How much time did you spend in Germany?
I am asking this because I remember from your other thread that you knew the guy in question (Francesco?) for only a little while so it strikes me as unlikely that you feel with such certainty that he doesn't have a fiber of superficiality in his body. Likewise, I think your perception of Europe is idyllic at best.
I grew up in Europe and only moved to the States when I was 15. Since I'm 29 now, I guess you could say I spent half my life in France, and half my life in the US. I can assure you that --by and large-- people in Europe are no more "real" (as you put it) than most of the Americans I know. They just fake different things differently. You really would need to spend a long time in any culture, get to know the people, AND SPEAK THE LANGUAGE before you could catch on the subtle nuances of their bullshit.
I know that from the outside looking in Europe (well, Western Europe at least) may look quite charming with its castles, ski slopes, Vespas and seemingly unassuming laissez-faire attitude. If you tried living there, however, my best bet is that you'd grow disenchanted and restless once you realized that the people there are judging you just as harshly and systematically as the people back home, except that you're suddenly at a net disadvantage because you're just not all that familiar with either their expectations or the cultural codes they use to evaluate you.
All I'm saying here is that there are no fairy tales. Not in Paris or Berlin, not in San Diego or Alabama. Any place can be deadening if you're not willing to find it stimulating. Your Europe of spring break is not Europe. It's you on spring break. It's you being young and in a new environment that was different from what you left at home. It's Europe as you wanted to see it, and frankly, I think it's wonderful that you wanted to see it as this idealized, "humble" place. Someone else may have looked at it and felt like everything different was "eewwwww gross and weird".
The fact that you idealized instead of trashing the differences between Europe and the States tells me that you are capable of bringing "new eyes" to a situation and seeing that which makes it interesting rather than dull.
Perhaps you could do this with your summer as well. Try to let it surprise and excite you. See the potential in it. If you really miss Europe that badly, why not try learning a language you could use there? Give German a shot. And, keep in mind that once you're in college you can always go study abroad for a few weeks, a semester or even a year. I know for a fact that you'll never get back last spring's Europe, but you might get a more realistic sense of what Europe is and what Europe isn't and, that too, is well worth it!
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“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
-- Dr. Seuss (  lil Bitsy's favorite bedtime reading )
Last edited by emmalawyer; Jun 13th, 2008 at 11:42 PM.
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