the reality of a road trip.

A few weeks ago, I drove from Charlotte, NC to Denver, CO with one of the best people I know, Jennie. When I originally imagined myself on a road trip across America, the montage in my head was pretty glamorous. But like most things in life, expectations and reality don't usually match up. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time. But it's 24 hrs+ in the car... you're not going to like everything that happens while you're trapped in there.

EXPECTATION: 

-Cute outfits, so I would obviously look GREAT in all of the pictures we took as we crossed the country. Every day it would just be a battle about whether to Instagram a great picture of myself look trendy and fresh OR a super cool artsy wall/mural/skyline.

-Each day would feel short and exciting, it's only 8 hours a day, right?!

-Eating in some of America's best restaurants, taking beautiful Instagram pictures that no one would like but myself, Jennie, and my mom. 

-Lots and lots of singing and laughing in the car. 

-Spontaneously pulling off the beaten path to discover some new natural wonder. 

REALITY:

-Dirty clothes. Definitely no freshness in feeling or in looks. One half of the road trip team wore the same t-shirt every day (not going to say any names, but there is photographic evidence). 

-8 hours is enough to drive you CRAZY. You will decide that you hate certain states (Missouri) just because you feel like being a grouch. And your whole body is sore. The fear of blood clots is real, people. 

-We made peanut butter & banana sandwiches on the trunk of my car everyday- which we actually kind of loved.  

-Yes to the laughing and the singing (mostly Sam Smith). But also Yes to crying as you listen to audiobooks that you won't finish. 

-There is no such thing as spontaneity on I-70 in Kansas. The end.

PB&B, how I love thee

Brewster, KS- Just imagine a tumbleweed rolling across her feet.

SOME GREAT THINGS THAT DID HAPPEN:

BurgerUp- Take me back, please.

Songwriter Night at Bluebird Cafe...

...followed by standing on a bridge to watch a One Direction concert for free. High or Low? Still can't decide. 

Kansas City, MO is beautiful!

Even now, looking back at that crazy week in the car and in random cities across the US, we made some pretty good memories. Especially in Tennessee, because the momentum was full force. We were exhausted when we arrived in St. Louis, so by the time we got to Denver everything felt a little bit strange. I think we are only starting to get over the feeling that we should be loading my Honda back up and heading back towards the East Coast. I think as time goes on, Jennie and I will appreciate even more the ridiculous things that happened in those 5 days. 

Jennie practicing her method art in Kansas City. 

The West is beautiful. The Rocky Mountains seem to randomly jump out at you at the right time when you start to get frustrated on the interstate or you will catch a glorious peek of them through the skyscrapers downtown. I haven't had time to fully explore all CO has to offer yet, but I am looking forward to that surreal feeling of peace you get when you're surrounded by the mountains and nothing else. We went to Red Rocks and I remembered how much bigger the world is than the one I've tried to create for myself. I'm still getting used to being 1,252 miles from an ocean, but that is a whole other issue.

Red Rocks Park, Golden, CO

Right now, the plan is to be here until Christmas while I intern at Denver Rescue Mission. I love my internship with Champa House and the wonderful, beautiful women and children that I get to be with everyday. My summer in Chicago last year was a great introduction into Urban Ministry and after that glorious summer, I wanted to see what it would look like to be involved in this kind of ministry long term. I am so grateful for this time to learn and grow and better understand the passions/gifts/dreams that the Lord has instilled in me so that I can fully serve others. It's been an interesting journey to see how you have almost a new lens once you graduate. Like you can see how part of your dreams were being lived out in the past four years and now the struggle is bringing them to a graduated world. I don't how to use those dreams- the ones that involve community, discipleship, and creativity- will look like come December but all that matters is that I am faithful to where he has me now.

God is accomplishing a thousand tiny purposes at any given moment around us. There is only so much we can know, but we can leave the stuff we can't know to God and believe he has it all worked out. It may feel quiet, and we possibly even feel forgotten, but God is moving to work out his plans all around us.

-Jennie Allen, Restless 

clay covered hands

There are so many days between each post. Days that go unwritten because you feel like there is no story to tell. But there is.

Everyday is a new day were you have struggled and triumphed. Today you prayed a new prayer because you recognized your own desperate inability. Today you appreciated a far breeze in the midst of a Carolina summer. Today you have laughed, cried, and relished in a new song. You are closer today than you were yesterday to understanding the beauty and the chips in the piece you are becoming. 

