The Happiest Time of the Year

This time of year tends to bring a lot of stress-and as I mentioned in my last post I have a few ways of coping with the stress. But what about the big picture, the things that people can really look forward to? For me, that time is summer. No, its not my favorite month. But the hot weather, mixed with the travel, mixed with the lack of homework make it the time of year I look forwards to the most. Allow me to explain a few of my summer adventures: 

Me at Park Guell-excuse my photography skills 

Sacramento State Adventure Camp: A week-long camp that I took in July, exploring Sacramento and having so much fun. Activities included:  Cliff-jumping (the cliff wasn't dangerously high), kayaking for 3 miles, riding the ra
pids with nothing but a life jacket and bathing suit, sailing, rowing, a sleepover, and my personal favorite, white water rafting. Or more specifically, getting stuck white water rafting and repeatedly being sprayed in the face with, well, white water. If that doesn't sound great, then I guess your just not very adventurous. 

Spain:  Over the summer, my family embarked on a month-long trip across the world. While we only visited 2 locations, the trip was amazing and taught me a lot about different cultures and customs. We first visited Madrid for 3 days, and them moved on to Barcelona for a week. Highlights of the trip included: visitng the world-renowned Prado museum, eating lots and lots of tapas, admiring the Sagrada Familia, visiting Park Guell, and finally the chocolate museum, among other things. It was quite the adventure. 

Kaylee and me in, you guessed it, Africa 

Africa:  I also was given the unique experience to visit Ghana in Africa over the summer. I volunteered to do a 10-day service mission, during which I taught in schools of 10 days. The trip was quite the adventure, and I made friends from both American and Africa that I will remember forever.  Highlights of the trip included: Meeting my favorite Ghanaian, Gifty, experiencing cultural food and dances, repeating my name about 10 thousand  times a day, enjoying being a teacher, "naps", taking a bazillion pictures, bonfires, and of course, trivia night. 

All in all, my summer was pretty amazing. And while I won't always be able to replicate visiting Africa or cliff-jumping, there's always something to look forward to. 

xoxo, 

Katt