Wow, I just moved out of my dorm! One month from today I will be on my way to my new home for the next four months! Wow! They say time flies, but seriously it seems like just yesterday I was working up at camp, running around with my campers [wearing that annoying boot on my stress-fractured foot] eating way too much ice cream. Seems like I just got back from camp and was frantically packing for school the day before move in! I was just up north in Grand Marais with my teammates. We were all just worshipping around a big ol’ campfire next to lake superior. This year has been all over the place filled with unexpected changes to my plans. I most certainly didn’t expect that I would be so sick that I wouldn’t be able to run anymore and I wasn’t prepared to have my heart broken. I also had no idea that the random girl who transferred into my suite would become one of my best friends. I never thought my relationship with God would be so serious. Although I wanted God to challenge me in my faith, I didn’t think He was actually going to send me somewhere. I didn’t think I’d apply to study abroad, and I most certainly didn’t think that I would actually go. You know what I mean? It’s something that I’d want to do, but at the same time it would be hard because it requires that you to leave everything behind. It sounds cool but most likely won’t happen. Yet, here I am! One semester later, preparing for my next experience: living in Costa Rica. How do you even prepare for something like this?
I am such a people person and it’s going to be so hard to leave everyone here! It’s crazy to think about the fact that I know absolutely no one going to Costa Rica. I haven’t had my Facebook activated for the past few months, so I’m not even Facebook friends with anyone yet! There’s something exciting about that, though. When will I ever have an opportunity like this? A chance to go into something completely blind, where no one knows who you are or anything about you. Rather than stalking everyone on Facebook before I get there, I like the idea of waiting to meet them in person. I don’t want Facebook to be the first impression. I’m so sick of Facebook and part of me doesn’t want to reactivate it, but because I am going to be leaving everyone that I’ve ever known, I’m thinking I should probably reactivate it before I leave. I’m not sure what I’ll do yet. It’s weird to think that I’ll be living with a host family while I’m down there.I’m thinking there’s a chance I might need to brush up on my spanish, I was told that there might be some people there speak that language. Who knows, maybe I’ll be fluent in five months! Just wait, I’ll start blogging in spanish! [Hmmm actually maybe that’s not such a great idea.] What if my host family doesn’t speak any english? That’s been known to happen! As challenging as that would be, it would probably one heck of an experience. What if I have a little brother or something while I’m down there? We all know I’ve always wanted a brother! Nothing will be able to replace the sisters I have here at home, but who knows I could maybe make room for another sister. There’s just too much to think about. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a roommate while I’m down there as well. Hopefully they’re just as excited as I am! According to what I know, there are going to be four other students studying during the extensive spanish month with me. Then, one month later there will be two other girls studying with Veritas as well.
I’m ready for a clear mind and new experiences. I don’t hate where I am, but I certainly am looking forward to a fresh, new environment. Something that isn’t a part of a regular routine, you know? Do you ever want to switch things up just to try something new? This is probably going to be the one time in my life where I have the opportunity to just drop everything and leave, while knowing that my life will be here for me when I get back. I hope to come back a changed person, not because I don’t like who I am but because I am looking forward to seeing what God wants to teach me while I’m gone and hopefully grow in my faith. I know that this is going to be a challenging at times, it’s also going to be filled with many memories and hopefully a new perspective on things! I can’t even comprehend how long I’m going to be there. It feels like it’s not actually going to happen, like it’s a dream or something. It’s just unreal.
Halle Overseas 