I think I just had a revelation...

Standing on the bridge over the Elbe River looking on the Altstadt with snow falling lightly around us, I listen to Henry paint images of turquoise seas and white yachts. "So, how long did you work on the cruise line?" Kathryn asked, her Australian accent thick.

"About four months," Henry replies in his own heavy English accent.

"Oh, that'd be perfect. Four months abroad, getting experience and then back home to Australia."

"How much did you get?" I asked.

"Oh about $15,000 tax-free. And you can't really spend money on the ship--everything costs one dollar and you don't have much time off-ship, so you're on a ship for four months paying off whatever you need to and walk off with $15,000."

I could feel my mouth salivate in excitement. I saw Kathryn's eyes brighten. All of us shivered slightly from the cold, Kathryn and I firing questions at Henry about living conditions, how it worked, what jobs there were, what he did while he worked on this cruise line. Each answer made us smile a little more, step a little closer.

Then the conversation turned, flowed into the present instead of the future. "That's the beauty of Europe--we have everything so close. I mean, I'll take a day, go to France to buy wine and come home that night."

My mind went a little crazy in that moment. I imagined being able to skip countries within hours, the ability to go from Greece to England for a weekend trip like we do to Chicago or Minneapolis, or even being so close to Moscow or Egypt that vacationing there would be like going to any other state in the continental U.S. In this moment, my entire perspective kind of flipped. I made a few realizations. I want to be able to do that. I mean, I know that the US has a lot of it's own stuff to offer and that even living in another state would be like living in another culture, but having the chance to be in any other country for longer than a few weeks, like I have now, is something I want to continue and repeat. Even if all I do is teach the English language in different countries for awhile. I don't want to settle in Iowa or any of the United States yet. I don't want to get a career that will give me a 401K, maybe a pension and a permanent residence yet. I want to do so much more and you know what? I'm really glad I figured that out now and not forty years from now.