Giving Out of Love

Wow, it has been over two weeks since I've written anything. I'm so sorry. My life has consisted at half hearted attempts at working on papers (one down and working on the other one), church, and hanging out with my friends. Life has slowed down to a pace that is almost too slow. I'm trying to enjoy it. But I don't think that I could handle life at this pace much longer. I know that when next term starts I'm going to wish that these lazy days were back. So I'm trying to enjoy them as much as possible.

The High Street has been buzzing with people every time I go into town. It was particularly bad today, as it usually is. I got my shopping done a while ago and sent my package a bit too late. So I haven't really had any reason to go down and shop. One thing that I hate about Christmas is that I'm always looking for things to buy others and end up finding tons of things I want to buy for myself. Including all the products at both kitchen stores I have found (I LOVE kitchen stuff). Why is it so hard to give without wanting in return? Maybe because it is expected. But I don't want to expect people to give me things. I think that gifts are a form of showing love from one person to the next. I want to give out of love, not cause I'll get something too.

We had a Christmas service at church this past Sunday. It was an interesting service. The pastor is on vacation to South Africa, where he and his wife are originally from. So they played these clips from the previous year of Mike out talking to other people in town. They were all talking about how Christmas is getting to be commercialized and people skip over baby Jesus. And then they had Father Christmas, aka Santa, come and give presents to the children in the congregation. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around their thinking, but they are English and they aren't know for their efficiency. But it almost contradicted what they were trying to teach. I know that it was a form of giving, but the children were getting and expecting. I have to think about it a bit more....

Conversations with God

If there is something that has increased in my life, it is the amount of time I communicate with God. Not just talking, but listening. Life here is different. Gone is the safety net that Orange City has become for me. And in it's place is a city, and department that is breaking at the seems with non-Christians. With the change of dynamic is a change in the way I behave, act, and talk in that community.

A couple of weeks ago I got really mad and frustrated because of all the complaining that is going on in and among and about the people in my course. I don't want to spend my spare time talking down about people and complaining about how so-and-so ruined some performance or another. I want uplifting conversation that focuses on things above rather than the things below. I want to talk about good theatre, what works and doesn't work, I want to talk about people's uplifting qualities. I want to leave the past there and look forward to the future. I spent Friday night out with some of the girls. The night consisted of complaints on something that cannot be changed. I kept my mouth shut. I didn't try to change the subject. I didn't try and defend those who were being picked on. I did nothing. Sometimes doing nothing hurts more than doing something and being shunned. I don't know what to do about this. I can only ask God for help. We are still working on it together, in constant communication when the complaining is going on.

Church is another thing that God is communicating with me about. Trinity was a wonderful place to be. I loved it there. Trying to find a church here in Exeter is a different experience. It's not like choosing from the same types of church (ie Reformed variations), it is like picking from totally different churches. I tried a church, River Dream Center, my first week here in Exeter and decided that I didn't want to be there. I judged too fast because of how uncomfortable I was.

This past week at Nooma Liana was talking about the local church and what it means to us as Christians. And as clear as if God was just behind me on my left, God said "you need to go to River Dream Center." Conversation ensued. I complained about my level of comfort. God challenged me to be challenged. To step outside of who I am and where I have been stuck. To try letting God work in my life in powerful ways instead of limiting like I have been. I knew there was nothing else to do, but to go. So I went. And God challenged me in my thinking tonight. I'm still thinking about it and wrestling with it. I think I'll be contemplating it for a long time. While growing can be painful and frustrating, I'm glad that I came here. I'm glad that God is challenging me. I'm glad that I'm growing. I'm glad that God is concerned about where I am as a spiritual being. I'm glad that God is good ALL the time.

Thanksgiving, Cookies, and Goodness

Otgo, Candy, Sarah, and Matt making lasagna.

Candy and Otgo frosting sugar cookies.

I celebrated Thanksgiving a week ago with people from my course. Matt and Abby were gracious enough to open their apartment to us for the occasion. They took care of the turkey, stuffing, vegetables, and a couple of other things, like banaffee pie. The rest of us were supposed to bring things that we liked to have for Thanksgiving. My original idea was to take pumpkin pie, but alas the British are not as big of fans of pumpkin as we are in the States, and I couldn't find canned pumpkin anywhere. I did find some expensive pumpkins at the grocery store that I wasn't about to buy. So I changed from pumpkin pie to cookies. I was a little bit disappointed because I had some other friends that wanted to try pumpkin pie and I couldn't give them any. But so goes life. And I might try again some other time. Who knows. We played charades with just about everyone and it was a lot of fun. Ruby, Sym's daughter, age 4, helped me come up with clues to put in the pot. She is a very intelligent 4 year-old. She gave me the suggestions of Doctor Who and both her and her sister for a clue. People hated me until the found out that Ruby helped and then it was the greatest thing on the planet. My team lost, but we also had a very non-theatre person with us. But he tried really hard, so we can't blame him. Later we played Trivial Pursuit. It was great, it was Team Canada, England 1, England 2, and Team USA. Abby and I came in second. We were quite proud of ourselves.

I made sugar cookies the day before with Candy, Sarah, and Otgo. We had quite the time. Cause see, I lost my recipe. I tried to remember it as best I could, but I didn't get the recipe correct. But they still tasted good. We frosted them and put some sprinkles on them too. In between batches of cookies baking I taught Candy to waltz. She loves it. She makes me dance with her just about everywhere now. But it was good. We came back to Sarah's in the evening to make lasagna with them and one of Sarah's house mates, Matt. They made a white cheese sauce for the lasagna instead of a tomato based one. It was really good, but I had a lot of trouble climbing up the hill on my way back to my room. It was seriously a brick in my stomach. I don't think that it went away for a couple of days either, it just sat there being slowly digested.

Things are going well here. We have two weeks of classes left and then Christmas break. I have so far, applied for a job that would take me through Christmas. But I, hopefully, can find one that will go all the way through break. But life is good. I am fitting very well with my Nooma family. I find myself wanting to hang out with those people more and more. My love for them grows deeper and deeper as I spend more time with them. They are a true blessing from God. I am still struggling with how I am being the salt and light of God to my course mates and my flat mates. There are times when I get very discouraged, because I feel like I am not doing enough. But I do know that God is using me, and that the things that I do and say for God are not returning to God void. They are full of God's power and might and love. I just have to keep reminding myself. So if you can continue to pray for my course mates and my flat mates, that would be wonderful. I love you all!

Casting and the Graciousness Taught Me

So this has been a not so great week. The stress level is up and so is the frustration with people. I know that I wrote yesterday that things are better, but one step into rehearsal today and I just knew that nothing had changed. Everyone still wanted power over everyone else, with some exceptions including me who just said I'm working on lines today so let me be (and amazingly enough they did). So tomorrow morning, first thing is the presentation of our scene and then life will be so much better! I'm ready for that.

We also received our parts for the play we are touring this January, Much Ado About Nothing. There are only nine of us, so we get a couple of parts each. I didn't think that Mick would cast me as Beatrice. I was kind of hoping for it, but I knew that I wasn't going to get it. So I thought that he would cast me as Don Pedro, the prince! I would have enjoyed that part a lot. As he was going through the list he said Don Pedro and then Abby. In the past I've had these weird things that I just knew when my name would be called. I knew my name would be next. And it was. I'm Claudio. Yes, I'm playing a man. Yes, he is one of the lovers in the show. Yes, I'm a bit worried about having to play a man wooing a woman, enough said.

I was a bit disappointed. But then I realized that there are lots of guys who want to have the part of Claudio. That look at that part and say "there is something there worth competing for." After that I realized how much of a wide range of emotions Claudio goes through in the play. And I am very flattered that Mick thought I am worthy of that part, that I can do it, that I am good enough to play Claudio. It is a real compliment. I am grateful for the challenge.

