Can't Sleep

Sleeping is for sure one of my favorite things to do in life but sometimes my body just won't do it. Tonight is one of those nights. Generally, this can be traced back to a late afternoon nap or caffeine after 5pm. But no, tonight I'm just awake. The only redeeming thing about insomnia is the off chance of stumbling upon a new awesome show.

Enter Gator Boys. These guys are straight crazy. Like, Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter crazy. One of them willingly goes into ponds and nooses 6ft alligators IN THE WATER! It's no Swamp People but it will play.

Regardless, I'm hooked.

If you know me at all you won't be surprised to read that I got suckered into a new TV show that happens to be a reality show involving animals. Win win.

Oh, and the worst part about late night TV are the infomercials. Watching Animal Planet means you see this over and over and over but I guess its better than the awkward adult phone "dating" infomercials on Comedy Central.

Area Director School

6 days after I got home from Europe, I left for Area Director School in St. Augustine, Florida.

It was class inside a hotel for 8ish hours a day for like 8 days. Surprisingly, I loved it! It was full of good practical job training. The other bonus was that all training (New Staff, Winter, & ADS) held in the same hotel! I got to see so many friends that I rarely get to see and met some new ones. This also lead to some awkward interactions.

YL Assignment + Facebook + Time = Awkward

Level 1: "Hey! How are you? Where are you on staff? Cool, we should eat a meal together and catch up" This is clearly the least of the awkward. You both remember each other and the conversation is generally pleasant.

Level 2: "Hey! How are you? Remember, we did ________ together at __________! Where are you on staff? Cool, we should eat a meal together and catch up!" I have this conversation a lot. More often than not, I am the one who has the confused look on his face forcing the other person to explain how they know me. It's always awkward and I usually find out later that we are facebook friends.

Level 3: Awkward eye contact. "Hey, you look familiar. I think I know you. Have you ever been to ______? Do you know _______? Oh, we were at ________ together!" This level isn't so bad because neither party feels obligated to try and extend the conversation past placing each other.

Level 4: Awkward eye contact mixed with trying to avoid eye contact. You both know each other but neither can place the other nor are either willing to enter into a conversation about it. This surprisingly happens a lot to me and generally results in :

Level 5: Everything about level 4 but then you later find out you are facebook friends.

Anyway, my favorite part of ADS was our free day where a few of us trekked to the beach. It was so good! I literally was yelling that the entire time we were there playing in the water!

Everyone was surprised that I jumped the highest. I told them how in college people described me as "surprisingly athletic." They (especially Brit) thought it was hilarious and referred to me as such the rest of the day. Jerks.

Europe

Today a friend told me to stop being a bum and update my blog. So here it goes. It is long and short all at the same time.

Europe was AWESOME!! I will try to squeeze 2 weeks into a few thoughts and highlights.

Vienna was beautiful, very clean and felt proper. It was best described to me by a friend's mom as a "wedding cake" city. Let's just say its not on my list of cities that I want to revisit. I was in the boot the whole time so getting around was a little difficult. My foot wasn't the problem but walking in the boot messed with my hips and back because I didn't have any shoes of equal height. I also discovered that traveling alone is my favorite thing until about 8pm. Once I had finished dinner, all I wanted to do was find a nice quiet bar to have a drink and relax. Unfortunately, the only thing I could find were crazy discos and those were also the place of choice for everyone in my hostel room. My favorite part of Vienna was the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery). It is one of the largest cemeteries in the world and is the final resting place for almost all famous Austrians. Sounds morbid but I spent an entire afternoon there and could have stayed longer.

Parting thoughts from Vienna:

The cathedrals were beautiful but I was surprised that they didn't move me as much as my first visit to Europe. Round one brought with it a revelation about how Jesus is Lord and He is worth the extravagance of European cathedrals.

The public transit is on the honor system and I'm a sucker. I've traveled enough to know that you don't want to waste your money buying a ticket each time but get a longer term pass to cover the time you'll be there. I purchased a nice 72 hr pass and to my surprise, there weren't any gates to go through nor people checking your pass.

The next stop was Budapest. Unlike Vienna, Budapest is close to the top of my list of cities I want to revisit! It might have been one of the most gorgeous cities I've ever been to. Seriously. Its packed full of great history and great people. It also helped that I had an expert tour guide and great friend show me the city. We didn't do a ton but ate a lot and the food was cheap! Budapest was the gathering place for everyone before we headed off to Nyiregyhaza for the wedding. It was a wonderful time with friends. Favorite part of Budapest: The hot springs!! We spent an afternoon relaxing in debatably the most beautiful hot springs resort.

Wedding time!! Hungarian weddings are my new favorite thing! They start in the afternoon with a pre ceremony buffet. Perfect. Then we headed off to the ceremony which was in a 400 year old church and was done by a bishop. Perfect. Now reception time! Starts with a 5 course meal. Perfect. Now around 6 hours, yes 6, of dancing to a live band who was mixing traditional Hungarian jams with American hits. The dancing was stopped very few times but each time was awesome. First, the groomsmen and groom's friends kidnap the bride. The groom then has to win her back. We opted for an epic sword fight. (The master of ceremonies (wedding planner) liked it so much he is going to suggest it to his other clients.) There was also a dollar dance, first with the "country bride" aka the brides brother in a dress then the actual bride. The last break in the music was for midnight dinner!!! Perfect. The night rolled to an end about 4am. The band played their last song and was about to leave when I ask them if they know September by Earth Wind and Fire. They laugh and play it just for me. I mom danced the crap out of that song and was laughed at by the few remaining Hungarians. After a short jaunt to the horse stable to give them a well deserved midnight snack it was time for bed.

Overall, this trip was awesome but next time I go to Europe it will be in the Summer and I will see a beach.