So I've been here for over 2 weeks now. My room in Harrow is definitely feeling like home- then again, home has always been sort of the latest place where I sleep at night. While my days are constantly different thanks to the varied adventures we choose each day and the unpredictability of the London transit system, my nights have remained pretty consistent. I get ready for bed and sit in my bed, warm underneath my pastel blue and pink blankets, and turn on my computer. I'll turn on the IHOP prayer room and listen to it as I journal the day's events (I've actually managed to journal every single night so far!). The entry often ends with either praise to God for the awesome adventure, or frustration over being away from my friends and wanting to be in a community. By the end I usually end up reading my Bible, writing, or, as of more recently, going through the Song of Songs study. I'll eventually end up on Skype, and if I'm lucky I'll get to have a video conversation with someone I love (If I'm unlucky it's with someone I don't love . . . just kidding). If I end up talking to someone, I won't be able to pull myself away, and I'll be up until around 1 a.m. When I finally convince myself to say goodbye to my interaction with the States, I turn off my computer, set my i-pod to the Cory Asbury prayer room set or to Jason Upton, turn off the lights, and try to sleep. It's in these last minutes, when I'm fading off into sleep, that I seem to get the most revelation. It's been then when God shows me, gently, ways in which I can find more freedom. Instead of hours of intense prayer and weeping and the prophetic, there's been quiet moments of revelation as I'm half-asleep and barely have the physical energy to speak. The Lord has been gentle with me.
Highlights of week 2:
* Meeting Jennalise and other awesome people!
* Laughing at references to American politics at the British play "Enron." The British audience didn't understand why talking about Florida votes during the Gore-Bush elections was so funny, but the big section of American students thought it was hilarious. Not to mention the raptors- the raptors were great!
* Seeing Les Miserables! It was fantastic, definitely a lot to take in.
* Started the Song of Songs series again. So good!
* Whitney pointed out that the Metro, the first train we take on the way to school, makes light saber noises when it's approaching. I listened- it's true! Our train is awesome.
Prayer request: I'm still trying to figure out what church I'll be going to. I know that I need to trust God and just take it one step at a time, but I'm getting impatient. And as my friends and I plan trips for the rest of the semester, I really need guidance and wisdom.
If you're reading this, I probably miss you, and I most likely love you. Tell me what's going on in your life!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Reflections on a Mass
I went to a Catholic mass with my roommates and house mum last Sunday. After I came back I wrote this to sort of describe what happened and how God worked in me during the service.
I fidget on the hard wooden bench,
Search the brilliantly dull glass faces
Of saints who supposedly can pray for me.
The fume of incense is intoxicating me,
And I wonder if it's rude to plug my nose
As the adolescent boy in white swings
The silver object releasing its scent.
I ask myself how they could ever think
To deify Mary, give her the place of honor
Instead of my risen Christ. Should I take
Communion, when I am so very not Catholic?
I don't want to judge, but this showy religion--
It's suffocating me, like its incense stench!
How can I eat the wafer, when they proclaim
It's the literal flesh of God's own Son,
Not a symbol of Christ's cross and covenant?
The priest says a word in monotone voice,
And I follow the others in kneeling down
On the board in front-- there's actually cushion,
Praise the Lord! I try to follow the words,
But cannot concentrate, my indignant thoughts
Bombarding my mind. Then I catch a glimpse
Over my folded hands, ahead three pews,
There, a toddler girl, in jeans and pink,
Striped shirt. Her binky plugs any sound,
But she doesn't seem to want to cry.
Her joyous blue eyes meet my bored ones,
A smile almost dislodges her pacifier.
Suddenly the odor of perfume fades,
The theological mental discourse stills,
And I see more clearly the Christ figure
Adorning the corners of the church. I grin,
The girl laughs. She ducks her dark brown head
Behind the wooden pew, daring me to guess
The place where she has hidden. Her head
Pops up above the pew, giggling muffled
By the binky. I try not to laugh aloud,
But can't help but play with the toddler.
"Let the little children come to Me," I hear
Repeating in my mind. "For to such
Is the kingdom of Heaven." Thus the joy
Of a toddler rebuked my judgment,
Reminding me of my place: to worship
And to love my King, for what's needed
Isn't my judging, but God's deep love.