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

I love the image of Christ as a potter. I see Him there at the wheel, rough carpenter hands trying to smooth the clay into a masterpiece. I see Him leaning in closer to get the details right. He knows what he wants each unique piece to look like. I love that he is a potter, an artist, a visionary. He's not even a sculptor, cutting out hard granite with a carving knife. He uses his own hands. Its messy.

And he thinks I'm worth the mess.

It's incredible. I don't deserve it. All I can do is breathe in grace and breathe out gratitude. All I can try to do is grasp the freedom that comes from a perfect Artist declaring that- in the glory, in the mundane, and when life is shattered in pieces- we are His best piece of work.

leaving // finding home

four years ago, i left huntersville for boone, nc.

i remember thinking, "why would i leave home? this place is nice and won't my family be sad with me gone? why am i doing this to myself?!" i knew i was only moving a couple hours away, but it seemed like such a bad idea. and unc charlotte, the university in commuting distance, was starting to seem like a really good idea. i had been dreaming so long of a new adventure, but i was antsy when the time came to take that big step in the direction of the unfamiliar.

despite my anxiety, i drove up the mountain and began to create my new space. i put pictures up on the wall of my friends and family in an effort to make my cinder block dorm room feel like it was where i was supposed to be. i unpacked my new ikea purchases as my new roommate, almost a stranger, and i stayed quiet while our parents made boisterous small talk.

one month after arrival, i drove back to huntersville, with my new roommate/best friend in tow, to escape dorm life. i returned regularly to drive home, counting out the weekends between visits- almost testing myself to see how long i could go.

but somewhere over the past few years, i stopped having to test myself and i stopped counting weekends. i also stopped calling huntersville home. it was technically my hometown, where i grew up, where my family lived, but i stopped identifying myself as a huntersville resident. in so many more ways, boone was where i was growing and where a new type of family was forming.

at some point, home became a third floor square apartment, with a shower that never drained, a ridiculous amount of smoke alarms that went off when you boiled water, and walls that shook when the wind blew in the winter.

it was where i was being nourished, loved, accepted. where we laughed, argued, worked, feasted.

i drove away from boone last week. i sobbed as i said goodbye to my roommates and as i left the town that had been exactly what i needed these past four years. jennie and i caravanned down the mountain and pulled over as dusk was beginning to settle over the blue ridge. the trees were a million shades of spring green and the mountains stretched endlessly toward the moon.

i expressed how frustrated i was that we had to leave the beautiful mountains, the perfect restaurants, and the best friends. it wasn't fair and i probably would never be happy again. (dramatic, i know.)

jennie, always able to look past my ridiculous ability to ignore any positivity when life seems bleak, reminded me that i would find somewhere new to love. with new restaurants that fit every craving, new sights to claim as my own, and new friendships that would carry me through the next phase of life.

i have to remind myself that all new things are daunting and scary and home will always seem like the nice choice before a big change. and i don't know what that next change will be, but i know that God rewards our blind trust. when we think that life can't be better than what we already have, he likes to remind us how little we have seen and how little we know. he is bigger. he is the god of our dreams. he designed us individually to be excited by certain places or connected to new people. my life doesn't have to look like anyone else's because he has made me unlike anyone else in order to fufill some unique purpose that will hopefully reflect a part of his beating heart.

four years ago i left home and, without realizing it, found home somewhere else. i'll move somewhere new and put up pictures, different ones than i had four years ago, and be patient while i wait to find home again.

no man is an island

I started writing this while I was in Bray over a month ago. Even though I'm now back in Boone, I figured I'd go ahead and post this because no one really reads this blog anyways :) 

A few weeks before I took off, I found out that I would be coming to Bray. I was disappointed that the other girl wasn't able to come, but I then began to romanticize this idea of me being in Ireland alone. I imagined my walking down cobblestone streets, meeting friendly men while I was walking in the mountains (I've watched P.S. I Love You too many times), and charming all these Irish people to take me in to their cottages for some potatoes.

But the reality is that after being in the country for thirty minutes, I was lonely. I had spent almost a whole day waiting in airports or being on a plane, and then I was wandering around Dublin before the sun rose wondering what the heck I was doing. I didn't mind so much being lost, but I just wanted someone to laugh about it with. I had my wonderful weekend with Amber and Laura and then they left and I got on a train and I was alone again. Everyone was so friendly and kind to me that first week, but I would leave school and have no idea what to do. My host family is extremely generous and we have great fun together, but I had these empty hours. Even though Ireland isn't exactly alien, I still constantly felt misunderstood or invisible. I felt like I was holding my breath around everyone. 

