Oh, you've got to have friends...

"A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world."

I've always realized how lucky I am to be blessed with the best friends a girl could ask for, but being abroad has made me appreciate them so much more. Even with an ocean between us, they can brighten up my day.

Last week, two of the girls in my sorority sent me letters, filled with all those little things that I just love to hear & put a whole bunch of random Moscow things inside. It made me feel so loved & reminded me that while I may no longer live in Moscow, I still have 90 girls there who love me & think about me. It's so hard to explain a sorority in France, because there is nothing similar. And since Alpha Gamma Delta meant the world to me during college, it's even more difficult. I miss you girls everyday & am so blessed to have you in my life.

I know it's not easy to keep in touch - the time difference here is ridiculous, and makes it necessary to plan things like phone dates & skype dates at awkward times. & yet, people have taken the time to make it work. My sismom & siskid have been very consistent with their video chats & I love seeing their faces & hearing about their lives. Every single time I get off the phone with someone I can't stop smiling!

I've gotten a constant stream of letters, a few care packages (thank you times ten million seven Tayler & Esme), and lots of facebook messages to remind me that some friendships aren't meant to end.

& some friendships are meant to start. I have met some great people here, & regardless of what language we communicate in, or how different our cultures are, we are there for each other. Next year, I am going to go to Brazil for Larissa & Marianna's graduation, because after spending all this time traveling together, how could we not be friends?