Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Reminiscing

I just reread a bunch of my old journal entries in my hardcopy journal (aka not this blog).

You know, this trip has been full of drama and not fun times, but there have been SO many cool things. All the crud with relationships and friendships, I think, in the end, strengthened all of those relationships. I made legitimate new friends that I really believe I will remain close to. I discovered what being independent in a foreign country is like. I figured out multiple transportation systems and learned what walking a long distance actually looks like. I learned how to find cheap healthy food. I learned how I am when I do NOT self-care.

I learned how to really forgive
And to get over crap that is not important.

And most of all, I learned that I need to seek after God.

I have big plans for the future, but I can't even imagine what it will look like. I feel secure in God's plans for me whatever they are. I am who I am for a reason. And that is ok.

I am thankful for this trip.
I am thankful for all the experiences I will take back with me.
I am thankful for my friends here, at Whitworth, and in Texas who see the good in me when I don't

I am exceedingly thankful for my family.
They will always love and support me.
I am so lucky that three of the best people in the world are my family

I am so blessed.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Well, the entire Literary England course...oops

Hey all. (aka mom and dad!)

It's been awhile and for that I apologize. This has been...interesting. I wish that I enjoyed it more, though there were sections I found more interesting than others.

We began in Manchester. It actually seemed like a super cool city, very bustling and lots of cool architecture. We studied Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South which Calli has called a poor man's Pride and Prejudice. Our hostel was relatively nice and right on a canal. Internet was exorbitant. That's really all I remember. Oh! Except we saw a spinning demonstration for how loud and gross the mills were and they showed the shuttle going back and forth super fast. It made me think of Wanted and how stressed I was during that particular part of the movie.

Then we went to Grasmere, which is in the Lake District. If I could recommend one part of England to anyone, it would be the Lake District. Maybe because it was in the fall or whatever, but it was absolutely gorgeous and perfect. We went hiking, learned about Wordsworth, played Ultimate in this horrendously muddy field, had time alone, ate copious amounts of the world-famous Grasmere gingerbread, and just plain enjoyed being in nature. It was wonderful.

Next was Stratford-upon-Avon where Shakespeare was born.
That's really all that happened there.

Now we are back in London and here comes the exciting part.
1. Dani King came to visit
2. While Dani King was visiting we stumbled upon the premiere of 'Che' in Leicester (Lester) Square that Benicio Del Toro was attending along with Steven Soderbergh (director of Crash)
3. This inspired us to go to the premiere of Easy Virture starring Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, and Ben Barnes. We waited for two hours in the hail. But Oh my goodness, I met Colin Firth and he touched me by accident. Coolest thing ever. Also, Jessica Biel was super nice and really funny. Count me a fan.
4. On the way home from said premiere, Calli and I get on the Tube and I see this (cute) guy who looks familiar. Oh right, he's familiar because he's William FREAKING Moseley! (Peter from Narnia) Also, I have a huge crush on him. It was the coolest Tube ride ever. We didn't approach him or anything because he just looked like he was trying to get home. But oh man. So freaking cool!
5. Went to the Quantum of Solace premiere in Leicester Square. Got there early, got into the gardens. Saw Daniel Craig, the two Bond girls, Judi Dench, the cool FBI agent from Casino Royale, the new villain, Elle Macpherson, Jack White, and Prince William and Prince Harry.
6. Am starred out.

Today I got to see Drew which was fun. I was definitely feeling a bit of homesickness so it was great to talk with him and hear about his crazy military life.


Tomorrow is our final day as a group together. Then Calli, Matt, and I head off to Vienna, Prague and Budapest! Then Whitworth, then home! Can't wait for all of it.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Dublin, Galway, Belfast

So a bit of time may have passed since my last update. Sorry! I heard from multiple people that they just read the updates from the facebook group, so I lost a bit of motivation to keep this one up.

