6 months just like that.

Half a year. Just like that. It was fast. 2 years doesn't seem as long anymore considering I'm a fourth of the way through. Well, 2 years is such a relative number. I can honestly say it may be a bit longer than that. We'll see.

So what's happened in six months?

Travel
I love it. I'm hitting my average of a different European city every month.
So far: Paris, Prague, Dublin, Venice, Amsterdam, and Berlin. It continues the next couple months with Spain next week for a whole week with Barcelona, Granada, Seville, and Madrid. And what better city to spend Easter than Rome! I know for a fact I wouldn't be traveling this much if I was still in Chicago!

Liquid Dinners
I definitely drink more here. It's just part of the culture. Pub culture. Like last Friday, we drank from 6-12 after work. And what did I have for dinner? A bag of crisps.

Indian Food
I eat a lot of it. I even buy it at the grocery store so I can eat it for dinner. In fact I had some tonight. Come to think of it, I had it last night too.

Reading and Writing
I do more of it now than I ever have since school. On my fourth book which is a slower pace than I want. Granted the last book was an autobiography 600 pages long. I think I miss the structure of school. I guess you can call blogging writing. =) But I look at it as efficient mass email.

Trying new things
Yoga. I probably wouldn't have joined that back home. =) Eating alone in restaurants, and online dating too. Well technically I haven't been on a date yet, but at least I'm signed up!

Outside of the comfort zone
Being outside of my comfort zone is becoming more comfortable. Its hard to explain, and perhaps better articulated in person, but pushing yourself to do things that you're not comfortable doing or things that you thought you couldn't do; makes your learn so much about yourself. Its so easy to take the easy way out or stick to doing things that you are comfortable with, but if you take that risk once in a while, you'll learn something about yourself that you probably wouldn't have ever known. It could be something physical like running your first 10K or marathon, or even something career-oriented like going back to school or switching careers!

Never be stagnant. Life's too short. In just 6 months I've done things I never imagined I would be doing if I decided to stay and not go. I'll be honest, when I signed my offer letter to move here, I had my doubts and fears, and wasn't 100% excited about it. But I think I'm finally settling in.

I was at a bar with a friend on Sunday night having some drinks and we both said that if we could bring a handful of close friends from back home and move them here, it would be perfect! I guess I'll just have to find new ones here. After 6 months, I'm still working on it! =)