I fidget on the hard wooden bench,
Search the brilliantly dull glass faces
Of saints who supposedly can pray for me.
The fume of incense is intoxicating me,
And I wonder if it's rude to plug my nose
As the adolescent boy in white swings
The silver object releasing its scent.
I ask myself how they could ever think
To deify Mary, give her the place of honor
Instead of my risen Christ. Should I take
Communion, when I am so very not Catholic?
I don't want to judge, but this showy religion--
It's suffocating me, like its incense stench!
How can I eat the wafer, when they proclaim
It's the literal flesh of God's own Son,
Not a symbol of Christ's cross and covenant?
The priest says a word in monotone voice,
And I follow the others in kneeling down
On the board in front-- there's actually cushion,
Praise the Lord! I try to follow the words,
But cannot concentrate, my indignant thoughts
Bombarding my mind. Then I catch a glimpse
Over my folded hands, ahead three pews,
There, a toddler girl, in jeans and pink,
Striped shirt. Her binky plugs any sound,
But she doesn't seem to want to cry.
Her joyous blue eyes meet my bored ones,
A smile almost dislodges her pacifier.
Suddenly the odor of perfume fades,
The theological mental discourse stills,
And I see more clearly the Christ figure
Adorning the corners of the church. I grin,
The girl laughs. She ducks her dark brown head
Behind the wooden pew, daring me to guess
The place where she has hidden. Her head
Pops up above the pew, giggling muffled
By the binky. I try not to laugh aloud,
But can't help but play with the toddler.
"Let the little children come to Me," I hear
Repeating in my mind. "For to such
Is the kingdom of Heaven." Thus the joy
Of a toddler rebuked my judgment,
Reminding me of my place: to worship
And to love my King, for what's needed
Isn't my judging, but God's deep love.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Photos!
I put some photos up on Facebook tonight. Look under the London Adventures album. So far there are only ones from the high tea last Friday, but I have a few more from that day to put up soon. Go check them out!
And by the way, I like mail. You know, snail mail. Care packages. Cards. I would LOVE to get something in the mail. If you would like to correspond and probably even get something back all the way from London, you can contact me on facebook or e-mail and ask me for my mailing address, or you can ask Jason for it. And remember to take it to the post office, since it is overseas.
And by the way, I like mail. You know, snail mail. Care packages. Cards. I would LOVE to get something in the mail. If you would like to correspond and probably even get something back all the way from London, you can contact me on facebook or e-mail and ask me for my mailing address, or you can ask Jason for it. And remember to take it to the post office, since it is overseas.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
What I've Learned in London: Week 1
So I can't possibly recount every day, although I have been keeping a pretty good journal so far. Here are my reflections after being in London for a full week:
* "Even the birds have accents!" said my housemate Katy. She's right. Not only are there some odd looking duck-bird-things with black pony-tails (I call them samurai ducks)
* Laughter is fun. Katy, Whitney, and I have had so many times of long, hard laughter. It seems like we're always having something weird happen, or one of us will say something off-the-wall, or we'll misinterpret something . . . it's so much fun.
* British scones are different from American scones. We went to high tea for the first time on Friday, and it was sooo good! Their scones are more like a cross between Fischer fair scones and our biscuits. Very good. We also had lots of cake. Pictures to come!
* No matter how far you get in your communist philosophies, capitalism will win out. We were going to visit Karl Marx's grave, but decided not to when we discovered that it cost roughly $5 to enter the Catholic cemetery.
* Sherlock Holmes did not exist, but that doesn't keep people from making a profit off of his address. We took pictures of his house and went in the gift shop, but decided to spend our money to tour a museum which was actually devoted to a real person.
* Pubs are a little intimidating, but really they're the British version of Denny's, except with more alcohol and less menu items. I had my first pub experience on Friday, and I was scared to death to order an alcoholic beverage for the first time, but the people were very nice, and I enjoyed myself. (I ordered a regular-sized White Zinfandel Rose, if anyone was wondering.)
* The Natural History Museum is quite boring, but Victoria & Albert Hall is incredible. The best part: I got to see a collection of William Morris' items! Anyone who understood that gets a gold star.
* Reading on the tube makes life more interesting. I think I'm going to get quite a bit of reading done in the next couple of months.