Dublin was...underwhelming. Maybe it was our hostel right above the Temple Bar (literally a party every night) or the craziness of our time there, or the hour and 45 minute walk that Calli and I took while trying to find Kilmainham Jail. I did learn a lot, but most of the things that I loved about Dublin the first time we didn't have time to see or enjoy.

Galway, however, was awesome. Our hostel was once again on party lane, but Galway is much smaller so it was ok. We found a sweet bar named Taffe's the first night that was packed with people and had live traditional music every night. It was glorious. I also got to try hot whiskey for the first time. It was surprisingly good, but I think I will stick to my beloved pear cider (mmm). As a group we took a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher, which was beautiful. We had a crazy tour guide who kept making horribly inappropriate comments to Patrick and had crazy assumptions about our drinking habits (he kept saying 'I bet you all are all hungover' YEAH RIGHT!) We also went to the Aran Islands for a day and I had one of the most glorious days ever. We drove up to this ancient Celtic fort on these sheer sea cliffs. It was gorgeous and sunny and warm (always a rarity here). The hour and a half walk back was less glorious but still fun.

We are in Belfast currently and it has been fascinating. Anyone who thinks the conflict here is resolved would be sorely mistaken. It is interesting to see how the country is dealing with it and we have been lucky enough to hear stories and viewpoints with people from all sides. We heard from a pastor who has been here for 23 years, interns with PCUSA who have been here for one month, people who work with youth, MLAs (their equivalent of MPs or Senators/Representatives), convicted murderers, and we still have until Sunday to hear more.

That's all for now. Hope this was enjoyable!

Friday, September 26, 2008

London...again...

Well we are back in London ...again! It's so crazy and hectic, but there are so many things to do. It's nice this time because we have had more planned group events and meals so I actually get to see a lot more of the people in the groups.

We have begun the Politics in Britain and Ireland class that a lot of us were nervous for, but so far it has been great. We toured Parliament and Buckingham Palace, met with US diplomats to the UK, talked with MPs and Whips in the Liberal Democrat party, and that's just in the first week! We also got to tour the Tower of London, though we didn't have near enough time to see everything which was a bummer.

Parliament was really cool as well. Did you know that when the Queen opens Parliament each year she sends a guy called the 'Blackrod' to go bang on the door to the House of Commons. They ignore him twice and then 'reluctantly' follow him to the House of Lords where the Queen opens the session. Also voting is very different, they ring a bell and the MP's have 8 minutes to get on the proper side of the meeting room. Then they are counted and leave. If they are late...no vote.

On Wednesday, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People premiered in London so Allison, Claire, Matt, and Alicia and I went to the premiere to see if anyone famous would show up. Not including Sean Connery, I've never met/seen anyone famous. At the premiere we met Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead), Nick Frost (the same), Anna Popplewell (Susan from Narnia), Andy Serkis (Gollum from LOTR), Alfonso Cuaron, and the British 'Jim' from the Office. It was so neat! Nick Frost talked to us and Anna Popplewell signed my journal. It was pretty fun. We are planning to go to the Quantum of Solace premiere in October and are all quite excited at the prospect of meeting Daniel Craig.

Today we went to Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe which was, as expected, awesome. And cheap! Groundling tickets are only £5. Then I got an awesome dinner of hummus, carrots, yogurt and granola, and pineapple from M&S. The take-out culture here is so much more healthy! These were all in little packs and cost pretty minimally. That's one thing I will miss.

Tomorrow we have a long travel day by train and by ferry to Dublin. We are excited to head to Ireland. I can't wait to be back in Dublin! Then we go to Belfast and then back to England for our last class!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

The end of an era

Well Fall Break is almost over and I'm sad to see it go. We've had an absolute blast in Bath. And by blast I mean a mellow time where we got to read and hang out and not deal with drama or anything.

Two days ago we went to Stonehenge through a tour. A lot of people had told me it was really disappointing, but I thought it was actually really neat. There's not a super magical feeling of just being there or anything, but it is beautiful and mysterious. I was very impressed and besides all that, who goes to Britain for four months and doesn't see Stonehenge?!

