Four weeks...

Exactly four weeks from today I'll be home.

Don't get me wrong, four weeks is a long time. But compared to the nearly eight weeks I've already spent in Europe, it seems short. And when I think about all that I have planned for the next month, I know it's going to fly by.

This weekend I'm staying in Madrid. I'm going to go to El Rastro (the flea market) again on Sunday and maybe find some souvenirs to bring home. A week from Saturday I fly to Rome for the weekend. Then the following Friday I'm off to Brussels, and the Friday after that I'll hopefully be headed to Munich. The following Wednesday I'll be on a plane back to the States.

In between my crazy travel filled weekends there are a few things I want to do here in Madrid. I still haven't seen a flamenco show, and since flamenco is a famous traditional Spanish dance I think that'd be neat to experience. I also need to go to the Prado and Reina Sofia museums. I've been putting those off since I'm not really into museums, but they're world famous and I can't be in Madrid this long without visiting them. Along with the museums, I'm hoping to visit El Escorial, a monastery with an amazing library that's just a half an hour outside of the city. And then there's all of the Christmas lights and decorations to see starting the last week of November. I'll definitely be keeping busy...

I thought that, after all this time away, feelings of homesickness would've started to creep in. Though I miss my family and other things about home, I haven't felt extremely homesick. I think because I have too many other things to think about here. This trip has taught me to enjoy the moment. I've done a lot less thinking about the future and worrying about the past, and a lot more smiling about where I am right now. So when I think about having four weeks left here, I'm neither sad nor happy. I'll do all I can to make the most of the next four weeks. And I think, once they're over, I'll be ready to go back. Though traveling is amazing, there's no place like home :)