One of the best things about being abroad in Europe is the ability to spontaneously book a trip to another country in as little as a few minutes. I remember laying in my bed thinking about how I should start doing my homework when my laptop suddenly started googling cheap airline tickets. Out of nowhere I suddenly came across a cheap one-way ticket to Budapest. My laptop then searched for cheap returning flights and found the beautiful city of Prague. I later thought to myself “Why not?” and continued my procrastination by making this purchase. What I didn’t expect was to amazed by these two gorgeous cities. Budapest is definitely a hidden gem! This city has SO much to offer and I definitely recommend it to anyone making their way through Europe! Upon my arrival I was faced with the Hungarian forint. As I stuck my card inside the ATM I see my options of cash withdrawals to be 1,000, 10,000, 20,000 and up to 100,000 forints. I was so confused as to how much money I should take out. I quickly googled the exchange rate and was impressed with how much 100 euros would get me. As I made my way to the city I managed to see the Buda Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion, Mathias Church, and Heroes Square. I quickly realized I did not book enough time to see everything this city had to offer but I made my way, walking 25 miles each day I was there in order to get the most out of the city in my short stay. Through this journey I managed to meet Frederic, a guy from Germany who also decided to take a spontaneous trip through Budapest. From the beginning Frederic was everything I saw in a friend, he listened, laughed at my corny jokes and helped me in any way he could. Although a stranger, I felt as if I knew him for years. The first night we met we decided to go to bar near my hostel, and it was one of the coolest bars I have ever been to! It had Christmas lights that hung from wall to wall with about 8 different bars within a certain area. It was like nothing I have been to before! My last day in Budapest I decided to relax before I took a seven-hour bus ride to Prague. What better way to relax than spending the day at Budapest’s world known thermal baths. This was definitely the most relaxing thing I have done in my entire life, and is a MUST if you are ever in the area. I remember convincing Frederic to take an ice bath in order to make up a bet he had lost the night before. After seeing his face, I couldn’t help but feel guilty and decided to try it as well. As I went inside I felt myself tense up and the pain shoot through my body as if it were an electric current. As we both rushed out we went back to heated baths. I clearly remember turning around and seeing the look of satisfaction on Frederic’s face as soon as he took a dip in the 30 °C water. Soon after, we decided to head upstairs and hopped into the rooftop pool, where we managed to see the wonderful city of Budapest. As the time went by it was time for me to say goodbye to Frederic and catch my bus to Prague. It was sad to think that I may never see Fred again, but overall we still manage to keep in touch and I hope that one day we manage to cross paths again! I arrived to Prague at around 6:30 AM, just in time to see the most beautiful sunrise my eyes have ever had a glimpse of. Prague was a dream and made it at the top of my list as my favorite city in Europe. Everything was magical, the bridges, the river, the markets and the people. As you look in one direction you see the amazing architecture of the Prague Castle, and as soon as you turn around you see the wonderful city and all it has to offer. My hostel was near Old Town Square where one is surrounded by Prague’s famous gothic architecture. A short walk ahead, was the beautiful Charles bridge which was filled by couples showcasing their love, and tourists taking endless selfies. I also managed to see about three different wedding photoshoots which all happened to be in places I wanted to shoot at as well. I was about to let these images go but then I thought to myself “you are only here once, go get that shot!” I then sneaked my way behind the soon to be bride and got one of my favorite shots EVER! Sorry not sorry gurl, I am sure you can Photoshop me out of your picture anyway lol. Prague was the perfect place for me to sit back and reflect on everything that was going on in my life. I lost myself in the moment and managed to let go. I felt alive, and felt the butterflies in my stomach start to turn once again. I was happy, happy to travel, happy to explore, and happy to learn about myself. Everything just fell back into place and I felt the fear flow out of my body. I know this European tour hasn’t been easy but look at me now. I have been higher than I have ever been before and I won’t let anything bring me down. You never know what will happen or the experiences you may live if you never take a chance and believe in yourself. I’ve learned to be happy with the direction I am going and am thrilled to see where this road will take me. As I recap my trip to Budapest and Prague, I relive the wonderful memories I left behind. I will always cherish how impactful this trip was in my life, and the people I met along the way.
Until next time… -Ricardo
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Spain has brought me some of the best and some of the worst moments in my life. Looking back, it is crazy to see how much has happened over the last few weeks. My whole journey through Europe has been a roller coaster ride and I have finally made it to my end destination. My arrival to Spain seemed to be accompanied by an avalanche of problems. I was left stranded with no apartment for my first four days in Murcia. I was forced to call the cops and flee a scene where my friend and I did not seem safe. I lost close to 600 euros due to a scammer who’s flat was nothing like they promised and the school here is very unorganized where not even the staff seem to know what they are doing. Back at home, I felt the agony from my family who is coping with my grandmother who is suffering from cancer. I also managed to lose one of my best friends. I felt lost, confused, and was starting to have second thoughts about coming to study abroad. Universidad de Murcia wins my vote for being the most unprepared school on the planet. First off, the staff has no communication which each other whatsoever. The professors are late to class and rooms are changed from one day to another with no announcement. The whole process to even register for classes is confusing. The official “First day of class” comes after a whole two weeks after classes have officially begun and you can’t even access an online portal to look at the course syllabus or homework assignments without being enrolled in the class. In order to enroll you have to set up a meeting with your assigned tutor who does not even remember they set up a meeting time with you, followed by an appointment with the secretary’s office who doesn’t even enroll you for all the classes you selected. Murcia on the other hand has brought me so many wonderful memories. The amount of support I have received from my friends here is crazy. I have also met so many people from around the globe, who are all interesting individuals who took the same challenge of studying abroad like I did. I also managed to build incredible relationships. Beor, you and I have gone through some pretty chaotic things and I am glad we both decided to take this journey on together. You have helped me so much, and push me to smile through all these rough moments. I cannot thank you enough for always looking after me and pushing me to live life to the fullest. Your humor and bubbly personality continues to make me laugh day after day. Taryn, you are the sweetest girl I have ever met in my life. Thank you for always being there and being the base that holds everything together. I am also very proud as to how far your Spanish has come in such little time! I have no doubt you will learn the language in the next coming months! Despite the hard times, I can honestly say this has been the best experience of my life. The friends and people I have met along the way have left a mark on this incredible journey. I cannot describe how lucky and blessed I am to have received this opportunity. Through traveling and through living in a different country I have started to learn things about myself I did not even know existed. I developed a love for photography and I gained the confidence to get out of my comfort zone. I have managed to solve problems and learn from experiences that would not have happened otherwise. I am glad to say I am morphing into someone I am so proud to be. As I write this I can’t help but get emotional as to how far I have come in my overall life. I have managed to attend a university, a lifelong goal that no one in my family has ever seen, and now I am studying in Spain. This is all surreal and seems like a dream and I never want to wake up from. Reflecting and being able to sit here and type something so personal sets an example as to how much I have changed throughout these past two months. I am finally developing the courage to be myself and it feels pretty damn good. There are secrets of my life that I am waiting to address to the people closets to my heart. I am finally starting to believe I am ready to let these secrets free. I never would have thought that this moment would come, I never thought I would be ready and here I am. What awaits is scary, but I know I have the strength to push forward. Thank you to everyone who actually takes the time to read and follow me on this quest. There is one last thing I wish to say. Ricardo, I am so incredibly proud of you.
-Ricardo |
AuthorRicardo Perez Archives
October 2018
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