Sym on the other hand. Sym is not a happy woman right now. She doesn't like the way that it has been cast. And she's not afraid to tell people. It makes me think of all the times at Northwestern where the same kind of situation was potentially there, and never happened. Because at Northwestern they teach you how to be gracious, and humble when cast lists go up. That this might not be your turn, but you can rejoice with those who get their chance. I wish that spirit could abound here. But time will heal. And we move on to the next thing.

Frustration, Freedom, and Flame

So the last couple days I have spent in frustration and stress. People in my groups have been treating me like I am stupid and I don't know anything and need it explained to me in detail (or so it feels). They ignore me when it comes to leading the group. I had a hard time staying in the room toward the end of rehearsal on Monday. I think that sometimes I want things to be like they were at Northwestern where ensemble was put above everything and I worked well with everyone, where group projects were just that-run by the group. But here things are different. We don't have a common training or background. There is nothing here to draw us together except that we are in a group in the same class and the same course. Christ is not the center of what we do. Therefore my tactics and the way I interact in a group setting needs to change. And things are changing, it is just taking a little bit of time.

The same thing happened on Tuesday when we met for our final assessment project. I know that it is better for me to just keep it inside until I'm away from everyone and then vent. That is what I did. I spent last night complaining and venting to God. I'm sure that God was shaking his head like a father listening to a child that can't control their emotions, but I do know that God listened. I am grateful for that. I also asked God to help me and to not let this get in the way of what God is doing through my life to those around me that don't know him.

I woke up late this morning and was awaken also by the person downstairs listening to their music (or at least their bass) up loud. I was not a happy camper. So I thought that it was going to be a bad, grumpy, frustrating morning at my group meeting. On the way there I just listened to some music that centered me on God and prayed that it would be a good day. And it has been. The meeting this morning was wonderful and we got a lot done. And the rest of the day has been good too (I had Nooma tonight, yay!). The only thing that didn't get done was learning all my lines for my scene on Friday. But I don't really care right now. I just want to sleep through the night and not be woken by anything and rest in the peace of God. I'm so thankful that God listens to our prayers and is so approachable when it comes to venting.

One of my favorite lines of poetry goes like this "flare up like flame and make big shadows I can move in." That is the desire of my heart. I think that over the past couple of days my flames have been small, smothered by the frustration. But God allowed me to cast that frustration off and let God fan my flame so that I could "flare up". I hope that the flames will get bigger as the days go by so that God can move freely in whatever way he chooses.

Woolacombe

Kiri, Catrin, and I (l to r) sitting in the Red Barn restaurant eating rock cakes and having mocha/hot chocolate. And Woolacombe Bay with a bit of sunshine (which there wasn't a lot of).

Pronounced Wool-a-come. But I guess the b has to be in there cause it is cool that way. I don't know. I think that the English like doing things the hard way. Cause many times they don't really make sense, they just like to pretend it does. Anyway, I went to Woolacombe this weekend. It was great to get away for a while. I think that I have been letting a "goodness, I'm the only one in my course that is a Christian and the salvation of these other eight people are weighing on my shoulders" mentality to get a hold of me. Granted the weight is still there, and probably should be there to remind me, but it was getting very heavy. So it was great to get away with a bunch of other Christians.

The heavy feeling mentioned above is very real and very prevalent to me right now. A couple of weeks ago I went out with some friends and just heard a bunch of things about them that broke my heart. They are all searching for love in the wrong places. So I know what my job is this year. But I also realized that it is my responsibility, I don't have any other Christians in my course to help share the burden of reaching them. It is mine. I've never been in this situation before. I don't know how to do this. It has been six years since I've been in a 'secular' community. So part of me is foundering around wondering if I can do this. I'm not the kind of person that just goes up to a person and says "you need God." I can't do that. I don't have that in me. Like most things in my life, I have nuance to how I approach it. But I don't have time for that. The first term is almost done and I haven't accomplished much of anything.

So Woolacombe was a time for that to be released to God, to allow God to work in my heart. I know that responsibility is still there, but the worry and stress isn't quite as much as it was before. We had worship services in the evening. Mostly just allowing us to come into the presence of God. I spend the first night thinking about the above mentioned things. The second night was just a time of rejoicing. It has been a while since I just rejoiced in the Lord. I think a lot of time we spend repenting and humbling ourselves, which is needed, but then we miss our chance to glorify the Lord. I was smiling quite a bit during that. (It was also a bit awkward cause others were having a repenting and humbling time, while I was smiling-weird.) But it was good.

I also went to the beach and strolled around town. I played Dance Dance Revolution for the first time with Kiri. We had great fun. Then we watched others do and I have to say that Mike was the most entertaining. He had very jerky movements and then kind of flapped-ish his arms like a chicken. Candy did the cooking. It was yummy! I did the dishes once. It was supposed to be the boy's responsibility, but they were all off doing other things and the dishes weren't getting done when the needed to be done for dinner. So I just did it. But I like doing that. I also played Texas Hold'em poker and lost by one card. Craziness of poker. But it was great fun losing. It was a great refreshing weekend.

Flaming Barrels of Tar, continued

So one of the first adult barrels we went to was on a narrow street. My friends and I parked ourselves next to a wall with a garage door in it. I thought, this doesn't look too safe. But there were so many people trying to dictate what we did, I didn't say anything. Now when they light the barrels everyone crowds around it. The let it burn a bit, then roll it around to make sure everything inside is burning. Then the first person picks it up and runs. We were fairly close to the lighting of the barrel. The first man picked it up and ran down the street toward us. And just about three feet to my side he decided he needed to pass it off. But this was not an elegant pass in the slightest. He was wobbly on his feet and almost crashed into the wall where my friend Helena was standing two seconds earlier. But Helena can move quickly when she is in peril and was trying to dig through us and out of danger. It was quite hot, but I kept looking at the barrel cause I wanted to know where it was and which direction it was going. Well the men finally made the pass and on his way by us he said "hello!" It was a very funny moment. But so much adrenaline was flowing, it was great. I looked around to make sure everyone was okay and I see Phoebe walking out of the garage. The crowd had pressed her against the door and the latch wasn't too good, so she flew through the door and landed on her back.

Kelly was big on snaking when we went through crowds. She would call "snake", not the best idea in a crowd. Cause if I heard someone calling snake I would run in the opposite direction. But we would link hands and appease her. When we thought that the barrel was done, the one mentioned above, we started to make our way through the crowd to the next one. But we were wrong, very wrong. The barrel was not over, it was still going strong and we were heading right into the action. I was holding on to Lauren's hand and Kelly's. Lauren had made a comment to me earlier that she was always the one being pulled apart in chains like that. And a person got in between us and I couldn't go any further, and she was being pulled and we got folded up, so I let go of her hand. Cause I didn't want to cause pain. I'm pretty good at getting through a crowd and finding people. But not when there is a flaming barrel of tar flying by. Matt, Kelly, and I got separated from our group and stuck in the crowd. I felt the intense heat of the flames as it whizzed by my head. Looking back, it is pretty funny. I do believe that I was laughing and thinking it was amusing while it was happening, but Kelly wasn't she was worried that we wouldn't find them again, which is ridiculous cause we knew where we were parked. We found each other and headed to the Lady's Barrel.

We went to one of the lady's barrels. These barrels are not as big as the men's and therefore less scary in my mind. My friends Lauren and Katie were taking pictures throughout the night. We were in the middle of the street for the lady's barrel. The barrel had just passed and Katie took an awesome picture and I wanted to see it, as did some others around me. So we are looking at the picture telling Katie what a fabulous job she did when Lauren says in a very calm voice "um, guys, it's coming back, like now" We look up just in time to run out of the way and let the barrel through. Let's just say that we didn't look at pictures again for a while.

