by Samantha Burmeister | Jan 27, 2014 | Destinations, Sam's Thoughts
Sleep
Sleep has finally happened for me! I got a full 8 hours in last night after my average of 2-4 a night for the past week or so.
Hence, it is within 30 minutes of me waking up and I’m actually in a good mood. Crazy, right?!
Discotheque
This is one of the best decisions I’ve made since arriving. A girl in our group knows a couple of people who have been studying here for their entire undergrad, and they took us out. We paid 15 euro to get in, and the bar was open after that. That INCLUDED bottle service. The clubs are open 12-4am, and afterwards we went to an afterparty until 9am. We had orientation starting at 930, so we struggle bussed a little bit.
If you want a good story, ask me about “My fun fact is that I’m faced right now”
This coming Friday, we have a ‘Welcome, Foreigners!“ party where we have a party bus and entrance to a disco provided for us. I’m so excited!
Photography
Even though I have to miss every other class, I can take photography! I just found out this morning, and I am beyond excited to learn something new! Something ARTSY. Guys, look, it’s Sam, trying to do something creative. It’s a big deal for me!
Internet Blockers
I’m not going to sit in my room and watch netflix my entire trip, but it doesn’t hurt to be able to access it! I tried to watch the other day and got a message that said, “We’re sorry, but we haven’t reached your part of the world yet”. What do you mean, ‘my part of the world’!?
My roommate is from the Philippines, so she knows all the tricks, and hooked me up with a system that tricks my computer to thinking I’m stateside.
The biggest advantage so far is that I’ve watched Beyonce’s performance from the Grammy’s on repeat for the last half hour.
Food
Mezze is a traditional meal. I don’t know much about it, but I know that the serves continually brought us tapas- style courses for about 2 hours straight. From mushrooms to couscous to salad, I must’ve eaten my weight in traditional food last night!
From the fresh salad (FINALLY VEGETABLES!) to the pudding for dessert, and coffee after, this meal usually costs about 20 euro and takes over 2 hours to eat. Why would anyone want to rush through such fabulous food?
by Samantha Burmeister | Dec 18, 2013 | Sam's Thoughts, Solo Travel
When I was 19, I was told by a peer that she hoped to fall in love hundreds of times. As an aspiring twenty-something, I thought I knew what she meant. Now, I realize that I had no blasted idea. Hell, I still don’t.
At 19, I could grasp that people could fall in love every day. Where I was, I was falling in love with the kids I worked with, my job, the Alps, the trains. That part was easy.
In the last three years, I’ve fallen in love at least a hundred times. I think back to the day I was told that, and nearly scoff at it. Of course, falling in love is easy. Goodbyes and falling out of love is the hard part.
I came home and fell in love with my state, major, university. I fell head over heels for my boyfriend, stouts and porters, new friends, tattoos, apartments, my car, music festivals and travel. I’ve slowly fallen out of love with my belongings and well… Like I said, that’s the hard part.
I think about how she phrased it. ”Yeah, I think people should fall in love at least a hundred times before they settle down.” It seemed extreme at the time, especially given the context.
What I have realized since that summer is that I was made not for one person, not for many people, but for me. I carry the usual insecurities of a 22 year old now, but try every day to fall in love. With me.
Hundreds of times.. a day? I’m still falling in love with everything around me. Today, I fell in love with the path that gets me to class faster, the 3 hole punch in the lab, and the fact that SkullCandy gives extra earbud protectors with every set of headphones (it’s finals, obviously.)
I hope I never stop learning what ‘falling in love at least a hundred times’ means, so I can continue to share my love. Whether it be for Sound Tribe, books, learning, food, or my couch, I strive to be transparent and virtuous, so that I may emulate the greatest gift.
by Samantha Burmeister | May 9, 2012 | Sam's Thoughts
“It’s about time that the pieces fell together.” …right? There’s this assumption that once a person hits college that they choose their major and field, and their life is (relatively) set out before them. It isn’t until that person gets to college and takes a deep inward look, do they realize that isn’t how the world works. Can I get an amen!?
