During a moment of euphoria today in a foreign grocery store, I finally hugged a fellow teammate. And so the bonding begins. Why the euphoria you ask? Oh, we found 
peanut butter after searching for weeks! We may have also still been on sugar highs from the huge pastries and iced coffees we consumed for breakfast! This morning at 7 a.m., my teammate Olivia and I headed into Petrich, Bulgaria, the nearest “big” city by foot. After an hour and half of walking about 6 miles, we arrived into the city of iced frappes, wifi, and peanut butter…is this Heaven?
Sidenote- if you’ve been looking at my pictures and videos, Olivia is the girl who you will often think is me as we are confused for each other daily. I have gotten used to being called Olivia since training camp and now know what it would be like to have a twin.
We spent the day wifi hopping, acting out what we wanted to get around the language barriers, and enjoying delicious food and drinks. During all of this, we kept planning on splitting up for alone time. On the World Race, you are never allowed to go anywhere without a buddy so on these cherished Sabbath days, seeking alone time is a treasure. Being such an independent person, I have been fighting for this alone time, so today I was quite excited to zone out. Then we got to walking, talking, and going about our day. Every time we thought about splitting up, I realized I would rather be in her company than alone. Guess that’s how friendships start. So, I am giving into starting some new relationships. If community is part of the journey and growth than okay, God, teach me.
