Little sigh of relief...

These last few weeks have been busy. Lots to do for school... final projects, essays, exams. All these long-term projects with due dates at the same time. The glimmer at the end of the tunnel is my trip home to see my family in Chicago. I decided to go in the dead of winter because I can't bear another Christmas without home and my fam. I would worry about cold weather and snow, but I'll be there for just 6 days before we escape to Mexico for a week. Pretty ridiculous, how did I win the lottery on life again?

Haha... there's fun to be had with some of the final projects we're doing at school

The blessings continue... My last post was about my fears over going to India alone. The update is I'm going to India, but no longer solo. My brother Patrick's coming with me! Somehow things always fall into place... don't know why I bother worrying about anything at all. I can't think of anyone I'd rather go with. Pat and I have always been close, especially as teens. We have the same sense of humor, taste in books, shows, people we get along with... and of course all the things people normally share when you're "fledglings" from the same nest. Over the years we've also shared this insatiable appetite for Indian food that no one else we know has been able to keep up with. I don't think there's an evening I wouldn't want Indian food for dinner...

Realistically, I know the trip will not be easy for either of us. How do you adequately prepare yourself to see poverty like you've never seen, over-overpopulated cities, foreign environments, uncomfortable situations, experiences,"delhi belly" -- it's not going to be peaches and cream. Yet I'll be in INDIA, and I feel I'm getting something back that in someways I thought was already lost. Having the opportunity to spend an extended period of time with my brother, one of my most favorite people on earth, is special. I feel like this shouldn't happen at our age. Normal people are too busy with jobs, families, life... Who gets to hang out with their sibling for 5 uninterrupted weeks of travel in India? And how many people would want that?

I'm thankful for every piece of this puzzle as it slowly, and surprisingly, fits together.