11:45 PM Take Off

We've only got a few more hours left until take off for Belize. Since this mission trip was thrown together only a few weeks in advance, our group of nineteen (including Kim) had to be split into two flights. My group leaves tonight with Kim, the next group leaves tomorrow night. I am praying that nothing goes wrong while they are Kimless but am grateful anyway that I am in Kim's group.

I have a paper to finish writing and to finalize by ten o'clock tonight.

I also still need to pack. Yay procrastination.

Last night, we gathered all the sports equipment and book donations we have collected, labeled everything with the University of Sioux Falls, and packed them. It is starting to feel real. I am SO EXCITED!

But I don't really know anyone going on this trip. I mean, I know them, but we don't like, hang out. Which is fine. I went on a ten day trip to Nashville a couple summers ago on a bus with absolutely no one that I knew. And though Tennessee was AWESOME and the experience was a good one, I wished I had been more comfortable making friends. That leads to TIP #2: When traveling with other people, remember to keep your head out of your butt, smile a sufficient amount, and try to experience as many people as you can.

This is something I suck at. I can be shy. I've still got a little bit of the stupid mentality of "Some people thought I was weird in high school so, everyone probably does and would rather talk to someone else."

DUMB. I know. This is something I hope to work on while I am in Belize. Though I have a childlike approach to the world, I do not laugh a lot. Kim told us that the last time she was in Belize, she woke up to children's laughter every day. In America, we have to have entertainment in front of us for us to laugh. Laughter is meant only for things that are funny. I am a generally happy person as I'm sure you all know. But  otherwise, I'm pretty stoic about life. I want to learn how to laugh, open up, and relate easier with others. I want to learn from the attitude of Belize.