Normal Gossip - Love Is Blind with Malala Yousafzai

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

Welcome to season NINE of Normal Gossip! We're kicking off the season with Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and a story about four college students on a star-crossed Eurotrip. Order Malala’s new memoir Finding My Way here and follow her on Instagram here.You can join us in donating to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund here or Transanta here. Subscribe to our newsletter for writing from Rachelle, Se'era, Jae, Alex, and Kelsey, plus blog recommendations and secrets!You can support Normal Gossip directly by buying merch or becoming a Friend or a Friend-of-Friend at supportnormalgossip.com.Our merch shop is run by Dan McQuade. You can also find all kinds of info about us and how to submit gossip on our Komi page: https://normalgossip.komi.io/Episode transcript here.Follow the show on Instagram @normalgossip, and if you have gossip, email us at [e-mail] or leave us a voicemail at 26-79-GOSSIP.Normal Gossip is hosted by Rachelle Hampton (@heyydnae) and produced by Se'era Spragley Ricks (@seera_sharae) and Jae Towle Vieira (@jaetowlevieira). Alex Sujong Laughlin (@alexlaughs) is our Supervising Producer. Justin Ellis is Defector's projects editor. Show art by Tara Jacoby.Normal Gossip is a proud member of Radiotopia. Support Radiotopia's fall fundraiser here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Hi, it's Rachel from Normal Gossip, and I just want to say thank you. Thank you for spending time with me this year. As y'all know, this year has been a big one for normal gossip. Our peaceful transition of power started at the beginning of this year. And, you know, not to brag, but I do feel like it's going pretty well. And that's down to y'all, our listeners. That's down to our incredible guest. It is so hard for me to pick a favorite, but I truly cannot get it. get over how good the episode with Shea Kulay was, episode 10 of season eight. As you can imagine, there's a ton of work that goes on behind the scenes with normal gossip to get episodes and guests like Shea Kulay out to y'all. And it's not just like the nitty-gritty audio stuff. There's the marketing. There's finding sponsors. There's dealing with the actual podcast technology and so on.

And being a part of Radiotopia from PRX means that we hear normal gossip get a ton of help with all that so that we can focus on bringing these unforgettable episodes to you. There are very few podcasts out there right now that champion independence like Radiotopia does. And if you're paying attention to the headlines, you know that it is a tough time for public media. As a co-owner defector, it is very important to me that I work with companies that I feel like I align with. And with Radiotopia, I have the freedom to make the business decisions that are right for normal gossip. Our annual Radiotopia Fundraiser just, launched and we're trying to reach 1,500 donors before the end of the year. That is 1,500

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Hello and welcome to Normal Gossip. I'm your host, Rachel Hampton, and in each episode of this podcast, we're going to bring you an anonymous morsel of gossip from the real world. And welcome to Season nine, y'all. We made it. We're here, and I am so, so excited. Before we get into the gossip, I wanted to take the chance to thank everyone who came out to see me and Sierra on tour back in September. We actually jumped right into production for season nine about a week or so after getting back from tour. So this is the first real chance I've had to sit down and kind of reflect on everything. And I just wanted to express how profoundly grateful I am. to host a show with such an incredible audience.

Literally everyone who work with on tour went out of their way to tell us how warm and engaged and sweet our fans are. I said this a few times out on the road, but the reality of making a podcast in 2025 is me sitting in my living room on Zoom with Sierra and the rest of the normal gossip team. So it is really easy for me to forget that there are real actual people on the other side of this, which made meeting so many of y'all. so deeply humbling. There was a moment during the tour where I got pretty sick and we had to make the really difficult decision to cancel the Austin stop. And I want to first apologize to our Austin fans. I really wish we could have put the show on for y'all. But I also wanted to thank y'all specifically because when we announced the stop was canceled, so many of y'all DM'd us like Rachel's health is the most important thing. Feel better soon. And I really can't say how much that meant to me. I have

definitely alluded to being a recovering perfectionist. So the thought of disappointing people is a hard one for me to sit with. My therapist hears about it all the time. And y'all made it so much easier. So really, truly from the bottom of my heart, thank you to Austin and to every other person who bought a ticket to Sierra and I's first tour. If you saw the show, you will remember that there is a section of the show where we ask for bribes. If you haven't seen the show, who could say whether or not a little live version might be dropped in the feed sometime soon. We posted this on Instagram, but for those of y'all with a healthy relationship to social media, we wanted to reveal that over the course of seven shows, y'all sent us a little over $1,000 in bribes,

which is absolutely ridiculously incredible. After the tour, we split that bribe money into two $500 donations. One went to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, and the other went to Trans-Santa, Mutual Aid Project that connects anonymous gift givers with trans youth who are unhoused in foster care or otherwise without the crucial support they need to thrive. So thank you to everyone who bribed us. Your money went to some great causes. And if you want to donate to those organizations on your own, we will leave some links in the show notes. That is enough housekeeping today. Now, for the real reason you're here, y'all, I cannot express how excited I am about today's

guess, it has been so hard keeping this a secret. For the first time, in normal gossip history, we are being joined by a Nobel Peace Prize winner. You might have heard of her before. Today's guest is none other than Malala Youssefzai. Malala is an education activist, a best-selling author, and the youngest ever Nobel laureate. Malala, hello. Thank you so much for joining me. Thank you. I'm so excited for normal gossip. This is maybe the most iconic crossover of the century. I think that's true. I think it was meant to be.

Who said I don't like gossip? Who said that? Exactly. I mean, usually I ask every guest the same question, which is what your relationship to gossip is. But your team really kindly sent me and Sierra a copy of your new memoir, finding my way. And I feel like it gave me some insight into your relationship with gossip.

So I'm going to read a passage that I found particularly illuminating. You wrote, as my story traveled around the world, people began to describe something I didn't recognize. A serious and shy girl, a wallflower forced to speak out when the Taliban took away her books. Sometimes the absurdity of it made me laugh. Growing up, I was a troublemaker. At school, I varied bits of gossip back and forth between groups of girls and cracked jokes that made my friends laugh and scold me in the same breath. So I actually wanted to ask, how do you feel like being a public figure for so much of your life has affected your relationship with gossip? Because it sounds like you like me were a gossip from birth.

