Carolin Grahlmann, a twenty-two year old German-born biology student at the University of Groeningen in Holland, decided to take a year off from her studies to travel around the world by herself. She planned to visit world-class destinations in California, New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia. But in the middle of all her travels, Grahlmann ended up in Sacramento. For Grahlmann, Sacramento was a surprising though welcome respite from itinerary-driven days in the big cities of New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Sacramento allowed her the chance to rest while still taking in some vital California history. She toured the State Capital, visited Old Sacramento, and admired the elegance of the Sacramento Youth Hostel (the beautifully-restored Llewellyn Williams mansion located downtown). In regards to her guided tour of the Capital, where she was the only international guest that day, she says, “They were all surprised that somebody from so far away came there to see their
Milan Kundera wrote that "being in a foreign country means walking a tightrope high above the ground without the net afforded a person by the country where he has family, colleagues, and friends, and where he can easily say what he has to say in a language he has known from childhood." These are the stories of my tightrope walking and the joy of falling.