Car Fever
So I decided to take on a road-trip of Eastern Europe with three friends. My final destination is Vienna, but the others will carry on to Amsterdam. We started off from Tallinn on Saturday, and got to Kaunas, Lithuania. At the time of writing this we are 30 minutes out of Gdańsk, Poland.
The reason I called this post “Car Fever” came around on Tuesday. With some high school friends we went on a 5 hour drive to a bog to celebrate Frank’s birthday (if you do not know Frank, read last week’s post here). It was a great time! It was also there and then that I had the realisation that I was spending a big chunk of my summer in the car.
That being said, I did also spend two weeks of my summer hiking the coast of Spain and Portugal. I guess it balances out to some extent. The main problem I have with car rides is that it feels like idle time — you can do stuff but it never feels as useful or as productive as it would in a different setting. In that sense I am looking forward to being back in university in September.
On the other hand, I get to connect with people in a different manner and in a different setting than usual, which is fun! That’s one thing I have enjoyed in the past as well about both the prépa and the army — you go through both highs and lows with people since you basically live together for a given amount of time.
In Kaunas, our 2004 Toyota Corolla decided that it had enough of our jokes and did not turn on anymore. We tried everything, we pushed the car to bump start it and we fiddled around with the motor parts. Nothing worked. We were stuck for 3 hours in a row. It was a Sunday so all mechanics of the repair shops were on break for the day. We were rather desperate.
Randomly after those three hours, we just tried igniting the car and it got going like that. Absurd. The pure happiness that we all felt at that moment was uncomparable. We did not dare to celebrate too big yet. After an hour of driving, we needed to get gas. We stopped the motor. Filled up the tank. Ignited the car. It worked. I threw my best footballer celebration at that moment.
To conclude, put yourself in situations that are different and trying with others. It will build character and connections!
This Week’s Suggestions:
I was playing some French rap with Frank in the car. He is the one who suggested this song to me. I was vibing to this one in my hostel bathroom whilst brushing my teeth at 2 A.M. It’s a vibe.
Thanks for being here!
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