Discernment, Interview, and Placement Event

When I DIP, you DIP, we DIP!

To be quite honest, I was excited for the Young Adults in Global Mission Discernment, Interview and Placement retreat, not only because I would learn where I would be living for the next year, but more importantly because I was flying to Chicago and then spending the extended weekend in Wisconsin, which means only one thing: CHEESE! Even if they decided to not place me for whatever reason, I would at least be able to say that I had been to Wisconsin (and Illinois), two new places for my bucket list map.

I would recap all the reasons I'm participating in YAGM, and why I'm excited for Palestine (Jerusalem/West Bank; whatever you prefer), but I feel that is covered fairly well in the page entitled, "Meet Courtney" at the top of this page.  I have many expectations: many good, exciting ones, but also some anxious hesitations. All I really know is that I'm going to be challenged, and I will grow. Honestly, who knows where I'll be in a year? Hint: Not me!!



What I really wanted to post was the story of how I was placed, or at least, my end of the story. I went to the DIP event having a slight preference for the UK program, but a secret fascination in going to Palestine. After the presentations on each program I had absolutely *no* idea which country I would prefer. I knew my parents would be less stressed if I went to the UK, but each program sounded amazing.

Then I had my 45 minute interviews with the country coordinators and a Global Missions representative. My first interview was that Friday evening, with Julie for the Jerusalem/West Bank program. Unlike what I was hearing from a lot of people, I was not even slightly nervous. They had said it was informal and I was trusting the Holy Spirit to be guiding the process, so why be nervous? I just had to talk about my experiences! After talking with Julie and Robert, the Director for Mission in the Middle East, I felt like the West Bank program had been designed for me! Sure, there were going to be some real challenges, but some of the opportunities I might be able to participate in were perfect. I could possible be doing work with oral history and advocacy, which was exactly what I wanted to do. It was so amazing I called Cait right after to gush about how God-sent it seemed the experience was. I couldn't, and still can't believe it. It seemed like Palestine was where my heart was being led. It could not get any better. Or so I thought.

Then I had my interview with Crissie and Sunitha for the UK program and it had a different feel than the West Bank interview, but it went really well. Spectacularly, in fact. Again, there were opportunities that seemed tailor made, where I could direct a multicultural and interfaith community center of a church. That is absolutely something I'm interested in pursuing long-term, and hearing that such a position actually exists has been very exciting for me. Wow, how could I choose?!

As part of the process, each participant was able to voice if they felt particularly called to a certain placement or if they had a strong preference for one place over another. We could write such opinions on an index card and it would be taken into account during the deliberations. We weren't guaranteed of our first choice, but it could help in the decision making process. This was it. I could, potentially, influence where I would spend the next year. I could preference Palestine, knowing that it would stress my parents out, but challenge me in so many great ways. Or, I could preference the UK, with the hope that I'd get a multicultural or multifaith position that could really help me discern that aspect of my life, but with less of a built-in challenge (seeing as I have studied there before). So, really, how could I choose?!

Actually, I couldn't. And I didn't. I submitted my card acknowledging I had some reservations about the stress on my family if I was placed in Palestine, but that I was willing to encounter the challenge to the best of my ability. Then I left them with the following words, with which I shall end this post. It has honestly been one of the most helpful and calming things I've heard, that really helps me when I get stressed out (shout out to Pastor Chuck and Pastor Jim!) and so it seemed only fitting that I offer it up as my only desire for my year of global mission service:

In the words of a wise pastor:

Ooh, ongawah, Father's got the power

Sayin' shing-a-ling, Jesus do your thing

Ooh, ahh...Spirit light my fire.

-------
(Thank you to all my sisters and brothers in Christ who inspire me each and every day).

Not really traveling in the physical sense...

Hello all!

This isn't to tell you all I'm travelling (at least, not at the moment) but rather what I'm up to.

I've been in school for just over a month now and things have been non-stop since the day I arrived. I'm consumed with thoughts of the present (classes, work, my Senior Honors Project) and of the future (Seminary, Candidacy, what I'll eat for dinner tomorrow). So I'm going to, hopefully, start updating my blog more often as both a way to keep you aware of just what I'm doing while I'm so far away, as well as a way to help me process just what the heck I'm thinking!

Seminary? you ask. Well, I should probably mention that one fairly soon...

After an amazing summer doing an "internship" of sorts, I felt affirmed in a call to public ministry. It's something that I've felt was a possibility from a very young age but, for a variety of reasons, it took a while for me to admit to myself. I've started Candidacy, which is the formal process of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for people who want to join rostered ministry. It's a long story (which will continue for a long time) and I'd love to talk about it more...at a later time ;)

I really just wanted to update you all a bit and let you know I'm still alive. I'm hoping to post on the blog more often so you don't think I've fallen off the face of the earth. If you're really adventurous, feel free to follow me on twitter (which I usually post on daily) at www.twitter.com/CtyWeller.

Talk with you soon!

-Courtney

You're Really Dirty

That is what one of the PKAP directors said to me today, and quite fittingly so.

I've never been one of those get-in-the-dirt-play-with-mud kinda girls. If I ever played in the mud, as far as I remember, it was in a specific set of clothes and after carefully planning how dirty I would get.

You really can't plan much in archaeology as far as dirt is concerned. All that can be guaranteed is that you will inevitably get dirty; and in my case, very dirty. In this sense, I have changed quite drastically. It feels weird to not wear sunscreen and to not be covered in a fine layer of sandy clay.

Anywho, the past week has been a whirlwind: we've been digging 7.5 hours a day and had a field trip to the other side of the island on Monday. It's crazy how time flies, and that I'll be back in the States for a very large chunk of time in only 11 days. While I'm not looking forward to a ten hour plane ride, or being in a town without an easily accessible bakery (this is the most depressing), it will be nice to be home, and to settle down for a bit. Without homework. Oh joyous anticipation!

