A Final Adjustment

Well, we’ve made it to the end. I’m back in the States, and it’s back to 'real life'. Now that I’m back though, there’s more than just the time difference to adjust to. Good or bad, there were things I got used to while living abroad. I was warned about reverse culture shock, so I’m preparing myself already. I know for sure things I’m going to miss, but there are some things that I’m excited to have back.

What I’ll miss:

1.   At the top of this list is a no-brainer – the people. I started some really awesome relationships while in Oxford, and I’m going to miss them. Thankfully we have Facebook and other means of easy communication, but it’s nothing compared to being in the same city (or even the same house, as the case may be).

2.   Walking – Oxford is a very pretty city. Being a college town, it was cool to see all the different buildings from different eras, the old mixed with the new. There’s just so much history that you see every day. It was a good way to stay active too.

3.   Traveling frequently – I do need a break from my suitcase, but I will miss seeing all these new and exciting places. It’s been awesome to experience so many different cultures. It makes me want to explore my own country more too.

4.   Animals. Everywhere. I loved how dog-friendly the town was. All over Europe too. People brought their pets to restaurants or stores or you just saw them walking their dogs all through town. That’s not seen as much around here. Especially with restaurants. Animals aren’t allowed near food establishments, as it’s considered unhealthy. I am happy to have my own puppies back.

5.   Pub life – Late night dinners or just a place to hang out with friends, pubs usually had some of the best atmospheres of any place I went.

The in-between:

1.   Cash – I hardly ever carried cash at home, but I did a lot in England and, I don’t know, there was a certain convenience factor to it. It seems to me like Europe in general is still a cash-based society, while the US is definitely not. You buy something here and it could be worth a dollar and you still use your debit/credit card to pay for it. I’m not sure which I prefer, so it’s still an adjustment, but I don’t know if I’m going to miss it or if I’ll slip back into using plastic like everyone else.

2.   The weather – Some might feel like I would love to be back in Texas for the sunny weather, while others might think it would be obvious that the colder temperature is preferable to the 90+ degree heat here. Well, the problem is, both are true. I really enjoyed being able to wear shorts today and seeing the sun (I missed the sun these past few months, I really did). But I hate that I get sweaty just standing outside here, not even doing anything. There has to be some sort of trade-off with everything, I suppose, but even after experiencing both, I can’t definitively say which I prefer.

What I’m glad to have back:

1.   My car – As previously state, I liked walking in and out of town in Oxford. However, Oxford is pedestrian friendly. It’s really easy to walk or bike around because it has to be. The Woodlands (or really anywhere in the US that isn’t a big city like New York) is not. Now, it does have good bike paths, so there are some places I could bike to if I really wanted…but I don’t. It also goes back to the weather. Oxford had nice walking weather that Texas simply doesn’t. Plus, I find that I enjoy driving, so the point is, it’s nice having my Honda again.

2.   Small spoons – This may sound like a trivial thing, but I do not like big silverware. I don’t know why spoons in the UK are so massive, but anything that’s not a spoon used for stirring tea is huge. I’m ready for decently sized spoons.

3.   Dancing – I have seriously missed my time at Arthur Murray while I was gone, as well as my Swing Cats people. I didn’t get to go dancing but one time at the very end of the semester. Not ok.

4.   A job – It’ll be nice to be making more money than I’m spending.

5.   Last but most importantly, the people. I’m so glad to be close to my family and my friends that live here. In fact, since I’ve been home, I’ve only had one meal at my house. All the others have been out with people, catching up on life. It’s been wonderful.

There are some other things, but these are the main ones. Oxford really became a home to me over these past few months, and anytime you leave home and move to a new place, it takes a while to get used to. It’s weird that where I’m having to adjust to now is my actual home, but I can understand the saying “Home is where the heart is” a lot more personally now.

Well, thanks for following me through this journey. I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts and feelings with you all who have taken the time to read it. I hope I’ve made you think at least a little, along with giving you some snippets of my life abroad. I’m not very good with endings, but every ending is just a beginning to something else. Until next time! 

All the World's a Stage

As my junior high theatre department would continue: some of us just have better seats. Some people, though, carve out their own seats. Mom and I went to a place called the Minack Theatre in Porthcurno. It’s a stone ampitheatre that sits right on a cliff-face over the sea. That alone was enough to peak my interest. As a lover of theatre and the coast, it sounded like a cool place to visit. But while the place itself is cool, it’s really the story behind the place that’s impressive.

Rowena Cade was a very determined and tenacious woman. She was also a lover of the theatre and had a knack for designing costumes and props. Turns out, she had a knack for designing buildings as well. When a group wanted to perform The Tempest, she offered her back garden for the show, but there wasn’t really a stage area for them. So, the natural conclusion she came to was to simply build one for them. It took her whole life to build this stone theatre, materials for which she dragged up from the nearby beach and the carvings in the stone which she did by hand…with nothing but a screwdriver. What a woman!

No one believed that this “frail, old woman” could have done what she did, and she did have some help from two friends, Billy Rawlings and Thomas Angove. But what a testament to this woman’s vision that, not only is the building still standing, but it’s still in use all year long. She dedicated so much time to this dream of hers, even risking her own safety during WWII to crawl under barbed wire in order to trim the grass. It sounds slightly insane, I know, but I find it so inspiring to read of someone who loved something so much, who wanted to create something for the community, that she took a lifetime to make it a reality. And just to see the legacy she’s left behind…incredible.

As Shakespeare says: ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances.’ Some people leave lasting impacts with their performance, long after they’ve left this ‘stage.’ It always gets me thinking about what I’m doing with my life, and what kinds of things I’m going to be remembered for (if I’m remembered at all). I think most of us want to leave this world in a better state than when we came, but it takes a certain kind of person to actually act on that drive and do something.

