Days 506-512! It’s time for the US adventure! It’s odd being back home, but I wasn’t in my hometown for long and set on the road to Wisconsin for my cousin’s wedding! After the wedding I made my way to Minneapolis for more fun with cousins. It was another fantastic week!

I woke up on Thursday, May 22nd, and no, it wasn’t a dream… I was still in my childhood home in the US! So, to continue the US adventures my family was packing up our car and heading on a little road trip to Wisconsin!

It was a bit of an uncomfortable drive, but nothing near as bad as riding a motorbike for hours or cramped SE Asian transit.

While on the road, I played my EP for my family and it sounded like they all enjoyed it! It’s pretty dang cool being able to add some of my tunes to the car ride playlist!

A few hours of driving later, past many farms, and we were in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin! Not only is this town home to a beautiful lake, this weekend it was home to my cousin Galya’s wedding!

We unloaded our bags into our Airbnb and then went on a little walk by the lake as the sun was setting.

I was told I was coming back to summer in the US… it was a bit chillier than I had hoped!

Friday, May 23rd was a day of chillaxing and hanging with family. We spent the whole day playing games, catching up, and walking around the town in the sun!

I also played some guitar and serenaded my family with new songs I’ve learned while traveling abroad!

We finished the night by watching half of the first Wicked movie. I was excited to finish it because it was really good! It was so cool seeing how much they could bring the stage musical to life with the use of movie magic!

Saturday, May 24th started the weekend of wedding festivities. We all hopped onto a bus, along with many of the other wedding goers and made our way to Milwaukee for a Saturday morning service that included the Oof Roof, where the bride and groom are called up and the congregation throws candy at them. A bit of symbolism to wish them luck in their future and to get out any rage that’s been built up over the years (just kidding).

The service was followed by a wonderful brunch that was filled with all the relatives on my mom’s side that I haven’t seen since I left the US! It was just wonderful getting to give hugs and talk IN PERSON, not over the phone.

We took the bus back to Lake Geneva and then had a bit of time to rest before the next event. But before that, some of my cousins came over to play cards and hang out!

The next event on the agenda was a sunset boat cruise on the lake! I got to spend more time with my cousins and got to meet some of the other wedding goers on the groom’s, Simon, side. It got a bit cold on the ride, but outside of that, it was nice to spend time with everyone, eating good food, enjoying some drinks, and chit chatting the night away!

Also in family tradition, we wrote a parody song for Galya and Simon and performed for them and the rest of the boat.

That wrapped up Saturday and Sunday, May 25th marked the big day! We had a bit of time in the morning before we had to be anywhere. So my cousins came over to play some cards before we all had to get ready!

The first event of the day was the Ketubah (the religious contractual wedding agreement) signing. We piled into a room where my cousin was all dressed up, looking like a Disney Princess in her stunning wedding dress! We got some pictures in before Simon arrived and then the festivities began.

It was smiles from ear to ear all around the room! All of Simon’s extended family and Galya’s extended family were in the room witnessing the official documents being signed. Along with the Rabbi who was ordaining the service.

Following the signing, it was time for family pictures

We had a bit of time following the pictures and prior to the ceremony. So we found a comfy spot to sit down in the hotel, where the wedding was, and play some cards.

And then… it was ceremony time!

The ceremony was beautiful and I’m so so so so happy I was able to be in person for this one! Following the ceremony it was time for cocktails and hors d’oeuvre, but it was getting chilly, so we huddled around a heater while we snacked and drank.

My boogie shoes were itching for the dance floor, but we had a bit more time to wait. We made our way back inside the hotel and sat down to begin the rest of the wedding festivities.

We listened to speeches, watched first dances, had a nice dinner, and then, finally, it was time to take to the dance floor!

We danced and danced and danced! Pretty much all the way to the end of the wedding! It was such a fantastic day and it was wonderful getting to celebrate Galya and Simon!! I’m very happy I made my way back to the US for this special day!