Yes. Growing up, I love to just be a normal friend. And it's part of your friendship that, you know, we want to talk about who said what and what happened. And did you know? And I loved all of that. I wanted to know all secrets. I wanted to know what each friend was up to. But I think, yes, my life took a very sharp turn when the Taliban attack happened.

And in my new school in the UK, I struggled to make friends and I missed that old part of my life. I just wanted to be with lots of friends and I wanted us to chat about any topic and to laugh and giggle together and to gossip sometimes. But that part of my life had gone missing. And it was something I wish I could get back. Do you feel like as you've gotten more, I guess, accustomed to how public. your life is, that you found ways to reintroduce gossip back into your life? Yes. The change happened when I joined university. So my college time was when I realized that I actually have found this close circle of friends who are trying to protect me at the same time.

They understand my public image, but they want to make sure that I can be myself. So with my new friends, I was trying new things from roof climbing to staying up till 3 a.m. getting into trouble at times or skipping our assignments so that we could go to every party and every event. And more importantly, it was this safety where I could express myself without having to think twice about what would people say or what if this word is spread in the friend circle. So I didn't have to feel worried and scared all the time. Gossip was back into my life, and I love that. And I love that for you. It is so important. Speaking of how important it is, a little birdie told me that you have some gossip for me. Yes, I too. And, you know, this is a bit embarrassing as well.

I was not sure if I should share this or not, but... Perfect. Don't judge me. Don't judge me. I would never. So basically, in the early days of college, I wanted to make as many friends as possible. And because at my school in this new country, I had only made one friend. So I was like, you know what, at college, don't miss on this opportunity. Like, go to every event. So I was sitting with this friend and she shared with me this gossip about a guy that she was dating. So she told me that they had slept together.

and then she commented about what that was like, and then she commented about certain parts. So that story, I was like, wow, like that's a crazy gossip anyway. Then I was at another gathering, completely different friends, and I just never, like, thought, I was like, these are two different places. They would not connect. So I'm sitting with this other friend,

and we're chatting, and it's like late at night, and there's the music in the background and he's like, so, you know, how things going and do you have any gossip? And I was like, you know what, I'm going to show off and I'm going to tell him, yes, I do have gossip and like, I know more than him. You know what? I know things you don't know. Yeah. So I told him and I said, oh yeah, you know, this friend of mine, she was, you know, with this guy and she commented how bad experience was, you know, how he was terrible. Anyway, and it just gave away some detail.

All good, you know, I was like, okay, you know, I'm just cool girl, and I'm just sort of showing off the next morning. I wake up and I see my phone, and there's a very long text message from that female friend of mine and says, I cannot believe that that guy I slept with found out that I had felt that the night was not good and that I had opinions about, you know, his body parts and all of that. I was like, I went pale. I froze.

I was speechless, just did not know how to respond to that. I mean, I was like, whoa, okay, so I closed my phone. I processed this. I reread the message. And then I'm like, okay, I was like, okay, where do I even start? so I like immediately like apologize to her I'm like I'm so sorry I said like I don't even know how

it like reach back to you would take less than 24 hours like the circle you realize is so small it's like teeny tiny and I never thought it would and then I went back to that other friend I said like I told you and you like we promise you wouldn't tell anybody and all of that he said no I just like I just like gossiped

I didn't know like it was supposed to be a secret and all of that and anyway he said I just said it. I didn't know it would go back to her because it was one of those things when friends tell each other, like, promise me you won't tell anybody. And then that friend goes to the other friend, promise me, you won't tell anybody. And that whole, you know, the pinky connection and then it goes back to the people. It's like eventually you get back to the person that the gossip is about.

Yes, yes. Yeah. So really, really embarrassing experience, you know, the poor guy. Yeah, I don't think things went back to normal after that because I'm sure he, You'll always remember those comments. But, yeah. But it was good. I'm still friends with them and we talked to it.

Oh, good. I made a commitment. I said, you know what, even if there's a light 0.001% chance that they are somehow connected and the secret can get back to them. Like, just figure out the route. Just like, is there any chance there's like a track where they. Yes. Do not share a secret, especially if you just don't want the secret to go back there.

Yes, yes. I mean, I always talk about operational security when we're talking about gossip where you really have to be careful about the lines that people can draw. I mean, we think about that on this show all the time, like, about anonymizing gossip so it doesn't get back to the person. But I'm so glad you guys are still friends. Maybe he, you know, found some pointers for his performance, his next performance. Yeah, you know what? To this day, I don't even know what, like, what that story was actually about. and nobody knows, nobody knows. Yeah. But it's just rumors and gossip. You know, they spread around really, really quickly. Yeah, and I'm going to be honest, I love helping them spread really, really quickly. I'm part of the problem.

But that's why we're here. And I have some gossip for you. Okay, okay. Are you ready? Yeah, sure. That's a perfect answer. Wonder Bra's new period panties provide moderate absorbency up to three regular tampons worth of liquid. Wonderbra is a fit and comfort expert, and their new period panties have moisture wicking and anti-odered technology that keeps you dry and fresh all day.

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From the snow-covered peaks in the frozen lakes to the crisp mountain air, it all feels like you're stepping into a postcard. This winter, my husband and I plan to look for a cozy cabin on Airbnb near the Boat River. We plan to search for the perfect place using guest favorites, which are the most loved homes on Airbnb. Personally, I love a wood-burning fireplace, so I'll be looking out for that in the listings. and I just look forward to coming back home every evening to warm up and relax after our day full of outdoor winter adventures like snowshoeing or ice walks through Johnston Canyon. I prefer staying in a home on Airbnb over hotels when I travel because it makes our trips feel cozier and more personal.

We can just relax, move at our own pace and really enjoy that slow winter rhythm that we would not get in a hotel. I wouldn't have it any other way. Today, our friend of a friend is named Kayla. And the most important thing to know about Kayla is that she is in her year of yes. Kayla was a good kid in high school. She was in the National Honor Society. She was first chair of flute in her concert band.