If you’re interested in reading anymore about Rowena’s story, here are a few links that can help you get started: http://www.minack.com/history.htm 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minack_Theatre

Road Trip Down Memory Lane

Mom and I spent a large majority of Wednesday driving and walking through places she had been before with different people, places that hold fond memories for her and that she wished to share with me.

Our first stop was Zennor. We walked through the town, pausing at St. Senara’s Church, famous for its mermaid chair. (If you want to know more about the interesting legend, here’s the Wikipedia page, which does a fairly good job of explaining the story: Mermaid of Zennor) She took me out to the steps of the nearby coastal path, the infamous place where my grandma swears up and down Mom was trying to kill her (with excessive walking). At least, she used to. This March marked the one-year anniversary of my grandma’s death. A lot has happened in that year. Unfortunately, life doesn’t stop when we lose people. Thankfully, we always have those memories we can go back to so no one really ever leaves us, even when they are gone or far away. Our own sort of time travel.

Next we went just a little ways to the Carn Galver Tin Mine and Bosigran to see the place where one of my mom’s friends loved to go rock climbing. We even saw two guys gearing up to go climbing. I love ruins, walking, and views of the coast, so basically, it was a perfect area. The walk out to the cliffs was a bit muddy from the torrential downpour the previous night, but it was just so nice to be out in the countryside. The wind was strong, even by Abilene standards, but it really wasn’t too cold for hiking. I could’ve sat out there for a long while.

Bosigran cliffs

Carn Galver Tin Mine view from Bosigran

But there was still more to see! We kept moving west to visit more ruins. We saw Lanyon Quoit, Men-an-Tol, Men Scryfa, Boskednan (also known as the Nine Maidens stone circle), and an almost completely intact tin mine. It was kind of tricky getting to each place without stepping in mud puddles up to our ankles, but neither of us ended up with much dirt on us at all. It was quite amazing really. Dancing, it really does help with balance! So a big shout out to the wonderful people of Arthur Murray who helped give me the ability to jump from rock to rock with ease. The biggest trouble we came across was when we somehow lost the main footpath, had to hop a fence and trudge through this water-logged field to get to the road. Didn’t run in to anyone or any animals, though, so really not a big deal at all.

Lanyon Quoit

Men-an-Tol

Our final stop (because, really, where can you go from here?) was Land’s End. I have now been to the furthest west land point in England. Pretty cool, huh? We were both fairly tired after having walked most of the day, so we didn’t stay too long.

At Land's End

It was a long and adventurous day. I’ve always known that walking is my favourite exercise, but I’ve developed a new love for mild hiking. As I’ve said, I just love to be out in nature, so having all these coastal paths, public land that anyone can walk on, is fantastic! I’m not ready to go scale rock cliffs or anything, but traversing fields to go see old ruins, definitely my cup of tea.

So Mom and I have been together for a week now, and so far things are going very well (not that I expected otherwise). It’s hard to believe that I’ll be back in the States a week from now though. The more time goes by, the more I’m actually looking forward to being home. As nice as it is to be in hotel instead of a hostel, I miss having my own room and my own bed and not having to wear the same four or five things over and over. You’d never know I changed clothes this whole semester by the look of my pictures! Still, I don’t want this next week to go by too quickly…

Oh, the Places You'll Go

I really should have had this up last week, but you know what they say about time and how it gets away from you. Anyway, my semester is over, but I’m not quite finished with traveling yet. I believe I’ve mentioned that my mom was coming out to see me and that we were going to spend roughly two weeks together in the southwest part of England.

I feel like I’m a bit behind, so let me catch you up on what we’ve been up to:

·         Wednesday, I said goodbye to my Study Abroad friends. I was able to ride to Heathrow with them all, so I saw them through to security. Definitely a bittersweet moment. I didn’t want them to leave without me, but I am glad to still be in England. Besides, though it won’t be exactly the same, it is comforting to know that this isn’t really goodbye. I’ll see them all again in Abilene at some point. My mom landed late that morning, so we spent the day walking London. We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as the Natural History Museum. I must say, it was wonderful to stay in a hotel and not a hostel. I met up with my friend, Dana, late that night as she was just arriving from her semester in Germany. The three of us went out to dinner, and it was great to see her again.

·         Thursday and Friday, we left London to tour my home away from home one last time. I showed Mom round Oxford, taking her to all of my favourite places, the houses, and the Quaker meeting house where we met for classes. I took her by Christ Church cathedral where I’ve been volunteering and got to say a brief goodbye to the friends I’ve made there. It wasn’t quite the proper goodbye I was hoping for, but hopefully, like those I left at the airport, this is just the beginning to those relationships I’ve made and not a permanent goodbye.

·         Saturday, I said my last goodbyes to Oxford, and we started our way south. We stopped in Glastonbury, visiting the very famous Glastonbury Abbey. Why is it so famous? A few reasons: one, it was (or still is depending on how you look at it) the longest church in England, but two, it claims to be the burial place of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. The tomb was destroyed (and no one is quite sure what happened to the remains), but the site is still marked. As our tour guide said, you can decide for yourself if you think it actually is where Arthur was buried (if you do in fact believe Arthur to have actually existed). Until proven otherwise, I choose to believe both are true.

Apparently, almost every continent has claimed his remains...

·         Sunday, we continued on our way, stopping in Tintagel to climb around the castle ruins. For those who don’t know, it’s the site of the castle that supposedly King Arthur ruled from. It was a great place to spend Mother’s Day. We spent a lot of time in the car that afternoon, but the views were stunning! England is such a beautiful country. I’m so glad to be seeing more than just the bigger cities while I’m here.

