Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Hej, Buon Giorno, Hallo, Guten Tag!


Marstrand Island, Svergie

Hej from Svergie! Just arrived in Göteborg again after a 10 day road trip to Italy with my brother Chris and his partner TJ! What an amazing adventure...my first experience traveling abroad! Found many heart rocks along my journey...will post pictures and stories of my travels when I return to Boston. God blessed me with His love and grace throughout the trip...despite myself. I didn't realize how scared I would feel stepping out of my daily routine into a fast paced foreign adventure.

The journey began with a heart rock discovery and hopefully will end with one. My friend Kelly arrived at my apartment on Friday, July 11th to take me to the airport. A little overwhelmed by the thought of traveling, I made a last minute sweep of the apartment making sure that I'd packed everything. When I heard her car pull in the driveway, I was still packing! We grabbed my luggage and headed out of the apartment...the door closing signaled the start of my adventure. While loading the luggage in the car, a sparkle on the pavement caught my eye. Bending down for closer inspection, I noticed the sparkle was a tiny blackish colored rock trimmed with a thin white edge. How perfect! - a heart rock for my departure. Caught up in my 'heart rock' swoon, I rambled on to Kelly about the 'symbolism' and serendipity of the moment. As she shifted into drive ready to pull out, a vague sense of dread washed over me...where was the plastic ziploc bag that I'd had in my hand before leaving the apartment? The one with that I'd thought I grabbed before I shut the door...the one with my housekey and the important papers I needed regarding my flight...the one that was still sitting on my wooden chopping block...in my apartment. AARGH! My mind whirled as I attempted to remain calm and rationale. Panic flooded in...my flight, I'd never make! How would I get into my apartment? Breaking in wasn't an option - my landlady agreed with me ;-) when I called and mentioned that I'd considered this option. I asked her if she had a spare key to my apt. Thank god, she did! One problem. I'd need to pick it up at her workplace - 20 minutes away. My friend, Kelly (a godsend) calmly drove the out of the way to pick up the key from my landlady and then circled back home to get the papers. I still managed to catch my flight with time to spare. That's about how the rest of the trip went...kept finding heart rocks, always with a bit of drama attached to each one.

Found my first heart rock in Svergie tonight walking through town. A tiny rubypink colored stone - precious and sweet. Just the little reminder of love from God that I needed tonight.

Look forward to sharing my hearts from across the miles and hope that you'll keep sharing yours, too!

Hej då, Ciao, Auf Wiedersehen


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