Day 86: The U.S. of A.

Day 86: The U.S. of A.

Word of the day: Соединенные Штаты Америки [Soyedinennyye Shtaty Ameriki]: United States of America

Day 86, the 7th of July! We left the apartment fairly early in the morning to be picked up by our driver (fancy, I know ;) A few weeks back we had bought some floral, short sleeved, typical tourist shirts from a store in Moscow. So, naturally we decided to wear them on our trip back home to the States. Mine was a teal color (hard to see in the picture) and Max's was dark blue. Let me tell you, we were one good looking couple.

At the airport before we left. Of course we had to see one more Russian wearing swimming trunks as everyday wear. Max has this theory that they wear their swimming suits when they travel so that when they land they can go straight to the beach. haha

And we're off!

At one point during the flight Max got up and was gone for quite some time. I was a little concerned, but continued to watch movies and entertain myself for the long flight home. When he came back, he told me to go to the back of the plane and look out the window. So, I got up and checked out what he was so intrigued by and man was I glad that I did. We live on a beautiful earth! We were flying over Greenland at the moment and when I looked out the window, this is what I saw...

It was amazing! After staring out the window for quite some time, I got up to go back to my seat. At first, it was pitch black inside the plane and really hard to see because my eyes were still adjusting, so I had to wait a second. But after a few minutes I was able to make my way back and talk to Max about what we had just seen. I am so grateful for the beauties of this earth, I wish I could just see it all! 

After many hours of non-stop movie watching, we finally landed! Everyone clapped (well, the Russian's did anyway) and then rushed to get off of the plane. What a trip! We were back on American soil and I was super excited to hear someone tell me, "Welcome home!" I know that sounds cheesy, but I wanted someone to say that to me. 

I never really got the, "Welcome home!" I was looking for, but this sign was good enough for me. I was seriously so happy to see those English letters and feel like I was home. This was the adventure I never expected, but one that has forever changed my life. Before going to Moscow, Russia and visiting Seville, Spain as well as Paris, France, Europe was always this unknown place to me. I honestly never really had a strong desire to see the world. I was comfortable where I was at. All I knew is that I wanted to visit Hawaii again and that I would take Hawaii over Europe any day. Now, all that has changed. While I would still love to visit Hawaii, Europe has a special place in my heart. Traveling the world means so much more to me. It is all about putting yourself outside of your comfort zone, getting to know new cultures, opening your eyes to a whole new world, and blooming where you are planted.