·         Monday, we took the morning to hike up St. Michael’s Mount. What a pretty place. I have two requirements now for my future house: a library and a garden. They don’t have to be grand or ostentatious, but my goodness, I need them in my future! Afterwards, we drove into Carbis Bay, where we’ll be staying for these next few days. We walked the coastal path into St. Ives. So far, St. Ives seems like a nice place…except for its vicious pests! A seagull dive-bombed me and stole my ice cream less than 30 seconds after I had bought it. I never had a chance…

Mom by "the family house" as she called it

The garden - you know, just something small will do

Outside St. Michael's Mount

·         Today, the weather was ugly, so Mom and I made a unanimous decision to make it a lazy one. Fortunately, that gave me the time I needed to get this post up!

Ok, so you’re caught up so far, but what I really wanted to share with you were some things that I’ve learned over these past four months. I have done so much and grown over time that sometimes I hardly even feel like myself anymore. Being with Mom has shown me that too. I’ve made several of the decisions on this trip (and if I didn’t have the final say, I at least had more input than before), especially while in Oxford and London. If you knew me before this semester, you’d know that is weird. I’m one of the most indecisive people ever. Even my new friend, Nathan, figured that out within a few weeks of knowing me. I’m becoming more vocal about my own opinions, more confident, I guess, that what I have to say matters. There’s nothing like traveling and having to fend for yourself to give you more self-confidence.

I’ve learned a lot about myself (what makes me tick, what my limits are, etc.) and about other people. It can be stressful being around the same 34 people, but you’re not always going to enjoy every situation you’re in, are you? You’ve got to learn how to cope with both the positive and the negative. It’s been a challenge sometimes, but most importantly a great learning experience. I’ve made some really great friends as well as had to learn to deal with conflict. Some people are going to hurt you, and others will make you feel like you’re the most important person in the world. That’s just part of life. You just have to take it all together and learn to accept both.

I’ve mentioned some in other posts how I’ve grown spiritually as well (perhaps grown more confused or open-minded, but grown all the same). Religion is a messy concept. It always has been, and I would stake a lot on a guess that it will continue to be in the very distant future. I’ve known about the messiness of religion, but I don’t think I ever really stopped to think about the ways Christianity falls into the messy category (maybe even topping the charts), or I just haven’t really allowed myself to mull over the implications of what I knew to be the messier parts. Partly because it’s easier to not have to criticize your own religion. It’s so much easier to think that it’s those other people that have the problems and the inconsistencies that they have to work through. Obviously, the group you’re a part of has it all figured out…which is why there are so many factions and denominations of Christianity. Right. Anyway, there’s still a lot to figure out, but I’ve got plenty of time.

I’ve still got a week left in this country, so I’m not going to sign off yet! I don’t like to say goodbyes before I need to. For now I’ll simply say, until next time!

Journey 9: Freedom Part 2 (Return to Scotland)

For this last travel break, I was so close to not wanting to go anywhere. Traveling really takes it out of you and this close to the end of the semester, it sounded really nice to do absolutely nothing. Fortunately, I had already promised my friend, Kimberly, that I would go with her somewhere. Like it or not, I was committed. As it so happens though, it ended up being one of the nicest trips. If you remember back to February, Kimberly was supposed to have gone with us to Scotland the first round, but got sick the morning of and ended up staying in Oxford. So I found some fairly cheap flights back to Edinburgh and said, “Let’s go.” And go we did.

We left early Wednesday morning and arrived in Edinburgh around 10:30ish. Weirdly enough, when we stepped off the plane, it felt funny to be back in a place that was familiar. It brought on a sense of déjà vu and some nostalgia, like visiting an old friend. Strange for a place I had only been once before, but my experience there had been so great the first time that it apparently had a strong impact on me.

Round 2 was different but was great in its own way. First of all, simply traveling with one other person is heavenly after traveling in groups upwards of 8 people. It simplifies things so much. We could change our minds about what we wanted to do three times in under 20 minutes, and it didn’t matter one bit. It wouldn’t have bothered me if we had, but we didn’t do any of the same activities I had done last time. We walked around and I showed her some of the places on the Royal Mile I had liked and one of the restaurants at which we ate was the same. But most of it was brand new. We visited the Royal Botanic Gardens, which were pretty even though they weren’t fully in bloom, the Edinburgh Zoo, and the National Museum. It was fun to see the famous Scottish pandas (even if they were sleeping), but the penguins were probably my favourite part. They are just so darn cute. It was nice to have one big place to visit each day, but that most of the day we could go out to eat and spend a couple hours just talking and then do some leisurely shopping before taking the evening to relax. That was the theme for this trip: relax. And it worked perfectly for us.

The strangest thing (strange as in just completely unexpected) that happened was one afternoon, I went out to get some things from the store while Kimberly did a little homework. As I was walking back to the hostel, this guy (probably in his 30s) started talking to me, as we were stopped at the same crosswalk. He was nice and friendly and didn’t make me uncomfortable at all. He turned out to be this Italian traveling accordion player. Before we parted ways, he asked if I wanted to go grab a drink to continue talking, but I politely declined. He accepted my refusal with grace and a parting, “Well, you are very beautiful. It was nice to meet you.” Then he went off to go play his accordion. It was something that had never happened to me before, and I doubt ever will again. But it was a nice little surprise and encouragement for the rest of the day.

There were no particularly moving moments (like standing on the castle ruins in Loch Ness listening to a bagpiper play my school song), but there were many peaceful moments. It was a trip I needed. I can’t think of a better place to end my semester travels or better company with whom to share it.

Tian Tian, so cute asleep

My first live wallaby!

Like a Kid in a Candy Store (Journey 8: Cardiff)

This past Saturday was one of the best trips I’ve taken all semester. I was finally able to go to Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, with my two friends Josh and Lucy. What’s there, you ask? Several things, the most important being a big blue building on the edge of Cardiff Bay called the Doctor Who Experience.

