This volunteer has got such a crazy story on how her ILP trip affected her entire life. We couldn't resist sharing!
Michelle (who got to volunteer in Europe twice!) gained much more out of her Ukraine semester than she had anticipated.
"I knew it would be a significant experience in my life, but I never would have guessed how significant it would turn out to be.
It all started in November 2009, when I attended an ILP info meeting. They said they were short on volunteers for the spring semester, and I thought, no way can I leave that soon! Maybe a future semester. But as I walked home, I kept thinking about it, and by the time I arrived at my apartment, my mind was made up! January 2010, I headed out to my first semester.
Even though I was nervous about living in a foreign country where I didn’t speak a word of the language and didn’t know a soul, I had this overwhelming feeling that I was going to be in the right place at the right time. My head teacher, was fantastic. Her example inspired to me to apply to be a head teacher myself. I was accepted as a head teacher for the fall 2010 semester in Ukraine. Again, I had a feeling that that was where I was supposed to be.
We were supposed to arrive in Ukraine on August 30th, the day after the Kiev temple dedication but ILP gave us the option to change our flights so we could go early and attend the dedication. I jumped at the chance to go.
The night before the dedication, there was a cultural celebration, so my ILP group headed to the metro to go to Palats Ukraina for the event. As we chatted on the metro, a young man heard us speaking English and leaned over to me and asked me where I was from. Turns out, he was from Utah and he had served his mission in Ukraine. He had decided to go back and visit for the dedication and see some of the people he’d taught. We spoke for a few moments then parted ways, only to bump into each other again after the cultural celebration. After that, I didn’t expect to see him again."
"A day or so later, Aubrey, my fellow head teacher, found him on Facebook. She convinced me to add him, even though I thought it was super creepy since all I knew was his first name, where he was from, and where he had served his mission. Thankfully, he was flattered (rather than creeped out). He went back to Utah a couple days after the dedication, and we chatted over Facebook all through the semester. A couple weeks before I came home, I offered to bring a few things home for him. When I got home, we met up at Café Rio (anyone else crave Café Rio like crazy while on ILP?), and from there, we started dating.
We were married on October 8th, 2011 in the Draper, UT temple, a little over a year after that ride on the metro. A week before our third anniversary, we welcomed a little baby boy into our family."
Okay, you aren’t very likely to find your husband while abroad ... But I can promise you will fall in love – with traveling, teaching, the country, the kids and so many other things. You may meet your best friend (tons of volunteers are still friends with their ILP group), find your new favorite place in the world, or find your life calling.
I know it’s a big leap to take, but I’ve found it’s worth it.
Even if you've thought a teeny, tiny bit about a semester abroad, take that first step! You won't know how an experience like this can impact your life until you step out of your comfort zone and try.