Dinner is in a few minutes and I am going to put pictures up on Facebook (soon I'll post them here too). Blessings to all!

And sorry Mom and Dad I haven't really called.

A week, already?

It's amazing how time flies when you're digging in the dirt eight hours a day!

Monday was our first day of digging (or preparing our trenches for digging) and it's been crazy non-stop ever since. I'm at the site closest to the coast (beautiful view, by the way) known as Koutsopetria (there are two other sites, Vigla and Kokkinokremos). There are six of us at the site, but only three in my trench: Sarah, our site advisor, and Nick, another student from Messiah, and myself. We're working on the western side of the site which is an annex to a Christian basillica (not really visible, but parts are). We're digging to figure out if a certain area of our trench is a room extension and, if so, what it might have been used for. Also, we're trying to figure out why the doorway was filled in and cemented over.

Or at least, that was the plan...

After a few days of digging (I've never had so much fun digging in the dirt before, it's glorious! Mom...don't get any ideas!) we realized two things which have changed our focus:

1. Our room extension does not appear to be a room extension. It actually looks more like the debris from a fallen wall. This hasn't been proven yet, and we're going down another 20 cm today to get even with another part of our trench, so that should give us a better idea of what is going on.
2. The cemented in doorway. Not so much. It's actually this really confusing compaction of dirt that appears to be cement. But alas, it is not! We'll get to this part next week and then I'll have more news on that.

So, as you can see, archaeological hypothesis really change. I've come to realize how very scientific archaeology is, which is strangely fun. Of course, finding ancient artifacts is pretty neat, too. Thus far we've found lots and lots of mortar, tile and pottery sherds. There are a few items we've sent in that are of interest, such as a few small stones that appear to have been worked (some type of bead or game piece, a small tool used for holding string and some fragment of a decorated stone object) but no dead bodies yet ;) Nick and I have had a lot of fun, and we've even come up with team names daily. Some of them have been: Trench Awesome, Trench Really Lazy (Tuesday and Thursday mornings were really tough), Trench Find Dead Bodies, Trench Better than Everyonce Else, Trench Really Really Good Looking, and Trench Humble. We even come up with theories about the person who resided in our trench, so far, this is all we have come up with (note: it's 100% most likely not true, but it keeps us mentally stimuated while sifting through dirt):

The man who lived in the room we are digging was a part-time bead maker (which explains all the pretty rocks) while his official occupation was groundskeeper for the basilica. He lived a happy life, taking care of the basilica and making beads in his spare time. Unfortunately, one day the Sea People came to Koutsopetria, attacking the townsfolk. In a show of great mercy, the King of the Sea People told the bead-maker that he would be spared if he could appease them. He went to make some beads, but was so nervous he forgot to put holes in the stones. Thus, the King was mad and stabbed the bead-maker with a bronze tipped stick (Nick wants to find a bronze spearpoint). The bead-maker stumbled back home where he thought he could tough it out and live, however, after setting a fire (to explain sections of ash we've found), he died. His house then started to burn, and the fire-brigade tried to put out the fire but accidentally poured too much water on the house (which explains large amounts of silt over one area, skipping another and then leading into the next area). Eventually the bead-makers abode fell into ruin and his wall fell (where we are currently digging), and on that wall were the stones he had yet to put holes in to make beads.

Our site (and our speecific trench) advisor humors us and tells us it's good to get thinking about why things are like they are, but I think it's a last-ditch attempt to deal with all of us ;)

Holy Chickies and Pete's!

Ahhh, Cyprus.



It's really quite amazing here. After many hours on multiple planes, we finally landed in Larnaca (Λάρνακα) on Friday. It was, as we expected, very warm and very Greek (at least, since we are in the southern half of the island). After packing our suitcases into a few rental cars borrowed by the PKAP (Pyla-Koutsopetria, our project) staff, the nine Messiah students (four guys: Matt, Nick, Kyle and Alex; five girls: Caitlin, Melissa, Becky, Rachel, and myself) packed into three different cabs and set off for the hotel. It really is a shame that you weren't in the cab, Mom and Dad; you never would have complained about my driving ever again! To summarize the drive, let's just say we were pushing 90mph and weaving in and out of traffic on lanes and city streets that were narrow, at best. White-knuckled, I arrive at the quite amazing hotel that I will be calling 'home' for the next few weeks.

Our hotel, Petrou Bros. Travel Apts, is pretty nice. The five of us girls share a three bedroom apartment which has a full bathroom and small kitchen/dining area. We each have a balcony as well, which overlooks the city streets below. This is a blessing in disguise, of course, since it can get quite noisy, especially on the weekends. There will be a festival in a week or so which will last about a week, which we've been warned about. It WILL be noisy. Noisy is probably an understatement. The nice thing, though, is that, so far, I've been tired that very little will wake me up. It's a great feeling just falling into bed and not being kept up by anything. *Ah, this is the life.*

Another cool thing about our hotel is that the roof is accessible. We've had a few socials up there already; it's a great place to just sit and chat. You can see a good distance and there are even some plastic lounge chairs for our use. Good deal!

So what have I been up to, besides, of course, sleeping? Well, you'll be happily suprised to learn that I've tried to not nap all the time, although today after church I couldn't help but take a few hours long nap. We've been on the move a lot, though. Friday we had a small tour of our surroundings by our professor, David Pettegrew. After dinner, the undergrads (there are ten of us, Messiah students and a guy from UPitt, Justin) went out to explore, in search of fruit. I was so excited...I was on the search for a mango! Unfortunately, we didn't manage to find a place that sold fruit, but I did find some comfort food...a Mars bar and some orange soda! So delicious! Of course, we stopped by a bakery and picked up some dessert, too. Many of my comrades bought baklava, but, being a detester of nut products, I took a nut-free apple baklava, which I named applikava (although, Nick likes to call them all sugaklava because they are *VERY* sweet...almost too sweet for me....almost).

