(St. Peter's, The Vatican, Rome)
(Comino, Malta)
(The Highlands, Scotland)
(Salzburg, Austria)
(Flachau, Austria)
(Parthenon, Athens, Greece)
(Stonehenge, Great Britain)
(Prague, Czech Republic)
(Delphi, Greece)
(Colosseum, Rome, Italy)
This year has been... too much for words. When I left the Billings Logan Airport in August of 2012, I had such big ideas and grand plans for seeing the world. And boy, did I see it! But nothing was what I expected. It was bigger, more expensive, more difficult to translate, harder to get around, culturally diverse and just scarier compared to what I had envisioned. I have learned so much about myself and the places I have been. I don't even know how many countries I've been to. I've lost track of the coffees I've drank and the chocolate I've consumed. I've been lost, stuck in customs, miles from communication, without the correct currency, on more airplanes than healthy and spent too many hours on a train than should be necessary for any human being. Ever. I've skied in the Alps. I've skinny dipped in the Mediterranean (that's a long story for another time). I've walked into the most expensive department store in Europe - and bought nothing. I've met more wonderful people from all over the world than I ever imagined I would. And I have learned that traveling is nothing that I thought it was. It was even better.
It hasn't been easy. Far from it. There have been anxiety attacks. Intense homesickness waves that lead to mass chocolate consumption. Too many late nights, thinking about Lewis and Austyn. A lot of unnecessary worrying. And some very fun de-stressing dance parties in Grace and Shashana's room, where we taught John to belly dance, even if he won't admit it. Being in a foreign country is simply, hard. I am 5,000 miles from home. No cell phones. No family. No familiar faces. No familiar food. Everyone speaks a different language and no one knows your name. The 40 people in our center came together not knowing what to expect and are leaving as family. We fight and disagree (how could 40 twenty-somethings not?) and we've drank more beer than our collective kidneys will ever tell our parents, but we are family. We've seen the world together and that is something I will cherish these people for immensely when I leave UP in exactly... 10 days to begin my journey at MSU in Bozeman.
I've grown a lot over this year. At least, I'd like to think I have. I've learned to adapt. I've learned to ask for directions (just like my mother does and it drives me absolutely insane, but I had to do it...). I can ask for a bathroom and coffee in about 8 languages. I have taken too many pictures for my computer to hold, leading my external hard drive to crash and for me to have an incredible anxiety attack (last night). I have encountered some of the most beautiful places on earth, and learned to appreciate that some of the most beautiful places on earth were right out my back door. I have learned to appreciate the meaning of family. And that has been the greatest gift of all.
When I started this blog about 8 or 9 months ago, I had no idea where I would be at the end of this year. And here I am. At the Heart of Joy cafe in Salzburg, avoiding studying for my impending finals and instead uploading pictures while the WIFI is working (another thing I've learned - European WIFI is absolutely ATROCIOUS). But there was just something that needed to be said.
Without my family - without my sisters and my brother and my parents answering my phone calls at all hours of the day and night (it took awhile for us to get this time change thing down) and for replying to my countless emails and bored messages - I would not have made it through this year. I'm sorry I missed so much in all of your lives. I was selfish this year for wanting to be so far away for so long - and I thank you for allowing me to be selfish. I have come to appreciate Mom, Dad, Jana, Kyle and Rachelle so much more while being abroad and I love you guys so much. I can't wait to sit at the lake with you all this summer and talk around the campfire, looking at the stars and listening to the water (and hearing Uncle Garve's snoring from the Gierke's camper...)
Thank you all so, so much for giving me this year. Thank you for everything, but especially, Thank you Mom and Dad for giving me the WORLD!
I will see you in... 12 days 8 hours and 5 minutes. I expect chips and salsa waiting in the car. Oh, I'll be the one with the purple hair and large carry-on, waving excitedly! xoxo - Kels
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