Eleven Months Later...

Gaby and me at a fantastic castle

Eleven months have passed and I have led an interesting life. I have lived with a family, left a family, found a new family, had a guy, and then didn’t. I traveled to Croatia, Austria, Jena, London, Prague, and Paris, twice, Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest and all the places in between. I have been to Oktoberfest and Spring Fest in Munich, too many Christmas markets, New Years in Paris, dancing in Berlin, and celebrated Carnival! My Parents, Grandparents, and Best friend have visited. And ALL along the way I have encountered too many people to count and met some people that I will not only never forget but will call my dear friends for life because they just “get me.”

Paris 2013 with my Grandparents

Eleven months have passed and I have led and interesting life. In Germany, Germans look at me saying “wait you’re not German?” and Americans say “WOW your English is impeccable!” I have heard the line “please speak English it’s easier to talk.” And others saying either “lets practice, I will NEVER speak English with you again” or “wow say something in German again that’s amazing.” I officially start every conversation I have with a German with “Entschuldigung mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut.” And with my family now I have learned and am able to actually have a conversation without having to worry about ANYTHING. So thank you to Nicole!

Eleven months have passed and I have led and interesting life. I have been a mother to four kids who have turned my life upside down. I have absolutely fallen in love with each and every one of them. I have been with the ages 3 to 7 and have learned the “sweet” spot on where to tickle each of them just enough to hear that amazing little laugh kids have. I appreciate ALMOST every moment that I have been able to spend with all of my kiddos so far and am sad every time I have had to say goodbye.

Spring Fest 2013

            Eleven months have passed and I have led an interesting life. I have learned that you can’t let peoples words bring you down no matter their age. (Immaturity and vulgarity have no age limit.) I have learned how to handle a bad situation on my own. I have learned communication skills, money managing skills, and most importantly a BIG shocker, your parents are right normally 99.9% of the time! Sorry guys but I thought that should be put out there! I have learned that you can’t count on anyone but yourself. If you want to get something done you need to get up and do it. Otherwise NEVER expect it to get done.

Eleven months have passed and I have led an interesting life. I will never take for granted “family time” again! I will appreciate every moment that I get to spend with my parents knowing that this may not be the last but also that things happen the way God has planned and that is that. I will try and listen to may parents, because I know that they probably are right but hey we STILL all need to make mistakes every once in a while. I will stand by what I believe in and not allow others to sway my opinion on things that are important to me.

London 2012

Eleven months have passed and I have led an interesting life. I know that I may be strange, different, crazy, and loud. But, that makes me who I am, and I DO NOT plan to change. I know that some people thought they could treat me poorly because I am young, a foreigner, or just someone working under them, but that NEVER gives anyone the right to think they are better then any other person.  I know that I am just a normal person that I make mistakes like any other. I know that I am not and never will be perfect and thats the way it is.

Croatia 2012

            Eleven months have passed and I have led an interesting life. I have grown as a soul, shrunk as a person, matured as an adult, and decided, “I’ll never grow up!” I have decided that I am going to go places and let no one step in my path. I may not know my plan or what I want to do with my life at the moment, but I understand that God does have an idea for me and I know that it will be great. I speak another language particularly well for such a short period of time. I have learned that when you are strong nothing can stop you. I will never forget what the family I have been given and I will never forget what they have done to help me and how they support me on a daily basis. I am a different breed; I am not some normal girl on some normal person path. I have chosen the road less traveled by and I am loving every minute of it. Yes there are bumps and cracks but hey… life isn’t perfect. Right?

Amsterdam 2013

Paris 2012

The 3 Musketeers, Carnival 2013

Yours Truly,

Natalie Romo

"I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it."   -Ralph Waldo Castro

Paris part 2. Part 2 ;) + Dachau!

OK so as promised I was just visited by my grandparents and I got all the pictures from their camera from Paris. So here they are.

My french friends/family!  

Me and my Grandparents

At the Louvre

Out in an open air market! :) 

Lunch, pulling a usual Natalie face.

My in my special French hat! :)

Watching Rugby, Their bodies... that should say it all.

Ice Cream with Laura!

Also when they visited we made a visit to Dachau! This was the first and I would say that it was also the most “important” because it was a model for all the rest. “It was the first Nazi concentration camp being built in 1933. Jews, political prisoners, homosexuals, and others deemed ‘undesirable’ by the Third Reich were imprisoned in the camp. More then 200,000 people were sent here; more then 30,000 died at Dachau, an countless others died after being transferred to other death camps.” Berry, Oliver. “Discover Germany, Dachau.” Lonely Planet Discover Europe. [S.l.] Lonely planet, 2013. N. pag. Print.   Being there was sobering, shocking, and I am not even fully sure how to explain it. It was great chance to see this and I still want to go see others! Someone told me once that I should never go alone. And now. I am glad that I didn’t!

 Another monument!

 Never again

A Cathlic church on the camp and on the right was a Jewish church and the left was a Protestant church!

 When entering the crematorium area!

The cremators.

 This is were they would shove the people telling them that they were going to take a shower and instead would be gassed. this room was right next to the crematorium area!

