I went to Scotland, but didn't see Nessie

Hello chaps! Well things are going wonderfully here on the other side of the pond! We got back from a weekend trip to Edinburgh, Scotland yesterday evening, so our attempt to take a "power nap" today turned into a 2 hour long nap. Lauren and I wandered around Scotland with our new friends Danielle, Angie and Marissa and had a fabulous time! It was our first stay at a hostel, which wasn't as bad as we thought. Overall we just decided to forego using the dishes. Being as wise as I am, when I packed lightly for our trip I forgot to pack pajama pants, so I spent my entire weekend in one pair of jeans...I think they might've stood up by themselves before Lauren and I did laundry today. My Uncle Steve told me once that's how you know your jeans are dirty, so I decided I probably smelled a bit, especially since we opted not to shower all weekend :)

Edinburgh was very fun though! We met a lot of funny and interesting people, frequented a near-by coffee shop called the Beanscene, and got to navigate a foreign city quite poorly. We got to take a tour of Edinburgh Castle and walk around the gardens and walk through the National Gallery of Scotland. The history of it all just made it so much more exciting. The entire city seems to be perched on a mountain too, which made the architecture of the buildings look beautiful. Saturday morning we all got up and went to hike a mountain called "Arthur's Seat." It was sooo glorious! It was bit chilly, but so worth it! To see God's beauty on display like that was just what we needed to refresh us for a 5 hour train ride(s) home. Classes start tomorrow and I'm very thankful that I know where and when they all are and by God's grace I'm no longer sick! We're getting more used to the food here, and I even opted to buy some instant coffee for our 3 month stay. As we're getting more used to life here I'm really trying to remind myself to cherish each moment because it'll go fast. We're having so much fun and I can't wait for what's in store.

One of the girls downloaded the premiere of The Office on her laptop, so we're going to watch it together tonight! I am extremely excited! I've added a few pictures of our trip to Scotland and hope you enjoy! Love and miss you all!

Pictures!

Hey all! I thought that I'd put up some pictures to show you what we're up to! We just got all of our classes figured out. We don't have any classes on Monday which is great for traveling! A group of us are going to Scotland for a few days this weekend and I'm so excited! Maybe I'll see Harry Potter. Still getting more and more sick, but at least it's now as opposed to later? Enjoy some pictures! Most of these are from Conwy, Wales, and there's one of me having my first semi-good cup of coffee...

Cheerio!

Hallo Govna’! I'm in England! We got to campus Thursday afternoon, but couldn’t get internet access until today…so to all of my family, I’m here and safe and enjoying myself fully! We were awake Wednesday/Thursday for approximately 30ish hours, so we feel asleep pretty quickly and easily that night. Our first dinner here was Chinese food, oddly enough. We found out that if you want to go somewhere for dinner you probably need to go around 5 or 6ish and “tea” can be an entire meal. Also, they use the meal words (breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, tea) interchangeably depending on the size of the meal…slightly confusing, but it lets us know how much food we’ll get! I also tasted my first cup of burnt coffee yesterday…not a fan. Surprisingly, the thing that has kept me going has been chocolate.

Yesterday was our first day of travel! We headed to Conwy, Wales with a large group of international students. We got to see a huge castle and a bunch of seagulls and people crabbing. After walking around the city for a bit we got a quick spot of tea and relaxed before heading back home. This first trip made me sooo excited about all of the different places we'll get to see. We find out our schedules on Monday, and from there we'll start planning all of our weekend trips!

Lauren and I are really enjoying our time here and trying to take everything in as much as possible. It’s been a larger culture shift than what we had anticipated, but everything’s been wonderful. AND it hasn’t rained yet, so that’s been a wonderful blessing! It seems like most of the other American students are here to get shwasted, shmammered, or shmabliterated, which has been funny to overhear, but it’s been more difficult to have an intelligent conversation with them. But our receipt at dinner the other night said, “A day without wine is like a day without sunshine,” so that made me laugh a bit since it always rains in England.

Some things that you can pray for: that our bodies would heal from the jetlag, an opening with other student to talk about life, and that our light would shine before men (Matt. 5:16).

