Sunriver

A few weeks ago, right when I got back from Greece, my family and I spent time up at a cabin in Sunriver, Oregon. The beginning of the week was a large family reunion run by my side of the family. There were around 40 people there! Many who I hadn't seen in a long time. We played games, ate, sung songs, chatted, and hung out. Later in the week, we celebrated my Grandparents' 50th anniversary with our family. It was so great celebrating love and the example of love and happiness that they are. We also canoed, rode bikes, played tennis, and played cards. It was fun to be constantly active and doing things. I decided I really like tennis and want to continue to play for fun. We have a tennis court at the country club down the street in Charleston so my family is going to play while we are all together. I also decided I want to get a bike. I think it would be fun to ride around and to ride to class. Riding it to class may not be the best idea for me, though, considering all of the bike accidents I have witnessed on campus. Anyway, it was a fun week of family and outdoors. Sunriver is a beautiful place and made me grateful for this wonderful world that God has created.

the end

My amazing trip to Greece is over and I am back in the real world. I can't believe after months of planning and anticipation, it has come and gone. But, I could not be any happier. I had the time of my life and got to see beautiful things and meet amazing people. Before the trip, I was worried because I was spending so much money. I was afraid it wouldn't meet my expectations and I would end up being disappointed. It was totally worth the money, plus some, and greatly exceeded my expectations. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I will never, ever forget it. I am so thankful that I had this great opportunity. I think traveling abroad has an effect on people one of two ways. Either people realize that they want more out of life or they realize how happy they are with their lives and become grateful for what they have. I have had the first realization in previous trips, but this trip, I realized that I could not be happier with my life. I had the opportunity to sit back and look around me and see how lucky I am to have such great friends and family. They were so supportive throughout my Greece adventure. I am so thankful for them in my life. I also realized that I have many opportunities that others don't receive. I get to travel, get an education, etc. I am now more motivated to achieve my dreams and goals. I wish my time in Greece would continue forever, but I cannot wait to see what else life has in store for me. Paros Island, you will always be in my heart.

Some of my favorite pictures from Greece

Until next time!

Day 25: Long, long journey home

After an awful night's sleep on a very hard bed and in a noisy hotel, I woke up at 8 and took a shower in the gross community shower. Thankfully, they had a nice breakfast of fruit, bread, eggs, and juice provided. We packed our stuff up and then check out of the hotel. Cassandra, Sophie, Sara, and I caught a taxi and jammed all of our luggage in. The driver said it was a good thing we left when we did because all of the roads were going to be blocked in a few hours. As we drove, we got to see the magnitude of the protest. It was the day of the vote so the protests spread away from just Syntagma square to all of the city. There were police officers every where and people already clashing with them. I can't imagine what it looked like after the vote. After a long, speedy( I think he went 100 mph) ride, we got to the very busy airport. It took about 30 minutes to check in after a giant high school tour group. We then said goodbye to Sara and Sophie and then went through security. The Athens airport is really weird. Inside security, there are only gates. There aren't and shops or food. You also have to stand in a line to get into your gate. We were so confused and hungry. Thankfully, we found a little kiosk with prepackaged sandwiches, chips, and drinks. We waited at the gate for about 2 hours and then got to board our flight. We had to sit on the runway for an hour though, because it was backed up after the strike. Then, it was a long, 12 hour flight. Luckily, I got to sit next to Cassandra. We watched movies and chatted. She slept a lot but I couldn't sleep. We actually got a pretty good meal. It was chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies, salad, and a roll. Best plane food I have ever had. When we landed, it was 8:10. I realized I only had an hour to deboard, get through passport control, pick my suitcase up at baggage claim, go through customs, recheck my bag, go through security, and go 3 terminals down to my gate. Everything went smoothly and I ran frantically to my gate and got there just as they were closing the gate. I didn't get to say goodbye to Cassandra though : (. I was sweating and had to sit between two larger men. The air conditioning happened to be broken the whole flight as well. Thankfully, it was only 40 minutes to Charleston. My parents were waiting past security and I was so excited! My mom had mac and cheese waiting for me and Lexie was sooo excited to see me. Ahhh it is so good to be back in the US. Things I have been enjoying the most: a normal shower, a comfy bed, flushing toilet paper, American food, a full fridge, working internet, and normal tv. I will miss Greece and my friends a lot, though!