Europe 2019: Eleven Beds, Four Countries, Three Weeks

 

(Written 3 June 2019)

 

I write from a coffee shop table tucked away in London’s Stansted airport where I await a final flight on my journey back to Edinburgh. The past three weeks have been a bit of a blur:

 

(Most of) my fantastic family — cheesin’ in the UK

 

  1. Three weeks ago yesterday, I trekked into the Scottish wilderness with a few basketball teammates for an impromptu one-night camping trip.
  2.  

    Possibly one of the best camping crews and experiences ever

     

  3. I then left the next day for Dublin to visit a couple friends for quick two-day trip.
  4.  

    One of my dearest Ukrainian friends currently living in Dublin

     

  5. From Dublin straight on to Germany for a sport ministry conference for the weekend.
  6. From Germany back to Edinburgh where my family arrived for a much-anticipated visit. We spent a couple days in Edinburgh, then drove the Scottish hills on a couple-day road trip, then explored Glasgow, then trained down to London where we spent a few more days exploring the sights there.
  7.  

    Theresa, Chris, and the Isle of Skye — so much good-looking in one picture

     

  8. From London, my family continued on to Munich for one more brief visit with another relative before heading back to the States and I flew to Toulouse, France to hang with some friends competing in a basketball tournament over this past weekend.

 

No place like the gym

 

This morning I packed up and am now heading back to Edinburgh to sit in one place for a little while and actually work on my master’s dissertation, what I’m supposed to be spending my time and energy on these days.

 

New friends in Toulouse

 

Update: No update yet (in the form of finalized plans for this coming season). My dissertation is due in August so I know what I’m supposed to be doing until then (writing my paper). This may fit in between volunteering for a few camps and basketball clinics that have expressed need for a coach — trying to figure out how to do that while not shooting myself in the foot too badly for my final project. I don’t know much at the moment. Trying to fit pieces together at the moment. Feel free to ring and chat any time — I’ll either be reading an academic paper or scratching my head cluelessly while staring at a calendar. One day (hopefully soon) I’ll know more and be able to share more substantial news about where I’m heading next. 🙂

 

Until next,

 

-Lauren

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