Since my arrival back to America comes right in the midst of the busy Christmas season, it felt appropriate to write my own version of the “12 Days of Christmas.”
“On the eleven months of the World Race, Jesus gave to me…”
(11) new countries
In order of appearance: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Nepal, and India
(10) funny faces
(9) gorgeous views
(8) hours at weddings
In Rwanda we had the privilege of attending 2 separate weddings. Both weddings we wore traditional Rwandan dresses. The first wedding, we somehow were confused for the groom’s 10 sisters (he was a white man from Germany) and received guest of honor privileges. The second wedding, we served as the wait staff. Two separate weddings, two separate experiences.
(7) weeks of sickness
Five out of the seven weeks were cause of my knee injury back in month two and three, plus a week of a bacterial infection in Uganda, and random days here and there where my stomach just had enough of all the traveling.
(6) pairs of footwear
I started the race with a pair of sneakers, 2 pairs of Toms, flip flops, and a strappy pair of cute Crocs. Ditched the Crocs month 2, and a pair of Toms month 10, gained a cute pair of sandals month 5. My traveling closet was always changing though!
(5) boat adventures
Our team crossed the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border on a river. During debrief in Granada, Nicaragua the whole squad went on a boat tour of Lake Nicaragua. In Cambodia, my team went island hopping and snorkeling in our beach town. During debrief in Jinja, Uganda the squad cruised up and down the Nile River. In Kenya, I went on a boat safari with my mom during Parent Vision Week.
(4) bucket list items
-Swimming in a waterfall, Rio Celeste, Costa Rica
-Being in two places at same time, Uganda Equator Line
-Run a race in a foreign country, Chiang Mai, Thailand
-Be in a foreign country for New Years, Thai New Year
(3) amazing teams
I could not have asked for three better teams to share this past year with. From ‘Spice of Life,’ to ‘Holy Cows,’ to ‘Phoenix.’ I love my teammates so much!
(2) near death experiences
Both coincidentally happened while rafting on rivers. The first in Thailand while bamboo rafting. Our small raft got too close to elephants frolicking in the water, and we had to quickly jump off the raft to avoid them. Beka ended up cutting her foot and needing a few stitches. The second happened while white water rafting the Nile River. Our raft overturned on a rapid and even though we were probably only stuck underwater for a few seconds, it felt like minutes til we resurfaced and could catch our breath. This adventure also happened with Beka by my side.
(1) squad family
I’m being completely serious when I say I have the best squad ever. Our traveling family of 50 members has shared so many tears and laughs this year and I couldn’t have picked anyone better to travel the world with and I will miss every single member dearly!