May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945

Because they resisted nazism help to unite the living for the defence of peace

and freedom and in respect for their fellow men.
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I have now been traveling for almost 11 months and have seen so much and been on some GREAT adventures! I am so happy and can't wait to see what is next.

Your adventurer! 

Natalie Romo

"I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list"

                                              -Susan Sontag

Paris Take 2!

Leaving for Paris on Wednesday the 29^th I was headed to by far my favorite place in the world so far! This time my excuse to go back was to see my grandparents. They have been in Europe for about a month now. I was given the vacation time and have been dying to see some family so off to Paris I went!

Day 1, Thursday May 30, 2013
1^st stop. The Louvre! Meeting my grandparents at the museum it was the first time in 10 months I had seen some of my family. (Other then my parents) My grandparents are exactly how I remember them and for me that was something that was absolutely amazing to see and hear! I missed being with them and being able to hear all of their stories. In the past year they spent a great amount of time in Australia and New Zealand. So I was able to hear and get the low down on their trip and to hear all there classic Nana and Papa moments! But really I didn’t ever realize how much I enjoyed talking to my family and friends so much until everything gets taken away and you are ”alone.” But we met at the Louvre and stayed there for a couple of hours… Honestly there is so much there I saw all new things and it was ABSOLUTLY amazing! This time I saw a lot more painting and this is really something that I could stop and appreciate for hours! After we left the Louvre we separated, I went to check into my hostel and ended up sleeping so next I saw them on Friday.

  

Day 2, Friday May 31, 2013

Vincents painting and the real thing

Meeting up with my grandparents at the house that they were staying at which happened to be there past exchange student I was able to catch up with Jacqueline, which was nice. When we finally left we were headed for the old church that Vincent Van Gogh had painted and also his grave. I thought that it was amazing to be around something so old, something so prestigious, and beautiful. Although I was very surprised to see that the way they have chosen to “decorate” Vincent and his brother’s grave was though the solution of ivy. After visiting the Church and his grave we made a stop by Claude Monet’s house and garden. I honestly walking through here was just shocked. It was so beautiful the flowers were amazing and there were so many! His house was so small on the outside but on the inside it looked HUGE! Then we made it to my favorite part of going to Monet’s house and garden was BY FAR his pond area! It in a one-word description I would say extraordinary.  Now we walked threw all this area and while nana and I were walking behind my grandpa sneaking cookies it turned out he knew the whole time and made sure to tell us! And the best part was my grandma sticking her tongue out at him
and me on the side trying to hide my giggles! When finally getting back to Paris we had decided to take a walk and we went to see the Dôme Church. The golden domed church took 27 years to build. In the crypt lies Napoleon, whose final wish was to have his ashes “rest on the bank of the Seine.” This was truly a sight to see. From the outside your eyes cannot avoid the golden tip and once entering there is just so much to see it is rather overwhelming! Down on the same level as the crypt there were statues and 3Dmarble art “things.” I was honestly amazed. It was so beautiful and it made me feel so small! After walking around the crypt and surrounding area we decided to take a break. Grabbing a beer and a seat we sat and continued to catch up on life!

Day 3, Saturday June 1, 2013

Arriving to meet up with my grandparents and Jacqueline we went out at around 11 and started out with an amazing outdoor market! Walking through and just seeing all the food was killing me! I had just eaten and then walking through here… I think I could have tried one of EVERYTHING we saw! French food, bread, cookies, cheese, meat, BREAD, potatoes and MORE BREAD! And I would just like to put out this disclaimer that I am not a huge fan of bread but WOW in France I would die a happy girl to just have bread and butter! :D  After walking through there I was leaving a hungry little girl BUT we were headed to another area of Paris that I had not seen! And Laura came with us, which is Jacqueline’s daughter. Her and I get along very well we only had a small problem of a complete language barrier! Although even with that we still got along very well! After all the walking when we went back to the house and for dinner we had a “traditional” -ish French dinner including cheesy

potatoes, meat, different pates, cheese, bread, and SO MUCH FOOD but you also cant forget the wine! Jacqueline taught me how to appreciate wine, what you eat with what, and all that jazz! So now I guess I can fully appreciate wine! Finally at 12 I decided that I needed to get back to my hostel and sleep.

Day 4, Saturday June 2, 2013. Saying goodbye

My last day in Paris and saying goodbye to my grandparents for a couple of weeks was all good! I had some time after my grandparents left to see another amazing open-air market and really I wish we had more of these in the states. It’s all fresh and so yummy looking! I decided to buy a thigh and I took it over to the Eifel tower, which was near by with a pastry and sit and indulge in the sun.  After at around 330 I headed back to Jacqueline’s house to have a late lunch. This time it was traditional Brazilian and it was so good! After eating and saying my final good byes to the family I left and headed to catch my train home!

Honestly I love Paris so much! I am happy about being given the opportunities to go when I have, and I cannot wait for the future when I will return and how it will just feel like home! I feel blessed to have been able to see my grandparents and that they are here! As my days fly by homesickness comes and goes! Seeing family and friends from home makes me so happy and it reminds me that I am so lucky to be here and even luckier to have a great support system behind me pushing me forward! So thank you!

Your Wild and Crazy Little Traveler,

Natalie Romo

"The bold adventurer succeeds the best" -Ovid