I went back to the place where my whole life is spent, my happy place, for the first time since the pandemic started. Before the Covid-19 coronavirus, my family had a long tradition of travelling to Europe every summer to visit friends and relatives in various countries like Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Ireland, Switzerland, Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Sweden, Poland, Norway, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Finland, Iceland, Portugal, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, Malta, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Croatia, Georgia, Armenia, Cyprus, Kosovo, Albania, Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, and Syria. We’ve traveled around the world with our parents before moving to Ukraine, and we planned to do it again this year since it’s been more than three years that we haven’t visited anyone in person. But due to Corona, we were forced to cancel all plans for 2021 which I didn’t agree with so much but then found out that the country was going through some restrictions in order to avoid spreading it to other regions. In March 2020, when everything got shut down and most businesses were closed for 15 days I decided to take a trip with myself to see what’s new in the area and why people keep coming back. It ended up being one of the best trips I’m planning to go in 2022 and even though this wasn’t going to be an easy task, I was excited about experiencing it once again.
I’ve never traveled alone before because I spent so many years living on my own, but there was something special about seeing families coming together after three full weeks apart. Seeing how their lives have changed since they finally have a chance to come home would make me feel very proud to finally see them again. This trip also allowed me to learn a lot about myself and who I am as a human being. What really surprised me is that each place has its own story, the people living in it have unique characters but are still the same. Although not everyone is the same way they look, everyone is still the same inside. They just don’t know it yet. When you get into the mindset that someone has lived the same things in their entire lives, you change your perception, and therefore, that person will be more tolerant towards others. For example, if I’m talking with a stranger in Iran, I may think that he or she must be insane because he or she can speak English and does almost everyday things with his or her hands and knees. Now it doesn’t mean that they are crazy but since they are used to doing daily activities on their own, you can sense that they have problems. That is the only problem since all humans suffer from mental illness at some point in their lifetime and it makes us all different. People who suffer from depression and anxiety just don’t know how to deal with other people, they suffer inside themselves, but most importantly they feel alone. I discovered that we are indeed the same despite how different we might seem. Everyone has their little quirks and we should still value each other and try to help each other out, no matter where we live and how big or small we are.
I found out after spending several hours with the locals from Russia, Italy, India, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, England, India, Nepal, Argentina, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Peru, Canada, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Panama, Uruguay, Nigeria, Africa, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Tunisia, Egypt, Djibouti, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Benin, Tanzania, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Liberia, Congo, Sierra Leone, Senegal, South Africa, Gabon, Cameroon, Kenya, Niger, Chad, Uganda, Togo, Cameroon and Zambia. I had the feeling that all these places have their stories and I wanted to find out something new, something to talk about and discuss with people from all over the globe. All these cultures have given me endless knowledge on different civilizations all around the world. Each one tells its own story and history but they are a part of the human race that has co-existed together for thousands of years and has made itself known and appreciated by us on earth. After learning from the locals from Russian, Italian, Indian, Vietnamese, Australian, Japanese, South Korean, Chinese, French, German, Ukrainian, Polish, Estonian, Slovak, Romanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Swede, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Moroccan, Swiss, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese and African, I felt connected to everyone in those countries because all of them still remember their past and present which makes them unique and not like any other culture. There are some differences between people from different places but overall the same core values. While I don’t claim to know everyone all living in the planet by heart, I feel that I can tell stories about them and share my opinions with others. At the end of this trip I want to find happiness and contentment and maybe I will be able to be free from loneliness and live another wonderful life. Even though this is my third time traveling abroad, I hope that now the world will become more peaceful.
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