Yesterday wasn't too busy, at least, not that I can remember. I've been trying to keep up with my journal, but there is so much to write down that I often fall asleep before I can finish an entry. I've been keeping tabs though, so I know what to write when I get back to it. I figure I'll catch up on that when I'm done writing to you!

I do remember that we did a scavanger hunt for a good portion of yesterday. We recieved a certain amount of points for taking pictures of various things. I'm not sure how well this was thought through, since we probably looked a bit sketchy taking pictures of multiple ATMs, public buildings, post office boxes, and churches/mosques. It was a good opportunity to orientate myself to the city. I know where a few things are, the important things (bakery, market place, beach, internet cafe), but I never quite know where the hotel is. Luckily, I don't need to go far for anything, and if I do, I always go with a buddy (see parents, I am responsible). With all that said, Larnaca (or Larnaka if you are Turkish) is a very safe city. Not that I will, but if I had to go somewhere on my own, during the daytime of course, I would feel very comfortable doing so. Luckily, there is always someone willing to go out for something. It's a great deal.

How is the food, you ask? Why, thanks for asking! Our eating schedule is a bit different from what it is back home, due to our work schedule. We eat breakfast in our rooms (food that PKAP buys us- kelloggs cornflakes, yum!) and are out usually between 8 and 9. Lunch is on our own, but typically around 2 or so, earlier depending on what day of the week it is. Dinner is provided by PKAP and prepared by "the cook", Dalton; this is usually around 7 or 8. Yesterday, however, we went out for dinner. I had chicken souvlaki (pretty much chicken kabobs, but you can put it in a pita with tomatoes and cucumbers and onions; I kept the onions out; and then there is a sauce, which was DELICIOUS). Tonight dinner is here at the hotel, but later around 8. It's surprisingly easy to eat at such an odd schedule; I might have a snack here and there, but usually there is so much food that I'm stuffed. As horrible as it sounds, I didn't have time for breakfast today and even though I woke up at 7:30, I haven't eaten (although that might be a lie, I had a little applikava a little while ago) and it's already 4:12pm. I have a mango upstairs that is calling my name though, so I might have that in a while, before dinner at 8.

Today, being Sunday, a group of us went to church. We went to Ayios Lazarus (The Church of Lazarus) for an Eastern Orthodox service. It was a really neat combination of formal/informal practices. It lasted maybe around 2 hours, although we weren't there for the very beginning. People came and left as needed, although a large group arrived towards the middle, during the preparation for the eucharist. People walked around the inside venerating each of the icons, and children participated, too. It was amazing seeing little children that had, more than likely, just learned to walk, kissing the feet of Jesus on the icon.

Since I am on a friend's computer (I decided not to bring my laptop in order to reduce my stress) I am going to get going. My mango is ripening by the minute, I'm sure.

I'll try to check in in a few days! Much love from the Middle East!
=)


[pictures (from top to bottom): a panoramic shot of Larnaca, taken from the roof; the first "official" roof social for PKAP, (l-r) Nick, Matt, Kyle, Alex; Ayois Lazarus.]

Reflecting on Southern Hospitality

Greetings from the South!

In just over 24 hours I've managed to fall in love with Southern hospitality, sweet tea and the beautiful, warm weather I've encountered. Needless to say, and much to my parents delight, I am not ready to stay...yet ;)

I've enjoyed the campus here at Southern, and last night I was able to go out to dinner and see a bit of the town. Today we had our orientation for Project Connect, the organization in charge of my Immersion. To give a little background, my summer Immersion will take place in Castleton-on-Hudson, under the supervision of Pastor Amber Malone, who has a two-point parish (about 7 miles apart). I'll basically be shadowing her, getting to see first-hand what a pastor really does throughout the week. I'm really excited; today we were able to sit down and figure out exactly what types of things I'll be able to do: give two sermons, give multiple children's sermons, help out with the Senior High Camp and Confirmation Camp, and I'll be taking a lot of control for the Vacation Bible School. I am, as you might imagine, unbelievably excited! I'll certainly post more blogs on my Immersion as the summer progresses (I'm thinking of turning Wanderling into my permanent blog since it has the most followers...thanks =) ). I met a lot of cool people at the orientation and had just a great time. I usually cringe at these types of events- they seem like continuous getting-to-know-you events that I usually find to be irksome. However, I felt right at home with all of the people I met and I'll be Facebooking them shortly.

Tonight I'm meeting up with one of my good friends from Oxford, Dabney, who lives south of here, in Georgia. I'm so glad her and I are getting to meet up, not for long, but it's better than nothing! So having to come down to Southern instead of going to Gettysburg or Philly has been all around very much worth it! Of course, the fact that I'm lounging around in summer clothes isn't too bad either!

As for the next few days...
I'll be up before the rooster crows to be at the airport for my 7:25am flight. Amber is flying on a different plane to NYC for a meeting (calm down mother, I will be able to fly to Philly just fine ;) ) and I'll be flying into Philly to meet up with my group from Cyprus. From there we will fly into Athens (about a ten hours flight...sedate me now, please) and then from there we fly into Larnaca, Cyprus. I'm incredibly excited! I can't stop smiling.

For those of you who worry about airline security, rest assured everyone is doing their job. I have on suitcase which has in it a box of archaeological gear (sharp objects, random things) and not only did they inspect my luggage, but then inspected and then reinspected my box of gear. At least I can pass this information on to my friends going on the trip.

I must be off to figure some things out and do some reading. I'm trying not to stress out about anything too much. In a few days, once my Fellowship application is sent off to England (more about this at a later time) I will be stress free, living it up in Cyprus!

