Hello! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m glad to finally have this chance to gather my thoughts and share them with you, because it has been one crazy week. Here’s a little update for you on how the way I live is changing.
Due to Hurricane Irma, our flight from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale was cancelled. It felt confusing and chaotic to have the plans switched around, but God gave us a /great/ surprise. We ended up taking a very long bus ride to New York, spent the night in a creepy room in the basement of a random hotel (which made for great laughs and lots of fun), and crashed in the airport for a day. This is when I began to realize I have the greatest squad ever. I sat, staring at our piles of backpacks and my squad members laughing and playing games, and I thought “These are the people I am doing life with now.” More on that later.
After hours of waiting, we boarded the plane. Not just any plane. A plane to Portugal. I know. WHAT?! We spent an entire day there in a cute little hostel, and we got to explore Lisbon all by ourselves. It was honestly one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been in. The buildings were so old and painted in pastel colors. One was even inlaid with green tiles all over its walls. The sun was blinding, but it made everything so much clearer and brighter. It was a place that I think nearly everyone fell in love with. I know I did. I love that this is my life. It’s insane that God has given me this surprise gift of exploring and seeing all that he has created with this beautiful squad of mine.
Now, our first stop is Romania. That’s where I am now! It is sunny and the air is clear, which reminds me of my home in Colorado. This month, my whole entire squad is living in a house together on a cute little street in the heart of Draganesti-Olt, Romania. We walk down the street every day down dusty sidewalks to the grocery store where security guards shake our hands and follow us around with skeptical eyes. Kids walking their bikes around run up to give us high fives and pull at our milk cartons with mischievous smiles on their faces. We eat breakfast in a huge, hot kitchen with a big table. I share a room with five other amazing girls on triple bunk beds. We have only been here for three days, but the charm of the people and town has already begun to intrigue and excite me. I’ve even learned some Romanian! More than that, though, living in this community of 40 people has been so much fun.
As an introvert, the constant stream of conversation and interaction is extremely tiring. But, honestly, when my head hits the pillow at the end of the day, the mental/emotional/physical exhaustion is so worth it. I am so lucky to be sharing my room with my roommates whom I love dearly. I am so grateful I get to be sharing meals and conversation with my team every day. God has shown me already that traveling with 40 people is crazy stressful, but the end reward is beautiful and sweet. So that’s my life now I live in Romania with a wild, loud, hilarious, caring, lovely community. I never thought I would ever do anything like this in my lifetime. But here I am. Living vibrantly.
