Rome Alone.

(The preceding title is accredited to Veronica Castro. Please send all the book deals to her. She is in Cairo.)

So as the title indicates, I am on the last leg of my journey in Europe. I am in Rome, alone, and spending one night in a scary hostel before beginning my 24 hour journey that lands me in Nairobi. The trip to Rome was interesting, involving 17 hours of train travel, almost being fined for somehow ending up in Switzerland, and an old German lady offering me carbonated apple juice.

Traveling alone has been a very mixed experience for me. Until this point, even my more daring adventures have been with at least one other person (namely my twin). I can now say, traveling alone is a whole different ball game. On one hand, it is insanely frustrating. There is no one to vent to, to help you, or provide the much needed safety of numbers. Being alone and female has lead to two scam attempts and three inappropriate comments... in the few hours I've been here.
However, it is so rewarding. Even little things like getting a vegetarian sandwich from someone that doesn't share a common lanuage, or finding your hostel with two bags (and lugging them up 7 flights of stairs) makes you so proud of yourself.

I have been spending the last few days trying to mentally wrap up my time in Europe and prepare for the journey ahead. It hasn't been easy, and this post is an attempt to help the process. So, for everyone traveling in the near future (which is like 90% of my friends) or ever, here's my advice:

List O' Practical Advice
1. Bring a Tide to Go pen. Or seven. Seriously, they saved the day on more than one occasion when lasagna, gelato, or wine went flying.
2. Pack all of your clothes in zip lock bags. They compact your clothes, allowing you to squeeze one more article of clothing in there, like...
3. Underwear. Pack what you think you need, then pack 5 more pairs. Honestly, you can wear the same pair of paints, tanktops, etc. for a week if needed but one pair of underwear only lasts like three days (just kidding... I think).
4. If you have a Eurail pass, which you should, then get reservations. That means when you arrive in a city, go find the tickets desk and get a train booked for when you leave. Yes it costs a few euros, but if you don't you'll likely incur bigger charges when 2nd class fills up. Also, read the fine print on those suckers.
5. Bring a guide book for each country (Okay, Dad, you were right all these years). We didn't because they are heavy, but I would have gotten so much more out of everything I saw if I had information, as most touristy things here don't have convenient, English descriptions with them. Get one with a phrase book in the back.
6. Rent or buy a cell phone for the time your abroad. Seriously. It was a trip saver on more than one occasion.

List O' Not As Practical Thoughts
1. I really enjoyed everyone who went on this trip (7 total), but I think the majority of the stress we experienced was at least in part do to the number of people. Bring 4 or less, it'll decrease the arguments over food, waking up, what to see, etc.
2. In some ways I liked the change of scenery by moving from country to country (leaving Italy, for example, was a bit of a relief), but in others ways I really liked spending so much time in Germany, giving me a feeling of knowing the country.
3. The stupid America tourist stereotype is sometimes justified, and sometimes it's just a way for mean people to be mean to other people that have taken an interest in their culture. Try to be as unobtrusive as possible, but remember that you are not being inherently obnoxious by visiting a country, even if you don't know the language.

That's it. My next post, whenever that is, will be from Kenya! Stay safe, and good luck for all of you who are starting work or classes.