It's a pretty well-kept secret that I'm a Doctor Who fan. I know you're all reeling in shock; it's hard to tell from my seven (yes, I’m up to seven now!) Doctor Who shirts, my TARDIS shoes (thanks again to my lovely roommate for that awesome gift), the cutout of David Tennant and the TARDIS I have in my room, the Doctor Who-themed birthday party I had when I turned 18, the figurines spread throughout my house, the book upon Doctor Who book I have on my shelves, the sonic screwdriver mixed in with  my other pens, the TARDIS mug I got for Christmas, among other paraphernalia I'm sure you haven't noticed...but, surprise! Now you know. Anyway, I got tired of waiting for the Doctor to show up (sorry, I'm no Amy), so I took it upon myself to go find him!

Turns out, the reason he hadn’t shown up was because he got trapped in the Pandorica (yes, again), and he needed some help getting out. Typical. Fortunately, yours truly was more than willing to assist. I got to fly the TARDIS, I battled Daleks and dodged the weeping angels, and eventually succeeded in helping him escape. The world was saved once again. Needless to say, we made a pretty great team…

Apart from the interactive walkthrough, which seriously was so fun (I was unashamedly squealing in delight at everything, every thing), the museum part afterwards was just as great. They had so many costumes (ranging from replicas, refurbished originals, and, as Lucy put it, ‘straight up originals’) and props (with the same range) that I had to take a picture of all of it. I subjected Facebook to my flurry of uploads, but don’t worry, I won’t subject you to the same.

Being in Wales, right by the BBC studios, all I could think was, “They filmed here. I’m basically walking through an episode!” I was very much like a kid in a candy store (I would say like a kid at the Doctor Who Experience, but I think I had more excitement than all the kids there combined…and trust me, there were quite a few kids there). It was a pretty rainy day, so we didn’t go see much of the rest of the city. Outside of the actual Experience, we went to Eddie’s Café for lunch (which is where part of The Impossible Astronaut episode was filmed), the two houses used to film Amy and Rory’s house (the interior and exterior), and the Millennium Centre.

This was my most anticipated trip this entire semester, and it fully lived up to expectation. I might even say it surpassed it. To all my Doctor Who fan friends, I just have one piece of advice. Go! And take me with you.

My big blue beacon that I saw across the bay!

Matt was pretty thankful for my help :)

David Tennant actually wore this outfit!

Inside the TARDIS, David's model

This is where they filmed the interior

This was the exterior

Kind of a shame that we had American food while in Wales, but it was an amazing burger, so I'm content.

Journey 7: France

I’ve just spent 12, very long, but very enjoyable days in France, visiting Toulouse, Carcassonne, Marseille, and Paris (in that order). So much happened, but I haven’t decided how much is worth actually writing down. This will either be a really long or relatively short post. I haven’t decided yet, so bear with me.

We had an early start Thursday (28 March) morning, leaving the house around 4 a.m. Stepping off the plane in Toulouse was like coming back to Houston. The air was humid with fresh rain and it was actually warm! (Relatively speaking, anyway. It was probably in the 50s.) Of the four cities we visited, Toulouse was probably my favourite. We had one absolutely gorgeous day where we all went to a park and one group played ultimate Frisbee while another hung out on the playground (there was a really cool ropes course). We had bought stuff for a picnic lunch, the weather was perfect, and it was just a wonderful day with almost the whole group together, enjoying each other’s company. Lots of fun and bonding happened that day.

The courtyard area where I sat

On Good Friday, we visited Les Jacobins, where Thomas Aquinas is buried. I (and I think most of us) had a spiritual experience there, sitting in the sun for the first time in weeks listening to some of our group doing a four-part harmony to "It is Well with My Soul", their voices reverberating in the stone room. The acoustics were incredible, and the lyrics were so appropriate for the day:

"My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"

What better refrain to sing to our God on the day marking his death? I could have stayed like that forever. I think those sentiments were just about unanimously shared.

The Black Madonna, Mary with baby Jesus

Afterwards, we also went to Notre-Dame de la Daurade and saw the Black Madonna there.

Our next stop was Carcassonne, an old walled city. However, the lower city was actually the oldest part. The area inside the walls had been destroyed and rebuilt, dating after the medieval period. We had some bad weather there, but Easter Sunday held sunny for us. We attended an Easter mass that morning at the church inside the walls. With the little French I know, I was able to follow along somewhat.

Staying inside a walled city was neat. Some of the shops were pretty touristy, but there were also some markets selling handmade stuff. Those were fun to wander through and talk with the sellers.

Beach of Marseille

On Tuesday (2 April), we went to our last city as a group: Marseille. The best thing about Marseille was the weather. We took a boat to one of the islands and spent the whole day wandering the island on our own or in small groups. (We were supposed to go to Chateau d’If, where the jail from Count of Monte Cristo is, but it was closed due to tides.) Everyone got so sunburned because there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky and lots of people took naps on the beach, finally able to enjoy being outside. The unanimous decision was that it was worth it. We also met with a local church in Marseille and had dinner with them. During a short worship time, we sang songs that everyone knew. There’s nothing like hearing people worshipping the same God, but in different languages. It readjusts your perspective on God.

Thursday, we took a day trip to Avignon, where the Papal Palace is. There was, at one time, more than one Pope, if you didn’t know. There was the one in Rome, but then for a few years there was also one in Avignon. Fun little trivia fact for you.

Front of the Papal Palace

Friday/Saturday was when most people parted ways. Being in French class, the six of us got a free trip to Paris. I have already been to Paris (granted it was 10 years ago), so at first I wasn’t too excited. But once I got there, I saw the city through a completely new set of eyes. I have to admit, as far as big cities go, Paris is a nice one. I didn’t go up Notre Dame (which was celebrating its 850 anniversary while we were there), but I did attend a Vespers concert there. I did go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower (a first for me), and the view up there was great. Sunday (7 April) was the perfect day to be in Paris because, as it was the first Sunday of the month, just about every museum had free entrance. I went to the Musée d’Orsay (to see the Impressionist paintings), the L’Orangerie (home of Monet’s lilies, the wall-sized paintings), and the Cluny museum (now called Musée national du Moyen Âge, where the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are). I skipped out on the Louvre since I’ve already seen the major works there and I had a limited time frame.