On the weekend, she volunteered for the local. soup kitchen. We all know that kind of kid. Some of us were that kind of kid, the kid with a perfectly formatted resume at 15. Not me. I don't know anything about that. But that is Kayla. Kayla is doing well. I'm proud of Kayla so far. Yes. But what this means is that once Kayla gets to college, she goes like a little bit crazy. Tastfully crazy, to be clear. Like she makes the dean's list every semester. But if it won't interfere with her grades, Kayla is saying yes to it. She's doing intramural sports.

She's doing feminist student theater. She's doing culinary arts club. She's rushing a sorority. It sounds like this is also how you approached college, where you were like, I'm going to try a little bit of everything. I was thinking, are you talking about me or Kayla? Like, who are you talking about? Like doing so well at school and being this, you know, good student,

teachers' favorite and all of that. And then all of a sudden, you go to college and the teachers are like, is she even going to show up at this class or did she do this assignment like last minute last night and there were like times when I could tell that the tutors could tell that I hadn't done the reading so in Oxford we have a tutorial system so it's like a professor and then like two or three students max like not more than that so it's very intense you can't like hide there's no way to hide yeah professor would ask a question like so what about this case study and what did you think about that political science concept and I would just

immediately look at my friend and she knew it was her turn to save me so she'll be like yeah you know the reading was was fascinating we we know blah blah blah and then I'll be like exactly exactly yes I also thought it was fascinating so listen you were learning about improvising about thinking on the fly about saying yes and yes exactly exactly yeah well so yes Kayla does absolutely everything But Kayla's freshman roommate, Barbara, she locks into one thing. Okay. And that thing is getting into business school, which Barbara tells Kayla is the best place to find a husband. Okay.

Kayla is very impressed by Barbara's forward thinking. And Kayla is even more impressed by this blanket that Barbara shows her on move-in day. It is hand-embroidered with all of the places Barbara's forward-thinking. visited. There are patches for like Monaco and Tokyo and Sydney, Australia. Barbara's only 17 at this point and this blanket is already more than halfway covered.

Wow. And if it's not clear already, Barbara comes from family money. Okay. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. But Kayla feels like Barbara's pretty chill for coming from family money. Like Barbara's really clean. She spends most of her time studying. Barbara's mom stuck

in a curig on moving day, which is technically not allowed, but but Kayla's not going to say anything. The room is always stocked with snacks. Barbara does get like a little bit huffy whenever Kayla gets in late from a party, but there are worse things than a type A roommate, right? Yeah.

Did you have any roommates in college? Did you get close to them? Yes. So I remember our college is last Galentine's Day. So we would do Galentine's Day every year. Yeah. It was just like so perfect. all of my friends were there and we made these like pancakes or like waffles, the heart-shaped ones.

Yeah, it was a whole chaotic scenario, but, you know, we decorated the whole room and all of that. And yeah, we had like a wonderful time together just talking about, you know, how far we had come and then what everybody's dream was to do next. And that's when you like realize, well, you know, friends are precious. They're everything. Yeah, that's so real. kind of like instant bonding is exactly what happens between Kayla and Barbara. Like, things go so well that by Thanksgiving, they're convinced they're going to be in each other's weddings. Yes. It's over Thanksgiving that Barbara first proposes the trip. The trip starts

with a text from Barbara, who's like, I was clicking around on Google flights this morning, and I found some dirt cheap tickets to Croatia for next summer. And, according to Barbara, once they get to Croatia, it'll be so easy to get anywhere else they want to go in Europe. You're already shaking your head. I mean, come on, we have to be more practical. I am not a logistics person. I love if somebody else takes over that and arranges a trip for me and makes it so convenient for me. But that seems tough.

Good luck to Barbara. Well, Barbara has a plan. Okay. And the plan, the plan is the trip. The trip would be a month long. It would take them from Croatia, up through Slovenia and Austria, before ultimately ending in Italy. And according to Barbara, this is the last chance they will ever have to do anything like this. Because Barbara knows that if she wants to get into Wharton, she's going to have to have a consulting internship every summer after this one.

So Barbara promises to plan everything. And she's such an experienced traveler. and she knows Kayla doesn't come from family money, so she promises to keep the costs as low as possible. And Barbara almost seems excited about that part. She's like, I've always wanted to actually experience travel, you know? And Kayla's like, sure, I guess economy is an experience. Barbara even tells Kayla she can invite anyone she wants.

It'll help keep costs down even further. How is all of this sounding to you so far? Wait, invite more people to keep costs down. So you can split things among more people. I mean, it's chaotic. Even a trip with, like, two friends is so hard. Yes. And you never stick to the schedule.

In the end, it's a chaos, like arranging a cab or like, are we going to walk? Are we not? Who's going to have dinner where? Chaotic. But in the end, it's fun. But just be prepared for that. Be prepared for that. Kayla's 18 at this point.

And so she's not really thinking about the chaos. She is really considering going on this trip, though. She's like, okay, if I were to do this, if I were to do this, who would I want to come with me? And the first person that comes to Kayla's mind is Seth. Seth and Kayla went to high school together. They were both in band. Seth played the trumpet. The band nerds are going to make something of that.

I just know they will, having been a band nerd myself. Seth is one of Kayla's mostly. reliable friends. Like, they had gone to different colleges, but he was one of the first people to wish Kayla happy birthday. He has what we now describe as golden retriever energy. Ooh. Yeah.

And the most important thing to know about Seth at this point in his life is that he has just seen the movie before sunrise for the first time. Have you seen before sunrise before? No. Totally fair. I would recommend. I love it. It's a richer Linklodder film.