I have read so much on this break. So far the tally is: The Time Traveler's Wife, The Constant Gardener, Great Expectations, Persuasion (Jane Austen), and a biography of Paula Radcliffe. I miss reading when we are constantly on the move and it was nice to be able to purchase large books and read them while we are here.

Yesterday was intense workout day for me and Calli. To get a one day pass to the gym cost £5 (roughly $10) so we wanted to make it worth it. So we went after breakfast for an hour and a half and after lunch for another hour. Whew we are feeling it today. It was really nice to use weights and machines and all that stuff though. I always feel better physically and emotionally after working out.

Last night Calli and I went out to the pubs in Bath. It was...interesting. There was the prerequisite creeper (though especially creepy and sleepy? I think this time). There was also this huge obnoxious group that Calli thought were Americans. They were dancing on tables (not allowed) and just making a huge commotion. This morning we saw them at breakfast at the Y. They are in fact Americans and they are college students from the states. I felt really embarassed! I guess I understand where a lot of the negative stereotypes come from now. Our group at it's wildest would never ever be so obnoxious!

The other day at breakfast we were also talking about the different priorities that British have over Americans. It's important to them that food be Fairtrade and organic. They really look outside their own country. It is a selling point to have Fairtrade, healthy food. Plus their 'fast food' is yummy sandwiches and salads that you can get at Marks and Spencers (kind of like a Super Target mixed with Macy's) for cheap. They also love McDonald's which are surprisingly nice over here. Not that we have eaten at them. We are not that gross.

There is currently a lot of financial and political turmoil over here as several very large companies have failed (including a travel agency that left thousands stranded in foreign countries) so prayers would be welcome for all the people over here. Silver lining speaking: It will be awesome when we get to sit in on Parliament because exciting stuff will be happening.

Love you!
Devin

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Fall Break:Bath

Hey so you poor saps that just started school and were laughing at me while I slaved over homework at Starbucks this summer? Start crying, because we are halfway done with our semester! We took our final on Thursday and Fall Break began on Friday.

Calli and I caught a train to Bath (we're big kids now!) and checked into our hostel. It has a party dungeon. Enough said. Bath however, is gorgeous. It reminds a lot of York. Really beautiful and a little quaint. Yesterday we checked into the 'Rap' room on the highest level of the hostel and explored a little. We read in the bookstore for awhile and found some dinner at Wetherspoons which is an English chain. There are actually a ton of these Yates/Edwards/Wetherspoons/Prince of Wales/whatever places. They all have the same menu and everything. Then we watched a horrible adaptation of Merlin on a VHS player at the hostel. It was BAD.

Today we stopped by the Jane Austen Center (yay!) and saw the Royal Crescent (as seen in the movie The Duchess, which we saw today). Then we spent another three hours in the bookstore around here reading and drinking coffee. It's glorious. Tonight we went to dinner at California Kitchen and I bought some French's mustard and had a frankly glorious burger with real mustard. I felt like such a nerd, but it was REALLY tasty! I missed mustard a lot. The stuff here is so horseradish-y that it makes me cry.

We are all getting pretty homesick, both for the people and for the conveniences. Like showering barefoot or sleeping in. Ahhh.. Tomorrow we move to our private room (!!!) at the YMCA and our free gym access. We are going to take a walking tour and book our tour of Stonehenge (only £14!) and then workout. Pretty much we are planning on working out, sleeping in, eating good food, reading good books (I need to finish Great Expectations), reading school books, and exploring the wonderful town of Bath.

Starting Friday there is a Children's Book Festival and the Jane Austen Festival going on here so we should have a busy weekend. It looks like we might get to take dancing lessons! It's going to be awesome. We miss you. We love you. Write us.

