On friendship and a baseball-

I still remember the feeling of waiting for the light to change at the crosswalk near my flat.Those few seconds of ticking and traffic passing in the background. I stood in that space between waiting and excitement, looking at Maciek across the intersection and thinking: how did my life unravel in such a way as this? Is this moment right now really my own?

The last time I saw my dear Polish friend was almost one year ago in Poland. I stepped off the train to find him waiting below. It was our second reunion since meeting in our little NC mountain town in 2011. We reunited for the third time. I was so very nervous to be his tour guide for a change. He is truly the perfect guide. It was only natural that I felt the pressure to live up to such an expectation. But, Maciek is gracious and forgiving.

One week we spent touring the city, eating the cuisine and playing catch-up while also preparing for our future selves. We spoke of everything that led us here in Korea at this moment, and the proof that distance and time serve as no obstacle. There are just certain people you keep coming back to--the miracle that is friendship...

Here are some snapshots of moments stolen during Maciek's stay. He is as talented of a photographer as he is a radio/TV host.

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” -C.S. Lewis

 It was an unexpected treat to have Maciek capture these moments with my love.

Many hours spent in my flat to avoid Korea's cold winter.

On the night before Maciek left our little mountain town, the three of us signed a baseball to exchange at every re-meeting. I could dedicate a whole book to this baseball and the magic it carries within. Now after three years, it's in my possession again. I squealed when Maciek pulled it out of his backpack on his last night in Korea. Memories of that perfect semester in Boone flooded my thoughts at once. The ripples from that semester continue to change my life, even five years later.

May the baseball guide us three back together, always. xo