For New Years my family went to Oklahoma to see the rest of our family and let me just say, my dad knows how to pack everything in real tight! It was a nonstop whirlwind from the time we arrived to the time we left, but I loved every minute of it. At some point during the weekend it hit me. I’m leaving this year, I have training camp in FIVE months! What!?! I laughed a little when one of my squad mates told me it hit her and she had a freak out moment…but now I see what she means. Everything as a whole hasn’t quite sank in and hit me yet, but it’s becoming more real by the day. I was telling someone that I was thinking about holding a garage sale next year to fundraise some of my trip and then I realized, next year IS this year, it’s right now! Ahhh!?! I can’t believe it’s already. Just yesterday it was June! Where did the last 6 months go? I looked down for one minute and the next thing I know, it’s a whole new year.
I’m legitimately leaving the U.S. for almost a year and going to 11 countries I know almost nothing about, living in a tent (yes, that’s a big one for me, I love my bed and will miss it dearly!), living with the same people 24/7 (I like and need my alone time so that’ll be interesting), I wont speak the languages of the countries I’m in (I got a pedicure that weekend and the ladies were speaking to each other in Vietnamese, I couldn’t understand a word and I thought to myself…this is going to be my life in just a few short months! Wow.)
In FIVE months I will be hopping on a plane to go to Georgia for Training Camp, then FOUR weeks, 30 short days after that I’ll be meeting up with my squad and heading for China! I’ve always dreamed of the places I would travel and the things that I would do, but really, China was never one of those places. Sure, I’ve thought of how cool it would be to go to The Great Wall and I’ve watched Mulan a million and one times, but no, I’ve never actually imagined hopping on a plane to go there, but here I am, counting down the days. 170 days!!!
If you don’t know me well then you may not know about my love for Brazil and for Brazilians, if you do know me well…well you know how I am! As of a couple days ago we had 2 new members join our family, or as we so lovingly call it “The Fam Bam”. These 2 wonderful new additions just so happen to be Brazilians! I was so excited when I found out! I’m fairly sure I terrified my new roommate when I squealed out of pure joy and excitement about it! This was basically my face when I found out…
My Nanny made a comment the other night that has stuck with me. I was so excited that I of course posted a status on Facebook sharing my excitement with everyone. Nanny was the first to comment on it saying “Yea! Makes me certain God has formed your team!” More and more I feel like this is where I belong, like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m not stuck somewhere wishing every moment that I was somewhere else doing something else. I have no idea what this year has in store for me, but this is where I’m supposed to be and because of that, I’m going for it!
