A Reunion in Chicago

I got to reunite with my sweet friend Laura a couple weeks back in Chicago. Laura and I's friendship is one where we rarely see one another, but reunions make it feel like we never parted ways after our semester abroad in Costa Rica in 2011. Laura's got this crazy personality with quick wit. She loves just about every animal on the planet, mangy or not, and has an herb garden in her dorm room, filled with colorful fabrics and handmade paintings. I love her spontaneity and her passion for proclaiming truth in Christ through her art work. I decided to plan a visit for her senior art show at Wheaton College and to meet her lovely beau that she had been telling me about over the phone for months. It was a delight reuniting with such a close friend and entering her world for a weekend as we toured her favorite spots in Chicago with her boy. The weekend ended with a good slice of deep dish pizza and a late night game of fishbowl with friends. So thankful for this girl and the friendship that began that day at the Miami airport en route to San Jose, for what soon would be known as the best semester ever.

LASP Reunion Weekend

I love the feeling you get when you haven't seen someone in months and when you reunite again it's as if life in between never happened. Spending a weekend with these lovely ladies ended up being such a perfect weekend. We spent hours talking and laughing about our memories abroad while drinking our  tropical juices out of a can picked up from a local hispanic store, pretending it was freshly squeezed that morning. We caught up on life over a huge bag of carnival kettle corn and got lost in the city only to stumble into a Mexican neighborhood where we practiced our Spanish with a nice neighbor. We were in a different context and coming from different places, but not one bit of the weekend felt out of place. I felt so blessed to have these beautiful ladies join me on an adventure through the city I love, yet talk endlessly about the city that made us come alive. I couldn't thank them more for making the drive to come see me. And I must say, crossing streets in the city has become an easy task for us graduated LASPers. Here's to beautiful friendship and moments I will cherish forever...