Walking to Mesopotamia

This afternoon we, as in our whole house, so 24 of us, journeyed over to the other house. Jonathan, our junior dean lead us there. First we went through the park, and then we went over a bridge into a meadow. The meadow, until about 15 years ago, was a known sunbathing place for Oxford professors. Nude sunbathing as you would have it. It is right next to a river and when men would punt women up the river the ladies, approaching this certain meadow, would have to get out, walk around it, and then rejoin the punt further up the river. Anyway, after the meadow you maneuver through an iron gate and proceed up the path. On each side of you there are two rivers, on is higher than the other but they and both slow and peaceful. Along the path are blackberries and unlike in Tuolumne county right now they are ripe and ready to eat.

On our way home, a smaller group this time, it started to rain a little (big surprise) and we watched the ducks, swim on the calm river, as the rain was making rings on the water. We also walked through a field with narnian lamposts...and I caught this picture of a little girl and her mother.

Breakfast By the Bay Window

This morning I woke up around 6:30 (I blame jetlag for this godforsaken hour) and read for a little bit. Then my stomach insisted that I go down and get something to eat. I tiptoed down the stairs into the most beautiful kitchen ever and started some hot water for tea. I had that and some bread with cream cheese, definately a breakfast that I learned to love in Poland.

After about 20 minutes of me sitting next to the window looking out at the garden one of the guys came in from a run. We started talking and by the time other people started trickling in we were on the topic of racial/class tensions in GB and the US. The differences between the two and then moved on to postcolonial culture and some other good stuff. Its so different, the conversation here. Mostly authors, politics, economics, current events...with some amazingness mixed in.

In Which I Move to Oxford

This is a dream come true...times ten. Right now I am sitting at my window desk. Looking out at the front of number 8 Crick Road, Oxford, England. There are little brick cottages and trees and green grass and raindrops on the window. Its overcast..because when is England not overcast? My shoes (Catherine, this is where you come in) are muddy and wet because a group of us went walking in the Oxford park this afternoon. Its less than a block away. :) I have a stack of Shakespeare on my desk, along with some Browning, Goethe (for when I go to Germany), Lewis and Dickinson. Next to the stack of books is the most wonderful pictureframe I've ever owned. :)

The trip here was fun, yet nerveracking at the same time. The plane was turbulent and bumpy almost the whole way. However the people sitting around me were amazing. We went through costoms and the baggage claim together even. I have to say the border patrol man that stamped my passport was definately a big sour puss.

Then the bus. I was most nervous about this part. Mostly because all my life my biggest pet peeve has been looking like a tourist. There was one point where I had to squeeze my bags through a little hole in a railing while wearing a backpack larger than my body. Lets just say I got one through, then turned around and nocked it over with my backpack, got the other one through, and then it fell over while I was righting the first. All this is happening while I am trying to not fall over myself. (please, stop judging me)

I caught the bus at 8:30, which was fun because there were about 5 other students from the same program traveling on it. We talked and met each other and watched the countryside go by. We got into Oxford and I just about died. My words cant do justice so I will save it for later.

I am the first, and only, one in my room right now. I just got my (or should I say, Catherine and Chris') laptop connected to the internet. I went downstairs earlier to find the most adorable kitchen with bay windows and teapots all around, and everyone in it eating and talking. It has a wonderful view of an english garden in the back.

Then we went on our walk. This is a very long post but sheesh there is a lot to write about (Catherine, start vicariously livin cause this is soooo amazing. Ive been thinking about you all day :) )

I love you all. Thank you for your prayers.

The U.S. Should Switch to Metric

This morning my mom looked online for baggage restrictions for the airline I am flying with. Turns out, I am only allowed 44 lbs..total for checked luggage. For 4 months abroad. Total. So I looked at my two, almost completely packed bags and said "Welp, I have to say goodbye to one of you." Just when I thought I was almost done packing, I had to dump everything out and start all over. Lets just say that my new packing list is much shorter than the last one.

Troublemaking Teeth Lovers

One of my biggest pet peeves? When the girl cleaning your teeth at the dentist office starts telling stories and asking you questions..do they honestly want you to respond? Do they actually think one is physically capable of holding a conversation with pokey things and sucker tubes in ones mouth?

Today I went to the dentist for the third time in about two weeks. (Long story short: Rebekah hit my left front tooth when we were in the ocean. It died, consequently I had to have a root canal..yeeecchh). So the receptionist has gone from a friendly sort of hello to slight giggle and a "hey you're firmiliar" sort of comment. Im to the point where I'm rubbin' elbows with the staff and asking them how their kids are and how their dates went last night (well, almost anyway).

