6 Weeks of Crazy

Well, here I am. Two days from starting the biggest adventure of my life. I will be studying abroad at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey for an entire semester starting in two days! I have known about this program since November 2013 and have been looking forward to this for an entire year. Now it is so close. It has come up so fast here in the last few weeks. Especially since I have only spent about 14 of the last 35 days at home.

I finished my fall semester at Illinois State University on December 13. I had six weeks before leaving for Turkey. I spent the first week at home. Wow! A whole week! I then went and visited a few friends right before Christmas. I was able to introduce one friend to ice skating while my other friend showed me How to Train your Dragon 2. I did spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family, having a wonderful ham dinner and singing in the choir for our church's candlelight service.

Then my family traveled to West Virginia to visit my Grandma and extended family, where we watched a few football games, played Grandma Game (Rummi), and ate wonderful family meals, including ribs, lasagna, and Grandma salad with Grandma fries. Immediately following, my sister, brother, cousin, and I piled into my sister's lovely Hyundai and traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, for Six Flags over Georgia! Their park has a special Holiday in the Park, where they stay open through Christmas and New Years. Take note Six Flags St. Louis. We spent a day and a half in the park with hardly any one else around, especially day two when it was raining. Imagine a 30 degrees Fahrenheit day riding a 70 mph roller coaster that drops you 20 stories. That, my friends, is their hyper coaster, Goliath, in January. The rain felt like little bullets hitting your skin. It was a bit brutal but totally worth it. After being bombarded by rain for an hour or two, they closed the major rides due to thunder and lightning. Seeing as we were wet to the bone, we left to eat lunch at Chic-Fil-A and to see the World of Coca-Cola. The best part is the Tasting Room, where they have different Coca-Cola products that are sold around the world that you are allowed to try. It got me quite excited to travel the world, since, wherever I go, I will never be too far away from a Coca-Cola product!

We returned to St. Louis where I met my campus ministry group, Wittenburg, for the LCMS-U conference held in downtown St. Louis. The title was Taboo: What we haven't been talking about. We discussed all the topics that seem to be hardly mentioned in the church, but are extremely important issues, such as sexuality, marriage, the blessing of children, defense of life, postmodernism, and other cultural issues. The conference was held at the beautiful SLU campus. We also had a service at the Seminary Chapel.

Two days after that, my family, extended family, and a few friends drove to New Orleans to go on a cruise to Mexico, Honduras, and Belize. Yes, while Illinois State stared classes, I was on a cruise ship headed to the Caribbean. It was the most relaxed I have been in a very long time. I got to go cave tubing in Belize and zip lining in Honduras.  I got to see amazing shows including a magician and a pair of aerial acrobats. And, of course, I got to eat wonderful food all week, including classic Caesar salad, lamb, duck, ice cream (lots and lots of ice cream!), and so many beautiful desserts. Life is amazing!

And now I have 2 days to pack for the experience of my life. It is a busy life, but it is the way I like it. I feel so blessed to have this extended break between switching universities for a semester. I spent time with many close friends and spent time with the family I love. I will keep you updated once I arrive in Turkey so that you all may experience Turkey with me. Keep me in your prayers as I venture across the Atlantic Ocean on Friday. God bless you all!