It is incredibly romantic. It stars Ethan Hawk and Julie Delpy as two 20-somethings and they meet on a train and they decide to get off the train to spend the night together and they spend the whole night like walking around none other than Vienna, Austria, which is included in this month-long trip and that is enough for Seth to say yes to joining the trip. I mean, I can already guess where this is going to go, but yes, the movie, yes, makes sense. Okay, everybody has their own plans for the trip. Exactly. Yes. And I'm also curious about like Seth and Barbara and how they would sort of connect because if you bring your school friend, you have known them for so long or you have a lot of

shared stories, but then you also have college friends. Exactly. And you have like new shared stories with them and there's a bit of like a disconnect. Yeah. It's really hard to bring the two together. And I guess, you know, many people would be able to relate to this. But, like, I have felt it as well where everybody's like, but, you know, I know you more than them. Or some people like, but I know her more now than you do.

Yes, exactly. It's like you knew her in the past. I know her now. Now. Yeah. Yeah. And, I mean, along with the dynamic between Barbara and Seth, Seth also offers to invite his college roommate, Joe. Kayla confers with Barbara about this because she knows Barbara has a book.

boyfriend that she's been dating since junior year of high school, who might fairly have reservations about his girlfriend spending a month in Europe with two random guys. And normally, Kayla would also be hesitant about spending a month with a perfect stranger. But she trusts Seth. She trusts Seth not to bring some loser along. And it's her year of yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Exactly. Barbara's boyfriend takes a little bit of convincing But by the end of Thanksgiving break Our foursome have already bought their tickets And they're already dreaming of the Adriatic Coastline

And Viennese pastry Do you feel like anything could go wrong Between November when our friends booked their tickets And June when the trip is actually taking place? Yes, a billion things, yes Tell me a few of the things that could go wrong I mean, so many things the boyfriend could have problems.

I mean, Barbara and Kayla, like, it's the expenses, costs, is Barbara, you know, does she actually know what she's signing up for? Yeah. What if she wants to have a more VIP exclusive experience of certain things? There could be a bit of attention. Seth and Joe, I mean, I don't know. What's going to happen? I'm just curious.

I just want to know. I want to know. So Kayla feels like nothing can go wrong until. Finals week. Now, I was the kind of person who planned this class schedule around being able to finish my finals from home. Like, you could not pay me to be on campus for a second longer than I had to be. I wanted to go home where my mom is going to cook for me. Kayla and Barbara, they are not like this. Kayla stays because her parents actually live kind of close by, so she goes home pretty often. Kayla learns Barbara stays because this is her chance to go crazy. Do you remember how I said

Barbara could be like a little bit huffy whenever Kayla got back from parties throughout the semester. Yeah. Turns out that's because Barbara stores up all of her debauchery like a camel and then unleashes it as soon as her winter final paper is turned in. Kayla has never seen Barbara like this. Barbara's trying jungle juice for the first time. She's starting her day with a vodka red bull. She's being tempted by a joint before ultimately saying no. It is at this moment that Kayla starts to wonder how well she actually knows Barbara, which is crazy because they've been living together for four months. Yeah. How well do you think this bodes for the trip? I'm worried. I'm worried.

I think what you don't want is a holiday for a month where you hate each other. Yes. Where you are like irritated to see the other person. And if there are certain things you don't like and you don't talk through it, it's not a good trip. It's not a holiday anymore. So I am a bit concerned. If thing. I think they should talk about it beforehand. Well, they're 18, so they don't. And the tickets are non-refundable. And after finals, Barbara goes back to being her normal type A self. So for the whole spring semester, Kayla convinces herself that that was just a fluke.

And that the studious, meticulous Barbara is the one that is planning the trip. This plan backfires as soon as spring finals week approaches. Because first, Barbara breaks up with her. boyfriend, then she takes all of her exams, and then she goes on a three-day bender, which ends the night before their flight to Croatia. It's at the airport that Kayla first starts to understand what Barbara thinks experiencing travel looks like. Have you ever flown on a budget airline like Ryanair or Spirit? Yes. I have not. I'm a little too bougie for that. Tell me about your experience. You know, I was on the flight. So I also took it as like, wow, I'm going on a

dry-in-air flight. Anyway, my husband was like, you know, calm down. I think I was acting like Barbara a bit. He was like, calm down. So, you know, they were offering things like, do you want any snacks, water or something? I was like, I'll just have water. So I get the bottle of water and then they're just like looking at me. I'm like, what? And then they pass on the card machine and then like pay for this. I was like, okay. Okay. He was like, hey, go here's some money but yeah they make you pay for everything like the air that you breathe is not free on ryan air yes everything i mean it was a crazy crazy flight and we were on like we were in the front row and it was like raining so as people were like getting on the plane the rain water was like

literally like getting inside and i thought like my trousers were getting wet it was like horrible And you know what? The UK weather. So it's like crazy. But yeah. Will you ever fly Ryan Air again? Yeah, of course, 100%. I love that. I'm over here. Like, I'm too bougie for that. And you're like, I'd do it again. Yeah. Those are like short flight. Yeah. It's true. It's true. Kayla has never flown on a budget airline. So when she gets on the plane with Barbara, she's like, I'm sorry, what the fuck is this? Why are seats just metal folding chairs stapled to the floor? Oh, you should be grateful you have seats. Yeah, no, it's true. You could be standing up. Barbara also had not paid extra to get a meal during the flight, so for 11 hours, all she eats are some pretzels that she bought in the airport.

No way. Meanwhile, Kayla springs for the shitty in-flight meal, and it's as she's eating something that looks vaguely like chicken that Kayla first starts panicking a little bit, it is like just starting to register to her that Barbara has booked everything for the next month. And yeah, Barbara had forwarded all her confirmation emails, but like Kayla was busy, you know, she didn't read all of them.

And she trusted Barbara, and now Kayla is wondering if that was a mistake. You know those popcorns, culture scandals, you still can't stop thinking about, yeah, us too. So we made a podcast about all the ones we can't forget. I'm Sadap and I'm Sarah. We're journalists and self-identified historians of celebrity gossip. On our podcast, The Reheat, we dive into the biggest celebrity scandals of the past

and re-examine them with fresh eyes and a whole lot less shame. I never thought I would be a Samantha, but I really, really connect with her now. And I have learned to empathize with Marvel executives at this point, having to this much research, and I believe that... It's like pop culture therapy with your smartest, funniest friends. What do you wear for that important, historic moment? What do you wear for that moment? I do love that.