But after my teeth are back to their pearly-whiteness state the dentist comes in, checks for cavities and asks me about school (again, am I supposed to reply?). Of course I tell him about Oxford and he gets excited. I guess a couple of summers ago he went and did a class on C.S. Lewis there. So he starts telling me about all these great pubs and stuff he did...fun guy, cool conversation. Well, we get home and my mom gets a call from him and he starts apologizing for going on about pubs and fun they had drinking (as I'm dying laughing). I guess he felt bad and wanted to apologize. Oh dentists—gotta keep an eye on those ones.

Baby Quilts

Quilting. Its something I just started doing. I didn't take any classes or read a book...just decided to make one one day, and did. They started out super simple, huge squares, no design, that sorta thing. But now I see something I like and adapt the idea into my own. Today I started on my seventh quilt.

I have a friend who is having a baby and when I asked what colors she was painting the baby's room she said that they painted the walls slate grey, and decided to accent with sage green and white. Sounds wonderful huh? Well this is the front of the quilt, not sewn together just cut out, and the back is going to be soft grey flannel. It's a little more than three feet long. I'm so excited.

Packing Begins

This morning my mom and I got up early and went to church. Today the service was at Pinecrest Lake in the outdoors ampetheatre. Amazing to worship God with mountains, forest and lake in the background. The most interesting part of attending church here is the kids. Today I watched my pastor's kids (Jonah, Jadon, Gabriel and Amariah) swimming out to the ropes, rowing boats, getting baptised, reading the lyrics in the program, and talking. Two out of four of these children, I can remember the day they were born, the other two were only 2 and 4 when I met them. They make me feel old.

Today I came home and pulled out my backpack and suitcase and started putting things in:

clothes mostly summerish stuff (until my mom checked the weather in Oxford next week)
clothes, mostly winterish stuff
books
art
pictures
pajamas
paintbrushes/pensils/pastels
the random change in Euros and pounds I still have from previous trips
scarves
necklaces
shoes
a roll of toilet paper

Thats pretty much what I have so far. Im gunna try and squeeze in Jessi's feather down parka and my quilt. They said not to bring bedding, but who doesn't want a quilt in England? Its cold here today, already 59 degrees and its only about 6:00. My parents are talking about turning on the heater or building a fire tonight. Crazy.

Starry Night

This evening as I was leaving my Grandparents house (they live about 5 miles away, when I was growing up they were just around the block. I used to "run away" to their house). I noticed it was a bit chilly outside. I got home and looked at the temperature, 60 degrees. I wish Southern California would drop down that low.

As I drove home on our anything-but-straight mountain roads I looked up and could see a thousand stars peeking out from behind the pine trees. I parked the car and from the top of my driveway I can see the milky way, truely breathtaking. I think the stars are my favorite part of living here. On a summer night pulling to the side of the road and laying on the hood of the car is a favorite pastime. In the winter getting bundled up and going for a walk on a crisp night to look at the stars is incredible as well. I have been truely blessed to have grown up so surrounded by beauty.

Home...Well, One of Them.

There are a few things I love about this particular home. First, is that we sleep with all the windows and doors open, because at night it gets nice and cool. Last night while I was reading I found my ears straining to hear some sort of noise...anything, besides the faint music of crickets in the distance. Sometimes its so quiet that I can hear the sound of a car (as in one car) half a mile up the canyon on the highway. This morning I woke up to sunshine coming through the trees and the sound that wind makes when it blows high up in the trees up and down the canyon. Then I felt it on my face as it came through my window. Right now, in August, its about 80 degrees outside with a wonderful breeze that has lasted since this morning.

More things that I like about this place, I can read a book from start to finish with no interruption. Our sweet German Shepeard/Black Lab mix lays around with me all day but will also happily accompany if I decide to go on a hike or to the lake. A quilt is easily sewn together and finished and spending time with my family is one of my favorite things to do.

A Lot of Pressure

So this evening I watched the kids. Their parents just needed a night out, and honestly, I don't blame them. Anyway, Rebekah was helping me put my stuff into the car and the dialogue went like this.

R: Who's your husband?
A: I don't have one silly!
R: Well why not?
A: Who would be my husband Bekah?
R: Well I dont know you have to pick!
A: (Laughter) What would he look like?
R: Like, he would be like a prince!
A: What else?
R: Brown hair like you..he would look like you, sorta.
A: Oh ya?
R: Ya and what color do you like? Like, he could be a purple husband!
A: Purple sounds great! (Laughter)
R: And if you find a purple husband...or green, he could be green too,
then you just tell me.
A: And then what would you do?
R: I would tell him to kiss you!

Oh man...that girl.