* Everything in London is an hour away. It doesn't matter if it's actually only a 15-minute drive, it will take you an hour on the public transportation, and you wouldn't think of using anything but public transportation.
* Everything is measured in walking distance. While we would say it's a 5-minute drive away, the British would say it's a 20-minute walk, or however long it takes. Why would you drive when you could walk, especially when it's so incredibly safe here?
* British bacon is infinitely better than American bacon.
* I want so badly to be a part of awakening the Church in England. I visited Christ Church Fulham today, and the associate vicar talked about the difference between a religious person and a spirit-filled person. In passing he mentioned that their church's goal is to see the sleeping Church in the land wake up by the love of the Lord. Something in my heart was stirred tonight. I remembered why God sent me here in the first place, at least one of the reasons. I don't know what it means, or what it's going to cost, but I want to be a part of this. I'm falling in love with this land, I want to see the Church awake to her Lover!
* "Even the birds have accents!" said my housemate Katy. She's right. Not only are there some odd looking duck-bird-things with black pony-tails (I call them samurai ducks)
* Laughter is fun. Katy, Whitney, and I have had so many times of long, hard laughter. It seems like we're always having something weird happen, or one of us will say something off-the-wall, or we'll misinterpret something . . . it's so much fun.
* British scones are different from American scones. We went to high tea for the first time on Friday, and it was sooo good! Their scones are more like a cross between Fischer fair scones and our biscuits. Very good. We also had lots of cake. Pictures to come!
* No matter how far you get in your communist philosophies, capitalism will win out. We were going to visit Karl Marx's grave, but decided not to when we discovered that it cost roughly $5 to enter the Catholic cemetery.
* Sherlock Holmes did not exist, but that doesn't keep people from making a profit off of his address. We took pictures of his house and went in the gift shop, but decided to spend our money to tour a museum which was actually devoted to a real person.
* Pubs are a little intimidating, but really they're the British version of Denny's, except with more alcohol and less menu items. I had my first pub experience on Friday, and I was scared to death to order an alcoholic beverage for the first time, but the people were very nice, and I enjoyed myself. (I ordered a regular-sized White Zinfandel Rose, if anyone was wondering.)
* The Natural History Museum is quite boring, but Victoria & Albert Hall is incredible. The best part: I got to see a collection of William Morris' items! Anyone who understood that gets a gold star.
* Reading on the tube makes life more interesting. I think I'm going to get quite a bit of reading done in the next couple of months.
* Everything in London is an hour away. It doesn't matter if it's actually only a 15-minute drive, it will take you an hour on the public transportation, and you wouldn't think of using anything but public transportation.
* Everything is measured in walking distance. While we would say it's a 5-minute drive away, the British would say it's a 20-minute walk, or however long it takes. Why would you drive when you could walk, especially when it's so incredibly safe here?
* British bacon is infinitely better than American bacon.
* I want so badly to be a part of awakening the Church in England. I visited Christ Church Fulham today, and the associate vicar talked about the difference between a religious person and a spirit-filled person. In passing he mentioned that their church's goal is to see the sleeping Church in the land wake up by the love of the Lord. Something in my heart was stirred tonight. I remembered why God sent me here in the first place, at least one of the reasons. I don't know what it means, or what it's going to cost, but I want to be a part of this. I'm falling in love with this land, I want to see the Church awake to her Lover!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
The Story of the First Show
So here is probably the highlight of my week. On Wednesday, Martin took the students to The British Museum for the first time. Now, this museum is pretty amazing- it's huge and spectacular and free! But that wasn't the adventure. Katy and I were planning on going to a show on the West End that night (the West End is London's version of Broadway, some say it's even better). We were told that if we go to a box office a couple of hours before the show starts, we could get severely discounted tickets, but it was risky as we were betting on whether or not the theatre sold all their decent tickets. And we had never been there, nor had Katy and I even been out in London without at least one other person before this. Adventure, eh?
Leaving the British Museum, we stepped onto the giant steps facing a row of narrow 19th-century buildings, the buildings and streets just starting to be lit in the soft glow of the streetlights as the night fell, snowflakes falling around us in the light and fluffy way London snow seems to fall. It was stunning.
