Change of Pace

To those two people actually read my blog, I'm changing my blog type. There so many things other then places to talk about so from now on this is a rant blog. So yea change of pace guys. The metaphor of the pilot seat still works, trust me. But it's slightly changed, this time it means to take all our nothing. You're gonna fly the plane or you aren't. SO here goes everything. 

Hopefully this one is true..
Image thanks to Idulgy.com 

They said it I had it easy moving here was easy for me. Have you ever seen your best friend break, have you ever seen the girl who was your shoulder start to cry? Well then don't tell me it was easy because it was the exact opposite of easy. I left a part of me there something I can't get back. It's funny, when I moved to Park City I thought I would be screwed. I mean my parents chose the one city that seemed to be on a different planet compared to my hometown. Most of the kids in my old school hadn't even seen snow before. That would come across to about half of my current school as crazy. Park City thinks they are over crowed at thirty kids per class. My English Class had forty seven kids in the class and we were the smallest out of all seven that he had. Listen I'm not complaining, its just funny that we ended up here. Two very different states, two very different  cultures and two very different homes.  It reminds me to my first day in AP geography. My teacher was talking about what we were gonna learn when he says something on the lines of,"you'll find that a lot of states here seem like an entire planet away." then a kid someone who I will not name (but it does start with an A, you know who you are).... Yelled out California like it was the most logical answer in the world. I wanted yell back and say no but, I stopped and realized maybe he isn't wrong. Like how people haven't seen snow there, some people haven't been to the beach here. I understand I kinda restated what I said before. It's an important concept that I have just now come across. 

Back to what I was saying before, I thought I was screwed. Why wouldn't I be, I had different hobbies, I 'talked differently', and I grew up in the same small town my entire life. Can I just explain San Elijo Hills for a second, I know San Diego is a pretty big city. But the place where I grew up was a very very very very very very small town. Everyone knows everyone, in my entire life there, maybe only two new kids moved there. I had everything planned out for me. The schools, the friends and everything an eighth grade girl could dream of, (with in reason because nothing is certain.) But you what you don't expect is that you will be moving, that you have to tell the girl who was a sister to you that you've been keeping something from her for six months.  When you move you are only thinking about you in that moment not the others around. Until it's the last week and you realize you aren't gonna see these people ever again. You aren't gonna see the kids who grew up with you. The oy who stood up for you when no one else would. The girl you would talk to everyday. In a few years they might be the last thing form your mind.....

I didn't adjust well either. This place wasn't home for such a longtime for me. It wasn't until I accepted the fact that this was my very different home and  I wasn't gonna move back. That I really started to fit in here. Not that I do now, I'm not a ski kid, this is my first time ever having an all day locker etc. My life has been very different then kids here. Hopefully one day I'll start getting used to this place.  You could say that moving was easy for me but it wasn't. Leaving is a two way street. I had to experience both sides of it. 

I Learned that You Have Family Everywhere

We stepped off the dock and something about the world changed around me. There weren't cars, just boat taxis, no big city hustle, everyone there took their time. A concept only few people where I'm from actually celebrate. The pathways were small and the people were kind. I was in Venice and I never wanted to leave. 

Venice, Italy is a small city at the top of Italy at the coast of Adriatic Sea. My family and I traveled there in the summer of 2014. It was our last stop on our tour of the Caribbean. We went Turkey, a couple cities in Greece, and Paris. Which I understand isn't on the Caribbean, but hey we went there. Venice is known but not for the reasons that it should be. The culture there was the classic Italian  feel. People were loud, the food was good, and everyone has a home

So lets start with the people. The sidewalks were small in between each building and with all the voices it was hard to anyone. But between all the madness I hear, "come sta la tua famiglia."Don't ask me how I remember all of this I just do. Anyway, it was a shock for me how can person be that clear in a place like that. Responses were coming out of thin air to the point where my head started to spin. So on that first day in Venice, I learned that people can be pretty loud 

Venice Image provided by telegraph

The food, oh my god the food!!! I hope all of you that are reading this has had Italian food before if so, you have never had Italian food like this. It was all made fresh the pasta didn’t come from boxes. Everything I ate there was drool worthy. It wasn’t just the taste of it though, it was the smell and the sounds around. Which sounds totally weird I get it but you had to be there. When you sit down in a restaurant like that first thing you notice is the smell of freshly baked dough. Then you here the chefs conversing in the back. Which makes you feel at it home. 