But part of the problem with the lady's barrels is that a) the ladies are shorter and b) the barrels are smaller, so it is harder to see when they are coming. You kind of have to watch the buildings around you and move when it gets within eye-shot. So yet again, we were not paying attention and we see the flames coming very close, very fast. I run to the curb where Helena is and turn around to see the barrel fly by. I realize that my right hand is not by my body. I look over and there is a guy about 19 or 20 standing there looking at me. I look down and there is my hand grabbing onto his arm for protection I guess. I look back up and quickly take my hand away. I put on a sheepish smile and say "so sorry." (The English are big on sorry.) He smiles at me like, that's okay this happens all the time, which I'm sure it doesn't he was pretty scrawny (as are most Englishmen). So I made sure I knew who I was grabbing onto from them on.

I'm not going to tell about the men running with the barrel down the hill, cause it's really not that interesting of a story. So I'll tell a bit about the bonfire and then be done with this ridiculously long entry. They have a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night, every one does. But this was the biggest bonfire I have every been to in my life. The pile of wood was about 2 1/2 to 3 stories tall. And on top sat Guy Fawkes. They dress up and stuff a man and set him on top of the bonfire. Everyone watches and wait for Guy to light up. Which is very hard to see when a 3 story pile of wood is smoking and flaming. But he eventually caught light and everyone cheered. But the heat from that bonfire was intense! I couldn't stand it after about 15 minutes.

So that was my first Guy Fawkes Night in England. It was wonderful. I will hopefully get some pictures from Katie and Lauren soon and I'll post them for you to see. Maybe I can get a video from Katie and you can see some live action. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Flaming Barrels of Tar

So November 5th is a very big thing here in the land of England. They usually celebrate with a bonfire and fireworks. But there is a town, a very special town where there is another tradition, a very special tradition.

The town: Ottery St. Mary's.
The tradition: flaming barrels of tar.

No one knows how this tradition got started, but it is started at the beginning of the 17th century and hasn't stopped. I have to admit that I had a blast while I was there. Ok, so on to the specifics. Men, women, and children participate in the barrels o' flames. But you can only run with the barrels if you have been born in Ottery. They start training their children to do this at a young age. I'm very sure that I saw a boy of the age of 6(ish) running with a small barrel.

Over the course of the year someone is in charge of a barrel, making sure that it cures in the right way to make great flame on November 5th. There are certain times on certain streets where a barrel is going on. There are only two barrels going on at a time in the whole town, they go about every 15 minutes.

So there is a team of people that are competing against other teams in the town. I have no idea how they keep track of who won or points, but I do know that it is bad if the barrel is dropped on the ground or goes out. Each barrel gets lit by the paraffin man, yes that is what is written on his yellow fluorescent vest, or the barrel marshal, yes that is written on an arm band (they also carry around cans of paraffin). They roll the barrel around for a bit to make sure that all of the inside is alight with flame. Then one person picks up the barrel and puts it on the nape of their neck and starts running through the streets. But these streets are English streets and therefore tiny. These streets also happen to be stuffed to the brim with people like me and my friends who go to have their lives put in danger. When one person gets too hot or tired (which happens quite often) they switch, without putting the barrel on the ground, and the next person runs. Now I know this sounds weird, cause Americans would never do anything like that (listen to the sarcasm), and it is very dangerous. But these people have been trained all their lives to do it and there are always paramedics nearby.

So boy's barrels was pretty unexciting cause they have small barrels and there are grownups there all the time with them making sure they are okay. (Although Katie and Lauren saw a little boy get burnt earlier in the day.) My favorite part was a kid whose mitt caught alight while he was carrying the barrel (the mitts are like big oven mitts covered in burlap and I'm sure treated in such a way so as not to cause harm to the hands that are clutching the flaming barrels of tar), calmly put his glove on the street and tapped at it with his foot. He didn't stomp it to get it out quickly, he tapped it.

Okay, I realize that this is getting very long, so I'll do a to be continued. Tomorrow the men's barrel that almost killed my friends and I, dodging the lady's barrel while trying to look at Katie's pictures on her camera, grabbing a hold of a strange man for protection, and men running down the hill, oh and the bonfire (so much happened tonight geeze). I'll hopefully have some pictures from Katie to put up for you too. More to come.

James Bond, Pavement, and Looking Up

I went to the new James Bond movie tonight. One of the perks of living in the UK is that I get to see the movie before it comes out in America. Bad side is that I have no one at home to talk about it for another two weeks. Ok, so when/if you see it, let me know what you think. I actually liked the theme song this time. I usually had the music that is written, but this was Jack White and Alicia Keys. Very good. Ok, that's all I'll say about that.

One thing that my friends and I have noticed about England is that walking on the pavement (sidewalk) is a huge game of chicken. There are no rules that govern the walking patterns and habits of the English. This frustrates me, a lot. For example when the width of the pavement has gone down to two people sized, and there are two people walking side by side, they don't move, I have to. Lots of times I end up passing in the street because people don't move, unless you refuse to move and look straight ahead. Then they will take a couple of small steps to one side and then make you turn sideways so that you don't collide with their shoulders or handbags. Very frustrating.

Also I have yet to see a piece of pavement that is one solid piece and non-bumpy. Everything has a crack in it or is uneven. So you constantly have to be looking down. I was taught that you look up when you are walking, it's a sign of confidence. But should I attempt to do that here I would trip, stumble into the road, and perish because a speeding car has collided with my fragile body. So I have to look down. I miss looking up. I want to look up and look into a face and smile and have them smile back. That really doesn't happen here. Maybe someday.

Halloween

So I think that this was the best Halloween I've had in my grown up life. They don't really do trick-or-treating here. It's basically an excuse to have a fancy dress party (costume party), which the English in these parts love to do. So my friends Lauren, Libby, and I went to the Cathedral for a "Haunted Walk". They told us stories of witches and ghosts and hauntings, ooh murders and prison breaks too. It was was a lot of fun. Freezing, but fun. The lady that gave us our tour was great. She was probably in her 60s and she was so into it. She would tell the stories with fervor and make big gestures, which the English don't do. She was the sweetest thing ever. We had to cross the street and she made sure we knew which way to look and that we all got across safely. She even forgot where the touching stone was. The other lady that was with us was like "it's where it has always been." Cute moment. So we all had to go back and tourch the touching stone. I would love to have a tour with her again. Maybe next year. Then my friends and I went to Pizza Express where I had one of the best pizzas ever! It was a vegetarian pizza with black olives, red peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, and artichokes. So good. Oh, and pesto. The only bad thing was that Libby is sick. She probably shouldn't have come out with us in the cold. She started to get really weak, sore, and had chills a lot. She couldn't stop shaking. She took a cab home. Lauren and I went to Harry's Bar and Grill. Two people in our course work there. Jeremy made us some Irish coffees. It was really good. Nice and hot to warm us up. Lauren and I are going to make Libby a care package tomorrow and give it to her to help her out. So besides Libby being sick it was a great Halloween.

Shower Heads and Libby

So luckily I got up fairly well today. I was still in my pajamas at 10:30 when there was a knock on my door. My first thought was that it was room check (they check to make sure our rooms are still occupied every week). But room check is on Tuesday, it's Monday. So I answered the door. Here was a very nice older man standing in the hallway. He said he was here to fix my shower. I was so excited. But I was still in my pajamas. So he gave me a minute. Then he proceeded to fix my shower. There is so much water coming out of my shower head now that I can't believe it. There is water coming out of all the little holes in the shower head. I'm so happy. I can't wait to take a shower with normal amounts of water coming out of it. It's going to be so good.