Please continue to keep myself and my archaeology group in your prayers.

Blessings!

LTSS in Columbia, South Carolina

I am currently relaxing outside of my four story guest apartment at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary here is SC. After a few hours of flying (both flights left and arrived early), I was at my destination with Amber, my Project Connect supervising pastor, in the early afternoon. We've already had a quick tour and I'm working on some reading ("Echoes from the Dead Zone" about Cyprus) before the orientation tomorrow and then my flights to Philly and then Cyprus on Thursday!! I'm very excited, but right now I'm trying to make the most of my visit to LTSS. The weather is gorgeous so I think I'll go see to that...

Much love and more photos and updates from across the world soon!

Goodbye academia, I bid you adieu!

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Done.
Finis.
Accomplished.

I just sent away my final paper for Oxford. I realized after my roommate, Andrea, had gone to take it in for me that I had forgotten to sign the declaration at the end of the paper, but I will go in later to do that. Not a big deal (I hope! It'd be horrid to find out that it was!).

It was my longest paper yet: 4,241 words (not including footnotes), covering 16 pages (with the bibliography), and the sad part is, that if I had a month to devote to this paper, or even another week I could have doubled, tripled, quadrupled the paper. It was fairly easy to write and it was an interesting topic, at least, in my opinion:

The ‘Other’ History: Of what value to the historian are women’s letters from the eighteenth century, and what does their content reveal about the societal roles of women during this time, the practice of history, and feminist and subaltern histories?

So, if you interested in a paper on that covering Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Jane Austen, let me know ; )

The question I'm sure (or at least hoping) you're asking is 'When do you come home?'

The next few days will be very busy, and any chance for a relaxing end to my Oxford experience will, more than likely, dissipate within the next few hours. I have yet to pack and do the dreaded task of figuring out just what I bought while I was out of the States (yay Customs!). Being a Weller, and specifically my Dad's daughter, I have been blessed with the 'Stress' gene. Therefore, this is what I anticipate today and tomorrow looking like:

• treat myself to a mocha if I happen to make it into town
  
• clean my room, do laundry*
• make my Customs list
• get rid of/donate everything I don't absolutely need to bring home
• start to pack
• realize that my suitcases are way too heavy, thus having to re-organize and re-pack
• buy my bus ticket (which I will probably forget to do) to get back to Heathrow :(
  

*This task will be particularly fun, as my house is literally getting over from a staph epidemic. That, along with the flu and colds, is actually motivation to wash my clothes before I come home!

On Saturday, I leave my house at 6:30 am in order to get to the main bus station at 7:05 am. My good friend Quinn is helping me get my luggage to the bus station, so that part shouldn't be extremely bad. However, the hour before I leave will be, as I scour the house, and my room multiple times for things I may have left behind. I will arrive at Heathrow around 8:40-9:15 am (which mind you is a good four hours before my flight leaves...remember: I suffer from the Keith 'worry syndrome'). I'll have to check in, which will release most of my stress as my heavy luggage will be gone! Then I'll be hanging around the airport (after security, which hopefully won't be as bad as when I went to Rome : / ), taking in everything I can before I leave beautiful,wondrous England. 

BUT THE FUN DOESN'T END THERE!!!!

My flight should arrive in Philly around 4. Another student from my program will be on my flight; in fact, it is the same person, Ross, who was on my initial flight from Philly to London. So at least I won't be completely lost...theoretically.

Once in Philly (which I have heard is the worst-managed airport in the States...joy) I have a 4-5 hour layover. But don't worry, I will have plenty to do! Not only will I be able to go through Customs (lucky me!) and be frazzled to no end, but I will also be able to reintroduce American fast-food to my system! Ha ha ha : )

In all seriousness, though, the next week should be interesting from a food perspective. I've eaten McDonalds, Burger King, and pizza less than a handful of times and Subway twice since September. I'm excited to eat the following foods the days I return:

• mozzerella sticks (with melba sauce!!!)
• real pizza (I had it in Italy, but that was it); East Side and Four Corners
• Chinese food!!! Dragon Garden and Fu Sing better stock up!
• Subway: you would think it's the same in England...but it's not.
• Anything from a diner: The Glenville Queen and even, dare I say, the Duanesburg Diner.
• Cracker Barrel and Boston Market!!!!

The thought of everyone (and the foods) awaiting my return is very exciting!

I'll try to update before I leave!

=)

Cheers!

Prayers Please

Hi Everyone,

Quick note to say everything is winding down here at Oxford! My last paper id due Thursday and it's a whopping 4,000 words. It doesn't sound that bad, but trust me, it's going to be interesting. I still have research to do, so let's hope that goes well.

As some of you may know there have been quite a few problems in Greece lately, with riots and general unrest. Specifically this violence is targeted in Athens, where one of my best friends from Messiah (along with a good number of other Messiah students) are studying for the semester. They're almost ready to come home and it's a shame that their last days are marred by these situations. However, I would really appreciate your prayers going out to these girls as I'm sure it's hard enough being in a city where you don't completely understand the language, but to also have to be on the lookout for dangerous behaviour is a stress these girls just don't need. So please keep them in your prayers in the following weeks!

Also, if you could keep myself and my parents in your prayers, that would be appreciated. I have to perform a miracle of packing everything I've accumulated into two suitcases and my parents, especially my mom, are going to be nervous wrecks from about 6:30 am Saturday, when I leave my house, The Vines, until 10 pm when I land in Albany and have picked up my luggage.

Thanks for your continued support! Hopefully my final essay will rock everyone's socks off and I can end this year with a bang!

For those interested, my paper will be on:
Letters written by women in the 18th century and what they say about feminine social roles, and how the historical analysis of these letters plays into feminist and subaltern histories.
Oh dear Lord. How am I going to finish this in three days?