See, now what you're doing is dangerous. You're making me like Kate Middleton, and I never thought that I would get there. I feel like the two of you could hang out and have fun. We probably could have a very good time. A very good time. Listen to the reheat wherever you get your podcasts. I love to travel in the winter, especially. to places that make the cold just feel magical.

And for me, Banff is one of those places. From the snow-covered peaks in the frozen lakes to the crisp mountain air, it all feels like you're stepping into a postcard. This winter, my husband and I plan to look for a cozy cabin on Airbnb near the Boat River. We plan to search for the perfect place using guest favorites, which are the most loved homes on Airbnb. Personally, I love a wood-burning fireplace, so I'll be looking out for that in the listings, and I just look forward to coming back home every evening to warm up and relax after our day

full of outdoor winter adventures like snowshoeing or icewalks through Johnston Canyon. I prefer staying in a home on Airbnb over hotels when I travel, because it makes our trips feel cozier and more personal. We can just relax, move at our own pace, and really enjoy that slow winter rhythm that we would not get in a hotel. I wouldn't have it any other way. Kayla decides to hold off on fully freaking out until she sees the hotel for the evening, which Barbara is very excited about. She had a parent apparently found this website called WePost, You Stay. The U is just the letter U, so it has a really unfortunate acronym of Weepus.

Oh, my God. Barbara says it is the number one peer hosting site in Eastern Europe, and she has booked all of their lodgings through We Post You Stay. Okay. I mean, you stay at your home. Exactly. You don't go on this harder day. Everyone lands safely in Croatia.

Kayla is very relieved to see Seth made it in one piece, mostly because she's like, okay, thank God, I'm not alone in this with Barbara. And Seth's roommate Joe even looks pretty normal. Like, he helps Barbara and Kayla with their bags without being asked. He does also start ripping on a mango-flavored vape as soon as they step outside the airport. I have to admit, I do love a little weed vape,

so I can't throw too many stones in this glass house of mine. So, Joe, he's ripping away at his mango vape as all of our friends wait in an alley to be let into their lodging for the night, which, as I said, has been booked by Barbara on we-puss. There are people engaging in what are clearly drug deals in this alley, and Kayla sees that the door they're waiting to be let into has, like, eight padlocks on it. Oh, my God. But they only have to wait a few minutes in this sketchy alley for their hosts to roll up. His name is Vlad. Vlad is like, welcome to your weepus for the night. No way.

And he unlocks all eight padlocks and lets them into a gorgeous apartment full of skylights and beautiful furniture. There's even two bathrooms. One of them has a cloth foot tub. Kayla immediately feels bad for doubting Barbara. She's like, of course the plane was janky. That's why the ticket was so cheap. Barbara would never let me down. I've seen her study.

She has a 4.0 GPA. I mean, okay, I get it, but the eight, eight locks and all of that, I don't know. But if the inside looks good, then, okay, I'm just going to focus on the good part. I'm going to be grateful for what we have and not think about the negative stuff. There is a long future ahead of us because, like I said, this is a month-long trip. Exactly. And we have only got so much time in this podcast, so I'm going to hit some highlights of this trip. if I told you the whole trip, we'd be here for a hot minute.

Okay. We start off on a high note. After the night in Vlad's beautiful apartment that has eight padlocks, our friends set off on a three-hour bus ride. The bus is perfectly fine. It's just like a coach bus. Though Kayla does expect to be sitting next to Barbara, but somehow she ends up next to Seth.

And Barbara ends up next to Joe, which is totally fine. Talking to Seth is always great for Kayla, except Kayla's pretty sure she can hear Barbara and Joe doing that thing where they're comparing hand sizes because Barbara's is so small? I mean, kill as concerned for the right reasons, I would say, yes. Can you think of any good normal reason two people

would compare hand sizes besides flirting? No. Shall I say something really embarrassing? Yes, please. I remember like one of the first or maybe the first, first dinner that I had with Usher, it turned into like comparing hand sizes. It's like a universal thing. Yeah. And then I just pretended to be a palm reader for no reason. I love that. I was like, maybe, maybe this line is about your fortune and all of that. Oh, you're going to meet

the love of your life very soon. Maybe tonight. Exactly. This line on your hand says that you might be getting married to the woman right in front of you. Oh, see, that turns out to be me. Oh, what a coincidence. Oh, well, oh no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Wow. Comparing hands, that's very common actually. So, no, I mean, of course, Kayla, yeah, they're flirting. Yeah, Kayla's getting really nervous. She's getting worried. Because remember, Barbara is newly single. So this is the first time Kayla is actually meeting single Barbara. And single Barbara is starting to look like someone who falls really fast. Yeah. Kayla turns to Seth and she's like, how well do you know Joe? And Seth may be a golden retriever, but he's not a golden doodle. he's no dummy. He saw Joe and Barbara comparing hand sizes and he knows what that means. Seth is unfortunately also a man. So when Kayla asked him how well he knows Joe, he's like, I don't know.

We play Call of Duty together all the time. Yeah, and that says a lot about that other person, of course. When a guy says that, it makes complete sense. Kayla's like, okay, what is he like with girls? and Seth just kind of blinks? Is your husband good at gossiping or do you have to like pride details out of him? Oh, no, he's not. He's not. I have to ask him all these questions.

I'm like, and so? Did you ask this? Yeah. And he's like, no, why would I? I'm like, why would you not? Somebody told you like the biggest secret of their life. Like somebody's breaking up or like somebody's getting divorced or something. But why?