But we didn't have time to stare, we needed to find Picadilly Circus. We found our tube stop, but the stop was teeming with a mass of rush-hour travelers, and we decided that we wouldn't be able to get in let alone find our way to the West End. So we decided to walk. However, the walk was fairly long, and we weren't entirely sure that we were going the right way, and it was dark and intimidating. We eventually we found a bus stop that looked like it *might* get us to the West End, so we decided to take the bus. A huge black Londoner overheard us on the bus, and he asked us where we were going.
"Picadilly Circus," we said.
He told us where the stop was, and we thanked him and got off at the right place, the same stop where he got off. We were still utterly confused, and he asked where at Picadilly we wanted to go.
"We wanted to get to the West End," we said.
"Oh, okay. What theatre?"
"Her Majesty's."
"Okay, it's this way," said the giant, and gave us directions. We thanked him and started to go in the right direction, but I think he saw we were still a bit lost, so he started to walk with us and showed us a way through a kind of creepy tunnel that cut across a corner (it was part of a building I think). Katy grabbed my arm; we were both a little scared, especially after hearing the safety speech from the cop that Monday. But the tunnel had some light in it, and there were people in it, and tons of people on the streets, so we kept going.
"What show do you want to see?" he said as we safely made it out of the tunnel.
"We're going to try to get tickets for the Phantom of the Opera."
"Oh! Okay, you go down this street and look to your right. You'll see signs for the Phantom. Have a good evening!" And the slightly scary Londoner left us. So the British actually are nice, even to tourists!
We made it to Her Majesty's, the idea being that we would see if they had tickets for 30 pounds or less. If not, we would go to another theatre. We asked the lady at the box office.
They had tickets on the first balcony labeled "restricted view." Apparently any seats not in the center are labeled this. These seats were on the aisle, so it wouldn't hurt the view as long as we leaned in, which we would anyway. The price? 25 pounds each! I believe the original price was 50 pounds each. We were in such shock after we bought the tickets, we could barely speak! In celebration, Katy and I went to Caffe Nero's and had hot drinks and cheesecake. We had made it to our first West End show, it was one of the most fantastic shows ever, and we were paying less than $50 for tickets which would soon prove to give us not only a great view but an eye-level view of the Phantom as he hid on the rooftop angels. It was incredible!
So that is my magnificent London adventure. Phantom was absolutely beautiful, with an amazing set, great blocking, incredible voices, and fantastic players. I could hardly believe it, I was practically in a daze. But I think the adventure to the play was almost as good as the play itself. I felt so accomplished; although we used a Londoner for a short part of the trip, we still made it to the show without anyone else. Overall, it was a great night.
Leaving the British Museum, we stepped onto the giant steps facing a row of narrow 19th-century buildings, the buildings and streets just starting to be lit in the soft glow of the streetlights as the night fell, snowflakes falling around us in the light and fluffy way London snow seems to fall. It was stunning.
But we didn't have time to stare, we needed to find Picadilly Circus. We found our tube stop, but the stop was teeming with a mass of rush-hour travelers, and we decided that we wouldn't be able to get in let alone find our way to the West End. So we decided to walk. However, the walk was fairly long, and we weren't entirely sure that we were going the right way, and it was dark and intimidating. We eventually we found a bus stop that looked like it *might* get us to the West End, so we decided to take the bus. A huge black Londoner overheard us on the bus, and he asked us where we were going.
"Picadilly Circus," we said.
He told us where the stop was, and we thanked him and got off at the right place, the same stop where he got off. We were still utterly confused, and he asked where at Picadilly we wanted to go.
"We wanted to get to the West End," we said.
"Oh, okay. What theatre?"
"Her Majesty's."
"Okay, it's this way," said the giant, and gave us directions. We thanked him and started to go in the right direction, but I think he saw we were still a bit lost, so he started to walk with us and showed us a way through a kind of creepy tunnel that cut across a corner (it was part of a building I think). Katy grabbed my arm; we were both a little scared, especially after hearing the safety speech from the cop that Monday. But the tunnel had some light in it, and there were people in it, and tons of people on the streets, so we kept going.
"What show do you want to see?" he said as we safely made it out of the tunnel.
"We're going to try to get tickets for the Phantom of the Opera."