Prayers please!!!!!
Cheers =)

Happy Thanksgiving!

So once in every year we throng

Upon a day apart,

To praise the Lord with feast and song

In thankfulness of heart.

~Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

I never realized that Thanksgiving wasn't a worldwide observed holiday. I guess if I had thought about it I would have come to the conclusion, but it is such a great holiday that I assumed everyone would want to partake in the overeating of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and my beloved cranberry sauce!

Today is not Thanksgiving, at least, not for me. I'm not bitter or saddened, because Thanksgiving Day does not exist in England. It's almost  as if I don't know what I'm missing. Yet, I do!

I thought I'd take this opportunity (which has dual purpose as paper-writing procrastination) to say a few things I'm thankful for:

• That I have lived in countries (I like saying that!) where I can practice my faith freely and be a strong, independent woman (or at least, try to be).
• My family. I won't list everyone here, but know that I am thankful for all of my family, those who I parted with a few months ago, and those who I haven't seen in years.
• My friends. I couldn't survive away from home (or sometimes, even at home) without them. The line between family and friends is a blurred one, and I'm thankful for that.
• That even though it's frowned upon, a preposition is something I can end my sentence with.
• The blessings I have. I only hope I can use them in the way God wills.
• Everyone who reads my blogs. It makes my words important and gives what I say meaning.
• Jane Austen. She makes me laugh constantly and her writing is a true blessing.
• The internet, because I can keep in contact with everyone and access information as the slightest of ease.
• Opinions (even wrong ones ;) )
• Music. Every human emotion can be triggered or satiated with it.
• Thanksgiving. Because when else can you watch the GREATEST parade on earth, avoid helping to prepare food, overeat to the point of sickness, watch men attack each other for fun (American football), and then fall asleep by 6pm? If this isn't the American Dream, I don't know what is!

So, thank you for reading my blog and keeping up with my happenings in Oxford. I am thankful for my readers and subscribers and that I am cared about enough to take a few minutes out of your day to read of my rants/adventures/crazy thoughts.

I'll be home in 16 days, and while I 'should' be sad about leaving glorious England, I'm more than excited to be home and see everyone and for what is surely to be an amazing Spring semester.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Oh, the Queen was in Oxford today and I saw her motorcade =)

My visit is complete!

Location: England, Age: 21

     It was pretty fun having my birthday in England, although it wasn't the same as if I had been back home with friends and family. I woke up unnaturally early and had breakfast with a few of my close friends at a cafe in town. There's not much that can beat scrambled eggs and toast in the morning! At the cafe, I saw Anna Popplewell, who is most famously known for her role as Susan in the Chronicles of Narnia movie, which my nephew Liam thought was pretty awesome.

     Then I went to the city centre small building of the program that organizes my studies in Oxford and just hung out for a while. I took a nap while waiting for one of my friends, Dabney, who I was going to go food shopping with. I decided to miss my lecture in order to get everything done, and then Dabney and I went to the infamous 'Primark' store and tried on some dresses. Primark is hard to describe, but I guess it would be close to a 'Marshalls' back in the States. I only ended up buying footwarmers, but it was a lot of fun. They have some crazy styles in England!

The main part of my outting was to buy the food that I needed to cook my birthday dinner. I had decided much earlier in the semester that I wanted to cook for my food group on my birthday- that way I'd get to eat my favorite food on my birthday! Food groups are about 10 people and there are two per day. Every person cooks at least twice during the semester per day they sign up for. For my birthday we combined food groups and were making...*drumroll*

Chicken and Spaghetti! It's a famous Weller staple and, while I had never made it before, I figured...how hard can it be?

Well, it's not too hard, but it helps to know that 2.2 lbs are in a kg, and not the other way around. I bought 6 kg of pasta, somehow thinking that it was only 3 lbs. Needless to say, I have 8 pounds of spaghetti left on my kitchen shelf!

A Pre-Advent Epiphany...

     I hope the following doesn't sound to saintly. I wrote it while I was in Starbucks today on a whim. Before today I would see people milling about the street with their opinions and cynicism and all I saw was disconnect. And disconnect begets despair, and even worse, complacency. Everyone with their selfishness and judgements and no hope. Sinful. Forever. 

     But then I realized, we are all connected- by God and by our humanity. Not one of us is unloved. We all have hope and somewhere, deep inside, we have faith.

------------------------------

     There isn't too much better in the world than the approach of the winter holidays. Something about Christmas carols coming on the radio at Starbucks while I sip on my mocha and work on reading Northanger Abbey produces the most relaxing and comforting of feelings.

     There isn't snow and there won't be a Thanksgiving like it should be, but Oxford is in preparation for Christmas is outstandingly special. I've seen better decorations and more festive storefronts, but I was never part of a city's holiday festivity, only an observer. I have no vested interest in the lights in Washington Park, or the Schenectady Christmas parade, or Proctor's annual production of the Nutcracker; Rotterdam does little to prepare, mostly because the cows and barn cats don't care much for the blinking lights.

     Yet this year, for a few weeks, I'm part of the festival. My inner excitement regarding the celebrations of family, friends, the birth of Christ and the chance for new opportunities seem like it's playing itself out on the streets of Oxford- a brass choir playing carols on Cornmarket Street, seeming miles of Christmas displays at Marks & Spencers, advent calendars bracing the walls at Blackwells, and holiday themed beverages at the cafes. 

     All this to say that for the first time in longer than I can remember I truly feel that there is hope for our world. I've always believed it, but I never remember really feeling it. People are good at heart and it is our duty, not just as Christians, but as humanity to love one another and help to bring out the love, compassion, and hope in all that we meet.

We are not a lost people. We have hope.

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Upcoming: Posts on my birthday and my weekend in Rome and the Vatican City!