But we’re told over and over that from here, we can go anywhere.
“It’s about time you moved out of your parent’s house.” Everyone swore when they turned 18 that they’d never have to return home. Yet I was back before I finished my second year at school. Consider me lucky, though, because home hasn’t just been a landing pad, but a launching pad. The comfort and familiarity I’ve come to know here have a distinct dissimilarity from anywhere else I’ve ever lived. So much is different at ‘home’ since high school, and the changes were something that I needed to experience myself before launching “Samantha’s Future; Mission 2.0”, where I will take on the world again, this time more sovereignly. Being able to land back in Iowa has renewed my confidence that I will succeed at whatever I put my mind to.
“It’s about time you wrapped your mind around your own identity.” Who are you away from your family? Away from your city, your state, country, friends, technology… your own bed!? What are your plans, separate from anyone else’s expectations? Even amidst a whirlwind of rainstorms, secrets, crazy runs, long days, long nights, my first car, fancy beer, rumors, solitude, cheap beer, music, diets, endeavors, business lunches, a robbery, I’ve realized that every little piece of the puzzle will eventually come together.
But really, it’s about time. If the average life expectancy is age 80, that means we have less than 30,000 days each. And by age 20, there are only about 22,000 days left. Let’s not even think about those last few, which usually aren’t terribly lucrative. There are milestones to be had, adventures to be taken, friends to be made, and mysteries to be uncovered in these next 22,000! It’s about time that we start taking advantage of every single day and every single decision.
“It’s about time you start planning your future.” Well, I have a plan. I used to have a plan, and tomorrow I’ll have a new plan. My plan used to be to run away to Europe and live happily ever after with an International Business degree and a man with a French accent. Now, the plan is to finish Uni here in Iowa (CyclONE Nation!), continue down the fantastic career in finance that I have begun, and then continue to go where the world takes me.
It may seem silly to start my worldwide life by spending two more years in Iowa. Don’t you worry, I’ll get there. Just remember that no matter what, it’s not about me. It’s about the world that is out there to love.
There are 194 countries in the world. I will see them all in the next 22,000 or so days.
The pieces of the puzzle are coming together. It’s about time.
(These shoes were designed over a year ago by a close friend, the puzzle piece with the heart is shaped like my home state of Iowa. Home is where the heart is. <3 )
by Samantha Burmeister | Apr 10, 2012 | Sam's Thoughts
How are you? Oh, that’s nice, what’s your major? Okay, so what are your goals? What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you do for a living? Are you making good money with that?
Seriously? Is this what every one of our initial conversations has come to? When I first went to college, I joked about making a T-shirt during welcome week that said, “Samantha, Iowa, Marketing” because the first three questions I got were my name, home, and major. I knew it was a little over the top, but I also knew I was better than the facts on my homepage (…or LinkedIn, or Facebook ‘About Me’, or..).
*
My dad saw one of my best friends for the first time in six years. The first question out of his mouth was, “So Kyle, what’s your passion?”
And we were both speechless. Kyle did a great job of stuttering his answer, and returned the question. What would you answer?
*
The meaning of life. People are always searching for it. I hope it’s nowhere to be found.
I know what I want, and my life has been finding a way to achieve it. My goals? My passions? My livelihood? Shouldn’t the answer to all of the aforementioned questions be the same?
*
South Sudan became a country in May of 2011, and according to the UN, is the 194th country. I know the laws of ONE country well enough to break them. I know the people of ONE country well enough to stereotype them. I have called ONE country home.
I’ve always been proud to be in the top whatever percent of whatever I do. I do my best and apply myself to my passions. Culture and the world is my passion, and I have done almost nothing to achieve an exceptional level of understanding of it.
*
There are 194 countries in the world. I have been to The United States, Mexico, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Italy. 3.6% of the world.
I am here to see where the wind takes me, and enjoy every little adventure along the way, and explore every single country in the world. I am taking the road less traveled to answer all of those questions with my passion for experiencing the world.
.. only 187 to go!
