Well... it looks like I've done a far worse job of keeping up with blog updates than I ever thought possible. In my defense, spring term passed so incredibly quickly that I could barely keep up with anything going on in my life. To summarize the end of the school year in a few short points, spring term was spent travelling nearly every weekend, going all over the region from Portland to Ashland to the San Juan Islands up in Washington. I turned 21, which was certainly a fun time, and I am enjoying the perks that legality has to offer, responsibly of course. After having spent a year living in France at age 18 and coming back home to two full years of being a minor, all I really wanted was to be able to legally enjoy a glass of rose at dinner, so I'm happy to have that right back. Somehow through it all, I managed to earn my best grades of college thus far, which was slightly shocking and extremely exciting.
So now it's summer! The fact that we've already hit August is wild, and so far this summer has been a total blur, but the very best type of blur. On June 25, my best friend in the whole world (like, literally the WHOLE world) arrived in Portland from Brisbane, Australia after 18 long hours of travel. Sally and I spent an entire month together travelling around the Pacific Northwest, enjoying being reunited after 2.5 years of separation, and, because she studies marketing at her university, she was even able to come to work with me as a Marketing and Communications Intern at my office! While I was technically her "boss" we were able to teach each other what we know about business, marketing, design, and the industry, and we were each able to gain an international perspective.
Sally and I met while we were exchange students in France with Rotary International. We just so happened to be placed in the same region of the country, and quickly became best friends. We were lucky enough to be able to travel together in France, Belgium, and Spain and we spent an incredible four months together with other friends from all over the world. Because Sally is from the southern hemisphere and their schools function on a different schedule, she was in France for an Australian school year (January to January), while us folks from the northern hemisphere arrived in August and left in July. This meant that four months into my exchange and into our friendship, Sally headed back down under. Two and a half years of Skype dates and Facebook messages later, Sally and I were finally reunited!
During her time here we were able to explore Eugene, Portland, Bend, Seattle, and plenty of places in between. We sampled all of the quintessential American foods, like Flamin' Hot Cheetos and ranch dressing, and Sally got to experience the Fourth of July Bend, Oregon style. We got lost in Seattle, spent time with friends in Portland, and lounged around by the river in Eugene. Being able to spend a week with my best friend was the perfect way to start summer, and I'm beyond grateful to have been able to experience everything that we did. Sally headed home last Friday, and it's safe to say it has been a process to adjust to being separated indefinitely once again, but now it is my turn to visit Sally, so it looks like Australia is in my future!
Now that Sally is gone, I'm back in Eugene, working and expierencing what life is like in a college town when college isn't in session. It definitely feels very different here and is much more quiet, but I am occupying my time with afternoons by the river and online Excel tutorials.
So cheers to summer, reunions with old friends, and keeping this dang blog updated from now on!