"Oh! Okay, you go down this street and look to your right. You'll see signs for the Phantom. Have a good evening!" And the slightly scary Londoner left us. So the British actually are nice, even to tourists!
We made it to Her Majesty's, the idea being that we would see if they had tickets for 30 pounds or less. If not, we would go to another theatre. We asked the lady at the box office.
They had tickets on the first balcony labeled "restricted view." Apparently any seats not in the center are labeled this. These seats were on the aisle, so it wouldn't hurt the view as long as we leaned in, which we would anyway. The price? 25 pounds each! I believe the original price was 50 pounds each. We were in such shock after we bought the tickets, we could barely speak! In celebration, Katy and I went to Caffe Nero's and had hot drinks and cheesecake. We had made it to our first West End show, it was one of the most fantastic shows ever, and we were paying less than $50 for tickets which would soon prove to give us not only a great view but an eye-level view of the Phantom as he hid on the rooftop angels. It was incredible!
So that is my magnificent London adventure. Phantom was absolutely beautiful, with an amazing set, great blocking, incredible voices, and fantastic players. I could hardly believe it, I was practically in a daze. But I think the adventure to the play was almost as good as the play itself. I felt so accomplished; although we used a Londoner for a short part of the trip, we still made it to the show without anyone else. Overall, it was a great night.
Friday, February 12, 2010
And More
Tuesday, Feb. 9th
The tube system is incredible: it's a public transit system that actually works. Who would have thought?
The tube system is close to terrible: there's always a problem. We had our first run-in with the tube's temperamental nature that day.
The literature professor was trying to sell her class to us (we have until next Monday to decide for sure on our class schedule), and she mentioned that she went to Nebraska to visit the home of the author she was studying at the time. She promised a Guiness the next time we were at a pub to whoever guessed who the author was. Thanks to Prof. Martin's American Fiction class fall sophomore year, I guessed Willa Cather. I was right, and I won the beer! I hate beer.
We took a double-decker bus to the river, where we then took a ferry ride on the River Thames. We saw the London Eye, Big Ben, the Tower of London, the Globe, and other famous things. Our destination was Greenwich, where we saw the Painted Hall (google it, it's like the slightly later British version of the Sistine Chapel, almost) and went to the Greenwich Observatory. It's there where all the world's clocks are set to, it's the "beginning" of time, as in all the other time zones start from there. And it's also where the longitude lines start, making it the dividing point between the hemispheres. That's right, I stood in both the Western and the Eastern hemispheres at the same time. I know, that's awesome.
From the Observatory we walked across the Thames in a tunnel that goes underneath it. Another pretty awesome thing.
Alice's son Jason came over and spent a loooong time on the customer service hotline fixing our internet connection. Praise the Lord, it got fixed! I had my first contact with America that day.
The tube system is incredible: it's a public transit system that actually works. Who would have thought?
The tube system is close to terrible: there's always a problem. We had our first run-in with the tube's temperamental nature that day.
The literature professor was trying to sell her class to us (we have until next Monday to decide for sure on our class schedule), and she mentioned that she went to Nebraska to visit the home of the author she was studying at the time. She promised a Guiness the next time we were at a pub to whoever guessed who the author was. Thanks to Prof. Martin's American Fiction class fall sophomore year, I guessed Willa Cather. I was right, and I won the beer! I hate beer.
We took a double-decker bus to the river, where we then took a ferry ride on the River Thames. We saw the London Eye, Big Ben, the Tower of London, the Globe, and other famous things. Our destination was Greenwich, where we saw the Painted Hall (google it, it's like the slightly later British version of the Sistine Chapel, almost) and went to the Greenwich Observatory. It's there where all the world's clocks are set to, it's the "beginning" of time, as in all the other time zones start from there. And it's also where the longitude lines start, making it the dividing point between the hemispheres. That's right, I stood in both the Western and the Eastern hemispheres at the same time. I know, that's awesome.
From the Observatory we walked across the Thames in a tunnel that goes underneath it. Another pretty awesome thing.
Alice's son Jason came over and spent a loooong time on the customer service hotline fixing our internet connection. Praise the Lord, it got fixed! I had my first contact with America that day.
More of the First Week
Hi all! So I left out basically all the good stuff about this week. I'll try to go by day, giving the highlights and best info.