Update/Transportation

I wanna hang a map of the world in my house. Then I'm gonna put ins into all the locations that I've traveled to. But first, I'm gonna  have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won't fall down.

--Mitch Hedberg

Since today is Halloween (and more importantly Chrissy's birthday) I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to update you all on life in Oxford. To set the scene, I'm currently writing this from inside a Borders Starbucks. I just finished my tutorial meeting with Emma, my tutor, for Jane Austen (we discussed 'Mansfield Park'). I feel like I've just experienced the epitome of Oxford-- a meeting with a professor over coffee. To add to this description, I will let you know that I just saw a guy with a green painted face walk by. Halloween is interesting in England…to say the least.

 

Tutorials have been going well, although I'd be lying if I said it was easy. There is a lot of work and research to be done and it certainly keeps me on my toes. I have another tutorial in a few hours (Nobility and Gentry) and hopefully it will run smoothly. I feel like I have a good handle on the subject, which is more than I can say for the past two weeks. There is so much to know!!

 

Tonight my house is having a Halloween Party for all of the SCIO students. SCIO stands for 'Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford' and is the program I'm studying here with. I will be dressing up as Jane Austen, and I'm hoping to quip up with random quotes, although they will most likely be about 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Mansfield Park' which, I am sad to say, are so far the only books I've read in their entirety. I was going to be a mime, and had been practicing my miming skills (which are decent at best), but decided that I would wear the gorgeous dress that my mom had made. Plus, this is probably the best audience for subtle Austen allusions. Let's hope I can pull it off! I'll be sure to post pictures at a later date.

 

For those that are interested (which  I hope is all of you!), I'll explain a bit about transportation here in Oxford. Recently, Oxford was listed among the top cities for the longest commute. I believe it cited the Oxford commute as being around an average of 51 minutes, second to London and Birmingham (and maybe Liverpool?). Every day (or at least, almost every day) I take a short walk down the lane my house, The Vines, is on. It takes no more than five minutes on most days and the bus stop is close by. I've had very good luck with the bus system in Oxford. I ride with a company called Stagecoach and I bought a 13-week pass for a decent price, and with riding an average of twice a day, it costs little over 50p (pence) a ride. Usually the buses arrive every seven to eight minutes, however sometimes I'll have to wait up to 15 minutes. In rare cases I wait longer, but that is very rare indeed. To walk into the city center takes a good half hour, whereas the bus takes less than ten minutes to drive there (usually less, but it depends on traffic). It's been fairly easy getting busses back and forth, and they all have a ticker on the outside that says where they are going and via what roads. Since there is another University right near my house (Oxford Brookes, but this is not part of the Oxford University), there are also a lot of 'Uni' busses which I can ride with my Stagecoach bus pass. Very convenient.

To be honest, I didn't expect to like the bus system. Coming from a suburban area in New York and a very rural area in PA, I was a bit nervous. I'm not sure that I had ever ridden a public bus before. However, it's very safe and usually very clean; the bus stops are usually in very convenient places. I'm not sure how I will manage without the buses!

Yet, the state of public transportation in England says a lot more about feelings towards transportation in general. I speak on my feelings upon living here for a few months, and not with any inkling of how true Brits feel, but I imagine my thoughts are similar to those of many locals. Using public transportation is a great way to cut down on exhaust emissions from cars. Carpooling, or should I say, buspooling is very convenient, cuts down on traffic congestions (making the city center of Oxford very nice for pedestrians), and limits pollution. If I lived in Oxford full time, I more likely than not, just use public transportation rather than buy a car. There's no need! Having experienced the many benefits of using the buses and trains (another wonder, very reasonable costs as well) it makes me wonder if the U.S. will ever catch this craze? I certainly hope so! Think of the land that can be kept open, at least in part, if we just had reasonable trains instead of highways! I recently looked up an Amtrak fare from Schenectady to Harrisburg and it was very expensive, in fact, it was at least double what a similar distance would be in England (relative to the value of the currency for a native). Not to mention the fact that going to Harrisburg I would have to transfer in New York City or Philly, which I imagine are far less conducive to stress-less travel than the stations I've experienced here in England.

 

Well, I feel that I've gone on long enough about matters which probably don't matter. I must be back to our SCIO headquarters so I can prepare for my next tutorial in about two hours.

 

Feel free to post your responses to my public transportation rambling! I'm looking forward to hearing other's responses (*cough Elizabeth, Quinn, Dabney cough*).

 

Cheers <3

Note: this post is from quite a few weeks ago, but I forgot to post it. I hope you enjoy this reflection on the beginning of fall in England...

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Fall is here. That crisp air smell is present, even all the way across the pond. It's a rather encouraging feeling, that no matter where I would be this semester I still get to experience that Fall smell. 

This weekend I had the opportunity to just relax, which has been very much appreciated. After a week busy with lectures and papers, I decided that, since I only have one tutorial (and thus only one paper) due this week, on Friday, I could use the weekend to regain sleep and work on my personal to-do list. This list included cleaning up my desk area, writing postcards, and filling out my absentee ballot. Upon reviewing the choices for president I realized how very important this election is. For the U.S., for the world, for history. I had some reservations about who I was going to vote for, but when the options were laid in front of me, it became apparent what my choice would be. 

Luckily, my rejuvenating weekend also allowed me to take go into the backyard of The Vines (the house where I'm living). I'm sad to say that yesterday was my first time going into the backyard! The weather was great and it seemed very peaceful so I headed out back and had a great time talking to my younger nephews and sister on the phone. Today I went back outside to take some pictures, since I figured the leaves will soon be gone (they seemed to have fallen all in a matter of a few days, making me think a better name for the Autumn/Fall season in Oxford would be 'Drop', like my friend Alicia suggested). Below are a few pictures that I took outside...