It has also been a very productive day. I got a lot done. And that makes me happy. But we divided up parts for our group presentations on Friday. I have a 50 line monologue to memorize, plus the rest of the scene. So I'll be working hard on that.

I also have a girls night for Nooma tomorrow night. We are going to make sugar cookies and pizza. We will watch some movies. I invited my friend Libby to come. Libby isn't a Christian so I thought this would be a good thing to invite her to, to kind of ease her into a Christian environment. But I don't know if she is going to come. We will see. So if you have a spare minute and want to pray for something, pray that Libby will come, and if not to this one, to the next one. Libby has had some bad experiences with Christians in the past and is a bit resistant to it (though she said when she does go to church she likes going to Quaker meetings, interesting). So hopefully I can be God's worker in her life. That she will become a Christian. I know that it's not going to happen over night, but maybe over the next year something can happen. But God knows best, and I'll trust him and try to do his will as best I can.

Exhausted but Good for the Soul

I have been tired since Wednesday. I have slept normal hours. I have taken naps whenever possible. But I'm still tired. Maybe it's my age. I have finally reached the age where I can no longer sustain the staying up late/sleeping in late way of life that I love, and now I have to resolve to be more of a morning person than I ever want to be. I just don't want to be tired. I woke up this morning and my stomach didn't like me. I don't know if I've talked about Fresher's Flu before or not, but instead of the freshman fifteen like we have in the states, they have fresher's flu. Everyone gets sick and pukes their guts out at some point in the beginning of the year. I have so far been able to avoid it. I hope to avoid it being really bad for the rest of the year. Many of my friends have been sick enough to stay in bed for days on end. But with a little bit of exposure and some good hand washing and some prayer, I hopefully won't get sick. Please, Lord?

There were two birthdays in my course this week. We went to an Indian place to eat supper one day and then to a Devon Cream Tea on the other. It was good to commune with my fellow course-mates outside of class. I like the people that are in the course. Jeremy is now my official un-official brother in England. He wouldn't let me walk home by myself the other night and gave me a bit of lecture. He also gave me a hug, but one of the side-hugs that I don't know really constitute a hug. Abby is my supernaturally connected twin, somehow, I don't really know how. But we get called each other all the time, even her fiance mistook my facebook status as her's and wrote me a very sweet note, but wasn't really for me, but for Abby. We got a good laugh out of it. I think that Libby is going to be a good friend for our time here. She is the one that has gotten me addicted to Doctor Who, and lets me come over to watch episodes. It's good. I can also give her hugs and she is totally cool with that. I like hugs. Katie and I both love cribbage. We are planning a tournament/teaching session with the others. We are going to skunk them, literally. I don't know exactly how this turned into a "meet my course-mates" kind of paragraph. But maybe I'll stop there and continue another day.

I love you all and miss you! Let me know how things are going where ever you are.

Jane Lapotaire- The Sweethart

Jane Lapotaire, a famous Shakespearean actress, came and gave us a lecture/tutorial (I don't fully understand the workings of the English University, so don't ask the difference, cause I don't know). The 1st years were all like "what's it going to be like?" I think that the 2nd years built it up to be a bit more terrifying and intimidating than it really was. They said she's tough, but you just have to remember that it's to help you not to hurt you. I think I prepared for the worst.

Now I don't get a lot of the "oh she's a big name, she's a big star" mentality. She's a human, just like me. So I had that going for me. But I usually like to know what is going on, so I can prepare myself as best I can. And I had no idea what it was going to be like. So I prepared as best I could on my Lady Anne monologue.

She came in and was charming and so very nice. She told us about herself. Then we sat in a circle and just said our monologues out loud to ease us into it, and she took notes. I did my bit and we moved on to the next person. Then she went around and gave us her notes. She reminded us all to look for the antithesis in the lines, she helped me figure out a scansion in a line where I had the stress on the wrong syllable (this woman can listen to it once and know what we are doing wrong scansion wise, it was amazing) and she told me I was hitting my words and making it kind of stacatto, which I agreed with.

The funny thing is that she thought I was terrified of her. I had spaced out for a couple of seconds and when I looked up she said "you look absolutely terrified, let me tell you something to make you laugh." So she told us a story about Edmund Kean and continued on the way. During the break Libby told me that she was absolutely terrified. Libby's not an actor, she's a director, so she's not quite as used to the pressure and the feeling of being torn down to be made better. So I said a little prayer for her while she was working with Jane.

The second half of class we put it on it's feet. She pointed out somethings that were cool, like "playing the opposite" (she didn't call it that, but that's what it was), and making sure that we get the main sentence and thoughts together (cause Shakespeare liked little side notes). When I got up there she talked to me about the moment before and being able to take that moment before into our monologues.

Then she told me I have lovely eyes, which was a nice compliment, she also told me earlier that I had a lovely smile. Maybe she was just being nice to me cause she thought I was terrified. When I got up there my heart began to race. I had no idea why that happened. But I just stopped myself and said "you've done this kind of thing thousands of times with other people, it's the same thing". And then I started and I was fine. She helped me break thoughts into thoughts and reminded me that Lady Anne is a threat, she has power and to use that. It was good. I had nothing to be worried about. I wish that she would come around more often. She was very nice. She bought us all a drink afterward at the pub.

It was a good experience. I think now that I need to go to bed. That was exhausting!

An Island in the Shadow of a Continent

So there is always something that makes me feel a bit lonely after coming home from ECU. Maybe it's the fact that I go by myself and leave by myself. Maybe its the fact that I have yet to sit by someone I know. Maybe it's watching the people talk to each other and laugh, while I miss my friends and family at home. I want to laugh with those people again. Maybe it me pitying myself. If it is the latter, it needs to stop. But I feel very disconnected from that Christian family. I wish I was more outgoing, more comfortable talking to others I don't know, more inviting.

I should go hand out potatoes tonight, but I'm not going to go cause I'm behind in my reading for the week. I think I'm also getting a bit nervous about our workshop with Jane Lapotaire, a famous RSC actor. As long as I don't have to go first with my monologue, which I haven't worked on yet, I should be fine with the nerves. But she is also just another person, not some god or anything, but a human, like me. She just has loads more experience than I do. I guess I'll let you all know how it goes.

Highlights

I'm sorry that I have dropped off the face of the earth for a couple of days. A couple of days weren't worth writing about, cause nothing really happened. A quick synopsis of my day are as follows:

Became addicted to the more recent Doctor Who, an English television show full of fun and wonder.

Working on a grant application that is due Monday/Wednesday.

Found out that I have amazing friends!

Went to the pub with some of my course mates and bonded with them.

Started working on my first scene presentation for class.

Tried to call home and failed.

Learned to walk like Commedia Del Arte characters, which was extremely fun, especially the lowest status character, that was my favorite!

Played a game called Zip, Zap, Boing, which I thought was going to be like Zip, Zap, Zog and was horribly disappointed. But it is a fun game.

Yeah, that is the excitement of the past few days.

Birthday, Potatoes, and Voting

I know these all seem to be very unrelated, but it could possibly be very related. Like someone who wants potatoes while celebrating their birthday and getting to vote on that day too. No that didn't happen to me, it's just want I want to tell you about. If anything gets boring, or stupid, just let me know.

My birthday was yesterday. I had fears that it would be a lonely day filled with me missing home and familiar faces all day. But it wasn't. The only thing really disappointing about my day was the shower in my room. It can't be called a shower cause it only drips in a small amount that would take 1/2 an hour to get my hair wet. But English water pressure is another story for another time.

