In 2006 I met some of the most amazing people and best friends anyone could ask for. That summer, through good friends and great connections, I was given the opportunity to work with the Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) in Europe. A group of 25 "adults" leading about 450 high school students from more than 40 different countries through the beautiful countries of Austria, Hungary and The Czech Republic. The program focuses on leadership throughout the Global Community. The students hear great guest speakers and visit historic sites. It is a great experience for everyone.
The staff that summer was an awesome assortment of fantastic folks. We had lovely picnics by the lake, enjoyed insane evenings out and supported each other through some 16 hour work days at Hungarian hospitals. After 4 weeks of schlepping a hoard of teenagers through Eastern Europe, the bonds we created are very strong.
Part of the deal with working the program was that the company paid for your flights to and from Vienna. So some of us made arrangements to stay a bit longer, in order to hang out and explore Europe. Without much of a plan for myself, I passed a note to some of my colleagues one day that said, "Hey, can I come with you to Poland? Circle yes orno." And with that, the plan for the next several days was set. I joined Colleen and RJ as they had planned to visit Krakow and hike in the Tatra Mountains.After having this amazing summer with these fun, fascinating people, they have remained a huge part of my life to this day. Like I said, the bonds we made that summer were very strong.
So here we are 5 years later and we are still great friends. I was lucky enough to spend this past MLK weekend enjoying WINTER with the wonderful Ringas in Northern Illinois. The temperature was a chilling 8 degrees and I enjoyed every minute of it. I walked on frozen water, played hockey, drank frozen beer, made our own sushi 
and best of all I got to meet RJ's son, Maceo. 
Through the years a lot can change, but it is good to know great friendship remains.
After an awesome day adventuring through the streets and beer gardens of Vienna, we took an overnight train to Krakow, the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. 
While in Poland we partook in some local cuisine (perogies and kishka) 
and visited Auschwitz, a very intense experience.
We spent a few days in the mountains, meeting Polish locals and learning Polish sayings. We even taught them some card games. It was awesome!