What happened? Did they talk through it? For how long has this been going on? Everything. I was like, how do you even? react, you just say, uh-huh, okay, you're getting divorced. Good. So what are we having for tonight or something? No, literally. Like, what do you talk about at dinner if you're not talking about this? Exactly. Like, should you order chicken or a fish? I'm like, no,

what are you guys doing? Why did you break up? Yeah. Exactly. Seth is very similar to this. He has not been trained in the ways of gossip. So Seth is like, honestly, we ever really spent a whole lot of time together outside our room? And Kayla's like, okay, great. So you're absolutely useless. Good to know. After this bus ride, they arrive at their second destination, which is next to a stunning lake. And Barbara tells them that the home she booked on Weepus is actually right by the stunning lake. It's just a short little walk from the bus stop. Except the short little walk turns out to be a 20-minute hike. And so they're dragging their luggage through the forest for half an hour. But to be fair, the home is actually stunning. Like it's all glass, it's got a fire pit. Later that

night when they're sitting around the fire pit and they've all had a shower and a couple of beers they can like see the lake in the distance the sky is full of stars and Kayla's like okay the vibes they're a little inconsistent but they're mostly pretty good yeah I think I see sort of this sequence it's like a pattern where the travel and the ride is not best quality yes it's super cheap and all of that very inconvenient but then the the stay is good yeah barb is like I want to experience travel and then I want to sleep in a comfortable bed. Yeah. So Barbara's like, I want to have this real world experience, but that's only limited to travel. Yes, exactly, exactly. So all four of them are around the fire pit. They've wrapped themselves up in blankets as the night gets

colder. Barbara's sitting next to Joe and they're sharing a blanket. And Kayla can't help but notice that it looks like they're holding hands under the blanket. They're still comparing the size, guys. Don't judge them. Exactly. People can be so judgmental. So this doesn't seem like a problem to you? No, not at all. That was a heavy eye roll.

I mean, it's like Kayla, like you can't do anything. It's going to be a fight like soon. So do you want to have a nice holiday and then question them later? I don't think there's much you can do it. It's just going to ruin the whole holiday. No, you're really. Right. And Kayla's having this debate, too. And she's like, this is starting to look like a problem. And normally she would look to Seth to help her figure out if this is a problem because he's so grounded and reliable. Except Seth is clearly still under the spell of before sunrise. So when Kayla tries to start gossiping with him about Barbara and Joe, Seth's just like, I don't know. I think it's kind of cute. So Kayla's like, you know what? This is all a question. for future Kayla. This is not my problem right now. Yeah. So the next few days pass by uneventfully.

They all go swimming in the lake every day. They cook breakfast and dinner together. It's honestly like really lovely. Barbara and Joe continue to get closer. Like they're always finding excuses to go off alone, even if it means hiking to town and it gets supplies. But it's been five days and so far the only thing going wrong is a little flirting. So Kayla's like, you know what, I'm counting this as a win. It's their last night at the lakehouse. They're sitting around the fire pit. They're talking about the next leg of their trip. When Joe sort of clears his throat and then he looks at Barbara and they, like, nodded each other, like, this is the right time. And that's when Joe is like, Barbara and I have something to share with you guys.

Joe's like, I just don't think it's fair for us to continue this trip under false pretenses. And that's when Joe is like, Barbara and I are officially dating. It's day five of this trip. What is your strategy for how to handle this? Oh, my goodness. Joe. I mean, Barbara, even if they are dating, like, why are they making it a big deal? They're still getting to know each other.

You don't know a person in five days. No. No. Wow. No. I mean, poor Kayla and Seth. Kayla's like, it's been less than a week. And Barbara's like, I know it's fast, but when you know, you know, right?

Yes. Wow Kayla does not know what to say to that And so she looks at Seth Who if she's not mistaken Actually looks a little jealous Like Seth is like That's so nice for you guys

Congratulations I wish I was also dating somebody right now Who was maybe on this trip Who could say Yes Kayla's like Oh fuck okay I don't want to be the Debbie Downer So I guess I'll

just say congratulations too, I guess. And Barbara starts tearing up and she's like, you guys are going to be our maid of honor and best fan at the wedding. And as she's saying this, a giant mango vape cloud appears above her head. From this point on in the

trip, everywhere they go, Joe and Barbara are engaging in like copious amounts of PDA. Like, Joe is always picking Barbara up and carrying her around. They ask Seth to take photos of them with their hands and each there's back pockets. On the train the next day, they're making out the whole time.

But it's when they get off the train that things really start going off the rails because this is when Barbara reveals that the next place she booked on Weepus is three hours away from the train station. Barbara's like, okay, I know it's a pain, but it has a hot tub. And I just figured we'd hitchhike. Oh, my goodness. Barbara says that hitchhiking is a quintessential European experience. And it's at this point that Kayla starts thinking that it might be time for her year of yes to end.

Like, even Joe looks skeptical. Yeah. Maybe because in between making out with Barbara on the train, he had finished his mango vape and he had not been able to find another one. And he has never actually smoked a cigarette. So he is too scared to buy the Eastern European ones. So he's clearly already experiencing nicotine withdrawal. So it looks like he's about to say no. But then Barbara says, besides, we've got some big, strong men here to protect us.

And so, Joe, he sticks his thumb out and they're hitchhiking. Wow. In another life, would you ever hitchhike? No, no. As I say, like for me, convenience is everything. Like, I need to know how are we getting to that place. But you should never plan to have the experience. Yeah.

You should never plan to hitchhike. Yeah. Literally nothing about hitchhiking appeals to me, mostly because I feel like I would be really embarrassed if no one picked me up. Yeah, I mean, and it's scary. Like, who picks you up? Also that. Yeah. Luckily or unluckily, no one stops for our friends as they're hitchhiking in half an hour of trying, except for a taxi driver who charges them extra for squishing four people and their luggage into his car. So all in all, this three-hour taxi drive cost them $450. That is crazy. You know, this is exactly what happens when you are like penny-wise. You are trying to save like the cents, but you end up spending more.

Yeah. After the $450 cab ride, things largely go according to plan for the next few days. Like somewhere around day eight or nine of this trip, things fall into an uneasy stasis. Barbara and Joe are attached at the hip and in public, Seth and Kayla pretend not to know them. Luckily, Barbara and Joe are too busy gazing deeply into each other's eyes to notice. Yeah, they don't even know, so...