Af first this idea seemed really cool to me, than it just seemed depressing :) 

I traveled alone again to London and had another wonderful weekend with my sister and her friends, but then I returned to Bray and felt isolated once again. I couldn't believe that I had four more weeks here. I didn't want to admit defeat to anyone by saying I wanted to go home, but home just seemed so warm and comfortable. Add on to this all the failed attempts to meet up with some girls from App that were only a few miles away, and I just felt desperate.

I didn't want to pray about it either. I didn't want other people to be praying for me. I just wanted to fix it myself and be fine. I didn't want to need people or ask people for help. 

But thankfully I have people in my life who do pray for me, who encourage me, and who know me really well, and still love me somehow.

I like doing things by myself. Grocery shopping. Movies. Long drives.

But more important than adventure, stamps on your passport, Instagram likes, and beautiful places is people. I used to be intimidated by other people, but then I realized how much we all need each other.  Now that I know what that means, it's easier to see people for all the beauty that they are.

It's easy to make life about what I'm going to do next. Where am I going to live. How many miles can I get away from Huntersville, NC.

The problem with all of these questions is my motive. I wish I would stop looking at a map and start being more concerned about calling. Not where is the Lord calling me to do, but how can I use my gifts and passions to the fullest extent in order to glorify God.

Flash forward seven weeks. I'm sitting in Espresso News, trying to type up lesson plans so I can actually graduate college. I still have no idea what is next. I feel like I don't even know what the possibilities are, but I know that my worth isn't determined by where I end up.

I miss Ireland. I miss the sweet people. The jokes of older men with their rosy cheeks. I miss big bowls of soup with brown bread. Large cups of tea with scones after school. I miss walking everywhere and breathing in the fresh air to and from school.  The wild beauty of the Wicklow Mountains. I miss trains. I miss the beautiful buildings of London and the wonder of the city. I miss seeing my sister almost every weekend and talking whenever because we are in the same time zone.

When people ask "How was Ireland?!" I either say "Such a great experience. Wow. Just so good." or "I mean I was alone, so...." and then I try to explain how something can be terribly lonely but also exactly what I needed.

The unknown is scary. Whether that is the a new place where everyone is a stranger or sitting in your apartment with your best friends, not quite sure where to go after you move out in a month. But the more I realize that I have no control and that life isn't smooth edges and postcard images, I can focus on the only constant- which is Christ. I waver. I change my mind. I can't make a decision about dinner, let alone what to pursue after college. But I don't walk in fear as much anymore, because his consistency means that I don't have to try so hard to walk in straight, set ahead path. No matter what choices I make, no matter what place I live in, or the friends I have- the only thing I can know for sure is that he wants to know me. And the only choice I have that really matters, is will I trust him enough to know him too.

Take Off

On my walks to school in the morning,  I still can't believe I'm here. I've been working and hoping for this for almost four years, but it still seems crazy to me that I am halfway around the globe. I'll see the mountains in the distance and a beautiful, very Irish house and remember how ridiculous it is.

I arrived in Dublin at 5 AM on Saturday (midnight in NC) and realized the bus I had planned to take wouldn't be leaving for another hour and a half. The friendly people of Ireland helped me figure out another bus to take, then another person pointed me towards the hostel, and then I asked another person since I was rolling my suitcase down the empty streets of Dublin in the pitch black morning. I was really just eager to see my sister. And to not be a walking target.

I am hopeless without Google maps, and the second time I asked a man for help, he walked me to my hostel. I could of cried when I walked in. After waiting a bit inside, a guy at the desk asked if I was Amber's sister and helped me check in early. When I opened the door to the room, Amber ran outside to me and it felt so surreal!

We had a beautiful day with Laura, Amber's flatmate, and I'm still surprised I made it through without passing out. We walked the beautiful Bray Head on Saturday, heard some Irish pub music, and explored Dublin. I'm eager to get back into the city, mostly for the scones at Queen of Tarts.

The children at my school are WONDERFUL. I get to work one on one with a couple of students, and I love hearing their observations. Even though we both speak English, there is still somewhat of a language barrier!

