The Muskoverts

The Muskoverts: Chris, me and Vid

The October Rotary Weekend was incredibly important in helping me to find contentment within myself by realizing even more about my exchange and life after exchange, while sharing time with a couple friends I hadn't seen in a long time.  Chris, Vid and I talked for hours about our exchanges.  We talked about our host families, our friends, our best memories, our craziest moments, our worst moments, our awkward moments, our weirdest meal, and so much more.   The three of us talked about our lives now,  and what we've done since we've been home.  The two of them just loved hearing about my apparently uninspiring life back home.  I really don't think it's too bad, Chris insisted it is, and just Vid listened to us while he laughed.   It was so great to be able to share all of this with them, I realized that even though becoming an exchange student was not something I have uniquely done, all of the experiences I had in Turkey and the ways I've changed because of my experiences are uniquely mine and I'm happy with how it turned out.

The main thing that got the three of us together was the fact that we are all inevitably introverted.  Although our exchanges made each of us more of a people person, deep down, we really enjoy and need our occasional alone time.  The Rotary weekend brought us into a group of unrecognized people, and although we're advised not to, we gravitated towards each other.  As we talked, laughing until tears ran down our faces, we decided that we needed a group name. There were three of us, like the three musketeers, but we didn't think that was very original and wanted to add a bit about our introverted ways.  "The Muskoverts!" Vid claimed, and the Muskoverts we were.  Over the years I've had a handful of "I would be happy living the rest of my life in this moment" moments, and that weekend accounted for one of them.  I didn't have to think about school, or the fact that I was still unemployed, or the relationships I let go of because of my exchange, because I knew that whatever might happen in my life, I have the support from my friends and family, including my Muskoverts.  And I hope to be trusted to return that back to them.

Sadly, that was the last time I'll ever see one of the Muskoverts.  There was a tragic event a couple of weeks ago, and I know that Vid is missed.  I won't forget the way Vid was always smiling, and offering the most logical and intelligent explanations to everything.  I remember during the Rotary Talent Show right before we left for our exchanges, none of the 6690 kids could think of anything we were talented at, but Vid hopped right on stage and sang White and Nerdy to the entire crowd.  He had the most witty blog posts, and it was always a treat to get online and see he'd made a new post.  He had the kind of contagious laugh that changed the attitude of the entire room and lightened the way we saw things. He can break the tension in any situation by making a silly joke, or bringing up the silly video we'd watched two hours ago online.  During our rebound orientation, Vid and I were partners in the getting to know each other game, and I'm so glad I got to know him then and during all of the Rotary weekends, especially that of October.  I'm glad I sought him out right before I left the weekend to give him a giant hug while feeling incredibly happy with my amazing Rotary family and friends.

So, to Vid, wherever you are, I hope you've found peace.  You are greatly missed.