suitcase living ::

When I drove into the driveway yesterday, I ended over two months of living out of a suitcase. 

As much as there were moments when I was slightly annoyed with my limited clothing options [at least clean ones...] and desperately wished I had packed more warm clothes [especially in Chicago...], I loved it.

One of my favorite things about traveling is meeting people. When my best friend and I backpacked through Europe after college, we figured this out pretty quickly. As much as we enjoyed seeing endless arcs and walking miles through the Louvre, the thing we still talk about is the people we met. 

Over the past 9 weeks or so, I’ve met some amazing people.

People like Michelle in South Africa, who got roped into driving three strange Americans 5 hours from JoBurg to Sabi Sans in her Nissan Micra. 

me, Jess, Michelle & Amy on a game drive

*about the hat…it was hot and really sunny…’nuff said.

Or Jimmy. Kristi and I met him and his wife of 62 years line dancing in Chicago. He was celebrating his birthday two-stepping with his bride. They met dancing and more than six decades later they are still at it.

A slightly confused me met Beth on public transportation in Chicago. Through our conversation I quickly discovered she just happened to be attending the Moody Bible Institute for international missions.

I’m constantly reminded how we were created to be relational. My friend told me the story of Jim Haynes who lives in Paris. Every Sunday night he hosts people from all over the world for dinner. Jim has a fantastic memory and spends the week memorizing names and pictures so when people arrive he can spend the evening introducing people. [check out the link, the story is from NPR earlier this month--it's pretty amazing].

done.//