What happens when two Americans, a Greek, an Austrian and a French person gather around the dinner table?

Last Saturday, I sat at the breakfast table telling Nat, the owner of my guest house, that I planned to go ice sating. The look on his face as I said this confused me. Without saying a word he got up from the table, ran to a closet, pulled out some old hockey skates and brought them into the dining room. Little did I know he used to skate and loved it! When the skating rink in Chiang Mai closed down, he’d often travel to Bangkok to visit his aunt and skate. Then she moved. Eventually, he stopped skating altogether.

Last Sunday evening, I went to mass at this beautiful cathedral in the heart of Barcelona. While I couldn’t understand a word of what was being said, it felt comfortable and familiar. As I kneeled to pray before the mass began, I cried. The previous week and all its changes had been overwhelming. While I’d been settling into my routine at the AirBNB, I was leaving the safety of what I’d found for a hostel the next morning. To say I was nervous is putting it mildly. So I did what I always do when my nerves get to me.

I slept in this morning. And by sleeping in, I mean 6:45 a.m. instead of my normal 5:45 a.m. I meditated. I went to yoga. I ran errands. And now I sit drinking my favorite salted caramel mocha silently freaking out a little bit (there may or may not be tears involved). I leave in 4 days, 20 hours. 

2016, where did you go? It's hard to believe 2017 will soon be knocking on my door. As I reflect on the days flown by, I pause to remember just how far I've come on my journey.