Sofia — To Latvia, With Love

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A poster saying farewell to Sofia, with pictures from her life to date.

Though she won’t be flying away until Aug. 23, yesterday afternoon was the farewell party for my niece Sofia, who will be traveling to Latvia to spend her senior year of high school as an exchange student.

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Sofia beside the sandwich spread.

The party was held at her home in Kearney, where her parents recently greeted a German exchange student, Lina, who will be using Sofia’s room and experiencing life in America for the same year that Sofia is experiencing life in Latvia.

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Weather was perfect for people to congregate on the outside deck

The come and go event lasted 7 hours, from 3-10 p.m. By the time we arrived at 3:30 there was a nice group there, and the people seemed to flow in.  We were there along with other family members, and we were way outnumbered by the many friends from both school and church that came to wish her farewell.

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The lights and balloons made the outdoors festive.

The downstairs family room was laid with a nice spread of sandwiches and chips, etc, but the weather was so nice that many people moved outside to the festively decorated deck and lawn.

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The bonfire put off a lot of heat.

By late afternoon They started a bonfire, and by the time the sun was going down, the smores and hot dogs came out.

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Sofia (center) with her cousins Carly (left) and Nathan (right)

It was a fun time, but also a little sad for her cousins, who won’t get to see her for the next year.

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The cousins acting a little crazy.

Anyone interested in following her journey, can read her own blog here.

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