Can't wait to live here. My heart is full.

for a while i always wanted my hair to be glossy and to look polished. but then i realized, i'm not very polished and my hair was made for a little frizz. that's okay.

How to Come Home (For Beginners):

STEP ONE: WEEP

-Cry when you are packing your bags

-Cry a lot when you are saying goodbye to one of your favorite people at the airport and then it all feels real

-Cry when you see your best friend from home because you don't really know what else to do

-Don't cry for a week because your summer feels like it actually didn't happen to you and you don't want to talk about it

-Cry a week later when you finally watch the slideshow shown on the final night. Then be angry with God and tell Him that  He doesn't know what He is doing because you were really happy and now you're not sure what to do. 

Then read this:

God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places. And then we say "God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him." Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that might be. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

And this:

Crying is all right in its own way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do. C.S. Lewis

Needless to say, I've never had to come home before. I've never had to leave a new place that has become home and leave strangers who have become family. 

It's more difficult than I thought it would be, and honestly I'm not very good at it. 

This isn't to say that I am completely miserable being back or that I haven't had valuable time with my people here because they are too good to my moody self, but it's a weird transition. There is so much I could share about what the Lord has done this summer, but he's still teaching me how to talk about it.

If you supported me at all this summer in prayer or financially or in encouragement, I am eternally grateful for you. God is using people in Chicago to show the love of Christ to that beautiful city, so keep them in your prayers still! I hope to use this blog to still share some of their stories because they re worth hearing. 

THANK YOU!

a wonderful, wonderful week.

What? Two posts in one week. Crazy, I know. But last week was quite possibly one of the best weeks of my life and I should probably write about good things as they come along. I feel like there weren't any ridiculous, extravagant moments in the week, but it was just solid. Here's why.

Sunday started the week off right at a Cubs game. I'm not really that into sports, but baseball games are FUN. Not in the overwhelming kind of way, but in the I'm-going-to-sit-outside-for-a-couple-hours-and- half-heartedly-watch-this-while-talking-to-friends kind of way. And I had a Chicago Dog which was delicious. It was a very American experience.

Perfect Chicago Dog: Poppyseed bun, fresh tomato, relish, peppers, grilled onions. NO KETCHUP.

....and the Cubs won!

This past week my team had the opportunity to serve alongside Bethel House of Prayer as they started off four weeks of VBS. I think VBS is a great way to not only serve the children in your congregation, but provide affordable childcare for everyone in your community. It brings in such a diverse group!

I   L O V E D my group of girls. My teammate, Jessica, and I worked with Primary Girls age six to eight. The first day I was unsure of what to do with all that personality. We went around the table introducing ourselves and saying what we liked to do. Here are some prime examples:

"I'm Serenity and I like to walk the runway." (Poses)

"I'm Jada and I'm a diva."
(Pretends to check her reflection.)

And when one of the leaders, DD, said she liked to shop, a girl responded "You go honey-boo-boo child." Three or four times.

But as the day and week wore on, the sass act quickly wore off to reveal the sweetest and funniest kids. They loved to sing for us (mostly gospel songs and disney) and draw us sweet cards. Everyday I got lots of hugs and big smiles. Everyday was better than the one before.

Yva knows she is cute.

Jessica and I were subbing in for an absent teacher so we got to teach the Bible lessons. It was so fun hearing what they thought about verses and talking to them about Jesus. Especially as the week goes on. You just love them so much that you want them to have a relationship with Christ and to grow up knowing him.

On Thursday, we took a field trip to the park. I was worried the day would drag on, but they are pretty easy to please. I'm telling you, these girls are the best. When they have to wait, they were always patient and loved to talk to each other instead of complaining. However, they did tell me on the two block walk home that their legs were going to fall off. I had no sympathy...

It was really tough to leave on Friday. My hardest goodbye was Shiniya. She was so quiet at the beginning of the week and my goal was for her to open up. Jessica and I gave her lots of attention, and by the end of the week she was dancing and joking and laughing with us. Her laugh was my favorite because it sounded too big to come from her little body and it took over her face.

Shiniya & I

When it was time to go, she hugged me really tight around my neck and I spun her around, but when I put her down she wouldn't move her arms. It was all I could do not to straight up weep when she told me in her quiet voice that she didn't want me to leave.

"This sign means deuces." Thanks, girl. 

"Let me take the picture!"