Monday, September 8, 2008

London...again

We are back in London! Yay! St. Athan's is great now that we have been to the West End and the nasty place in Cardiff. They give us towels, and there are only four of us in a room. A room with a sink in it and that doesn't smell disgusting! Plus we get real eggs for breakfast. Never believe the powdered ones are ok.

The Tube is also wonderful. We still walk a ton, but London is simply too big to just walk around. The Tube makes it wonderful. Yesterday we went to church at a Catholic church (except they had Anglican communion), the service was beautiful and the choir was really awe-inspiring. Then we tried to go to Mamma Mia, but apparently they do not do shows on Sundays. Oops. Tonight we are trying to go to Wicked! Also, the play I was in in high school, 6 Characters in Search of an Author is playing here so I might try to go see that soon.

We are all feeling the stress/wearing-out feeling of travelling. Everyone is pretty much ready for Fall Break. Calli and I are staying at a YMCA in Bath and we get free use of their workout facilities, so we will be working out and working on prep for our Poli-Sci class pretty much the entire time we are there! There's also a Jane Austen festival with a formal ball! It might be expensive, but we still really want to go.

I can't believe I've been here for 5 weeks! By the end of this week we will be half-way through the semester! Mostly I miss Whitworth and home a lot. I really miss people!I can't wait to be at both the places I miss in November. I'm looking forward to hugs, cheesecake chai and Harry Potter a whole lot. Plus RA-ness shirts :)

Love and miss you all.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Glasgow & Aberystwyth

We leftEdinburgh and got on a train to Glasgow. Once known as the armpit of Scotland, we found it to resemble the armpit of Scotland. Nah, it wasn't that bad, but it was no Edinburgh. Mostly we just had free days and hung out. We did go to the Glasgow School of Art which was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. You should check his architecture, furniture, and fonts out. They were surprisingly modern looking and actually very cool. The school was really interesting as well. He played with people's conceptions and preconceived notions of where light and dark should be. I also went to the Museum of Modern Art in Glasgow, which was a little small and mostly contemporary art. There were some really interesting photographs having to do with a photographer surviving breast cancer and how she felt about herself afterward. Really really intense though.

We then boarded an epically bad train to Aberystwyth. Scotland to Wales = far. The train was pretty crowded and we all have huge bulky backpacks that won't fit on the overhead racks, we were not a crowd favorite. After 6+ hours of travel, we finally arrived. We are staying at the University of Aberystwyth which is not that far from the train station, but is all uphill. Luckily Rick was kind enough to get us all bus tickets up the hill. Upon arrival we found out that we each had SINGLE ROOMS! This is a luxury beyond luxury when you are used to sharing very small spaces with 4, 8, or 16 girls. I can decide when I want to turn the light off or when I want to go to sleep. It's amazing. Unfortunately, each hall is locked to everyone but those who live there and there is no common lounge. Caleb would not be pleased. :)

Aberystwyth is right on the coast so as soon as possible we went down and explored it. It's cold and rocky and feels almost lonely, but it is beautiful. Rick knows some people from a church here so we went on a "stroll about town" with them. It turns out this meant a 3 hour odyssey over slippery, slanted rocks before the tide came back in over them. My ankle was not so much pleased. Then we rested, got ice cream, and CLIMBED UP A CLIFF to get back! Ridiculous, but it was beautiful so I can't complain that much.

We also got the opportunity to perform as part of their church service on Sunday. I was a reader for this interpretive dance/movement/play thing called "Hands." It was definitely a stretch for me and a lot of the other kids, but we enjoyed it. Afterwards they made us BBQ (hah!) and we went to go see the Kite Feeding (kites are large birds of prey).

Yesterday we went up on this old railway to the Vale of Rheidol. Spectacular views, 30 ft. waterfalls and an open train car in the freezing rain on the way back. A bunch of us also got together and had bleu cheese and apples with spaghetti and meat sauce that we made for dinner! I'm pretty proud.