I had class for a couple of hours. We are going to put on Much Ado About Nothing in January/February as a traveling tour (like I don't have enough experience in that). So we meet once a week to read through it and do some activities. Like we had a small section working with the word "break" Act I sc I ln 300-315ish. We performed it regularly, then mimed it, then put the words back in. Let me tell you, it's hard to work with Riverside Complete Works. It's a huge book!

After class we watched Henry V, the Lawrence Olivier version. Dude! I think we made more fun of it than we did pay attention to it. We had to watch it for class tomorrow. After the movie was done. The gave me cupcakes (or fairy cakes as the call them here) with a candle in it and sang to me and gave me a card. They were all very sweet and kind to me. I went to ECU last night also. I felt myself loosening up, which is a good thing.

Then I went to hand out potatoes again. I have told myself all week that I need to go. I was geared up for it, ready to have some conversation. It was a very slow night. There were only four of us there handing out potatoes and not many people at the club. I stayed by the car again. I did have some short conversations with people and got a couple of hugs from some drunk people. It was an okay night. I think that I have to warm up to this. It's an environment that I'm not used to and I'm around people that I don't know (and that scare me like the extremely drunk man last night). I found that before Sarah came, Sarah is amazing at conversation with other people, I was more outgoing than after she came. Not that she is a bad influence, she is a very good influence and someone that I greatly respect. But maybe knowing that there are others out there that can easily have conversations makes me sit back and say I can serve in another way. Cause we all don't have the same gifts, and trying to use what someone else is good at overlooks the gifts I have been given to serve in other ways. Does that make sense?

Oh, and I voted today! I just have to send the ballot in. Yay for absentee ballots and mothers that send you packages!!!! (My Ma sent me a great package today. It had so many goodies in it, including frosted sugar cookies!!! YUM!)

Dartmoor

Sorry that I didn't post this yesterday. But I was so tired when I got back. We were supposedly supposed to get back at 6pm. We didn't get back until 10pm. But there were some complications, like people's cars not working, that delayed us from getting started. I rode in a car with Daz, Rachel, Ben and Liv. It was good times. The road we took to get there was a B road. If you think about a county road, paved but just wide enough to have two cars, that is a B road. Although, there were a couple of times where it was like a glorified one way road. We even met a tractor pulling hay, so it was kind of like home.

When we finally got everyone together in one place, two of the cars needed to get gas, so they left some of us by the "river" (I would call is a stream) until they got back. For the first time I pulled my "I'm an American" card to aid some ladies in making it to the toilets. There was a wedding going on at the inn we stopped at to get tea, so we didn't really have access to the space. But me, being an American, having to go to the bathroom decided to use their facilities anyway. Liv and Rachel also needed to go, when I came out they asked me if I used the restroom in the inn. I said yes of course. I'll tell you where it is. They, being English, said that's okay, I can't go in there now. But I finally persuaded them that it was okay and I would go with them and they can blame it all on me, the American, if we got into any kind of trouble, which we didn't. Hopefully I don't have to use that card again for a while.

Then we finally started our hike. I don't know how far we walked, but we started on a path and then kind of found our way from there. We were along the stream the whole time, so we couldn't get lost. I saw many a sheep. There were eve some for up-close-and-personal viewing, if you like sheep that much. When we got off the path we started to climb over some rocks. Then the rocks started to become covered in moss. When I looked up we were in a wooded area. (see picture above.) It was so beautiful in there. I could have taken more pictures in there.

Then the person with the map, Rob and el presidente of Nooma, decided we should cross the stream. Now I have to give the stream some credit. You can't just jump across this stream, and it's very cold. So we walk through a small bog to get to the stream and the guys are just jumping from stone to stone, having a great time. I just want to get to the other side. So I just find my own way over.

Then we have the choice to head back along the stream, through the bog, or we can climb the tore. I think yeah, let's climb the tore. Well, a tore is a huge hill, like huge! The guys at the front start running up this hill. I don't know how they did it, but they did. By the time I got halfway up my heart was pounding in my ears. It was steep and so tall. But I finally made it to the top. And it was totally worth it. Being on top made me think of Nebraska and the plains. It was so good. (Pic #2 is at the top of the tore.)

Then we had to make it down the hill before the sun set, we were kind of pushing it. The guys in the lead decided that it would be good to cut back across the stream. So they headed down the hill. Well about half way down it turned into a bog again. My shoes had stayed relatively dry until this point. There was some knobby grass that you can stand on, but you slide off of it very easily. So my feet were submerged in muddy, boggy water a couple of times. And I fell over once or twice. So at the bottom of the hill we have to cross the stream again. The guys say "you have to jump here, we went up stream a bit and couldn't find anywhere to cross." I looked about seven feet up stream and there was a perfectly good place to cross. So I did, while everyone else jumped. I was quite proud of myself for that one. The last pic is when we were almost back to the cars. All the bushes on the hillside there are prickely and very nasty. I had two slivers, for lack of a better word, in my hand by the time we left. Very dangerous.

After we got back to the cars we went to a nearby town, Wincombe, and ate at a pub there. It was a bit awkward, cause I didn't sit anywhere near the other girls, they were tucked away in the corner booth, while I was on the end. The guys around me didn't talk to me a whole bunch, they were nice, and polite. We talked about American politics a bit. But I was tired and had just eaten, and thus very sleepy. But it was a wonderful day. I would do that again in a heart beat.

Phones

I'm going to Dartmoor National Park tomorrow. We are doing a 6.5mile walk. Here is a picture of Dartmoor.

So I have been looking at phones for the last week trying to figure out if I really need one or not, and if I could get away with not getting one. Everyone in my course and that I have made friends with have told me to get a phone. So I went with Libby, a girl in my course, and we went down to city centre to look around. I felt that there was some sense of security to have some one there with me. We ended up both getting phones and a good plan to go along with it. So I have a phone now. They do a thing here called top up, which is like pay as you go phones. I'm so used to having an amount of minutes each month that will last me forever and not have to worry about it. Now I have to keep track. But I do have international calling for 4p a minute. It should be good. (Disclaimer: Just because I have them, doesn't mean that you can call me ALL the time.) The guy that helped us out pretty much gave us 20 pounds worth of free minutes and the free international SIM card. Yeah, I have two cards that I put in my phone underneath my battery, one for UK calls and one for international cards. It's pretty nifty, as long as I don't lose either one of them. But I have a phone. I can get in touch with the real world across the pond without having to use the Internet. I'm somewhat excited to use it.

First Day of School

So I've been here for a week and a half and I finally started my classes today. I was very excited. Not that I haven't been to school before. It's just that this is so different. The English school system is different and the drama department (I don't like to use the word drama, but that is another story, I'm in England-I have to deal with it) is very relaxed to a point where sometimes you don't know what you are doing.

One class today was Shakespeare and his Contemporaries. This class is supposed to meet on Monday afternoons, and Thursday and Friday mornings. But this is also a postgrad/undergrad class. Mick separates us most of the time, and usually have a one hour lecture with everyone. Today was the one hour lecture. It was interesting. We had to read Dr. Faustus for today. There were some things that are in there that were really cool to have pointed out. For instance, the words "falling to" not only mimics Faustus falling into hell and away from God, but it was also used, in Elizabethean time with food. You would fall to a banquet. Interesting imagery. I think that this class will be tough. We have to read two plays a week. Our other one, which I finished at 2:30am yesterday, is Tamburlaine. That is another story. We, the postgrads, will have presentations and scenes to present every week. Dude!

