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shelter from the sun Sometimes the simple things in life are the most interesting. Over the past three days I have watched the red leaf maple in my backyard get more and more full. At the beginning of the week, most of the leaves were tightly curled and did little in the way of shade. Now all of that has changed and I can hear the wind move through the leaves. Actually it isn't just the tree in my backyard that has been transformed this week, all of the trees lining my block have exploded into a canopy of leaves. ... Ever so slowly I am trying to get a mental map of Europe in my head. I have distances between some of the larger cities plotted out, but none of it will seem real until I am there. So far the imaginary map includes Berlin, London, Munich and Prague, but I'm not done yet. I still have quite a few more travel books to pour through before I leave in July. The more that I read about Europe, the more I realize how little I really know about where I am going this summer. History from high school is one thing, but it doesn't give an accurate picture of what is going on over there right now. Not giving that much thought to Europe in my daily life doesn't help matters either. I know that this sounds very self-centered, but I doubt that I am alone in this behavior. Something tells me that the average American could care less about what is going on in Europe unless their job has dealings there. I'm not sure what I'll take away from the trip, but for me traveling makes me feel alive. I get to escape from my usual routine and essentially free myself of any responsibilities. The only thing that I'll have to worry about is food and a place to sleep. On the other hand it hasn't fully dawned on me yet that I'll be crossing through at least seven different countries where English is not the primary language. ... With the recent heat wave here in Wisconsin, sleeping during the day has become a problem for me and it isn't pleasant. Despite the stuffiness of my house, I somehow managed to sleep for almost six hours before the heat got to me. Thankfully my landlord had guessed that things might be uncomfortable and came over to prime the central air that he installed in winter, so today was the last day that I had to worry about the heat. Now I can sleep in comfort.
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