Today I had to perform a sort of interpretive monologue with Ashley. Basically we were given words and then had to come up with the situation. She was a spoiled ditzy rich girl and I was a real estate agent showing her around a mansion. There were 12 or so groups all doing the same monologue (aka all of us) and all of them were different! One was a psychiatric patient and doctor, one was oddly Lord of the Rings themed, one was two competing housewives, and so on. It was really cool and REALLY funny.

Tomorrow we head to Cardiff where Lindsay and I are making our presentation on Welsh Music. Hopefully it'll be good, we haven't really worked on it yet. After Cardiff it's London and then FALL BREAK! (yeah that's right Whitworthians, we've been in school for a month already!). Calli and I are headed to Bath for the break. Unfortunately we couldn't get a hostel for the entire 9 nights so we are two nights in a "party hostel" and then the rest in a YMCA (free workout facilities and a room for the two of us!!). There's a Jane Austen festival going on and we'll be working hard to prepare for Patrick's class.

Over and out for now,
Devin

Monday, August 25, 2008

Edinburgh cont'd.

Well we are back in Edinburgh once more. I did manage to get a top bunk this time, so I'm not freaking out about the mouse attacking. Small blessings.

We said farewell to Keith on Friday and in honor of Iris' birthday, he came out dancing with us. It was awesome. That guy has got some moves. I'm glad that Rick has joined us and I'm looking forward to his class, but we all wish that Keith could stay a little longer. Oh well, I will be in the Core 150 powerpoint on the Celtic influence.

Two days ago I got to see the Edinburgh Military Tattoo with Ashley (well sort of). It was amazing. Think of the best marching band you have ever seen and multiply it by a thousand, oh and add bagpipes. I really enjoyed it and it brought me back to the old days of marching band at Anderson.

Yesterday I got to see a couple plays. Rick recommended this dance parody show, so we all bought tickets and went. It was....interesting to say the least. I don't think I have ever seen so much of a man's body before. It was a bit scarring, but also hilarious. Not what I was expecting, for sure. We had an awkward hour in between the dance show and our next play so we went to coffee (a vanilla steamer for me) at Elephant House. This was where most of the first Harry Potter book was written. It was pretty crowded, but my steamer was delicious and we just got to chill for a little bit. And then we went to see Titus of Andronicus. It was really really intense and depressing. Not exactly how I wanted to end my night, but eh, theater is an experience.

Today we had class for a little in the corridor of the hostel, and then headed out to see about tattoos. I've been thinking about getting the Gaelic for perseverance on my ankle for a while, but I didn't really know what all it entailed. I'm still considering it, but it definitely won't be happening til we get back to the states. It's a forever kind of decision, and I don't want to make it on the fly.

Then we journeyed to the Edinburgh book fair to potentially Sean Connery. Basically we saw him at close range and even sang Happy Birthday to him. It was really funny. He came out and kind of brushed people off (not in a rude way though) and was hurrying out. Then he saw the complimentary whiskey and stopped to grab like 4 bottles. Hee. So yes, we have now met James Bond. Afterwards we just kept repeating "We just met Sean Connery!"

It began to rain so we ran for the nearest H&M (Dani you would be proud). I got some much needed articles of clothing. We are all kind of readjusting the wardrobes as we figure out what is actually needed. It's funny because we are definitely the most unfashionable people here, but I'm guessing by the time I get back to the States, I will finally be a trendy person. Gasp.

Tonight we are going to see a play called 365 which is about the foster care system in Scotland. I'm kind of psyched about it. That's roughly the field I'm interested in and I'm intrigued to see what the system is like here in Scotland.

Well that is all on the blogging front for now. Tomorrow we have off and Wednesday we head for Glasgow, then Aberystwyth (Wales!) and Cardiff. I don't know what internet will be like in those cities but hopefully I can update again soon.

