Just a simple stroll through the country.....don't be jealous

Friday was a fantastic day. The weather was absolutely beautiful (by English standards that is...I doubt my mother would have agreed with me). We spend the day with Angie (the Methodist church choir director) and her husband Malcolm. She picked us up at 10:30 in the morning and brought us to her house were we met her husband and Nelly her 11 year old dog that thinks shes a puppy. From there we spent the next two or three hours strolling around. I say stroll but it was actually a pretty good walk with all the hills. It is really interesting the way the foot paths work here....there is no such thing as private property the way we would think of it. Farmer and livestock owners are supposed to make so there is some way to get through their land on the paths. Between properties there are these lock things that you have to climb through but which do not allow animals to get through. In one of the picture below you will see me climbing over one of them. Nelly was hilarious during the entire trip. She would run ahead of us turn around and wait for us with her head down and tail in the air. When we caught up to her she would run behind us and then back in front of us again. It took me a little bit to catch on to the fact that she was leaving a stick for us to pick up and when we didn't she was running behind us to retrieve it. Well once we had that figured out she kept us busy throwing sticks the rest of the time. Smart dog wouldn't go get the stick and bring it back though...no she would get the stick  walk over to where our path and set it down letting us walk over and do the work of actually picking it up. I think we probably got more of a work out than her...Rachel was probably Nelly's favorite because she played forever!

Saturday the England team ventured over to Leeds to check out the mall there...just a little girly bonding. It was entertaining in more ways than one. It was quite the adventure trying to figure out the bus, wandering through stores we had never heard of, trying to understand sizing, and also trying to figure out just how cheap or expensive something really was....it's a lot trickier trying to do so when the currency is in pounds.

Sunday was our first official church morning at the Methodist church. We were warmly welcomed and met so many people I don't have a hope of remembering all of their names. Church then tea...big surprise.  It was a fun morning!

This wonderful weekend was the precursor to the beginning of a very exciting week. I started my work at The Lidget Green Primary School bright and early Monday morning. I found it a tad amusing that the teacher I will be working with is Ms. Bennett...it's like walking into a Jane Austin novel only with children. LG is a school that has had a couple additions so it's like one giant maze to me. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually but for right now I get turned around a lot. I am helping with the older children which is actually quite a bit of fun. I've already been able to work with a couple different small groups helping with math. Otherwise, I just wander around the classroom watching and checking. When I get a little more used to the schedule and the levels the kids are at I will be able to do more things. Right now I'm just learning. One fun thing I've found is that LG is one of the schools that teaches Spanish to the students so, I will actually have the opportunity to put my 5 years of study to use.

My School

Oh, say can you see?

Hello everyone! I hope things are going well for you. I am loving England! Or at least the bits I have gotten to see so far. Everything is so beautiful and different from home. Of course like any city there are dirty areas and bad streets...but I have a really hard time seeing any of that past the old stone churches, steeples, towers, old houses, glass windows, stone walls, ambling hills and meandering livestock. Everything is just incredible. Rachel and I were able to go out to eat the other day with Louise (pastor of the Methodist church) and Nancy somewhere in the country. The countryside looked like stepping right into a movie - rolling hills dotted with happy little sheep and the occasional old, stone country house. We ended up at this pub/inn place where I finally got to experience fish and chips. The week has been pretty relaxed. Everyone here is giving us time to settle in and adjust to the time change, giving us only as much information as we need or they think we can handle. We ate at the vicarage on Sunday afternoon with Paul (Anglican pastor) and his wife Ruth, Louise, Barry (the Anglican church warden)and his wife Val, and Alex (another Anglican minister), toured the schools we will be volunteering at on Monday and Tuesday morning, and explored Bradford's city center Tuesday afternoon. I had a kind of funny moment when we were there. The town hall is this large castle looking building with flags flown on top. I never realized how ingrained the idea of seeing an American flag flying on buildings and in public spaces was until I saw the British flag flying over the building. If you had asked me what flag would have been flown in such a place I obviously would have been able to tell you and yet, seeing the British flag was kind of a shocker. For a split second my brain tried telling me that that was wrong - that the British flag should not be there. I was pretty amused when my logic caught up with my instincts. I imagine I will have plenty more moments like that.

I don't have a lot to share with you yet about any experiences I have had, so instead I'll leave you with a list of things I have learned:

