Parts 1, 2 & 3

Part 1:

Some noteworthy quotes from the trip so far. I hope they're not too...inside-y? Just because we crack up when we remember them, doesn't mean you won't just roll your eyes. So I apologize in advance, just in case.

"The bananas are under *your* bed. Wait. That sounds weird." -Me

"I'm holding a head of broccoli, don't make me mad." -Me

"But what if they don't lock up their salt at night?!" -Tessa (regarding midnight airport teeth brushing.)

"That's ducking awesome." -Tessa

Ivan the Russian's wise words: "Nothing's hazardly."

Me: "...you mean by chance?"

Ivan: "Yes, that's it."

And our favorite so far, from the Tallinn Hostel about a booking question: "Excuse free revenge isn't present."

Well that clears things right up, doesn't it?

Parts 2 & 3:

We now have a theme song for our trip.

Thrift Shop. 

Mostly because no matter where we go, we always hear it. In a bus or airport, or hostel radio in the evening...it's not just in the US that it's popular. When a slide show of our trip pictures is made, it will be to this song. And I don't even love the song or anything. 

And we also have a motto.

"In Wifi We Trust." Now we are both in want of a necklace with the wifi symbol engraved on it. Kind of like people wear a cross? Yeah, it's gotten to that. Really though, wifi is our lifeline to figuring everything out, not to mention to update you like I'm doing now!

Bonus part 4:

What we are reading right now.

Tessa: Walden by Henry David Thereau

(Which just now adds another quote, really a cry of anguish, "Where's Walden??" When Tessa misplaced her e-reader. This led to a few minutes of us non-stop cracking up. 

Leah: I'm reading some Agatha Christie novels now. I still have 28 Hercule Poirot stories to go. But I'm going to start Dracula soon now that we are in Romania.

Bonus part 5: 

Fun fact! Romania's banknotes are made out of plastic instead of cotton or paper, like most countries. This is because at one point someone (maybe another country?) suggested changing over to plastic money, meaning more digital, credit cards, etc. but the Romanian bank took it literally and they changed it all to actual plastic money. Which is good for, like, rain. Or something.

A couple other countries that use plastic banknotes are Australia and Canada.

Quote-worthy Musings

I stumbled upon this cool quote today:

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I've ended up where I needed to be." -Douglas Adams

Well Douglas Adams rocks of course, hands down. Also, it relates to my thinking recently.

   Something about me: I love planning. Especially travel. From the past trips I've been on, I'm always right on top of the planning. Back when I was 12 my dad won a plane ticket to Japan, and he bought another one so we could go there together as a "field trip." This is why being unschooled is so awesome by the way. So my dad lets me figure out all the sites to see, the best way to get around, the areas we're going to...from what I remember, pretty much everything. (That's good experience and practice!) I even learned a few characters of Japanese. (When we got the immigration forms on the plane I was like oh my god I know what that word is!)

   Since then, and before that at age 9 in London, I'm mostly in charge of the planning. It might also have a little bit to do with some OCDness, but mostly I just can't wait to write down pages of info for my next big adventure. I'm getting to something, don't worry:

I CAN'T PLAN THIS TRIP.

   I've finally accepted that. It's HARD. But the more I read about these kind of trips and people's experiences, and realize what I want it to mean to me...the more I come to terms with the fact that once I get there, who knows what the hell will happen. And don't read into that badly. My story isn't going to become Taken 3. It's just, as much as I look up every single possible city and plan a route this way and that to the exact day, I know I will have about 200 times more fun if I let things go. So that's what I'm doing. The nature of this trip is unlike anything I've done before, so my mindset just had to adapt.

   Who knows, maybe Tessa and I will end up staying a month in Romania volunteering at some animal shelter for abused and neglected dragons? If that did happen by the way, I'd probably be sworn to secrecy and for the good of the creatures, you wouldn't hear about it on here.

And I'll leave you with another fabulous quote from one of my favorite books:

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..." -Dr. Seuss

It's now December, seven months till departure!

Leah