Love and miss you all (especially if you took the time to read all this)

Friday, August 22, 2008

Edinburgh pt. 2 and Culrain

Well I forget what I mentioned in the last update, but our hostel here in Edinburgh kind of stinks. It's ok though because it's the kind of suckiness that makes good stories. We have showers that go from freezing cold to boiling lava hot, we have a gushing fire alarm from the ceiling, a mouse crawling around and eating food and for breakfast we get two pieces of toast. Yeah. It was a bit rough. Did I mention that all 16 girls are in one room? Because we are. And that room has one very squeaky door. Haha. I laugh with crazy eyes.

So luckily we left a couple days ago to journey to Culrain which is a tiny town waaaay north in Scotland. It took about 6 hours by train to get there, but it was gorgeous. Mountains covered in heather with little streams, brooks and waterfalls peeking out. We got to stay in a beautiful castle that doubled as a youth hostel. And only 8 people in a room. And a library stocked full of fun books. Unfortunately, as this course is drawing to a close we had to study for our final! Weird right? We are all bummed to be losing Keith. There was a ping-pong tournament last night in Culrain and his faces were absolutely amazing and ridiculous.

Thankfully in Culrain I also got a chance to go running. I didn't really feel safe going in the big city so I've only been in York so far. I went running on trails back. I took the one labeled "Loch" and after a few wrong turns on bike trails, I stumbled upon this awe-inspiring view. I wish I could upload the picture right now but it was farmland with sheep and cows dotted on it, leading to a huge still lake. Mist was rising up on the mountains and the sun was just breaking through the clouds and of course everything was covered in the bright purple of heather. I don't feel as though I'm using the Lord's name in vain when I say, God it was amazing. I ran for 45 minutes and would've kept going, but I thought I would miss breakfast.

In other breaking news, I had the first good shower of this trip in Culrain. It was a good temperature, it drained, and no one walked in. So A plus to this hostel.

Now we are back in Edinburgh and starting our second class. It should be fun with all the crazy Fringe stuff going on! We are excited to see the last of this hostel though. We have access to internet here so you will probably get another update soon.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Durham and Edinburgh (part 1)

After leaving York we took a train to Durham. The train over was packed because of all the people headed to the Fringe festival in Edinburgh. We ended up sitting on the floor and nearly being attacked by this huge angry German shepherd some lady brought on to the train. It was freaky!

It reminded me a lot of York. A lot smaller and way more chill than London. We hoofed up this huge hill with our backpacks (thank goodness I didn't bring a rolling bag!) and found ourselves looking at Durham Cathedral and the castle where we would be staying.

Currently the castle is used as student housing (aka it's someone's Arend). Initially we were just super excited about decent sized rooms that we only had to share with one person and nice showers and pretty views. Then night fell....Old castles make freaky noises at night!

We got to explore the cathedral a bit that afternoon. It's Keith's favorite and we all got why. It felt like it had just been carved out of the rock. Also, St. Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede are buried there and to top it off Harry Potter was filmed in the Cloisters there! That was pretty exciting. We stayed for Evensong which required that we kneel. As most of you know, since the whole knee thing...I don't kneel because of the pain. But I did and I didn't feel any pain at all. I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but I feel like maybe I was healed a little bit by St. Cuthbert so I went back and prayed for my mom as well. He's known as a healer, so you never know.

The next day we took a day trip to Hadrian's Wall. It was absolutely gorgeous. As soon as I can I will upload some pictures of it. We also got to see Robin Hood's tree from the Kevin Costner version and a heckuva lot of sheep poop. Unfortunately it rained most of the hike which meant I was looking at the ground and the slick grass and rocks more than the view. I did my best though! That evening we just hung out at the castle bar for a couple hours. I tried pear cider and it was amazing!

This morning we got on a train to Edinburgh and luckily got some seats this time. Which was lucky because of the beautiful coastal views we got to see. Upon arriving it turned out that the hostel had lost our reservations. So we are all 16 girls in one room with about a jillion bunk beds. It should be interesting.