There's like, there are other people on this trip. I didn't know that. One of Kayla's favorite days ends up being in Slovenia, and it's her favorite day for a few reasons. First, Slovenia is gorgeous. Second, Joe's nicotine withdrawal had finally gone bad enough for him to get over his fear. cigarettes. So even though he now smells like cigarette smoke, he's in a much better mood. So

vibes are going up. But the most important reason is that the place Barbara had booked had three bedrooms. So Barbara and Joe could share a room without forcing Kayla and Seth to also share one. So Kayla pretends to be surprised when Barbara and Joe decided to stay in for the evening. But secretly, she is very relieved not to have to spend another evening watching them do PDA, it ends up being the best night so far. Kayla and Seth have a really nice dinner. They buy new toothpaste. They try to go to a place that's apparently famous for their dessert, but they end up

getting there too late, so they just buy like a little pack of cookies and just share them on the walk home. And it's as Kayla's brushing her teeth that Barbara sort of floats into the bathroom. And she sighs and doesn't say anything. And so Kayla just looks at her. and Barbara sighs louder and so finally Kayla's like okay what

what do you want to tell me and this is when Barbara says that her and Joe have said I love you to each other it's been 13 days do you think this is too early if they're planning to get married by the end of this trip

then fine like just do it quickly I don't know I don't know what they want it's wow this is happening so fast this is happening so fast yeah you know how long it took me and my husband to say, I love you to each other. How long? More than a year.

More than a year. You were taking your time. Yeah, we kind of knew, but it's just like too awkward. You know, you're still getting to know the person. You just want to know if these feelings are the same on both sides. And also if the feelings you're having right now are actually like true feelings of affection or not, sometimes these feelings can be really temporary. They can like go away sort of quickly.

Um, yeah. So for me, it, you know, it took us some, some time, but I, yeah, I would not say I love you like in 13 days. Sorry. Took me like 13 months. Yeah. I mean, I think that you probably made the better choice here. And Kayla is also like, this is a little early. This is a little early for me. And she's like, maybe it's time for me to say no. Maybe it's finally time for me to say no here. And she's like, Barbara. I. I'm happy for you, but don't you think this seems a little fast? And Barbara's just like, I know, isn't it so romantic? And this is when Barbara is like, also there's been a change of plants. Oh, no. Yeah, Barbara and Joe had found out not only that they loved each other, but that they also loved the movie The Sound of Music, and that it was only a 14-hour bus ride to the hills that are alive with the Sound of Music.

And Barbara is desperate to reimborder these hills onto her blanket. Joe has already said yes. Kayla thinks about the prospect of spending 14 hours on a bus with Barbara and Joe, and she's like, you know what? Why don't you go by yourselves? Seth and I can just hang out here. Do you think that's a fair compromise? Yeah.

Also, I think Joe and Barbara need some time alone. Because sometimes it's just so much about like, oh, you know, my friend doesn't want us to be together but like I love you so much and all of that and these emotions get mixed up and I think you know when nobody cares about you know you guys dating and it's just about you guys now yeah yeah like how do you actually feel Kayla doesn't care like how do you actually feel it's not looking at you guys how do you actually feel and 14 hours I mean yeah just go on a bus figure out you got plenty of time to figure it out on that 14 hour bus ride compare your hand size for 14 hours.

14 hours of comparing hand sizes. Yes. Yeah. Apparently Barbara does not think this is a fair compromise because the next morning she tells them that she's found a solution to their problem. Barbara has put a deposit on a moving truck, which she says is a much better option than the bus.

Because with the truck, the drive would be half as long and also the deposit of $400 and non-refundable, so they have to do it. What? Why? A truck? A moving truck? No way.

Correct. Yeah. Kayla is speechless. Meanwhile, Seth is of two minds. On one hand, the whole reason he came on this trip was to see Vienna. So he's like, driving through Austria's, I don't mind that. We're going to see Vienna. On the other end, he's like, Barbara, why did you rent a moving truck?

Why didn't you just rent a car? And Barbara's like, it was cheaper. I'm trying to be mindful of your, you know, situations. And then Barbara says that she rented the truck in Kayla's name because Kayla is the only one on the trip who can legally drive Stick Shift. Even though Kayla has only driven Stick Shift maybe a dozen times in her life, and she has never driven anything bigger than a Toyota Camry, which along with the winding mountains and roads ends up being the real problem, it only takes one particularly tight turn for Kayla to be like, you know what? We all might die today, but I'm not going to be the one to kill us. So she makes Joe, who can drive stick, but who for some reason does not have a driver's license, drive the moving truck, even though this is so many levels of illegal. Yeah, yeah, very much.

Kayla rides in the back with Seth in the darkness while Joe and Barbara sit up front. Every curve they take is terrifying. Every time they stop, they're worried they're getting pulled over. and that they're going to be arrested in Austria. And this could theoretically be like a little bit romantic, except Kayla barfs like six times in the back of the moving truck. Kayla's like, this is insane. While Seth is like, I can't wait to tell this story at Barbara and Joe's wedding.

Rolling my eyes. Oh, my goodness. Is there anything in the world that would make an experience like that worth it for you? Um, I think if I feel like, you know what, I have nothing else to do in life. And, you know, I have, I have no say, I'm here on their mercy and, yeah, fine. No, I would not. I would not. Same.

Same. I am generally, like, I am a backseat driver. I am really scared of, you know, driving these cars and these things. I can't drive yet. Same. Wow, we have so much in common, I mean. We do. No, I like took driver's ed when I was in high school and then I think undiagnosed anxiety at the time.

I just, I was like, I don't like driving. It scares me. Exactly. I mean, it's terrifying. It is. But yeah. Wow. But friends risk it.

Friends do that. I mean, they don't have a license or, you know, they're like, I have a license, but you, but I can't drive and you don't have a license, but you can't drive. Let's switch. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah, so basically they just switched. And Joe does get them there in one piece.

Although I will say this is where I start to judge our friend of a friend, Kayla, because there is nothing in the world. To me, worth getting rattled around in the back of the moving truck. But apparently those hills really were alive with the sound of music. Because at the end of it, Kayla's like, I'm so glad we did this. I mean, that's just the way, you know, sometimes we have to look at life. After all, that has happened. you are there, you're like, you know what? I love this.

