Oh, ya know..

..Breathe..

You will never live this moment again.

On May 22nd, my loving parents dropped me off at the SLC International Airport.. Dad with a big grin on his face as if he were to say "You go girl!" and mom with tears in her eyes. So many things going through my head. I hopped on a plane so excited to FINALLY be coming to the beautiful country of Switzerland. I have talked about coming here someday ever since I was just a little lass.. I remember getting off the plane and having the biggest grin on my face. I seriously think I giggled like a little school girl in my seat on the plane and maybe even clapped my hands a few times, not to mention I was video recording the landing.. I think the lady next to me thought I was insane. I also remember being very very confused and going over the directions sweet Mary Kay had given me, over and over again in my head. "Go down the stairs, get on a shuttle, go up the stairs and give them my passport." ... Sounds much easier than it looks! I went down the stairs, got on the shuttle, asked some man if this was the shuttle that would take me to baggage claim.. He looked at me like "Can you not hear and/or read? They just announced it in 50 languages and it had a big sign saying This Way To Baggage Claim. " .. Ya know, I just had to double check. I got off the shuttle, walked up the stairs, then back down, then back up, then back down.. "Where the devil are the people who are supposed to take my passport?" When I walked up the stairs all I saw was huge lines of people just standing around. I finally figured out, they too were waiting to have their passports stamped. ..

Ka-Ching. My first stamp on my first passport. I arrived the same day the Kaufmann's were arriving from Portugal, just 8 hours earlier. So I waited, shopped, and ate, and then, as it always seems to happen, I sat down and shortly after, realized that I was exhausted. I put my baggage on a cart, curled up over it, and I honestly don't remember much after that ha ha. Except for that I'm pretty sure I was either a) snoring or b) sleep talking because everyone was looking at me funny when I woke up.

The first time I met the Kaufmanns, I had no idea the impact they would have on my life. I didn't have a clue about a lot of things that day. To be honest, I also don't remember a ton about that day.. Jet Lag, lack of sleep. I'm a space cadet on a normal day! Deadly combination. I do however remember going to the gas station and Kenzie got some Birchermusli and said we could share it. I about gagged on the first bite but was to scared to tell them I didn't like it.. So I ate it anyways.

My return ticket was set for August 10th. On July 23rd, I changed my flight to December 2oth.

I have walked streets that I always dreamed of walking and seen things I always dreamed of seeing. I've made a fool of myself, multiple times.. Scared myself to death, and laughed myself crazy. I've met people that have loved me unconditionally, regardless of my social status, the clothes I wear, or my broken and helpless German skills. I hope I've done the same for them!

November is now coming to an end. Which means December is just around the corner. I get giddy when I think about home, but my heart is sick when I think about leaving.

Switzerland will always be a piece of me.

"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you loose something else."

Xoxo

Love you all!

Megs