Which also brings me to my next topic. You find a home there. Sure tourists are noisy and they take up space. Believe me I’ve dealt with plenty to assure you that one. But they accept you there. For example, my family and another family went out to dinner our second or third night in Venice. All of what I had said before was true, the food was great, the chefs were talkative and people were yelling. But behind all of those sounds, was laughing and communicating. Something I haven’t seem my older sister do in a long time (slightly kidding). My favorite part of the night was when the owners came up to our table, pulled out chairs and starting talking to us. They called us brothers and sisters by the end of the night. 

Venice is the one place I would go back to in a heartbeat. It isn’t one of those trips you neglect talking about or you get sick of. That’s my take on Venice, thank you for staying with me. 

The Affects of Leaving and Coming Back

 Every time I leave a piece of my heart stays there. It hurts to leave and it hurts to stay. I am torn between two places a home and a house if you will. I love it here I do but you can't force memories.  You can't just make so many years of growth and change happen. This place wasn't just a home for me, it was where I lived, I strived and became who I was. 

Coming Back Image Provided by flickr

 I recently went to back home to San Diego for UEA break and I almost forgot how much it hurts to leave... Hey guys it's Reede and if you haven't guessed already this isn't going to be a normal blog post for me. The reason why I am posting this is that when you leave a place once it doesn't hurt as much. But when you come back it starts to sting. Not a lot of people know that. 

  So while I was there, I stayed with my best friend and went to school with her. I know why go to school when just you just got school off? I am weird okay. But in that time I don't think, I have never smiled and cried as much as I did that day. People were shocked, some thought I was always there and never left. Some thought I would never come back. They all had different reactions to me being there too. For example, my friend Jennifer Van saw me and she screamed. Then clung on me to the point where I fell down. That was a happy reaction. But my friend Lauren who I've known since I could tie my shoes, started to cry. That was an interesting reaction... In those moments I realized the effects of coming and going have on a person. On either sides of the deal. It isn't fair or right to get up and leave people. But then what would you say traveling is. So much work goes into making a vacation perfect. The people you meet their. Believe or not you effected their vacation. We never think of it that way either.

 We are all effected by what others do. Leaving can hurt a person. Coming back can change a person. In some ways that's what traveling does to you. If you leave your heart too many places, you won't have enough to live. Going back to San Diego I thought about what my life here was like and what my life I could've been like there. Either way I liked my options. Here is how I was effected, leaving hurt but it helped me grow. I would be much different then I was if I stayed in California. Coming back was a different story. The town where I grew up in seemed smaller. The people I knew seemed different. Do I want to move back? If you asked me that a month ago it would have been a yes. But right now it's a no. You never know how much you need to leave a place till you're already gone. 

How I Remembered Placencia

I don't remember what year it was I just remember being young. I remember this was the first time I was out of the country. I remember that it was winter here but summer there. I remember meeting locals who lived differently then I did. I remember seeing animals I didn't know existed. I remember smiling... This is what I remember.

Robert's Grove in Belize Courtesy Placencia.com

Placencia Belize is one of the few places I didn't know existed before I went there. Placencia is in the southern part of Belize and is most famous for their beaches. If you were to go to the northern part its a lot like New York: busy and crowded. In my opinion, but it's still a beautiful place to travel.

I was young I know that, we all were. My family and I were going there for my Dad's birthday. So all six of us for winter brea went to Belize. In my first post I talked about how we got there this post is the when. I've grown up in beach town for most of my life but seeing these beaches for the first time was so different. The sand was white and the water was dark turquoise. There weren't hoards of people crowding the beach only a little few, it was like an unknown paradise. For a little girl who grew up in a big city this place was so different but the same too. 

One of the days we were there, my family and I went on this 10-12 mile long walk through a rain forest. We trekked through mud and steep hills, we saw monkeys and colorful birds. We stopped at this small waterfall to rest. My older brother and dad were the only ones who jumped off. Of course my older brother was so close to a sharp rock that three inches could've made it from the best trip to the worst. That was the day I realized small things can change things immensely. After that day the trip was pretty mellow, my brothers and I made friends with the locals who taught us how to climb trees and make something out of nothing. The day we left was bittersweet, we grew to love it there, all of us. But the real world was calling us back to papers and work. 

So if you are looking into a place like Belize I suggest to not be hesitant and go! It's an experience that you aren't going to get anywhere else. Which I understand sounds cheesy but trust me it's the truth. After that trip my family and I grew closer. Also very cheesy line, but hey its true. Belize was one of those vacation that filled every cliche beach scene dream you had. I'm one of those people who can't stand those cliches too. But even for me Belize was perfect. A little no though do not tell the locals 'You better Belize it..." They find this very annoying!! That'll be a story for another day. But for right now thanks for staying with me.