My other class today was Post-war Shakespeare/Prompt book work stuff. We had to read an article on marxist ideology and Shakespeare. I didn't really get much of it until today when ideology was explained to me. We spent the rest of the class talking about things that didn't really fit into the article topics and about our trip to Stratford-upon-Avon in March. We get to go M-F and used the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Library which is filled with all kinds of goodies that we get to use. We are going to pick one play and research the prompt books they have there from 1945-present day. I'm very excited. We get to pick whatever play we want to. So I need to think about what I want to do. I think that Titus Andronicus would be very interesting to see what they did with all the blood and hands being cut off in the past. But that also might be one that is hard to find. So I have to think about it.

That was my first day of grad school. This will be an interesting time academically. I don't know what to think of everything yet. But it will get easier, I hope, and hopefully get better. But only God knows what is going on. I think that I'll let it rest there for a long while, it's safer than in my own.

Reading and Jacket Potatoes

So the school work has begun and I haven't officially had any classes yet. I just got done reading Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine, one of two plays due for the week. And I really didn't like the protagonist at all. I felt no pity for him. He should have died sooner. But I guess that it wouldn't be a play without the protagonist. I'm also trying to wrap my head around being back in school. I read an article today where I didn't understand most of what was being said. Hopefully it will be revealed in class, through discussion I'm sure. But I am excited about going to class.

One of the societies that I joined on campus is called Nooma. Every week they stand outside of one of the clubs in town (I think that there are like two or three of them) and hand out jacket potatoes (or baked potatoes as we would say). I like the image in my head of a potato wearing a red or green jacket. But anyway, Kiri invited me to come. I didn't have anything better to do, so I said yes. Basically what happens is that we ask people if they want a free jacket potato and then just chat with them. They are usually a bit tipsy, so evangelizing hard core probably would work out so well. But we befriend them, tell them about Nooma TV and meetings on Wednesday.

Candy, bless her, tried to get me to go and talk to people more. I liked staying by the car, cause we used Daz's trunk as a serving table. (Side note: Isn't Daz one of the greatest English names out there? I love it. Jamie and Kevin should use it for a boy's name- Daz Kevin Neth. Yeah?) I like doing things for people. I would have made everyone a potato if I could have. But the talking is also big part of it. It makes me uncomfortable. Then I realized that I wasn't called to be comfortable, but to serve in whatever way Christ calls me to serve. Sometimes it might be making the potatoes, but some day, some hour, some minute it will be to go and talk. I have to be ready. I have to be willing. I have to put Christ's call on my life first and not my own comforts. So next time I go out handing out the jacket potatoes with Nooma I'm going to try and talk to people more. I guess the rest is in God's hands.

A Short Story, I Promise

So last Friday I didn't have to get up early for anything. So I slept in, hoping that the water pressure would be better if I did. So I got up and around. When I was almost done in the shower I heard a knock on the door. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't rush out of the shower, that would be very embarrassing for me and whoever was on the other side. So I didn't do anything. There was another knock. I didn't do anything. Then I heard a key in my door and it turned. I thought, oh gosh my room is being robbed. Then there was a thud and the door closed and it was locked again. So weird. When I got out of the shower I looked out in my room. There was my package that was so lovingly sent to me by me sitting at my feet. There was also one of the books I ordered waiting for me today when I got back to my room. Talk about service.

Church and Squash

My experiences at church today were quite different. I don't know if I can fully describe what it is like going from a church that you love and adore, filled with people that love, adore, and care deeply about, to starting from scratch. Where do you start to look for what you had? Do you look for what you had? Cause you aren't going to find it, except at the church you were at. Where do you begin? Where do your inhibitions keep you from going? All questions that you have to answer at some point. Questions that I have to ask myself. If you have every had to start over, you will know how much this process sucks. But here are some observations about today.

This morning the ECU (Evangelical Christian Union) met a bunch of freshers and took students to different churches, depending on what you wanted to go to. I chose to go to Belmont Chapel. I think some one said it has Baptist background. It was something that I was very comfortable in. They sang songs that I knew. I learned a couple of new ones. (Songs are something that I connect with in the service, so it is a big point on the list.) The pastor spoke about what the church was focusing on. Deepening our spiritual lives, our love for others, and focus for other seekers. Something that you don't get in a lot of churches on your first day. Afterwards, Grace, an Irish girl I talked with quite a bit on the way to church, and I wondered around, but no one talked to us. No one took the initiative. So we just kind of followed a couple of 2nd & 3rd years back to campus. So it's what I love about a service, but not what I want in fellowship.

This evening I went to The River Dream Centre. This is a charismatic, pentacostal church, something I didn't full realize until I got there. But people that I met on Wednesday at Nooma asked me if I wanted to go. I really like these people, they are amazing. So I went. I was uncomfortable during most of the service. I have not been around people like this very often. Their emphasis on the Spirit is overwhelming at times, not that the Spirit isn't important-the Spirit is a very important part of the Trinity. But there is also a beautiful freeness of body that they have when they praise God. (That sounds really bad. It's not. They feel the freedom to raise their hands, dance, bow down, etc.) It was a struggle to follow the message because of the leading of the Spirit on the pastor. There were some things that I didn't agree with. And I knew one song, out of a lot. But they were easy to catch onto. Here is the kicker. Because I came with friends, I went upstairs and had treats with everyone. Almost everyone came up to me and talked to me. Asked me questions, introduced themselves, etc. It was great. They are great people. I even have a Shakespeare buddy now. Wonderful, caring people. I loved that!

So what do I do with these seemingly opposites? How do I find what I am looking for? How do I get the things I loved from both sides? Was I being too critical of The River Dream Center? How do I expect the Spirit to work through me and teach me if I am constantly looking for the things that are wrong and building a wall around myself? Why is it so difficult for me to raise my hands in praise and dance in the aisles? How do I make myself at home in these places? How do I find a place where I am fed, but also able to serve others and care for a church when I am so new? How do I let go of inhibitions? I guess that I keep praying that God will let me know so I can follow what God wants.

Okay, short note on Squash. This is an event every year that allows fresher to see what kind of societies there are and what they do. Now contrary to NWC you have to pay to be part of these societies. The money goes toward food, activities, and the free stuff that you get. Most of them are very cheap. I think that the minimum is 5 pounds. There are things from Chocolate Society to Water Skiing Society to Officer Training Society. Everything. But the great thing is that they give away free stuff! Businesses come in and give away free stuff. So you walk around and get stuff. And if there are some societies that you want to join you do it there. Now the reason it is called the Squash is that there are hundreds of people crammed into rooms that are meant for maybe 60. It was good though. Hot, but good.

Just Somethin' I've Been Thinking About

This week is called Fresher's Week, and no it doesn't just refer to freshman cause they don't even use that term here. But it is a week for all the new students to try everything out. So there are a lot of things crammed into little bits of time. It is also a time to get things squared away before you have to start classes. Activities such as: registering as a student, getting your unicard (university card), and going to important hall meetings. I didn't do a whole lot, but I did do some things.

One thing I did was go to a Nooma meeting on Wednesday night. I believe that I have talked about the people there a bit, but not actually the things that were said. A guy named Rob, a 4th year (something that is almost unheard of in the UK), talked to us about experiencing the presence of God. He asked a couple of other people to tell about how they experienced God. All of the testimonials were outstanding, powerful, dramatic. I tried to recall in my life a time when I felt the presence of God like that. But I couldn't think of one. So I started to wonder if I had indeed felt the presence of God. Then this voice that talks to me told me yes I had felt that.

I think that Rob might have led people astray with the testimonials that he chose to use. I don't doubt for a minute that God is big, powerful, and passionate, and that he shows his love and presence in the same way. But that is not the only way people can feel God moving in and around us. Mine is different. I feel God in the peace that he lays on my heart. I feel the presence of God in the wind. I feel the presence of God in a hug. That is how God relates to me, and reveals his presence to me. Rob should have talked about both sides, I think. But he seems to be a very passionate person. Don't get me wrong, he loves God and wants to bring his love to the peoples. I just wish that he would have thought about the other side too.