When the three year old takes over the camera.

I miss these kids a lot already. Please pray for them and the other team that gets to serve at the Bethel VBS this week. And for my team as we get to serve at the Pui Tak Center!

Other great things that happened this week:

COW APPRECIATION DAY.
Should really be a National Holiday. We left home at 6:15 am to get some free chicken before we had to be at our sites. When we first arrived, no one knew it was Cow Appreciation, including most of the employees. People were really amazed by us and random customers were taking our picture. And THERE WAS NO CHICKEN. I sat there like a cow for a while until I was able to order.

Eventually, we got our chicken biscuits and all was well.

Anything for the free chicken.

 

 BEAUTIFUL WARM WEATHER.

On Saturday morning, we handed out water bottles at the Taste of Chicago and got to meet lots of cool people and have solid conversations. For dinner we ate some really good tacos in Wicker Park and walked along the Magnificent Mile. The weather was GLORIOUS and Chicago was really showing off how pretty she is.

I have two and half weeks left here and that's too hard to think about right now. On Thursday, I briefly go home for a Teaching Fellows Conference and so my time has been shortened even more. However, there is still a lot of time left for wonderful things to happen! I hope your week gets off to a great start!

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore 

The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

UPDATE: wow. i am bad at this blogging thing.

If a person has grasped the meaning of God's grace in his heart, he will do justice. If he doesn't live justly, then he may say with his lips that he is grateful for God's grace, but in his heart he is far from him. If he doesn't care about the poor, it reveals that at best he doesn't understand the grace he has experienced, and at worst he has not really encountered the saving mercy of God. Grace should make you just. -tim keller.

Chicago!

I have been here five weeks. WOW. It has gone by extremely fast, but in some ways I feel like I have been here forever. I love this city. The architecture. The unique parks & fun things. The food. 

Most of all, I love the people. (I know that was cheesy and you could probably tell that was coming...)

Honestly, I haven't written on this here blog because I don't know how to write this down wisely. I am still learning a lot and I don't want to write down words that I might see as kind of foolish later. Or that someone else with greater knowledge or experience would read offensively. 

And I know that I can't fully put into words what I have learned because most of it has been done through intense teachings that result in a changed worldview as I have experienced the city.

I'll try to stick with just pictures and brief explanations of what is going on for now :) 

The roomie & me at Navy Pier!

I wrapped up my great trip with my mom and sister. They dropped me off and got to meet my excellent roommate Christina. She really has been so wonderful on this trip. We have found a lot of similarities and we have been super compatible roommates. It's too perfect, really. (Hopefully this isn't one sided... Christina...) 

Our first week felt extremely long. It was a lot of information and we were taking in countless environments. Chicago is divided into over seventy neighborhoods, each one with its own culture. They are pretty segregated when it comes to race, socioeconomic status, and nationality. The city literally transforms block to block. You will be walking in a pretty and populated area, then all of sudden things get sketchy... then the next block is different once again. 

Here's Life Inner City (who I am here with) works with churches and ministries to meet their needs. So it isn't necessarily our organization tackling a project, but us being sent out to help these churches and ministries with whatever they need. And that looks different everywhere. It also includes them sending us to places where we can learn and gather more knowledge about cross-cultural ministry. 

Team: Me, Naomi, Jessica, Hannah, & Felicia

My team is wonderful. I am with four other girls (women?) who are each unique and have taught me a lot. These are the people I am going to sites with every week, which means we share similar struggles and frustrations, but that comes with the opportunity to consistently encourage each other. 

Week 1: My team with our masterpiece, and the VBS director, Victoria

Week Two: Our team helped Edgewater Baptist Church prepare for their VBS. The church is in the Northside and is extremely diverse. The week involved a lot of gardening, cleaning, and crafting. I loved the staff there. They were genuine people whose main goal was to share the love of Christ with kids. It didn't seem forced or ritualistic. Other teams from HLIC have gone and helped with the VBS and they absolutely love what is going on there. It was cool to be a part of the preparation stages and then hear how well everything is going. 

Week Three:  We mostly worked with Salvation Army's Mobile Outreach Team. We traveled with them to hand out soup and bread and make new friends. The truck travels with two counselors that can assist clients with rehabilitation and figuring out financial situations. Most of the time my team was hanging out with Gil and BJ, who drove the truck and managed it all. BJ, for all his silence, had a heart of gold. And Gil was both charming and hilarious. He loves to tell people his story and how God has worked in his life. On Wednesday they treated us to to some Puerto Rican food and good conversation. Every human should eat sweet plantains at least once a day. It was hard to say goodbye to these people!