Obligatory picture of the Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe from the top

The Lady and the Unicorn: Taste

I went to Shakespeare and Co., the oldest English bookshop in Paris (or it might be France, I’m not sure…). I bought a Tintin comic (Red Rackham’s Treasure) in preparation for the second movie and hopefully to help out my French some. I also went to a jazz club called Caveau de la Huchette, which was a lot of fun. My friend Clayton was gracious enough to dance with me a couple of times since he knew I’ve been wanting to go dancing this whole semester. He had no idea how to swing dance, but he gets major points for trying and being willing to get out there all the same. On the plus side, he’s hopefully going to join Swing Cats next semester! My best meal in France also came from Paris, at a place called L’As du Fallafel. I had the best falafel sandwich and homemade lemonade there. The company was wonderful as well.

Best falafel ever!

Needless to say, my memories of France are now very fond ones. So much has changed in my life. I’m a lot different than I was ten years ago, as it should be. If I were still the same person as I was at nine or ten years old, we’d all be in trouble… But as I’ve mentioned before, and will probably continue to mention, I’ve grown a lot in these past three months. I think France contributed a lot to it. These 12 days were spent relaxing and de-stressing as a group, getting to hang out with other people on this trip that maybe we still haven’t really gotten to know. I also felt really useful when people would ask me how to say things in French and I knew the answer. This was an extremely condensed recount, and it was still fairly long, so thanks for your patience!

The semester is winding down (which means I’ll only be posting a few more times), so again I’d just like to say thank you for taking this journey with me. I’m not done yet, though, and I can’t wait to share these last few weeks as they come. I’m expecting a whirlwind, so prepare yourself!

Journey 6: Veni, Vidi, Vici (Spring Break 2013 Italy)

So maybe this is a cliché expression, but it’s never been more applicable in my life. This was my first Spring Break out on my own, and I definitely went, saw, and conquered. I’ve never been to Italy before, and for those who’ve known me for any length of time know that it has been a dream of mine for quite a few years now. But not only did I get to travel somewhere I’ve always wanted to, I did it on my own, successfully. I wasn’t on my own the whole trip, but Sunday morning I got from the bus station, the airport, and the Rome train station all by myself. I felt so accomplished and so capable. It’s both terrifying and invigorating how independent I’m becoming.

I was only in Rome for a night, so I didn’t get to actually go into anything. But I did walk past most of the major sights like the Vatican and the Colosseum. I knew it beforehand, but even that first night I was reassured that I was traveling with a great group of people. The weather had been great until I arrived. Then, of course, it started pouring rain. However, that didn’t stop them from guiding me to the Trevi Fountain, one of the main things I knew for sure I wanted to visit. It was so sweet, and I was just completely giddy the whole time.

At the Trevi Fountain!

Our day trip to Assisi the next day was probably the highlight of my break. Everyone was still in a really good mood, the weather was a little rainy but otherwise not too bad, and the city itself was stunning. It was quite a hike getting around and we had all of our luggage because it was just a pit stop on our way to Florence, but it was completely worth it. It was a great place for personal reflection and taking time to enjoy the beauty of Italy. I would go back.

Most of our group in Assisi, unfortunately with all our luggage

Another high of the trip was a literal height. In Florence, my favourite thing was climbing to the top of the Duomo. It has a ton of stairs, and I almost wasn’t sure I would make it, but the view was what did it for me. Just being able to look out and see the whole city and surrounding areas…incredible. There happened to be a film crew up there while we were touring, which was kind of cool but also a little annoying because there were certain times that we had to be still and quiet. I also got yelled at twice by the crew, though neither time was really my fault…

At the top of the Duomo

The other main attraction we saw while in Florence was the statue of David. We waited outside in on-and-off rain for an hour and a half, not really knowing what to expect from the museum. I was worried it might not be as impressive as everyone made it out to be, but let me assure you, it is. He’s way bigger than I was expecting! Plus, there are so many other neat things to look at as well. It was well worth it.

My proudest moment was most definitely Thursday. If you don’t know, most of the people I was traveling with are introverts. But none of us had really been able to have alone time. We introverts need our alone time. So, fortunately for that day, our group split up and went to two different cities to meet up the next day in Venice. I split off with two of the guys in our group, and the three of us went to Monteriggioni in Siena, while the rest went to Cinque Terre. I would have liked to be able to see Cinque Terre, but for time’s sake, we couldn’t do both. I think I made a good decision.

To get to Monteriggioni, we had to take a train to Siena and then a bus to the base of the hill upon which the walled city sits. It’s a kind of long story, all the trials we went through to get there, so all I’ll say is that the bus system is horrendous. But we met so many nice people in Siena who helped us get to where we needed to be that it ended up being such a blessing just to be there. We had a lovely time, and the time spent just the three of us was much needed for all of our sanity.

On top of the walls in Monteriggioni

The cutest little house in Siena

Venice was probably my favourite big city that we stayed in. I loved the fact that there were no cars; all the taxis were boats (though we never rode one because, really, there was no need). We did however take a gondola ride on Saturday, and it was, as Ethan put it, the best 23 euros ever spent. The boats have a six person max, so we had to split up. It somehow ended up that the four girls were in one boat and the three guys in another. But the two gondoliers kept our boats pretty close together the whole time. At one point, the guys’ gondolier left their boat, got onto ours, gave Natali and me a hug while singing to us, before stepping back to his own boat. It was one of the coolest and funniest moments ever. Plus, once we docked, I got to dance with a third gondolier who just happened to show up. Sure it was only for about 30 seconds, but it was an awesome 30 seconds!

