Headed Home to Texas

 Saturday, July 28:

Today was our last day of the trip. Since we had to leave extremely early in the morning, the group and I decided to stay up and watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Packed up and ready to go, we left the hotel around 1:30 am and said goodbye to a few of the students who were staying behind. Michael was going to be in Norway another two weeks to visit his friends, and Ryker would be taking a separate flight later in the day. It was hard to leave such a pretty city, especially all lit up at night.

 After taking a bus to the airport we took a quick nap and then had breakfast as we waited for the check in counters to open. Getting our tickets and going through security was uneventful. As I walked around the airport I noticed that there were many efforts evidenced to be sustainable; for example, there were different trash bins that allowed for recycling. One could put old magazines and books in one of the bins, as well as bottles and cans in another bin.

Before we knew it we were ready to board our first plane from Oslo to Amsterdam. The flights back home went smoothly; I was exhausted from staying up all night so I was fortunate enough to be able to sleep on both flights. To encourage sustainability, I ordered the vegetarian dish for my meal rather than the dinner with meat. It was very tasty and I felt good for making a difference.

Although the final flight was about nine hours, we got home safely and I was able to see my family for the first time in two weeks. It was so nice to talk with them and tell them all about my experiences! The trip was so wonderful. I was positively affected culturally, intellectually, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I know this trip has made me consider more than ever how I can make an impression in my community.