-Stop lights turn 'amber' both before they turn red and green.
-You have to turn on outlets for them to work.
-I'm pretty sure every time we turn left I am always going to think we are all going to die until I realize that we are not actually crossing traffic.
-British people are hilarious. When they say something funny I actually think it's funny (this is for my family who thinks I have a weird sense of humor...it's not actually that weird).
-Fish and chips are........interesting.
-Not all British people drink tea...some of them actually like coffee (gasp).
-Washing dishes by hand is actually kind of relaxing. You have to slow down which gives you lots of time to think. Also, 3 people make a surprising amount of dishes.
-Heating units here are just plain odd (as are the door locking mechanisms).
-Rachel and Kaihle are not as amused by the products while grocery shopping as me.
-Candy here is awesome!
-People use the kind of words you normally only find in period books or movies in everyday conversation. For example...the word fortnight pops up often.
-Crossing the road is surprisingly difficult and requires concentration (especially if a roundabout is involved).
-I actually like a little tea with my milk and sugar...er I mean I like a little milk and sugar with my tea.
-My vocabulary is increasing daily...which is good, otherwise I wouldn't have a clue what people are trying to say half the time.
-If I don't speak I blend in quite well...unless I'm in my neighborhood. Then I'm in the minority with no hope of blending in.
-Boys that honk or whistle to get your attention are both amusing and irritating. It's like junior high all over again.
-The Grocery store is on the top of probably the highest mountain in all of the UK.
-I will have very muscly calves after walking up said mountain.
-Hurricane winds followed us here from the US and are now trying to knock us over and/or blow down the flat.
-Cars along the side of the street do not have to all park facing the same direction. It is also alright if they are on the sidewalk a good foot or so.
-You won't see vans unless they are for a taxi service....or trucks now that I think about it.
-I may be a little more OCD about organization that I thought considering I've already gone through the kitchen, a closet, the living room, the bathroom....which is silly since we will probably be moving soon.
-Rachel and Kaihle are a lot of fun to live with. We are all similar and different in equal measure.
-I haven't quite been able to let go of Ohio time yet. I still find myself counting backwards to know what time it 'really' is (I got a watch with two faces. Hopefully, if it's just there and I'm not always doing the math I won't think about it as much...problem solved...maybe).
-I am ridiculously excited to start making friends (ironic because I'm a bit of an introvert).
-I love the weather here....I love the clouds, the rain, the cool temperatures, the wind....I love it!
-It's doubtful that I will be able to stop myself from buying some super cute rain boots...they are everywhere.
-The list of places I want to see keeps growing both because I hear about things or people keep saying 'oh, you must see this.'
-It is really easy to find people willing to talk about soccer/football.
-I miss my own pillow.
-There are animals here I can play with then give back to their owners to take care of...hehe.
-I am impatient to learn what I can about the different denominations and religions in this area.
-People don't take leftovers home after meals and will look at you funny when you ask.
-I am looking forward to beginning our work here.
-England makes me happy :)

By the hairs on my chiny chin chin...

Last moment last moment last moment..... I feel like I've had a month of last moments...and I have. Some of these last moments have been a tad more tense than others. One of the big ones I know you have all been wondering about is the visa issue. I did get my visa...on the Friday before orientation...I left on Sunday morning. Last minute. I finished packing for the sixth and final time Sunday morning. I got a memory card for my camera Sunday. There was a last minute change of plans for orientation. I arrived 5 minutes before this was to begin only to find out there was yet another change of plans. There was last minute washing and hanging out and nerves. Last minute, last minute, last minute...it seems as though it has been a lot of running around and last minutes, but finally...I'm in England!!!! whoooo....exciting I know but I really am getting ahead of myself here. I have to tell you all a little bit about orientation in Chicago.

The week started out on Sunday the 28th were my parents (probably a little nervously) dropped me off at a place called Jesus People USA (JPUSA). The nerves probably came from the fact that on first glance this place appears to be some strange sort of hippie commune right in the middle of everything...annnnnnnd it kind of is. What I learned through out my time there was that although it is definitely like that there is so much more to it and it is this wonderfully beautiful place. JPUSA is a Christian community that doesn't just worship together on Sundays but instead lives their lives collectively everyday. The live, work, raise their children, do service, and worship together. I image there are probably times when they want to throw some of their fellow JPUSA members out of top story windows but for the most part they have found a way to live together in such a way as to find a kind of harmony I think many Christian communities miss out on. It really is wonderful. They home school their children so they can raise them biblically, they have several outreach programs (you should honestly google them), I would think, after getting a look at all the very interesting and eclectic grouping of people, it would be almost impossible to raise their children with prejudices. To explain this let me just give you an example....I don't know how many of you have ever seen my ears (I usually am pretty good at not making them stand out too much) but I have 10 piercings. I also currently have two feathers in my hair, one of which is purple. I made some of the JPUSA people seem downright conservative while at the same time compared to others I couldn't have even pretended that I was a blip on the radar. I'm not sure what it was about seeing some plain clothed, straight laced individual walking alongside a tattooed, dread locked, nose pierced individual that made me so happy...but I'm guessing it was the fact that none of them seemed to notice. I loved JPUSA.

The week was filled with lectures, learning, and reflecting. Which was all fantastic of course, but that wasn't what stood out for me. What I found by going to orientation was the last thing I had ever expected. I found a group of young people that I am better for having met. I so easily came to know and love them that it kind of surprised me at the intensity of my feelings when it came time to say goodbye and part ways. The week was filled with tears, hilarity, deep talks, bonding and fun. I leave knowing I have made genuine friends and not just familiar strangers. It is hard for me to explain to you what exactly experiencing orientation with this group meant to me....the group dynamics are just beyond explanation as are the people. If you ever have a free moment I suggest going to the MMN or facebook Radical Journey page to find out who they are and search out their blogs. You will be confident that the service workers being sent out into the world as your representatives are some of the best there could be.

Team England

The Radical Journey Group

There are entirely too many stories from the week to share so I think I will share just one single moment with you. We had a lot of fun. There were prank calls (ask Luke about this), exploring, movies, ice cream, eating out, staying up late and BBQs....but one moment kind of defines this group. We had a day or so where our electricity wasn't working. Upon finding out that first night that we were left in the dark with none of the conventional ways of entertaining ourselves that my generation is used to - did we go out and find electrical fun? No we did not....we did something very Mennonite :)

And that kind of explains my orientation. Of course we weren't always having hymn sings, but we did have the kind of group that enjoyed being ridiculous as well as soulful... who didn't mind to cry as much as they laughed... who shared with one another like old friends and had few secrets not shared...we did ridiculous things as well as serious and we were all the better for it. I love each of them and will miss their similarities, differences, eccentricities and quirks....I will miss these wonderful people God brought into my life....I will miss my friends....but for now...

I am going to enjoy ENGLAND!!!!! WHOOOOOOO!