We strolled around Edinburgh this afternoon. The Fringe festival is insane. I've had so many what the heck? moments that I can't even describe. It's just masses and masses of people all trying to get you to come see their performances. Some are in crazy costumes and some are just crazy. Ashley got barked at by a lady.

There's a pretty decent internet cafe here and we'll be in Edinburgh for the next 6 days I believe. It should be pretty awesome. Also, I promise I will send the postcards soon! It just turns out that I need another sticker for international travel.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

All sorts of things..

Well I forget exactly where I left off. Since we left London the internet has been a little more challenging to procure. Let's see. York is gorgeous! Seriously it is one of the cutest cities I've ever been in. Unfortunately our hostel is over a mile away from town and the train station so we've gotten a lot of walking in. 

When we arrived we took a, you guessed it, walking tour of York. Highlights included the smallest window in York (hee!) and a really cool view of Yorkminster, the cathedral here. We also got to see where Keith was an intern here. We attended service there tonight and it was amazing. The worship was great (they even played Casting Pearls, Callie!) and the prayer was so down to earth and real. We prayed for international troubles and it really felt like the congregation was sincere in praying for everything. The sermon was almost like a history lesson, but better. It was on Christian martyrs, and really inspirational. I feel so renewed in my faith since being here.

We also took a day trip to Whitby Abbey. After some minor troubles when our bus broke down we finally made it there. It was gorgeous. We had to climb up 200 stairs and then we were there on the edge of the sea. We got yelled at for climbing on the Abbey, but the pictures were worth it. Plus it was neat to touch history. Whitby is where the Synod of Whitby was held in the 7th century that showed the split between Roman and Celtic traditions (like tonsure and the date of Easter). Also the ocean view was really pretty and the fish and chips were delicious.

Friday we went clubbing and learned that cute British boys do indeed exist here. Mostly we just had fun dancing and singing really obnoxiously to "Yeah" by Usher. We also learned that boys are sketchy and you shouldn't pay 5 pounds to enter a lame club. I've never really experienced that lifestyle before so it's interesting dipping my toe in. I know it's definitely not for me long term.

Saturday was a free day, but it rained all day long. I went off by myself and wandered around trying to find a cute cafe to read my book in. I finally found one, but there were no seats available. These cute old ladies invited me to join them and it was fun. The hot chocolate was good too. 

Earlier this week I realized I had to go shopping so I found good deals on a couple of shirts. I think for the most part I packed correctly, but definitely more than 4 shirts was needed. The clothesline has been very effective and useful here, especially since the dryer does not appear to work.

Tonight we went out to a pub called the Yorkshire Terrier after church. It was a blast! I really like cider so I had most of a pint of that. And then we all sang along to the music. Giselle even got up and sung with the live music guy. Everyone there probably thought we were drunk, but really it was just fun being silly together.

I'm excited to head to Durham tomorrow, but I will miss York. It's a beautiful city that I would love to visit again. We just scratched the surface, and there is so much more to see. However, we do get to stay in a castle and see Hadrian's wall. If you are taking Core 150 next year be sure you look for me in one of Keith's lectures.

Love all of you and miss you a ton.
Send me emails! I'm sending postcards ASAP.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Wesley House, St. Pauls, and Les Miserables!

Today was particularly awesome. I discovered that I could order just scrambled eggs for breakfast, which is far more appetizing. We headed to the Wesley house and chapel (home of John and Charles Wesley). It was really neat and helped me understand William Wilberforce (the guy I researched) a little better. Unfortunately I got my paper back and I only did ok on it. It's not the end of the world, but that's one of the papers I put more effort into so I'm a little nervous. After the tours we went to the Dunhill Dissenter's cemetery. It was really interesting. I saw William Blake's grave (he wrote Tyger, Tyger for my fellow middle school choir friends). I also got to see the grave of Daniel Defoe of Robinson Crusoe fame.