That's the guys' gondolier. He may or may not have been a little intoxicated while rowing...

Other than trying to get our two groups back together that Friday night, everything went really smoothly. Our hostel in Venice was incredible. We had a whole floor to ourselves: four bedrooms, two baths, a living room, and a kitchen. It was a little hard to find, and I’m pretty sure we were the only people in the entire building, but most people said it was one of their favourite hostels during the trip. (Which was great for me, since I happened to be the one to book it!) Venice was just such a peaceful way to end the trip. The city is wonderful and very laid back. There were a lot of markets, but unlike Florence, no one was trying to force you to buy anything.

On Sunday, we flew out of Verona, and I must say, Verona has one of the most relaxed airports I have ever been to. The security personal were so nice and friendly. Morgan set of the metal detector, but they asked her if it was okay for them to check her before they actually did. Who does that? They were so polite as we came through too, reminding us of everything we needed to do and take off before going through the detector. It was incredible.

Overall, I had a wonderful time in Italy. Obviously I can’t tell you everything that happened in the week or this blog would be so long that no one would be interested in reading it. But I hope I gave enough highlights for you to get a general idea of how it all went. There were ups and downs for sure, but I was with a great group of people and the place itself was as good as I hoped it would be. I also had so much gelato and pizza, and even a few cups of coffee.

Yet despite all of that, I was ready to get back home by the end of it. And what’s surprising is that by ‘home,’ I meant Oxford. I hardly ever use the term ‘home’ to describe anything other than my address in The Woodlands. My mom may refer to ACU as ‘home’ for me sometimes, but you’ll rarely hear me call ACU ‘home.’ But when I saw the sign for Oxford in the London airport, I got giddy all over again. I was headed back to somewhere familiar, where I didn’t have to struggle with the language, where I didn’t have to drag a suitcase around everywhere I went. It was such a relief. It’s amazing what eight or nine weeks can do. It doesn’t sound like a very long time, but I have become quite attached to this little city. I know my way around and feel very comfortable here. I actually feel like I belong here. It’s funny how your definition of something (like the word ‘home’) can change as you grow and adapt and mature. You start to view things in a new light. It’s scary, but exciting.

I only have six more weeks of the semester, and that’s really sad. I’ve done so much in these past ten weeks, though, that if I were to leave tomorrow, I know there are things that I didn’t get to do, but I wouldn’t regret any of how I have spent my time. Fortunately, though, I’m not done. In fact, in four days I’m headed to France for 13 days. But I know it’s all going to fly by. I also already know it’s going to be weird getting used to American culture again. Not that I’m saying I’ve become ‘British’ by any means, but I’ve definitely become accustomed to the way things are done here. I don’t have to think about that yet though! For now, I’m going to soak up as much as I can for as long as I can…

Journey 5: Islamic London (Eat, Pray, Love)

I’ve been thinking a lot about life recently. This is a busy time in my life (though to me, it seems like it should be the most relaxing), but it is also very conducive to changing my perspective on life. Having Dan McVey as a professor is quite an experience all on its own, but having him while abroad is like having your cake AND eating it too. Not only are we learning about Christianity in light of Islam (and vice versa), we are meeting people who are giving us firsthand experience with this issue. So far I’ve met a moderate Muslim, a progressive Muslim, an ex-Jihadist, and an archbishop. We’ve had guests come speak to us in class, but this past Monday, our Cross and Crescent class (which is all but one person in our group) took a field trip to London for the day to visit two mosques.

The first was the London Central Mosque, which houses a fairly conservative group of Muslims. All of us females had to bring scarves with which to cover our hair before we could go in. They were very nice and we got a good tour of the building. But all the information we received was basically everything we had talked about before in class, so we didn’t learn anything new. However, we only spent an hour there before moving on to our next stop.

Mosque number two was a great experience. The Muslims there are part of the Ahmadiyya branch. They are a small, but growing, group of Islam. They are also one of the most persecuted groups in the Middle East. This is due to some key differences in their beliefs that make them controversial (such as the belief in a prophet after Muhammad). Unlike the other mosque, in terms of the hijab, they are more progressive. We did not have to cover our hair, even when we walked into the men’s part of the mosque.

The best part of our trip there was most definitely the food. They served us “a light Indian lunch” that consisted of salad, rice, curry (both chicken and vegetarian), naan bread, and ice cream for dessert. It was some of the most delicious food (though some of the members were worried it would be too spicy for us). Then just a couple hours later, we had a tea break where there was a whole panoply of all sorts of biscuits, chocolate, candy, crisps, and nuts for us. And then, because “we had a long drive ahead of us,” they said, we each received a packed dinner to take on the road. They were so sweet!

In my interactions with Muslims so far, I have noticed two key similarities: the love of food and of people. Food really is such a great way for people to have community with each other. Everybody has to eat. I’ve noticed this during several of my trips since I’ve been here. I’ve gotten to know people in the house through meals together. Most of the strangers that I end up conversing with I met while out at a pub or someplace similar. It’s usually some activity that involves food in some way. I’m not really sure why, I just know that it’s true.

They also have such a heart for people. One of the biggest themes in Islam is to do good in the world, to do good to others. This belief is not so different from our Christian beliefs (though the emphasis they place on it is not quite the same as ours). Jesus says you will know people by their fruit. It’s hard to condemn a group of people that seem so morally righteous, to say that they have it all wrong, when a lot of them seem to be better people than I am.

Some big questions have been raised over these past six weeks: How is Islam connected to Christianity? Do we worship the same God? Where does Jesus fit in? Is conversion our main goal in life? I’m still struggling with all of these because I don’t think Islam is complete. I really believe that there is a lot left to chance in their faith because, without the salvation of Jesus, it really is just a hope that the good outweighs the bad in the end. I don’t even want to think about what would be in store for me if that were the case…

But is conversion, then, what we should strive for? No one can convince anyone of any biblical truth. No amount of beating someone over the head with Scripture is going to do the job. You just can’t prove anything in the Bible. Which I understand is the beauty of faith. It wouldn’t be faith if you could prove it.