Monday, Feb. 8th:
My first full day in London. Very full, not too much jet lag. Here are some of the best parts:
My first tube experience! I got so excited the first time I heard "Mind the gap," I'm pretty sure I reeked of overjoyed tourist.
Martin is one of the professors and also one of the directors of our study away program. He's tall, probably in his 60s, has balding whiteish gray hair, and has a great accent. He led us on a tour of the area surrounding our school, and while he walked down the old London streets his full-length black leather coat blew back with the wind. He just looks like an epic British older man.
Our building is a small building built in the 1700s. It's very Londonish: narrow and small, with terrible toilets, but with excellent use of space. It's close to a couple of tube stops, around the corner of a Caffe Nero (pretty decent coffee and great food), and maybe a 10-15 minute walk from the British Museum. I take the tube there for classes Monday-Thursday.
Our building is also across the street from the house of Dorothy Sayers. 10 million awesome points if you can tell me why that made me practically scream with delight.
I got my first London cash, and bought a cell phone.
Monday, Feb. 8th:
My first full day in London. Very full, not too much jet lag. Here are some of the best parts:
My first tube experience! I got so excited the first time I heard "Mind the gap," I'm pretty sure I reeked of overjoyed tourist.
Martin is one of the professors and also one of the directors of our study away program. He's tall, probably in his 60s, has balding whiteish gray hair, and has a great accent. He led us on a tour of the area surrounding our school, and while he walked down the old London streets his full-length black leather coat blew back with the wind. He just looks like an epic British older man.
Our building is a small building built in the 1700s. It's very Londonish: narrow and small, with terrible toilets, but with excellent use of space. It's close to a couple of tube stops, around the corner of a Caffe Nero (pretty decent coffee and great food), and maybe a 10-15 minute walk from the British Museum. I take the tube there for classes Monday-Thursday.
Our building is also across the street from the house of Dorothy Sayers. 10 million awesome points if you can tell me why that made me practically scream with delight.
I got my first London cash, and bought a cell phone.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
London- The First Days
Hi everyone!
I am safe and sound in London, getting over the jet lag. I arrived on Sunday to Alice's house. Alice is a 73-year-old German British widow who is definitely a mother- she makes sure we eat plenty and keep safe and stay warm. I have a room to myself that is very pink and has incredible storage and bookshelf space, much to my delight. My roommates, Katy and Whitney, are sophomores from University of Portland; Whitney seems very serious at first and has a somewhat dry sense of humor, and Katy is a petite blonde Catholic Alaskan who is in love with the theatre and is pretty adventurous (she's a mellowed out version of Becca Rogers).
Some first day highlights:
*This isn't the first day technically, but I have to mention that on my plane to England there was a guy who looked just like an old version of Tyler Connel. I had to keep from staring.
*Whitney and her parents picked me up in their rental car from the airport- such a blessing!
*On the way to Alice's we passed a big black shabby sign that read in big white letters "Jedi-Robes." Enough said.
*Our house is within 5 minutes walking distance from a tube station, a HUGE blessing!!!
*Our house is only about 45 minutes on the tube to the school, which is actually one of the closest houses.
*Alice introduced Whitney and I to a British soap opera while we ate our first meal, which, oddlly enough, consisted of wedge cut fries, chicken, samosas, naan (Indian flatbread), and broccoli quiche.
Sorry, that's all I can write right now. I have three days of incredible stuff to write, but it's past 1 AM and I need to get up for school in the morning. And is it weird that I'm starting to think of what I'm writing in a British accent? Anyway, I'm safe and sound and having a blast. :)
I am safe and sound in London, getting over the jet lag. I arrived on Sunday to Alice's house. Alice is a 73-year-old German British widow who is definitely a mother- she makes sure we eat plenty and keep safe and stay warm. I have a room to myself that is very pink and has incredible storage and bookshelf space, much to my delight. My roommates, Katy and Whitney, are sophomores from University of Portland; Whitney seems very serious at first and has a somewhat dry sense of humor, and Katy is a petite blonde Catholic Alaskan who is in love with the theatre and is pretty adventurous (she's a mellowed out version of Becca Rogers).
Some first day highlights:
*This isn't the first day technically, but I have to mention that on my plane to England there was a guy who looked just like an old version of Tyler Connel. I had to keep from staring.
