welcoming home an old friend

tori is home.

One of my oldest and dearest friends is FINALLY home. She's been studying in Dublin all semester, and I've been eagerly awaiting her return to the states. Aside from wanting to pick her brain on overseas travel and the lifestyle of a student abroad, I've just also really missed my pal. Tori is one of the absolute kindest people I've met in my life, and it'll be great to get to spend some time with one of my best friends before I jet off to France.

We went to Larosa's, as all who return to the Queen City after a long time away do, and gushed about the past few months. Friendship with Tori is comfortable and constant, we can be apart for an extremely long time and still nothing has changed. She told stories of pub crawls in Edinburgh, evading the lusty men of London, and greeting the countless stray cats in Athens. The amount of confidence and passion that she has now because of her time abroad is infectious. When I went home last night it was all I could do to not plan a dozen new itineraries for my study abroad adventure.

Tori is a generous traveler too, she never comes home empty handed. Last summer Tori went to Thailand and brought home an elephant coin purse that I've used every day since. This trip was a lot longer, and she came home with even more presents. From her travels in Greece, knowing that I'm a total geek for mythology, Tori brought me home a grecian vase with an illustration of Athena. From Ireland, Tori brought me a giant green celtic cross beer mug, and a silver claddagh ring. I can't wait for the chance to repay her in French souvenirs.

But now Tori's home for the summer and we've got some plans for summer adventures. I can't believe that my friend has been to three continents now. I can't believe I'm about to live in another country for nine months. The next year will be a period of rapid growth and transformation, and I'm very excited for it.