Baa Ram Ewe, Baa Ram Ewe

"Always remember, a cat looks down on man, a dog looks up to man, but a pig will look man right in the eye and see his equal."

-Winston Churchill

Per the request of the Quinn-ster, I have the following photo post of 'King Bladud's Pig Trail' in Bath...

More to follow...

Would you care to dance?

"I really believe I shall always be talking of Bath!"

-Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

I'm not sure that I'll always be talking of Bath, but it certainly was a memorable trip!

A few weekends ago, my friend from Messiah, Carly, and I traveled to Bath by train. We arrived early in the day and so, after arriving at our gorgeous hotel (read: with our hotel we were spoiled more than any college student ever has been...except maybe the heiress to large fortunes and royalty), we walked to the Jane Austen Centre on the other side of town. We had lunch in the Jane Austen Tea Room, and I had the 'Lady Catherine [de Bourgh] Cream Tea' before going through their exhibits for our tour.

I must be honest and admit that The Jane Austen Centre was a little bit less than what I had imagined. Granted, I probably had quite a spectacle imagined, so nothing could amount to the ideal. The displays were well done and it was very informative; for someone who didn't know a whole lot about Jane Austen, it would have been great. I did enjoy their gift shop, though, and quite a few of you will be receiving Christmas presents from there.

The main reason for the trip to Bath, of course, was to attend the Jane Austen Grand Regency Ball at the Assembly Rooms. After taking out time to get ready at the hotel (have I mentioned that the hotel was AMAZING?!), Carly and I walked, in our ball gowns, to the Assembly Rooms. We arrived to see quite a few people outside taking pictures, and as there was a decent amount of light, we joined in. We were disrupted at one point by the clip-clopping of a horse-drawn carriage, containing a few of the guests.

The night was filled with laughter and much dancing. There were an abundance of girls and so many of us stood up together. I am sad to say, that I did not find my Mr. Darcy, although we did make some friends, a few couples that told us of a reenactment at the American Museum just outside town.

On Sunday Carly and I ended up going to this reenactment....of the American Civil War!! Unbeknownst to us, we 'snuck' in without paying; although we followed the pedestrian signs, they had no place to buy tickets. We ended up seeing the Titanic exhibit which was set up quite well. The reenactment itself was a skirmish in which the Union won. It was very interesting as there was a narrator and the setting was absolutely perfect- up on a hill overlooking a stream and small wooded area. It was quite entertaining! I had never known that Britain was on the verge of joining the American Civil War on the side of the Confederates!

The weekend was quite fun and I'm sure I will never forget it!

As for recently...

I'll be posting soon to updated everyone on classes and such. But rest assured that I have two lectures tomorrow, a tutorial (meeting w/ prof) on Wednesday as well as another lecture, two lectures on Thursday, and a tutorial on Friday. For each tutorial I need to have an approx 1500 word paper. Oh joy of joys!

Luckily, my first tutorial and paper are on Pride and Prejudice!

Cheers <3

The Lake District

What are men to rocks and mountains?

-Jane Austen

I apologize immediately for not posting in a while! It's been busy to say the least. However, I wanted to take a nap, but unfortunately "Moulin Rouge" is blasting downstairs in the kitchen. Oh joy.

I'm currently on my last real day of my vacation up in Keswick, Cumbria which is part of the Lake District. If you Google the Lake District I'm sure you'll find many beautiful pictures of the surrounding mountains and, of course, lakes, but rest assured that they are in no way equivalent to the real thing.

Our first full day up here was mainly to relax. We slept in and then in the afternoon went to Grasmere to visit Dove Cottage where William Wordsworth lived. It was a quaint town and I'd been there a few years ago. The weather, however, was atrocious. It was pouring non-stop and it even flooded the road we drove into town on, so that we had to take an alternate route home. It ended up being a nicer route in my opinion as it went right through the town I had visited when I was here with my parents.

Yesterday we went to a small church in town which was very pleasant. We then went on a ferry across one of the lakes and walked back to our cottage in town. Now, this seems like a jolly ol' time, except for those of you who know that hiking isn't high on my list of things I need to do. Add this to the fact that it wasn't a simple "Oh yay, let's walk around the lake" type of hike but a  "let's climb steep mossy mountain sides and step in mud bogs" type of hike. Luckily I had warm clothes and decent shoes. All in all it was a lot of fun and I'm glad I did it, but I wasn't so enthusiastic that I was motivated to go on the more intense hike planned for today. ;)

Today was a very relaxing day, at least thus far. I slept in a bit and ate breakfast at the other cottage. (This would be a good time to point out that the trip I'm on was planned by the program as an optional pre-term break trip. As such, they planned almost everything and rented two cottages for the time we're here.) After, I went to a few places I had looked up in a guide book last night--The Pencil Museum and Fritz Park. I wanted to stop at the town museum as well as the Mining Museum, but both were unexpectedly closed.

Knowing that it is supposed to rain this afternoon, I planned on walking back to my cottage (and praying that someone was there to let me in). Yet I failed to remember the street the cottage was on and my GPS wasn't updated with the additional maps for Northern England (whoops!). Luckily, in my tourist moments I had picked up plenty of brochures with maps in them, and managed to find my way to a street I had remembered passing earlier in the day. By some miracle I managed to find my way home!

Tonight we're going to a pub for dinner and tomorrow we leave for Oxford! Hopefully I'll be getting a nap in soon, and Wednesday the madness begins! Tutorials start, as do college extracurriculars! I'm so excited!!

I'll post pictures soon, and hopefully have more blogs about my recent trips, particularly my adventures in Bath!

Cheers!

Fortnight

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

-Walt Disney

It's hard to believe that I've been living in Oxford for an entire fortnight. So many things have happened that it has been hard to keep up with the posts! As I have quite a bit of reading to do tonight, this post will be brief, but I will definitely have time to divulge on my recent (and tomorrows) field trips. Mainly, this is a photo post.