So then, how do we reconcile this in our own lives? As someone who wants to go into Christian Ministry (in some capacity), what does this mean for my future and how I interact with others? I can’t prove my own beliefs, which also means I can’t disprove other people’s beliefs.

What I’m gathering through various conversations with people is that there are a lot of things that people focus on that don’t really matter in the long run. As cliché as it sounds, I think it really does all boil down to love. When you remove all the stuff that people get hung up on, what’s left is the need to love and take care of others. And, honestly, that’s the only way I’ve been able to have any sort of witness. It reminds me of the For King & Country song, “Proof of Your Love”:

           

“Let my life be the proof,

            The proof of Your love

            Let my love like You, and what You’re made of

            How You lived, how You died

            Love is sacrifice

            So let my life be the proof,

            The proof of Your love”

Love is sacrifice. What a powerful statement. God is love. He sacrificed for us and has called us to love others. I know I’ve said this before, but living in such close community with over 30 other people is really testing this. What do you do when a large group of people has a dinner together, but leaves a sink full of dishes to clean in your kitchen? Do you grouse about it to anyone who’ll listen? Do you clean just what you need for your next meal and leave the rest? Or do you take time out of your day to clean up a mess that had nothing to do with you? (That’s kind of a petty example, but it is very relevant.)

So then what about when you meet someone of a different faith, or someone who doesn’t have a faith?  How do we respond? How should we respond? I have friends who aren’t Christians, so it’s not like this is a new situation for me. But before, I would just avoid the discussion of religion, like it didn’t really matter or wasn’t important to our friendship whether or not we shared the same faith.

I think it is an important topic, though, because how much of what I do in life is because of my faith? How can that be seen as irrelevant if it’s so pervasive in my life? I’m glad I’m finally learning how to have those conversations. It’s ok to disagree (and I’m learning how to disagree), but I’m moving away from the idea that conversion is what we’re striving for. I think that’s the height of hubris. I can’t convert anyone anyway. We have so many conflicts within Christianity as well, so it’s not like these conversations end as soon as someone converts. Instead of striving to tell people about Jesus, I think it’s more important to show Jesus. You can never go wrong with love. It may cost you time or money, but that’s why it’s a sacrifice.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope what I was trying to say made it through, and if not, well it’s because I’m still working through it myself! I’d love to hear what some of your thoughts are, if you’re willing to share!

Journey 4: Whitby and York

How cool is it that, for class, all 34 of us studying abroad get to pack up and leave one Thursday to go to Whitby and York for a long weekend? It’s an incredible experience being here. I just can’t get over it…

So yesterday marked Week 6 of my Study Abroad adventure. I don’t think I could honestly say that I’ve loved every minute of it. Like anybody else, I have my ups and downs. But I wouldn’t trade any experience I’ve had here so far for anything! That includes this past weekend.

Whitby, if you’ve never been, is a quaint coastal town in the north of England. It is definitely a fishermen’s town, with a fish and chip shop on just about every corner. Also, candy stores. There were so many sweet shops! I made sure to eat at The Magpie Cafe because it came so highly recommended by everyone. I now understand why.

All that was left of my fish and chips from The Magpie Cafe

Our hostel was right by the ruins of Whitby Abbey, which was pretty neat. My favourite part of the Whitby trip, though, was Friday afternoon. A small group of us went rambling along the cliff tops, looking out at the North Sea. That was beautiful in and of itself, but the really fun part was when we hopped the fence to go climb out on this giant black rock. We hiked down the muddy hill and stood out in the North Sea. We couldn’t stay long because the tide was coming in, so we got a few pictures and then climbed back up the hill. But I cannot express how awesome it was to be where I was, with the people I was with, and the pictures just don’t do it justice.

That's the rock we climbed out to.

York was fun. After a while though (and it pains me to say this because I didn’t think I would get to this point), all these little cities kind of start to feel the same. We went to a little café for lunch, and when we walked out, I had already forgotten we were in York. I was thinking we were back in Oxford. The one key difference, though, is that Oxford is noticeably devoid of Vikings wandering around, and well, York has plenty. Everywhere we went, men, women, and children alike were dressed up as Vikings. It turns out there was a big festival going on in Jorvik (the old Viking village part of York) that weekend, but we didn’t know that before we got there. I got a video of one of the fights we saw reenacted and will post it on Facebook soon. So, look forward to that…

A group of the Saxon army fighting off the Vikings

Some of the people we saw

Our last excursion was through Fountain’s Abbey on our way back to Oxford. Unlike Whitby Abbey, it is not just an Abbey ruin. It is like a whole conservation area that just happens to have an old church ruin in the middle. Needless to say, it was beautiful and lots of fun to explore.

What is so crazy to me is that we are just about to hit the halfway point of the semester. Spring Break is a week away, I need to start thinking about my classes for next semester, and so much homework is due really soon. Being here, it is so easy to forget the “study” of “study abroad”. I have quite a bit of trouble focusing on school work sometimes, but again, I knew it would be a challenge going in.

Sorry, not a very interesting post, this one. But thanks for following! Hopefully I’ll be able to share more of thoughts later…when I don’t have three other papers to write. Until then.

Journey 3: Freedom - Life in Scotland

This Wednesday (or Thursday, depending on how you mark it), I will have been abroad for 4 weeks, basically a whole month. In that time, I've learned my way around Oxford, I've traveled to Bath and Stonehenge, I've been to London and mastered the underground, and now I've been out of England (slightly) and experienced Scotland. Yes, technically it's all the same country (though next year that could all change!), but the cultures are so drastically different. Scotland is like the Texas (or the South) of the UK, even though ironically it is the northern segment. Everyone was just incredibly friendly and hospitable. But more on that later. First, we had to get there.