I’ll call you on my mObile. Not really but that’s the only thing I can say in a British accent (thanks Ash attack).  I miss you all!

if time were an animal, it would be a cheetah.

Most of you, if you REALLY know me, know that I am constantly reading at least one, if not three books. And by "reading" I mean carrying around the aforementioned book(s) in my purse/car for that brief moment where I can delve. Currently, I'm towards the end of "Wuthering Heights" (a semi-book club read with my other half) and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time," and towards the beginning/middle of "Chosen by God" and "Transforming Grace." Although every book on my current reading list haven't left me with regrets, I can't help but find myself eagerly anticipating my next read more than normal. My friend/peruvian travel partner and I have chosen "Let the Nations Be Glad!" by John Piper. I've heard nothing but wonderful praises about this book and hope that I am not disappointed.

It seems as though every wednesday that we meet, Emily and I are drawn to discussing our desire to see and experience all nations being awakened and transformed by God. Every time I leave more excited about all that God has in store.

So, I'm obviously not very "skilled" at posting in a frequent manner, but I hope that I will get better. It's weird to say that in a month I will be on a plane crossing the Atlantic to live in a place that I have never visited. Weird and exciting. I found out yesterday that trips to mainland Europe are definitely an option...and three months full of weekends yield a lot possibilities to the beautiful countries that I will discover. I desperately hope that I am able to find those small towns within that truly inhabit each country's culture in a way that big cities frequented by tourists pale in comparison to. My current emotions about England = nervous about packing + excited about newness - eager about classes + hopeful for goodness/transformation + sad about leaving my friends. Apparently classes are once a week for 1 1/2 hours...score for my reading list.

My intern friend Steven finished up his internship this week and went back to UGA, leaving me alone in the corner...I am no longer entertained at work.

Currently, I am addicted to the olympics and Michael Phelps ability to capture everyone's attention in the world. Wow. My grandmother shares in my addiction and said today that she's been watching "beach basketball." Just love her. Because of the Olympics, I have never wanted to excel at a sport more in my life. I mean literally ANY sport...I'm going for table tennis because I feel like it's my best bet...just sayin, I can only work out so much.

Thirsty

As I've been delving through truth lately I've been compelled to spend some time in Hebrews. Reading in the 3rd chapter I came across a beautiful jewel that captured my heart...

v.13,14 "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end."

By exhort here I would venture to say it means "encourage" or "urge" in the confidence of the hope of Christ. It really made me think about how often I really encourage my brothers and sisters in the work that they're doing. Considering that I know how often I fail in that aspect, it led me to imagine how powerful it would be if we were constantly encouraging one another in Christ. Not speaking empty and idle words, but speaking truth of one another in hope that delights the Lord and brings glory to the kingdom. What a change we would begin to see if gossip were no longer prevalent, but words of truth and grace were what flowed from our lips! I think I would just love it if that happened...it would be just one part of bringing Heaven to Earth, and that is something that I so desire to see.

When will glory be the anthem that we raise? When will selfishness and hate finally be defeated?


Also, something that's been bothering me lately...I don't learn from my really small mistakes. Example: I usually get thirsty before bed and put a tall drink of water (not a boy) on my nightstand. I don't ever drink it all, but I leave it there just in case I want it at some random time. It never fails...I ALWAYS knock it over when it's at least half-full. I just can't learn...you'd think I'd get a water bottle or something but no. Maybe I just want to prove that I'm not really that clumsy, I suppose that comes with time though.

I don't know what I'm doing...

I've done it. I've decided to enter the blogging world. I tried and tried to be that person that would never blog it out, but I caved. Mainly I thought this might be a good way to keep everybody updated while I'm in England this Fall, but also I secretly wanted to try and write some clutch things. So, we'll see how it turns out.

Also, random thought for today is that if I could get rid of any shoe ever it would be the boat shoe. I mean the guy's boat shoes are okay (without the mesh siding situation), but the girl's...really? They just aren't attractive. And I know most people will say "But Lauren, what about crocs, what about uggs???" And I agree, but at least they serve some sort of purpose for weird people and eskimos. Boat shoes can't even get wet...irony? No, they're dumb.