**Been meaning to upload this for a while. Sorry for the delay**
Since the beginning of the summer I'd been keeping a written journal and actually kept up with it everyday (well, almost everyday...I started it the day I left and have been keeping it fairly regularly since coming back to the US). The journal itself was a gift from my friend/roommate Jeremy to be used during the summer while I was in Eastern Europe as a way to channel my thoughts and feelings of experiencing a new country and culture as well as what I was learning. I looked forward to that time each day and was told by one of the friends I went with that I was writing A LOT more than he was. Obviously he'd never seen my blogs before! A lot of what I was writing was stuff that can't be shared here for various reasons (some official and some just personal) but half the time I was writing as if someone other than myself would be reading it someday. I guess I was just used to getting my thoughts out in the public for all to see (b/c of this and other blogs along with twitter). Now that I've reached the last pages of that journal I'm trying to decide whether I want to keep up with the written journal or just try to blog semi-regularly here. I suppose I could do both...
Anyways, all that to say there is quite a lot to update y'all on. I'll do my best to keep it relatively concise. First of all this summer was an amazing experience and despite all the journaling I still have trouble expressing it in words. I wish I could have stayed longer because I made a good number of friends while there and yet barely had time to really get to know them. We did, however, get quite a few opportunities to share things about our lives (loves, dreams, belief, fears, hopes) with these friends and that made the time we did get worth it. And there are so many places there I wanted to see but didn't get to because I was sick or incapacitated with my broken leg (more on that in a bit). What is cool though is that I have friends back here that have met most of the same friends and saw the same places and experienced the same things and more that I never came close to. We can share stories and these friends have been giving me deeper insight into things I experienced or explained things I didn't understand. It's been a real blessing, but just talking with them about my summer just makes me want to go back even more. I haven't ruled out a return trip someday though...but it'll have to wait til after I graduate. From there I'll just have to wait and see. Ya, I know I said a lot without really saying anything, but that's basically b/c it's hard to pick out specific moments/stories/friends to talk about. If you want to really know, just ask me (the more specific the question, the better). I can even share pictures/video if you'd like.
The one story that needs telling is the broken leg I alluded to earlier. So, it was the day before my birthday (which is July 4) and I was hanging out with some American friends in a local park in the city I was staying in and in the spirit of all the World Cup action going on we decided to play some soccer before the main reason for all of us Americans coming together (an annual kickball game). All was going great and I thought I was playing pretty well, when me and another guy crash into each other going for the ball. As I'm falling, I hear a "pop" that doesn't bode well, but at first just think maybe it was a joint around my ankle popping b/c I wasn't feeling any pain. No big deal. Then I try to get up and realize, "Oooooh K! Maybe it's a bit more serious than I thought!" My friends help me off the field to a spot to check out my ankle/leg to see how bad it is. We do the whole RICE routine and a few of the guys with some basic medical emergency knowledge try to diagnose it and decide that it's most likely a sprained ankle. So, for the next few days that's how we treat it (even consulting a friend's mom - who is a nurse - over Skype to be sure it's just a sprain). Eventually, I'm even told to start gradually putting more weight on it and such, and if the swelling and stuff goes down it should be ok. Well, a week later it's still just about as swollen as it was, so we realize it's time to see a doctor.
The best option for me was a European/International hospital, so we go there and have it checked out. Turns out, it was a fracture in my lower fibula and I had 2 options on how they could fix it: 1) a cast that would take weeks before I could be back on my feet normally or 2) a surgery in which they would put a metal plate and screws in and I would be up and walking-ish in just about 2 weeks. After talking it over with our groups' higher-ups, my parents, and the insurance people, we finally decide on the surgery. We found out the insurance I had for the summer would actually cover all of the cost of having the surgery there and then some post-op visits and other stuff, as opposed to only a fraction of the cost if I went home earlier than the other guys and had the surgery back in the States, so that was a real blessing. I'd get to finish out the time and not have to pay a cent.
All in all, I'd do it all over again, and if you ever get an opportunity - whether it's for a week(s), month(s), or year(s) - I'd encourage you to take it and make the most of it. You'll not only have an experience of a lifetime, but will also hopefully learn something about yourself and others and get a bigger picture of the world beyond your front door.