Yvette, Me, Naomi, Gil, Felicia, & Jessica 

These past couple weeks have been wonderful as well, but if I wrote about them now it wouldn't do it justice. I didn't realize how much I actually had to share until I started writing! I have another early morning tomorrow, otherwise I could write for hours. Tomorrow will be a hard day as I leave some beautiful children behind.

Thanks for reading this and for your prayers and support! Please continue to pray for us!

Pretty, right?

My discipler, Brittnee 

ready.

I have left North Carolina.

I have never been out of the Carolinas for more than ten days in my whole life, and now I'm starting nine weeks of life elsewhere. I thought I would feel more nervous about going to a place where I don't know anyone. I thought I would feel anxious about the months ahead where I will be doing unfamiliar work. But instead, I feel completely and beautifully at peace. I don't think I have felt this much like myself in a while.

Genuinely calm and happy.

I'm excited to learn about a world completely different than my own, even though we live in the same country. People have been very encouraging about my summer, but people also aren't afraid to share how scary and humid Chicago is. However, I have to remind myself that this isn't about me exploring  an unfamiliar city, but answering a call.

He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Deuteronomy 10:18

I'm anticipating the point where I feel lonely and helpless and all I have is Jesus. The situations where I won't have the words, and the Spirit will have to provide. I know that I will working with a team and we all be serving together, and I'm looking forward to all the new friendships.

However, I tend to struggle when there are no familiar faces. I freeze up and don't know how to speak. Without all my family and the constant companionship of my friends, it's me and Jesus. And I really desire that, to be closer to Him because I don't have the safety net of my consistent relationships. This is one of those things that can be taken as hokey and cheesy because "Jesus is my Best Friend" can be seen on t-shirts and cross-stitched onto pillows, but it's real. He is the one that comforts me. The one who whispers encouragement when I'm at my breaking point. It always catches me off guard, how much He actually loves me.

My mom and sister decided to drive me to Chicago, since none of us have been before. Yesterday we made our way through the rainy Tennessee hills, feeling a little bit like storm chasers. Our first stop is Nashville, TN to visit my Great Uncle and be tourists. I haven't been to Nashville since I was a 15 year old girl whose only interest was the mall :)

Amber was convinced we desperately needed a hashtag for our road trip. So we decided on #nowaynenorules. Finally, we are breaking free from Wayne's World. (No offense, Dad...) Our trip will probably consist of lots of coffee, ridiculous conversations, and getting lost. I sure do love them. They've earned it too, always putting up with me.

// The Frothy Monkey: So. Good. //

New York City!

I absolutely love New York City. The first time I went was my senior year of high school on a class trip, and ever since then I have been looking for ways to get back! I flew in Friday morning and met up with some friends, who drove up Thursday. I thought I would exhausted after my long drive back from Florida on Thursday, but I was too excited to be tired! This trip was definitely a quick one, but we like to think we pretty much conquered the city....

We mastered the art of subway modeling. The subway was actually one of my favorite experiences. We saw some extremely talented musicians and dancers, and we always had to stop to watch. We pretty much danced everywhere we went, which (along with our bright colors and backpacks) separated us from being true New Yorkers.

We ate some authentic Chinatown dumplings. So delicious! And five for a dollar?!?!? Can't be beat. 

And some authentic NYC pizza at Joe's.  I absolutely Greenwich village. 

It really was a wonderful trip. Graham's cousin, who we stayed with in Brooklyn, was an excellent host and we wouldn't of gotten such a fresh perspective without him!

Other highlights:

Sneaking in to Central Park Zoo

Escaping the snow in Financier Patisserie

Sneaking in to the Natural Museum of History

The Cobblestone Streets of Lower Manhattan

Lauren S being forced to eat a pepperoni off the NYC streets. GROSS.

Changing for our fancy dinner in the bathroom of a Starbucks (shown in the mirror pic below ;)

Bagels at Bergen Bagels in Brooklyn

YAY! I love y'all.

Life is sweet. My trip to NYC got me even more excited for my summer in Chicago! City life will be it's own new adventure! I can't wait to find places that feel like my own and explore a new city, as well as learning to better love the people in it!