There were originally 8 of us going, but we had bought plane tickets separately, and unfortunately could not all fit on one flight. So we had split into two groups: 3 flying out of Stansted and 5 flying out of Luton. Both flights were scheduled to leave around the same time, so we would all arrive in Edinburgh together. However, Stansted is about twice the distance from Oxford as Luton, so the girls going to Stansted had to catch the 1 a.m. bus to get to the airport on time, while those of us going to Luton could take the 4:30 a.m. bus. Sadly, Kimberly, one of our group members, got sick the night before we were supposed to leave and ended up not coming with us. Other than that, though, everything went without a hitch. We got to the Luton airport and on the flight with no problem. We landed in Edinburgh right on time...and then found out the flight out of Stansted had been delayed and was just then leaving. Not a huge deal. We all met up when the plane landed and headed to our hostel, not a problem. We just felt bad that in terms of travel time, it had taken the three of them 12 hours to get to Edinburgh, the first to leave and the last to arrive. But things happen.

Our first impression of Scotland greatly lived up to its stereotype. As soon as we stepped into town, the first thing we heard was bagpipes playing. We walked through a whole mob of men wearing kilts and saw many more throughout the day. It turns out there was a big rugby match going on that weekend, so all the men were showing off their pride...but we still like to think it's a regular occurrence.

By the time we left the airport, everyone was pretty hungry, so we went in search of a nice place to have lunch. We settled on a place called The Filling Station, which serves traditional American food. How's that for a first meal in Scotland? I know you're shaking your head, but really, it was an experience in and of itself to see how they view us. So hold off on judgment! The food was really good, but it was pretty obviously NOT American because we still didn't get free refills.

Then we went in search of our hostel, but it was not hard to find at all. You just look for the big castle, then look to the side and there's the hostel. It was awesome. The hostel itself was very nice. We had a room to ourselves, it was in a nice area, and the staff was so nice. Incredibly enough, on our way over, Ethan had talked about going to see the William Wallace field (located in Falkirk), but as someone who had never seen Braveheart, that didn't really mean much to me. And wouldn't you know it, they had a movie night Thursday at the hostel, and the movie they were showing was...Braveheart! So after having some quality conversation as a group over tea and coffee, we spent our first night at the hostel watching Braveheart. It's still a little unreal to me to be able to say that I saw Braveheart for the first time while I was actually IN Scotland. Who am I kidding? Just the fact that I can say I've BEEN to Scotland is unreal to me...

Our first full day in Edinburgh, we toured the castle. It was huge! We stayed there for two or three hours, and I still don't think I saw everything. We had lunch at an Italian place before doing some shopping around town and more walking. At the restaurant, they had a dessert called Dolce Elisa, which was some sort of waffle with banana and chocolate and nuts. It sounded delicious, but I was so full. I did, however, try Irn Bru, a Scottish fizzy drink that I think is similar to our cream soda. I liked it.

We did a lot of sight-seeing that day, including walking to Calton Hill, a park-monument type place. Again, the views of the city were incredible. It was awesome to see snow-covered mountains peek up over the buildings of the city. That night we went to The Captain's Bar to hear some live, traditional Scottish music. Most of our group agrees that that was one of the best parts of the trip. The band was really good, and it turns out one of the members is from California. He chatted with us a bit before we left since he heard our accents. We, Americans, are just everywhere.

Saturday, we took a 12 hour bus tour up to the Highlands and then back down. We toured the castle ruins of Urquhart and had a 30-minute boat ride on Loch Ness. We didn't see Nessie, and I tried to tell them that that's because she was actually the "motor" for the boat...but nobody believed me. The coolest part of the trip for me was while we were at Urquhart, there was a bagpiper playing Scottish music and one of the songs she played was the tune of my high school's song! It was a surreal moment to be standing on the grounds of a castle, dating back to potentially the 500s, singing, "Hail to the Highlanders, The Woodlands' Highlanders!"

We made several stops along the way, some for picture-taking and some for food. Here's where you can stop judging us by our choice of cuisine. We all tried haggis at least once. Some had it for lunch, and we all split a plate that night for dinner. It wasn't disgusting like I was expecting it to be. It didn't really look very appetizing, but it was just very peppery. It tasted like ground meat that had been coated in pepper. I also had bangers and mash, which in my opinion was better than the haggis. But there you go, we all at least tried some traditional Scottish food.

The next morning we had to catch our flight back to London. Luckily, going back we were all on the same flight, so that made it easy. We had a minor hiccup before we left the hostel. Without going into detail, let's just say that the previous night, we were all pretty exhausted and our communication skills were not at their best. We are all adults and we're not here to police each other, but we had some things happen that, if they ever happen again, need to be better communicated and more precautions need to be taken. But everything was fine, and getting back was not nearly as eventful.

I feel very accomplished at how well this trip went. Our group got along so well, especially because our personalities all click so well and we have a lot of similar interests. We still need to sit down and plan it, but I'm feeling really good about going to Italy with most, if not all, of these same people in another 4 weeks or so.

Sometimes I forget that this is a study abroad trip. It's easy to see it as an extended holiday, but that's all part of the challenge. We have so much freedom to do as we see fit throughout the week and on breaks. We are so much less restricted here than we would be had we still been on campus. As cliché as it is (and I'm embarrassed as an English major to be using this phrase instead of coming up with something witty on my own), with great power comes great responsibility. I have all these freedom, but I have to make sure I'm taking care of my responsibilities as a student as well. It's all about balance!

Again, thanks for taking this journey with me! If you want to see pictures from Scotland, check out Facebook. I just didn't get around to posting any here...