It was worth it. Also, 18-year-olds are so much more resilient. Their bodies are so much springier than mine. So they're all, you know, running up that hill, as Kate Bush intended, when Joe tells Kayla that he is planning on proposing to Barbara on the last day of the trip. And he's like, would you help me pick a ring? And in response, Kayla trips on a rock and just fully place plants. Like, Seth has to come help dust her off. Joe's like, I told Kayla the great news. And Seth is like, isn't it so cool how we're here to witness this? Does Seth have any other line in this script? His character is just so consistent. Wow, that's great. He's reliable. He's consistent. Yeah, yeah, this is driving Kayla a little bit crazy as well. She's like, Seth.

Help me. Literally, this is crazy. How do you not see this? So later, Kayla thinks it might be, you know, Seth being too accommodating or maybe just Joe planning to propose that finally makes her snap. Or maybe it's the fact that in Vienna, Barbara reveals that she had booked a single room for the four of them on weepas for the next three nights. Barbara's like, don't worry, I'll just check in with Joe and then we'll sneak you both in later every night for the next three nights.

Barbara, what was she thinking? One room for four people? No way. And after, you know, this proposal thing, no. Yeah, yeah. Kayla finally just snaps. And by snaps, I mean, she's like, Year of Yes is over.

Canceled. We're done with that. I'm the captain now. It's the year of no. Kayla sends Barbara and Joe out for dinner. She sends Seth out to go buy himself a leather jacket exactly like Ethan Hawks and before sunrise. And then Kayla checks herself into a nice hotel room where she then calls her mom crying. And after this phone call, Kayla just rebooks the remaining 10 days of the trip on her parents' credit card.

She's like, I'm not getting in the back of another moving truck. We are not having another single room situation. we are getting on trains, planes, and normal automobiles. Oh, my goodness. This ends up costing an additional $800 per person. Kayla is like, I would have paid a lot more than $800 for peace of mind. Yeah, for sure. You know, if it's a holiday, you don't want it to be a miserable experience.

That's not the point of a holiday. And if you want to pay less money, just shorten it. Like, be realistic, but have a good experience. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, if you don't want to pay a penny, just go to a nearby hill or something. Go on a hike or something. Have a staycation.

Yeah. Exactly. But don't be this like, I'm going to make this trip so miserable and travel every part of the world. And no, sorry, Barbara, but that's not how it works. Yeah, Barbara. Oh, Barbara. That's what I have to say. Kayla's also saying, oh, Barbara.

Yes. Kayla's barely certain that having her own hotel room is the only thing that, gets her through the rest of this trip, specifically the proposal that happens on the final day of the trip because, yes, Joe does propose. At this point, they're in Italy, Rome specifically. Joe had chosen Rome because what a barber's favorite movie is is eat, pray, love. So he proposes in the mausoleum of Augustus, even after Seth is very gently like, you know, that's a tomb, right? Joe doesn't care He makes Kayla and Seth

spent hours setting up candles in a corner of the mausoleum that isn't covered in piss and graffiti and you know what? Barbara says yes The ring that Joe bought her is already turning her finger green by the time they land stateside and that's kind of the end of our story

I do have some updates for you but first I want to know how long do you think Barbara and Joe are going to last You know what? From the story so far, I would not be surprised if they're still together. Because if they could survive, you know, those few weeks, they can survive a whole lifetime. It's true. They were forged in fire. Yeah. So I have three updates, two small and one big.

Okay. So the first update is that on the last day of this trip, along with getting proposed to, Barbara reveals that she has only been. bathing in natural bodies of water for the whole trip. Yeah. Kayla's honestly a little bit impressed because Barbara hasn't smelled particularly bad and they've been around each other for a month. You know like you need to take a shower after you get into a lake. You know that, right?

Apparently Barbara did not at this point in her life. The second update is that after this very memorable trip, Kayla and Barbara basically stopped talking to each other. Kala lives in her sorority house, her sophomore year, and then off campus. The only time Kayla and Barbara actually speak after the trip is after graduation when Barbara hits Kayla up for money because she's raising funds to do a Catholic mission in Cameroon. Kayla doesn't donate. You just shook your head. No.

It's a no. No. No. If it involves travel, no. No, literally, exactly. Exactly. Anything for you, Barbara, but traveling? No.

But not a plane. No. Nope. Yeah. And finally, the update that you're waiting for, Barbara and Joe break up two months after the trip ends. But the trip was good for one thing. Kayla was honestly really impressed by how well Seth handled all the craziness. Kala told us that Seth was totally her rock throughout the whole trip. They end up hanging out a lot for the rest of the summer after they get back. And they start officially dating right before sophomore year. They get engaged after college. And they're still there. Oh, that is cute. Aw, I'm happy. I'm happy for Kayla and Seth. Yeah.

Yeah. Do you know, like, when somebody is there with you and for you, through, you know, the thick and thin and it's, you sort of know, you sort of know they're the right one. I think it's just their presence that makes everything a lot easier for you. And do you know that when you share this whole life journey together, it will be a beautiful journey. Yeah. I feel the same way about my husband as well. Yeah. That's so sweet. Even when he doesn't gossip, even when he's supporting a crazy love story right in front of him.

I know he's just like for chill about these things and he's a believer in minding my own business. I don't know what that mean. I've never heard that phrase before. Minding my own business. What does that mean? I know. I'm very unfamiliar with that. But there are people who. just, yeah, do not interfere in other people's business out there. I don't know them. I don't know them. Yeah. Well, that is the end of our story.

Thank you so much for joining me, Malala. Oh, thank you. This was so beautiful. I mean, not the detail of the story, but the ending of it. And I think these experiences, these friends just teach you a lot about yourself, about others, about life. Yeah, wow. Okay, I'm going to be thinking about them

for a long time now. That is the normal gossip promise to give you a story that you will never forget. Yes. Thank you for listening to Normal Gossip. If you have a gossip story to share with us,

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