Sometimes it's funny the way things work out when your thoughts, plans, and expectations were completely to the contrary. One of the things world racers are constantly told before and during their journey is to get rid of all of their expectations asap. However, sometimes we don't even realize that we have expectations until those expectations are shattered. I wouldn't say that my expectations were shattered yesterday, but Jesus definitely through some unexpected curveballs my way… in one of the best ways possible… through some awesome friends.
The b-squad took a trip to the mall yesterday and boy did we have some adventures… not bad considering I didn't enter a single store. The trip started out with me finding out the entire mall floor was super slick – which isn't good when you're on crutches, me falling within the first 5min of entering the mall, making the long trek to the food court where we were initially told we could find free wireless (the first internet access since being in Honduras), finding out we were unable to get internet there and that it was possible we might not get access at all (which was 95% of my reason for going), and eventually a breakthrough coming completely from left field. My squadmates Taralah, Brandon, and I went to a coffee shop hoping to find internet (which was also unsuccessful) and sat down. I ate my food from Popeyes, Taralah began to blog, and Brandon was working on the boys' secret project aka: writing sweet personalized notes for the girls on his team. It wasn't long before we stopped our separate tasks and began talking… which is what eventually lead me to a long-awaited breakthrough since being on the race.
Afterwards, I eventually made my way to a coffee shop downstairs that was said to have internet off and on. After the internet being finicky for a lil while, I eventually got access and had about an hour or so left to do what seemed like a million things before having to meet with the girls. Thankfully, I had just enough time to check my e-mail, write home, and post 3 pre-written blogs in that short timeframe. It was awesome! After regrouping with the squad, the boys went one way and the girls went another way. They wound up going to eat dinner at a Mexican restaurant and we went to TGI Friday's for a round of speed dating and yummy food. It was an all-around good time. That's also when we found out what the boys had been plotting since the morning… they all wrote notes to the girls on their respective teams and they were really sweet. Thanks Brian & Ryan for being so awesome to the girls of team Ignite! Also, all the B-Squad guys rock, just saying!
The last curveball of the night came in the form of a shopping cart, awesome friends, and a whole lot of trust. Nothing says trust like hopping on the end of a shopping cart with one foot b/c of a broken ankle and holding on for dear life as friends push you down a long hallway of the mall, out the door, down a ramp, across a fairly busy street, up a bumpy hill, and down the road to where a school bus is waiting for you… at night time… backwards… Oh My Goodness! Don't worry, both pics and a video camera captured the priceless moment! haha! As if that wasn't great enough, when we finally arrived at the bus, my squadmate Heather very accurately stated "and that is why your leg is in that cast! so u can learn to ask for help and trust us more." to which I laughed and replied, "yep, I know… it's better than any trust fall could ever be! haha" Man, I love my life! (Even when it flashes before my eyes)