After a quick lunch in the Financial District (hello cute English boys in suits) we hiked to St.Paul's Cathedral. We climbed a grand total of 557 steps to reach the top and an amazing view of London. It was sweaty and a little scary, but totally worth it. About halfway up there was a Whispering Gallery where you could literally put your ear on the wall on one side and hear people talking across the gallery. It was freaky!

Then we were free for the afternoon. Claire, Ashley, and I decided we wanted to see a musical so after much searching we got 15 pound restricted view tickets to Les Miserables!! However, the people next to us didn't show up, so we actually had pretty sweet seats. It was amazing. I really liked the music, though I was definitely rooting for Epamine (probably butchered but I didn't want to pay 7 pounds for a program) over Cosette. And now I've seen Les Mis in London. (Mom and Dad---I saw the theater where we saw Mamma Mia too!) Then we took the Tube back to St. Athan's. We got asked for directions by some guys on the way back which was a good sign.

Tomorrow we are headed to Westminster Abbey and the British Library. I think I am going to try to spend the afternoon in the British Museum. Tomorrow I might try and see if I can upload a couple pictures to Facebook. I've already taken over 100! I miss yall, but it is pretty awesome here. Except for the showers. They are communal in our hotel and they make Arend look like a 5 star hotel.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

English breakfasts and exploration

On a side note, English breakfasts are going to take some getting used to.


Today we went on a walking tour in the rain of London. We saw the Eye, Trafalgar Square, quite a few bridges, and Parliament. I also got to see the park by Buckingham Palace that Dad and I ran in last time we were here. I think we are also getting more used to the tube. Some time before we head to York a bunch of us are going to go to King's Cross station and take pictures at Platform 9 and 3/4, because we can. There is so much we want to do and we leave in the next couple days. I think we are going out to a pub again tonight. I found out that the "beer" I really liked, is in fact, cider. So that makes more sense. I had a tuna fish and sweet corn sandwich for dinner tonight from a grocery store. Surprisingly awesome. Made me miss home though. Well I'm not sure how often I will be updating once we get to York, so treasure these moments :)!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Travel & London

So today we reached London after about 24 hours of me being up! I currently am surviving on about 3 hours of sleep from the plane. Luckily they had Ironman as one of the movie options. We arrived and promptly got on the Tube. It was nice and comfortable for awhile, but then it got packed. We were worried we wouldn't be able to get off the Tube! However things were fine and we walked to hour hotel, St. Athan's in London near Hyde Park. After wandering around all 4 stories for about 20 minutes we finally found our rooms. They were in no way shape or form in numerical order. And we have communal bathrooms. Oh well it's nice to have place to unpack and stay for a little. Then we went exploring and found a pub. I had a pint of Foster's and it was delicious. I also got to have a shot called "Duck Farts" It was pretty good! The whole pub thing was really chill and fun. Tomorrow we have a walking tour of London down by the Thames it should be good and then we are headed to church somewhere around here. All is well. We are safe and happy and excited for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get to update again soon!!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Pre-BISP Thoughts #1

I leave for Seattle early Friday morning. This Friday morning. Summer is officially over. Weird. I'm excited to go off and have adventures, but I'm also sad to be leaving behind my family and some pretty amazing friends, both in Austin and Spokane. I have a considerable amount of work to do this week before I leave (not including packing) and so many people I want to see and things I want to do (and things I want to eat..mmm...Chuy's & Kerbey Lane). I feel almost like I did before the beginning of RA training last year. I am excited for the future, excited for the excitement, and excited for the adventure. I also am scared that I won't be able to handle it and scared that it will stretch me in painful ways (those are the best ways, in my opinion after the fact).

It's going to be great and it's going to be hard. Probably all the best experiences in life have a little bit of both.

I'm gonna try to keep this updated regularly throughout the trip, though it might sometimes be repeats from the facebook group updates. Keep checking in. I miss you already.