A Place to Eventually Call Home
My travel journey began during the summer of 2007, like any other, with a long plane ride to our destination. To me this wasn’t just any destination; it was right into the heart of the Alps. We landed in the Geneva, Switzerland airport in the early morning of July 17, 2007.
This was my first time overseas. I had no idea that this trip would open my eyes and show me a world of opportunity that I never knew existed. Although the trip was well planned, it was an unplanned ride through the woods that would help make my uncertain future so clear to me.
When we landed, my aunt greeted us at the gate. As she drove us to her house in Morges, I kept my face plastered to the window so not to miss anything, while my aunt and dad finally got to talk face to face after a ten year separation. Everyday brought new surprises, like a six hundred year old castle behind my aunt’s house! After a couple days of shopping and just strolling through towns full of beauty and history, our time in Switzerland was coming close to an end. On our final full day there, a man named Zorro, who my aunt knew, offered to take all of us for a ride through the forest he knew like the back of his hand. This was only a few miles away from my aunt’s house, away from any big towns. As we started our carriage ride, drawn by two large horses, I was a little nervous because we didn’t know him or the setting. As we continued on our ride, I became more and more comfortable. Then Zorro suddenly turned the horses off the path and deeper into the woods. The sight before us was stunning, a postcard worthy sight: rocky creek with crystal clear water and pines towering on hills on either side like New York sky scrapers, and a small cave-like cliff hovering over a turn in the creek. We parked there for thirty minutes before continuing on.
Although the rest of the trip will be etched in my memory forever, at that moment in time in the forest I knew I would never be the same. My life goals had been forever altered, and I knew then that I was meant to live in that area of Switzerland. Zorro’s ride was planned all along; he was put in my life to show me what I have been missing.
After this trip, my paradigm was completely shifted, in my opinion for the better. I know that after I graduate from college, Switzerland is where I’m planning on living the rest of my life. Nothing is going to stop me.
Looking back, I am so thankful that my dad took me on that trip when he did because I started working on what I wanted sooner, and had the time to start planning what I need to do to attain that European dream.
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