It’s Sunday the 6th and we, the UMB ambassadors, just exited the Glasgow airport, exhausted and wanting nothing more than a bed to nap in. The Glaswegians wouldn’t allow that though; they forced us to go to Nando’s with them and enjoy a chicken burger and accented conversation. Us Americans woke up a little bit, for a little while, enough to get to know that Abigail is obsessed with Nando’s, at the very least. That first day, we were not anywhere near what we would become.
Monday went by slowly, but Tuesday quicker. Every following day had less hours than the one before. The closer we got, the less time we had, to our chagrin. How could it be that we’d become so close? No clue. But it was meant to happen. We all know it to be true. Nearing the end of the trip, it was as if we had known each other for most of our lives and one didn’t know how to survive without the other.
Presently… Wednesday, 16 March – 12:47pm
I’m currently at work on my lunch break, using the time to write my reflection on my week in Glasgow. All morning, in between seeing patients (yes, I’m paying attention to my job first and foremost!), I’ve been snapchatting/talking to some of the GCU students – for hours. “I miss you.” “What are you up to?” “I can’t wait to see you again! Soon, right??” It’s been 3 days since we left Glasgow, but anyone would think it’s been months by the way we talk to each other. Nearly 24/7 we were together, and we still didn’t get enough of each other.
Now I’ll keep it short, because I get to talking about everyone, we’ll be here for a while and I’ll get too emotional.
At the start of this exchange, I emphasized the networking aspect most of all because I thought that there was some opportunity for internships or the like, that we could help each other out with eventually. Never did I imagine that “networking” would really be developing insanely close friendships over the course of only a week. I love those people. Those are my people. All of us, our lives have changed through this exchange. Claudia is coming to UMB spring 2017 for a semester and will be here for six full months, and I couldn’t be more excited. David might be coming to the US for three months this summer as a camp counselor, and may travel to Boston for a week’s vacation. Gillian has officially changed her vacation savings plan and made Boston her destination for summer 2017. Many of the others are hoping to come over here in the near (I’m talking a couple years, not a couple months) future to visit Boston and see all of us again. Of course, we’re expected to go back there as well, and while GCU and UMB are all, completely separated, we’re to have a Facetime reunion.
We’re not leaving each other. We’ll stay together however we can.
Thank you to everyone who made it possible for me to go on this trip and meet all of these amazing people, Glaswegians and Bostonians alike. I can’t imagine not having them now, but I’m so thankful that I do.