London!

Today I have decided that it is time for an update! I am currently hanging out at a hostel in Dublin, Ireland. A bit of preface to this trip - about a year ago, I had a thought about traveling after graduation. I have always wanted to go to Ireland, and somewhat on a whim, called up my roommate Laura from junior year and asked if she would be interested in going with me. After much 'are we really going to do this??' moments, we bought our tickets to London (Laura flying out of Dublin). Once I got back from Costa Rica, we started to really plan things out. If you know me, you know how I like to have details planned out. So this trip is me trying not to have everything planned out and leave a bit up to chance. We know where we'll be, but not sure on how we're going to get there. That's what tomorrow is for. I new a bit of a break after London. We've been running around doing things like crazy. I got there about 12 hours before Laura and ended up sitting in the hostel room being exhausted and overwhelmed by leaving behind a lot of people. I got to see a couple of people the day I left Seattle that I'm probably not going to see this summer, so not until next July or August, and I'm not going to lie - it was not something that felt too great. So when Laura got in, she found a semi-broken down Nanda. Needless to say, once we were up and moving around the next day, and I our hostel by Hyde Park, things were better. We went to the natural history museum, the V&A, saw Albert memorial and discovered the joys of Harrods. The next couple of days involved us ending up walking 8 miles to find the Harry potter bridge, primark, parliament, trafalger square, buckingham palace, Hyde park, Kensington palace and gardens, Oxford street, St. Paul's cathedral, and the national gallery. One day we also ended up doing the big bus tour around London. Of the three buses we went on, two of the guides were fantastic and so entertaining. Full of fun facts and things about London and British culture. It was also a pretty convenient way to get around and avoid walking since we were both pretty exhausted. Of course I forgot sunscreen, so I was rosy and pink by the end of the day. Other highlights - coffee in various locations, the play 39 Steps at the Criterion Theater (which was absolutely fantastic) and figuring out what happened to our flights today! Last February, we reserved flights from London to Dublin on continental. Which later merged with delta. So we were flying on bmi airlines which is operated by British airways. So it was just a bit of a mess. But it was all figured out and now we are at our hostel in Dublin! With a ridiculous number of Germans, I might add. And a guy at the front desk tht is josh klute's doppelgänger. Not sure what tomorrow involves, but I think it ought to be a bit more laid back and enjoyable :) just need to stop worrying about money!

God of my Relationships

Can you say completely bipolar emotions? That is this week. The most recurring?

• Excitement to see my family.
• Fear of not being able to say goodbye.
• Trying to figure out how to tell some of my good friends that I am afraid that I won't be as important to them in three months as I am now without sounding completely ridiculous.
• Is it okay to be excited about new adventures on two different continents even when you are leaving people behind?

At hosanna tonight, a friend of mine prayed for a small group of us to allow God to be in control over our relationships. Another prayed for God to help us know who we should focus on spending time with, to show us who to really pursue those relationships with especially as so many people are leaving and will physically be far apart. Talk about getting at a point that absolutely hits home. I would be the first to say that I put probably too much stake into my friendships, which is probably why I tend to have a hard time trusting people quickly. Though I find that it is the people I can immediately open up to that I end up trusting the most?

The concept of having to say goodbye to so many friends is overwhelming and, to just be a bit more dramatic putting words to my feelings, more than a little bit heartbreaking. It's almost as though you know it is coming, but when it hits, you don't even know how to properly say goodbye. And you just can't say 'until later' to everyone, because you really probably will not see most people again. You just try to reach out grasping at the strings , holding people as close to you as you can without letting them slip away.  

Today I watched the sun set, just took the time to sit on a ridge and watch it set behind the hills. I was listening to the song "Heaven When We're Home" by the Wailin' Jenny's.

The question "where is home" no longer exasperates me. Where is home? Home is happening in 11 days when my entire family is together. Granted, it doesn't happen often, and thus must be cherished every time it does, and I am so, so incredibly excited for everyone to be together, even though it is only for three days. And then we all head off to our separate continents to be connected by emails and skype. Much more than my mom used to have, so I am thankful.

Watch this video if you have time. It is pretty powerful, especially when you hit the question around 7.30