This is just something I was thinking about this week.

Complaints and Unpacking

The one thing that I really miss right now is my fully stocked kitchen. I want my pots and pans, my dishes, my cooking utensils. Gosh, I miss that right now. I just made supper and I thought of all the possibilities of what I could do with it and none of them can happen, cause I don't have my kitchen. But I will learn to cope with what I have. And it will grow over time. Eventually I'll get a cookie sheet. And maybe some day I'll make cookies. I just need to get settled in.

Another complaint is the water pressure. I'm sure that if Dr. Bob was reading this he would say "I told you so." See, when I came to England before the water pressure wasn't too bad. This one really is. Cause I'm half way up a hill, on the third floor. It trickles out of the shower head. I wonder if there is a someone of some kind that I can bribe to get more water pressure. Hmm. Something to contemplate.

I really need to unpack my stuff. It is sitting in my suitcases on the floor just begging to be unpacked. But I can't bring myself to do it. I am perfectly fine digging through my stuff. But it won't be fine forever. Maybe this just seems like camp or a small vacation right now and I haven't fully accepted what I have chosen to do. I'm sure that realization will come some time, but I don't foresee it happening very soon. Or you can just look at it as I don't haven any hangers to put stuff on. And I'm waiting to get them. But once I have them, there is no excuse. I guess that the drama will unfold in the next episode of "The Life of Kristen."

Oh, here is my snail mail address:

Kristen Olson-Jones
A309
Clydesdale Rise
Clydesdale Ave
Exeter
EX4 4QX

A Day of Understanding and Getting to the Point of No Return

Karen talks about how we are who God made us to be and we shouldn't let others take that away from us. That we should hold onto who we are. I don't think that I have ever fully understood that until this evening. I got to meet the people in my course for the first time today. After a meeting we went across the street to the pub called the Imperial. I got to meet some PhD students and the 2nd years in my course. Somewhere along the way I stopped talking. A girl turned to me and asked me if there was something wrong. I said no and that I'll get louder and more talkative later. Her reply was "go big or go home." For a couple of minutes I sat there hating that I am awkward when I meet people and that I wish it could change. But then I realized that I have always been like this and nothing that I do will ever make that different. Sure I can try and talk and make conversation (I did it for four years on tour). But the awkwardness is always there. It's just who I am. I shouldn't let this girl that has a need to be the center of attention tell me how I should be, how I should live, how I should act. Sure I felt stupid for the rest of the evening with the awkwardness that surrounded me. But I can accept that for now, cause I have no other choice.

Quite the opposite thing happened last night. I went to a Nooma meeting. There were maybe twenty people there. But they all took me in. They started with me coming in the door. I met Kiri and Sarah. They talked to me until I headed upstairs for the meeting to start. There were others that came up to me right away and talked to me genuinly interested in who I was and where I had come from. Wonderufl people that I want to know too. I also met a girl named Tory. She is studying to be a nurse. We talked for a while about how she has wanted to be a nurse since she was four. I find that totally fascinating. I guess that I have found my home away from home with these people. I made friends last night. I made friends last night that I believe that I will have for my time here. Two opposite meetings. Two opposite responses. But the same me.

More New Things- Wednesday

Okay, you should probably go down a couple of entries and find the one for Sunday and start there, then work your way up the blog. Sorry.

Today. Today my Internet was hooked up and it made me rejoice! I am so happy to be in touch with you all again! Made my day. And sharing the news has made other people's days too.

So I haven't talked about my rooming situation at all yet, so here goes. My housing is in a flat where there is a short hallway where all six bedrooms (with their own bathrooms) and situated. At the end of the hall is the door to the kitchen/living room. My room is about the size of the rooms in Hospers, maybe a little bit smaller. There will be pictures put on Facebook shortly. I have five flatmates. Four girls and one guy. I haven't met two of them yet. But one is from China (I haven't met her yet), one from India, one from Canada, I can't remember where the other one if from, and then there is the guy that I have only see in the hallway twice and very briefly. The Canadian lives across the hall from me and is very nice and asks me how I am and how I am doing.

Weather. It was really nice when I got here on Sunday and fairly nice on Monday. Yesterday was raining and today cannot make up it's mind. The morning was partly cloudy but the sun was still coming through. Then when I went to town center (down town) to get plates and bowls and such it started to rain. When I got to my room and hour ago it was sunny. Then it rained fairly hard. Now the sun is out again and it is perfectly clear. I have this to look forward to all year. Yay!

There is a beautiful building on campus that I get to walk past every day. It is called Reed Hall. It must have been a residence of some kind at one point. But it is beautiful. I'll have to take my camera down there and take some pictures at some point. It is one of my favorite places on campus. There is a calmness there. It looks out onto the west side of Exeter and the hills beyond it. It is absolutely gorgeous at sunset.

Oh, yes. The university is built on a hill. A very large, steep, heart-killing hill. There are no flat places here, anywhere. I walked down to the bottom of the ill yesterday to the Catholic Chaplaincy. On my way back I got half way up (where I turn to go to my flat) and felt like I had just run a mile. Seriously. If you are carrying anything with you besides a small bag you will be breathing hard after walking up the hill. It is ridiculous! But I cannot change the way the university was built, so I will just have to put up with it. It is getting a bit easier. I guess that my heart will be in great shape by the time I get home. The only bad thing is that my classes and such are at the bottom of the hill, so I will have to walk up it at the end of the day.

I haven't really allowed myself to think about home. I don't think that I could stand it right now. I was so comfortable in Orange City. Here I am so awkward. Not because of the cultural difference, but because I don't really have "friends" yet I have acquaintances. I heard someone say today that the people in your classes and your course (or major) are the ones that will most likely become your friends. I am waiting for that to happen. I get to meet other people in my course tomorrow morning at library orientation (yes, we have one just for us, yipee!). I am ready to meet these people that I will work with over the next couple of years. That is what I am looking forward to right now. Sorry this is so long!

More New Things- Tuesday

So Tuesday was supposed to be school's day, where everyone goes to thier school and registers for modules (British for classes). Yeah, I didn't have to do that. So I attempted to find the place to turn in my room sheet status thing-a-ma-bob. And failed twice. I officially registered as a student. I went to cream tea at the Catholic Chaplancy at 4 and met some more very nice people. There were some people there that I had met the night before. Jason, one of the ecumenical officers, explained to be about cream tea. The British have this stuff called clotted cream. We don't have any kind of equivolent to it in the states. It's kind of like whipped cream only more dense and a yellow color and different. So there is a debate between Devon (where I live) and Cornwall (the end of the tail of England, our neighbors) as to which goes on the scone (more like a biscut in American standards) first, the jam or the crea. If you are from Cornwall the cream goes down first. If you are from Devon the jam goes down first. Jason suggested that I try it both ways seeing that a scone, when cut in half, has to sides. So I did just that. I have to say that you can taste more of the cream if it is on top. And it doesn't taste half bad. So I am a Devon cream tea person. I guess that in some ways I'm fitting in just fine. I also met some more English people and a Frenchman. He reminded me of Solomon Davis in face, but Matt Hulstein in every other way. He was very nice.

Before cream tea, I felt that I was starting to have one of those periods where I was going to miss home and maybe, shockingly, cry. So I took Dr. Faustus (which I should have red for Dr. Bob's class and didn't so I have to read it now for my class) into the living room, which adjoins the kitchen, and sat down to read. My neighbor Jasmine, came in and started to make herself afternoon tea. She asked me if I would like some too. I said yes. So we had tea together. She is studying Banking of some sort, is from India, and is very nice. That was just what I needed when I needed it. If there has been anything, since I have been here, to remind me that God is looking out for me, it was this.

