Intern International: The Odyssey (The Journey Home)

   When I returned from Norway, I had one day to pack, clean, and squeeze in as much quality time with my friends as I could. Although I had a great time in Norway, and it really was a great last hurrah, and I loved my friends and the adventures I had in Europe, I was ready to go home. I was tired and I wanted to slow down a bit. I was ready to enjoy the simpler things in life, like root beer, dominos pizza, and the freedom of having one's own car. Ya know?  

   The first thing I did when I landed in the USA, was buy chick-fil-a. When I left for Europe, my mom gave me a bunch of cards to be opened on certain occasions. One of them was a card that said "open when you need cash." There was a crisp twenty dollar bill inside that I couldn't use. I saved it the entire year for just this occasion, and I'm so glad I did. That chick-fil-a tasted especially delicious. 

   Another interesting experience I had returning home was that my flight got delayed in Charlotte, and while it was delayed, I lost my phone. The people on the plane rallied around me to help me call my parents, find my next flight, and lead me through the Dallas airport so I could make my next connection. I was so grateful to these people, and they reminded me how precious American hospitality is. I know the European's think we are too friendly, but what may have resulted in tears, panic, and a feeling of helplessness in Europe, was resolved by the generosity of the strangers around me. What a great welcome home!

  But the best welcome was my parents and my brother waiting to receive me in the little town of Bismarck, North Dakota with a crisp root beer and some sunflowers. Yes. It was good to finally be home. 

  But it was still so hard to say goodbye to the people I had left behind not knowing when I would see them again. These were people I considered my family, they were the people who had reminded me that true friendship was out there. We had gone through so much together, seen the world together, and grown in our faith together. Even now, I still miss them tremendously, and look back on our adventures, games, and long talks with such warmth. But, as my friend José always said, "I know someday that we will meet again. Someday, we will all work on something together. Something for God, and it will be big." I think he's right. And I look forward to that day. 

   I don't really know what else to say. So much happened in the ten months I was in Europe. I lived another life, yet when I came home, part of me felt like nothing had even changed. I wish I could come away with some long paragraph about what I learned, but to tell you the truth, I didn't come away from my experience with one big overarching theme flashing over my head like a neon sign. There were so many things, and every experience was full of nuance. Which is why I am so thankful I decided to do this blog.  I don't have to try and sum everything up in a short paragraph because the smiles, the tears, the lessons are all written in these pages. 

 Thank you everyone who stuck with me this long and came with me on my adventures. Whether that was in person, through phone calls, letters, or through this blog, I couldn't have taken this journey alone. 

  "Lets go. A road is for walking, after all." 

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