It was a late night, but that didn’t mean we could sleep in. We all had to check out of our Airbnbs and get to breakfast nice and early on Monday, May 26th. I said goodbye to my siblings who needed to catch their flights back home and my parents and I headed to breakfast.

It was great getting to spend the weekend with them and I look forward to seeing them again towards the end of the summer!

At breakfast, I met up with my cousins again and got to give hugs and kisses to my relatives. I’ll hopefully get to see a lot of them again in a month or two, but it was just fantastic seeing everyone after so long apart.

After eating a nice, big, and yummy meal, it was time to give my parents a hug goodbye as I was heading on my next adventure with my cousins Ben and Sam.

Ben and Sam live in Minneapolis, Minnesota with their significant others. And I was going to spend the next week with them! We all piled into their car and got ready for a nice 5 hour cramped car ride.

We pretty much chatted the entire ride back and survived the uncomfortable drive. We dropped our stuff off, took an hour to rest up, and then met back up to go grocery shopping! I was staying with Sam for a few days and then switching over to Ben’s later in the week.

Sam and I made ourselves some poke bowls with salmon for dinner and then started watching a new anime called Delicious in Dungeon!

Sam took the day off from work on Tuesday, May 27th to hang out! So after saying hello to his little furry roommate Robbie, we set out to enjoy our day.

Sam loves fishing, so we went on a mission to find some live bait. This actually proved to be a bit of a challenge as we drove around the city from place to place. Eventually we found a fishing store that had what we were after and we drove to a nearby lake to fish!

Minnesota is known for its many lakes, so we didn’t have to search far for this.

It took us a while, but eventually we caught the first fish… it was a little small, but still exciting that we caught one! We haven’t had the best luck in the past when fishing together.

But as the day went on, we caught more and more and caught a handful of small fish when all things were said and done. I have mixed feelings on fishing ever since I started scuba diving, but I do enjoy the activity! It’s a blast to be outdoors and hanging out with Sam.

It was a bit chilly and drizzled on and off, but otherwise it was a very pleasant few hours on the pier! We also brought sandwiches along and had a lunch break before continuing on fishing.

When we got home, we busted out the art supplies and had a little crafty afternoon.

Sam was actually working on one of the song covers for my music and I just messed around with some water colors. I call this Head in the Clouds. I’ll probably stick to writing and playing music, but this was fun to do!

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and then after dinner, we wandered over to Ben’s apartment for a night of playing Mario Party.

Sam had work early on Wednesday, May 28th. So I woke up early with him, had breakfast while watching morning cartoons, and then walked over to Ben’s apartment to hang out for the day.

Ben and Maddie were working from home and I actually had some to-dos to get done too! The most important of which was figuring out health insurance. It’s not fully figured out, but I have a lot in motion now and hopeful that I’ll be able to get it all sorted out soon!! The US isn’t the best place to be without health insurance and unfortunately travel insurance doesn’t cut it!

After that, I worked on my blog post and started reading a new book called Tress of the Emerald sea. It’s a spin off book from the Brandon Sanderson series I’ve been reading!

Dinner time rolled around and I had made plans to meet up with my two friends, Mason and Dani. I know these two from my Bonnaroo group (music festival) and even though I was going to see them in two weeks, I thought it’d be nice to hang out since I was in town! Ben and Maddie came along as well and we went to a restaurant in St. Paul’s called Cafe Latte, which was very tasty.

The cafe was set up that you could pick and choose what you wanted from the counter. There were soups, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, and some delicious looking deserts! I ended up having a soup, salad, andddd a piece of cake. On top of some wonderful chatter and my cousin getting to meet some of my friends, it was a delightful evening!

We chatted for a couple hours before parting ways and calling it a night!

It’s definitely a bit weird being back in the US, but being surrounded by family and friends has been incredible! My cousins wedding was fantastic and I’m so happy I was able to be at it in person! And I’m pumped for the next couple weeks of bopping around the Midwest. It’s going to be a great summer and seeing how I’m still on the move, I might as well document it!

See you next week!

– Elie