I tried once or twice in the beginning, while I was waiting in line I would write on my phone, etc. But there is so much more to see and do! Also I took a BUTT LOAD of pictures, and my down time in hostels was mostly spent combing through them and trying to wrestle them onto Facebook. I have 8 new albums up!

There is so much to say I will never get through all of it. I've been debating how I wanna do this - do I want to write you a post from each city just telling you what I did? Do I not want to go into all of that detail? One thing I do want to do is construct a sort of hints and tips guide. For now, I pray your indulgence while I figure this out, and I'll give you a tiny low-down for the interim:

My trip was fantastic. I am so blessed, and I was so very looked after the whole time. Honestly? Nothing really bad happened. How crazy is that?? I met cool people and saw beautiful things and went places I never dreamed I would actually go! It's actually still really hard to believe that it happened. It almost feels like something I watched, the way it is in my memory. That's... actually something I'm worried about. losing this memory. but I won't dwell on that now.

I. Am. Exhausted. Travelling. Is. Exhausting. And I was only gone for a month! I met several people on my journies that had been gone as much as 3 or SIX months! I don't know how. About halfway through my trip I had a big wave of "and why did I think 4 weeks was ok??" - I really felt like calling it, and going back home. But I had already booked the hostels, and I would be wasting my interrail, so I kept on, and I am so glad I did!

Mainly the worst part about this trip was: It is summer. Now here's the thing: I grew up with Texas summers. But SOMEHOW, without even having lived through a summer in Britain yet, I seem to have forgotten that summer is EFFING HOT, and that sweating is the actual worst. Also I didn't pack for it - in my defense I was only packing with from the things I brought from Texas to the UK, which was not a lot of summer clothing. In any case, Italy in the summer, when you are unprepared, is REALLY miserable. But I made it! And the North was much cooler, praise the Lord.

As I said I will hopefully post more later. Right now? You could help me by praying for the rest of my summer. I really need to transition into WORK mode soon, which I have a feeling will be very very difficult. But I have a LOT of work to do. And I really need to do it. I finally got my marks for my first two submitted essays while I was gone and well, let's just say I need to work harder, and I won't be getting a distinction any time soon. But that's ok! So long as I graduate, I'm grand. Haha you never thought *I* would be the one claiming "Ds make Degrees!" did you? Well they do.

Also, as I said in a status, I managed to not hurt myself much this trip (with one tiny scare about my weak knee), but the very last day, while walking through Brussels on the way home, I think I strained my back or pinched a nerve or something and if it doesn't get better I might have to go see a doctor or something. Uhg I hate seeing doctors, and I have no clue how the NHS system works. Do I see a GP for something like this? or go straight to a chiropractor?? I dunno.

I've got a lot of thoughts to share but it might take a while to organize them. Still, if I don't post more in the next few days, come yell at me, before I start to forget what Paris was like.

Thanks as always for reading, and sorry for not making good on my promise to post AT ALL!

Rissa

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise him all creatures here below, praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.