What I'll Miss the Most

Can't believe it, but I only have a few days left! I head home Friday and will soon be back in my own bed, hanging out with my family, eavesdropping on lots of good English conversations, and drinking Starbucks and Jamba Juice. Oh, yeah, and trying to find a job! It'll be great to be back, but I have a feeling Slovenia will soon just feel like some distant dream or other life and I'll be sad to see it go. As I have already said many goodbyes and will continue to in the next few days, here are the things I'll miss the most:

- Old buildings Confession time....I am in love with Europe mostly because of its' buildings. I love everything about walking down a cobblestone road among pastel colored walls, stained glass windows, and detailed archways. Kari makes fun for me daily for how many close-up pictures I take of buildings, but I'll definitely miss the feeling of inspiration and creativity I get every time I walk by the buildings here. For some reason they just feel like home.

- Teaching English In the past year my thoughts have turned to teaching as a possible career choice and I've felt like God is leading me to pursue it more in the future. So, it's been awesome to get some experience while being here and be given even more confirmation that my giftings and passions fit this area well. I would be lying to say that being in charge of my own classes didn't make me happy just thinking about that fact. And I absolutely loved the students I had the honor to teach!

- Funny interactions There are moments in life when you just have to laugh at how funny people are. And when in a foreign country, funny moments tend to take place even more than normal. I'll miss having daily, awkward interactions with strangers like the friendly train conductor who wanted to talk about his trip to Egypt even though he didn't know English, the teenage couple who told us that we were about to die when an alarm started going off in our compartment, or the fat guy who squished me up against the wall when trying to pass me in a hallway when I had no where to go. Oh, and I can't forget about this guy at the Velenje castle who found out I was from Chicago and kept repeating "Chicago is my town...Sinatra" : )
-Girls' nights Since camp, God has really blessed Kari and me with many opportunities to have great conversations and fun bonding time with the Slovene girls we've met here. Specifically the two girls' nights we've had recently were both awesome. We're all sad that Kari and I won't be able to host more.

- Foreign foods Kebab, Koper pizza, Magnums, and the occasional chocolate covered pineapple. What can I say? I kinda like shopping at Mercator (the common grocery store here)!
- And most of all, my lovely friends here When you travel you end up getting to know people well quickly. One day of the Amazing Race and I felt like I'd known my fellow interns for forever, one week of English camp and I cared a whole stinkin' lot for a bunch of crazy high schoolers, and one month in Celje and I was welcomed in as part of the church family. I will miss meeting with the interns at Hondo and Trish's house; talking about Acts, playing with the dude, and chilling as frends.

I will miss hanging out at the church with Americans and Slovenes who love God and worship together enjoying fellowship and challenging each other in faith. (I will especially miss my dear friend Polona who has consistantly and compassionately served alongside us all summer!)
And I will miss the precious students I've easily grown to love over these amazing two months.