Last evening I went to and ECU, Evangelical Christian Union, event. I was like a contemporary Christian service and really nice. But I think that it is mostly aimed at undergratuates. So I don't know what to think about that yet. I met Joe there, who filled me in on some of the churches in town. He said there were some that were heavily student, and others that weren't. Some that were more charismatic then others. There is a group of people on Sunday morning that are going to take students to a church and you can try one out. So I think that will be the way to go on Sunday. They should help me find a church that might suit my wants. But it was a good night.

More New Things- Monday

So Monday was full of compulsory things. I had to go to an international student assembly in the morning that didn't really tell me much. I had to wait in line for and hour and a half to pick up my unicard (my id/library card). I had another meeting that evening. Went shopping in the afternoon for some things I needed. And the International Welcome Team took us down there and helped us find things. It was great. I can get down there by myself now. I had a accomodation meeting that I had to go to. I was hoping that their fire safety video was going to be as good as the one NWC uses, but it was very lacking in cheesy acting and bad narration. Then there was pizza and DVD with the chaplancy team and on of the Christian organizations on campus called MethAng. Sounds like an illegal drug, doesn't it? In America we shorten things down to letters. For instance Theatre Production Ensemble = TPE. Here it would be something like this TheProdEns. So this society is Methodists and Anglicans. They were all great. They were all relaxed and joking around. It made me feel very at home. I think that will be one of the societies that I join, even though I'm not either of them. We watched Monty Python. Made my heart happy. Then it was time for bed!

More New Things-Sunday

The plane ride. I took a flight to Denver. One of the most boring flights ever. But when I got to Denver, I got to see Amy Leigh. It was so wonderful. We just sat or walked and talked. A good break. Then the big plane on the long journey across the ocean. I was releaved that I was sitting on an aisle. I was so scared that I would be put in the middle of the middle section and not be able to get up very often. I sat by this adorable 80 year-old Lithuanian woman. She was on her way to Lithuania becuase there was a art show of her father's slides. Pre-Hitler her father had taken beautiful pictures and put them on slides so he could take them around and show them to people. The slides ended up with Antanina's family in the United States. So she was bringing them back and was going to open the show with a small speech that she was working on. The opening is today. She was a sweet old woman. She talked very quietly. She giggled at things with me. She told me she was very hungry before we got our meal. The carts went by and we both took notice. Then a cart came by empty. She made a comment about how there was no more food left for us. When we got over land again, she kept pointing out the window at things. It was cute.

When I got to the airport I went through immigration. I got my bags. I went through customs. All without a hitch. What I didn't know was that Terminal 3 was a long distance from Terminal 1 when you are dragging about 80 pounds with you. I was sweating by the time I got to the place where they were picking us up for Exeter. I met some nice people when I was waiting for the coach (British term for bus) to come and get us. There were a couple of Americans. One from Augastana that was here for a semester. Imagine that! Werid. Then it was a 4 hour bus ride to Exeter cause Coach drivers have to stop every so often. So I tried my hardest not to sleep on the bus, but it got me a little bit. I didnt' sleep for very long. Then we arrived and it was great. I was ready to go to bed and not be confined to a moving vehicle of any kind. So we picked up our bags, had a bus take us across campus to where we were supposed to pick up our keys and found out the keys were back were we just were. So we got back on the bus and headed across campus. We, there were five of us being droped off at Clydesdale Rise, finally got into our rooms at 8pm. I tried to get the internet to work, I failed (because I found out later that they turn it off when students get here so there isn't an overload), and went to bed. That was Sunday.

Dude!

I'm so sorry that I haven't blogged in a couple of days. The internet in my room has been shut off until now. It was a happy supprise this morning to find it working. I'm here. I'm safe. And things are busy. Over the next three days I have orientation for my program and there have been mandatory, or compulsory as they would say here, things to go to. I'm finding some organizations, or societies, that I want to join. A couple of them being Christian. I'll tell more about my adventures later, but I need to go and talk to the financial office. I hope you are all doing well. Tell me stories about what you are doing also.

Leaving

So I leave tomorrow. Aaahhh, I leave tomorrow. I say goodbye to what I know and try to embrace a new culture. Some people think that things are not that different there. But in reality they are. They can be very different. Does that scare me? Oh yeah. I don't know anyone there. I don't know how to get around. I don't know what classes are going to be like. I don't know a lot of things. I like knowing things. I like being able to blend into the people. Someone told me once that I could be anyone I wanted to be when I get there. But I don't want to be anyone but myself. I am American and with that comes some very big sterotypes. Some of them that I don't want attached to myself. While I like to blend in I cannot give up the things that make me me. I talk loud, I smile big (most English people try to hide thier crooked teeth by smiling with their lips together), I have no problem being earntest with others, etc etc. So where is the balance of not offending others and being myself? I guess that is a question that I will have to live out over the next couple of months.

Prayer requests? I have a couple. Travel, of course. I leave at 4pm tomorrow, fly to Denver have a 4 hour layover where I'll get to see Amy Leigh, and then at 8:29 I leave Denver and fly to London. I arrive around 12:15pm there. Then I wait about an hour and travel 3 and a half hours by bus to Exeter. Holy buckets!
Second is for my family, especially my Ma. I know that this is hard for her. When I leave tomorrow she will have two kids overseas. But hopefully the grandchildren and the two that are on their way will distract her somewhat.
Third, for my flat mates and I that we will get along and there won't be any conflict. I know that is kind of impossible, but we are supposed to ask God, even for the impossible.
Okay, that should keep you busy for a while. I love and miss you all!

Visa, visa, visa

Yay! My visa came today. I have what I need to leave the country. I'm very excited and relieved. Yay!

Nothing else is new. I've been trying to work on a grant proposal all day. I have an outline, but nothing much of solid writting going on. There are just so many other fun things to do right now. Oh goodness, this is what school is going to be like again. Dang!

Hello everyone!
I know that you all have so much time on your hands and can read this all the time. But I thought that when you have a few minutes to spare you could read some of these entries.
That being said. I leave for England on Saturday. I am getting really excited! I am having lunch with my mom, grandparents, sister-in-law, and nephew before I leave. Then my mom is dropping me off at the airport. I think that will be the hardest part of my day, saying goodbye (something that I don't always do well). I fly from Omaha to Denver, where I'll see Amy Leigh before my flight leaves for London. This is all pretty boring for you, so I will move on to the excitement in the last week.
In June a lovely lady at the UK Consulate told me that if I waited until the beginning of September to apply for my visa I would be okay. So I did just that. And then the worry started to set in. I had no word from the Consulate, nada, zip, zilch. My Ma told me that she would hope that it was in the mail every time she went to the mail box. Saturday I got an email that said they recieved it and were processing it. It would take three days. Oh, great, the little voice in my head said, three days- that means Wednesday they would get done and I would recieve it the following Monday. (The little voice in my head is very pessimistic sometimes.) I hoped that it would get here in time, the outside me is very calm and rational (I like it when that part of me wins). So I was panicing about all the things I would have to do to make arrangements, etc. When today I got an email that my visa had been sent. Praise God! So my visa should be here soon and that makes my Ma a lot less worried. That makes me a lot more happy.
I also have a new email address. Becuase who knows how long my one at NWC will work. Any way, here it is kolsonj@live.com
I hope that all of you have a wonderful day. There is more to come. If there is anything that I can be praying about for you, just let me know. I love you all!