Every Thursday during September, our British Landscape class goes on a field trip (which we are lectured about the day previous) and this past field trip was to Old Sarum, Salisbury, and Stonehenge. This first picture is of Old Sarum and the second is of me and a couple of friends reenacting Stonehenge.  I won't go into detail about their pasts for now, but they each are places that could be visited multiple times as they are truly breathtaking...                

These next two photographs are of Salisbury Cathedral. I could go on and on about this amazing building-- the gargoyles, the turrets, the pillars. Yet, there were three things that really touched me. 

The first was the sheer size of the cathedral. We were able to go on a guided tour which took us 202 ft up into the steeple- only halfway. From the top we were able to see the surrounding town and far into the distance, as it was a clear day. You didn't need to go far to see why Salisbury Cathedral is visited by so many people.
The nave was amazing and, even though I had visited a few years prior with my parents, it was great to be in there again. 

The second was that this giant church wasn't built simply to be a symbol of wealth or ability. Salisbury Cathedral was the physical embodiment of piety. This structure is a monument of devotion to God, and it is certainly amazing to see what people are capable of. 

This last blessing was tucked away in the steeple. In fact, the average tourist wouldn't have seen this, or even have known it existed. In the late 20th century, people were able to engrave a piece of glass, after which the pane was placed in the windows of the steeple. There were many panes of glass that had names of people who had toured Europe or the British Isles, many names of families, but one had caught my eye and really touched my heart. I know it needs no explanation...

As I have a field trip to Hampton Court Palace tomorrow and a paper due Monday, I really should hit the books. Hope this blog has sufficed for now :)

Cheers ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!

A Tragedy and a Triumph

"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." -Ernest Hemingway

After a good nights sleep I managed to wake up at 11 AM and managed to go through the morning routine with relatively no mishaps. I've managed to borrow a towel and I grabbed a curling iron as well, which hopefully will also work as a straightener of sorts. The one thing I have to buy is a straightener because *surprise surprise* it won't work. I used my converter and all, but it blew a fuse and I was then told that it would be much better (read: safer) to just use one that is from the UK. This was my tragedy, not so much because it was actually that bad, but it was very stressful not having what I needed.

My triumphs, thank goodness, have been multiple. The first isn't so much a triumph as it is a true blessing. As I arrived Friday and settled my first arrangements, I entered a small, yet cozy room that I share with a really nice girl, Andrea. We have very similar interests and personalities, but are different enough where we don't annoy the life out of each other...at least, not yet ;) The first obvious blessing is that I have a good roommate! The second is that there is only one roommate, which is a big stress reliever for me. The third is that we have a little sink in our room! So far, we are the only room to have a sink and our thought is that, since it's a rather

small room, it might have been a bathroom at one point. Nonetheless, it's very nice having a little sink to ourselves, since the bathrooms and showers (there are many, but the toilets and the showers are all separate) are all communal.

((Can you find Jeffrey the Gnome in the picture?))

My second triumph was finding a two-pence on the street! I went with a group of five or so on a leisurely walk in to town. We ended up walking probably over six miles (getting into town takes a good 15 minutes...getting back to the Vines took a bit longer--uphill for a good while). Amidst my travels I got to know some more people that live at the Vines and at one point noticed a coin on the ground. Fully aware that one pound coins are pretty valuable, I picked it up...but it was just a two-pence. But, that is about 3.5 cents! So yay for that triumph.

My third triumph was finally learning to play this game called "Mafia" and although I didn't win, I had such a blast.

Quick Facts From Oxford:

1. Garbage= "rubbish"
2. A "quid" is slang for a pound sterling (right now £1 = $1.77 or $1 = £0.57). This could stem from the name of a mint in Quidhampton, but is more likely to stem from the Latin phrase Quid pro quo, ("this for that") which  means an exchange of goods.
3. 'Cheerio' is outdated term but 'cheers' is not (that I know of)...

Overall, I had a great first (whole) day in Oxford and I'm really excited for what tomorrow brings! I could give hints away now, but I'd rather surprise everyone tomorrow (although, it should be noted that I have stayed up far too late and that my next post for "tomorrow" will, in fact, be today!).

Cheerio ;)

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Note to self:

-put picture of gnome on first blog

-upload video of bells ringing

'ello Gov'ner

"If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad."

-Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

I've arrived! Safe and sound and somewhat sane! It was a crazy time, flying from Albany to Philly, and Philly to London, but I made it. The plane was decent although my back is sore from trying to sleep at a 45 degree angle, and I was perplexed as to why we were served dinner (what seemed to be heavy chicken or pasta meals) at midnight EST/5am BST. Nonetheless I have learned the following valuable lessons that I would like to pass on to those of you who might travel for extended periods of time:

1. Don't overpack; it will make you very tired to carry your luggage around a huge airport and then the distance on the country road to your housing.
2. Make sure you keep the dramamine you brought in your pocket or purse, not at the bottom of your carry-on which is stored above in the overhead compartment.
3. Go to the bathroom before you get on your eight hour plane ride and then before your hour long coach ride into town.
4. Don't overpack!
5. Did I mention not to overpack?

My housing is absolutely gorgeous and I hope to have pictures up by Sunday. I live at The Vines which is a 35 minute walk from Wycliffe Hall, where I will be studying. Luckily there is a bus pass that will make it a lot less strenuous (as a bike in the rain is not exactly what I would like to do, especially the steep uphill trip back to The Vines). My double room is a bit smaller than at Messiah, but it does have a sink in the room which is fabulous!

I wish I could write more, but I'm simply exhausted and since it is 7:38 pm here, I feel that I will not suffer jet lag too badly if I take a small nap.

More later!

Cheers =)