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I like vacations that, at the very last day, turn sour, and you have a very negative experience.
After 11 glorious days in Ecuador, once, dreading the depression I'd face once I got home, I got mugged the last afternoon in Quito, which was a quite a traumatic experience. That one experience helped to delete all the glorious memories of 11 days, and I was eager, ready to come home!
My longest vacation ever was 2 months to Asia/India/Nepal. I was so dreading the accompanying depression after that trip, I was praying the plane would crash on the way back, save me all that recovery time!
Sorry to hear about your bad experiences. I use to have Europe vacations that would last all summer (school break). Obviously not as bad as your experience, I do feel sad about having to go home.
I'm always depressed when I come back from Europe, specifically the Mediterranean zone. I don't want to come back to our political correctness and lack of "dolce vita" mentality.
Ha, same here and I'm from that continent. I always feel more relaxed and less judged when I'm back home. It's hard to describe. I just haven't found 'home' anywhere in America yet.
Ha, same here and I'm from that continent. I always feel more relaxed and less judged when I'm back home. It's hard to describe. I just haven't found 'home' anywhere in America yet.
Happens EVERY time. I am at either CDG, FRA, or FCO and stare at my boarding pass, wondering whether or not to tear it up.
Happens EVERY time. I am at either CDG, FRA, or FCO and stare at my boarding pass, wondering whether or not to tear it up.
Do you have fairly recent European ancestry? I ask because some countries such as Spain, Italy and Ireland grant citizenship to those 2 or 3 generations down. If not, you could also look into visa requirements.
I'm going back to NI eventually. I admire many aspects of the US, but living here is not for me.
I can really relate to this mindset or thought pattern, but there is good news - apparently we can change this reaction in ourselves, because I did. It took recognition of my thought pattern and it's ramifications, and then mental control to change that thought pattern, and voila - I'm much happier DURING and AFTER events now.
Here was my problem:
I love planning and love looking forward to something. On a trip, especially a complicated one like an international trip, I would plan things out extensively - it would take me months, and I would feel a sense of accomplishment, which was very gratifying, as I planned out each phase and detail.
During the trip, I would constantly be thinking of the next thing - the next event, the next day, the next step.
You know what this kept me from doing? THAT'S RIGHT - ENJOYING THE MOMENT.
Seems so simple - but it took me forty years to figure this out about myself.
Now - though I plan things out well, I don't HAVE to. Whenever I catch myself obsessing about something, I stop myself. When I find myself thinking about the next event or the next day when I should be living in the MOMENT, I mentally stop this thought pattern RIGHT THEN and immerse myself in the moment that I need to be savoring.
LIFE IS SO MUCH BETTER NOW!
Get this - I got divorced and then I got remarried at age 43. You won't believe our honeymoon - WE HAD NO PLAN. No plan whatsoever, other than pack ONE bag, and fill the car up with gas. We pulled out of the drive and my new husband turned to me and grinned and said, "Should we turn left or right?" We turned right - and drove till we wanted to stop and did whatever we felt like doing each day, for a week. It was fantastic! We ended up driving down to Salado and the Texas Hill Country, visiting wineries, hanging out in Luckenbach, getting ripped on 6th Street in Austin, laying out by the pool at luxury hotels, going to little jazz clubs, climbing around the Pedernales Falls - it was TERRIFIC. And we didn't know what each day - or even each hour - would bring.
I'm no longer depressed after trips. And I've finally learned to enjoy each day as it comes.
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