*Whitney and her parents picked me up in their rental car from the airport- such a blessing!
*On the way to Alice's we passed a big black shabby sign that read in big white letters "Jedi-Robes." Enough said.
*Our house is within 5 minutes walking distance from a tube station, a HUGE blessing!!!
*Our house is only about 45 minutes on the tube to the school, which is actually one of the closest houses.
*Alice introduced Whitney and I to a British soap opera while we ate our first meal, which, oddlly enough, consisted of wedge cut fries, chicken, samosas, naan (Indian flatbread), and broccoli quiche.
Sorry, that's all I can write right now. I have three days of incredible stuff to write, but it's past 1 AM and I need to get up for school in the morning. And is it weird that I'm starting to think of what I'm writing in a British accent? Anyway, I'm safe and sound and having a blast. :)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
London- The Adventure Begins!
Warning: I've had very, very little sleep and I'm not feeling all there right now, so this opening blog post will not be so eloquent.
I'm currently sitting in the Seatac airport, waiting to board a plane which will take me to Dallas, where I will take another plane to London. I'm nervous, which I think and hope will keep me awake until the flight to London so I can sleep basically the whole time. This is the first time I've traveled alone since the way back from OneThing 2007. It's kind of scary, I'll admit. I have no idea what it's going to be like once I step foot off of the Boeing 777 (that's a good sign, though- my plane is God's number!). I do know, though, that God is good and He has great things planned for me. Even if I'm nervous and scared and not sure what to expect, I'm excited for the adventure ahead!
Lessons Learned So Far:
~It's pretty much impossible to pack a suitcase to last 3 1/2 months which is NOT over 50 pounds! The $50 fine is inevitable, as my 65 lb suitcase can tell you.
~Carrying a large duffel bag and a stuffed backpack is better than carrying merely the backpack yet paying $50 more in fines.
~IHOP does not have good coffee. The mochas are worse than AmPm, and their actual coffee isn't much better. But returning a mocha can be a good exercise in breaking fear of man.
~No matter how stressed you get, no matter how much you have to do before you leave, you'll still get on the plane. Thanks, Ember, for reminding me of this.
~No matter how great your intentions are, you will not be able to clean everything before moving out of your house and leaving the country for 3 1/2 months (sorry Thomas family, I really wanted to clean more!).
~Bodies start to get upset with you when you eat not-too-great food irregularly and don't get sleep. I think my body is going to be very thankful once it gets on a somewhat decent schedule in London.
~I have some of the most amazing friends in the world. The party last night was so great, thanks Danielle!
I'm going to miss you all! Keep in touch!
I'm currently sitting in the Seatac airport, waiting to board a plane which will take me to Dallas, where I will take another plane to London. I'm nervous, which I think and hope will keep me awake until the flight to London so I can sleep basically the whole time. This is the first time I've traveled alone since the way back from OneThing 2007. It's kind of scary, I'll admit. I have no idea what it's going to be like once I step foot off of the Boeing 777 (that's a good sign, though- my plane is God's number!). I do know, though, that God is good and He has great things planned for me. Even if I'm nervous and scared and not sure what to expect, I'm excited for the adventure ahead!
Lessons Learned So Far:
~It's pretty much impossible to pack a suitcase to last 3 1/2 months which is NOT over 50 pounds! The $50 fine is inevitable, as my 65 lb suitcase can tell you.
~Carrying a large duffel bag and a stuffed backpack is better than carrying merely the backpack yet paying $50 more in fines.
~IHOP does not have good coffee. The mochas are worse than AmPm, and their actual coffee isn't much better. But returning a mocha can be a good exercise in breaking fear of man.
~No matter how stressed you get, no matter how much you have to do before you leave, you'll still get on the plane. Thanks, Ember, for reminding me of this.
~No matter how great your intentions are, you will not be able to clean everything before moving out of your house and leaving the country for 3 1/2 months (sorry Thomas family, I really wanted to clean more!).
~Bodies start to get upset with you when you eat not-too-great food irregularly and don't get sleep. I think my body is going to be very thankful once it gets on a somewhat decent schedule in London.
~I have some of the most amazing friends in the world. The party last night was so great, thanks Danielle!
I'm going to miss you all! Keep in touch!
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