The Land of the Christmas Cards

I've never really been one for cards. Usually cause I forget. Presents are usually given without a card. I pretend it's because I'm being environmentally conscious...but I'm not. Just forgetful.

But this year I am spending Christmas in the land of the Christmas cards. I've never in my life seen such a big deal over Christmas cards. It's truly amazing! With 4 more days until Christmas I have already received about 15 cards.

This year the Royal Mail has had 7 million Christmas cards go through the postal system.

A Brief History:
"Official" Christmas cards began with Queen Victoria in the 1840s. The British royal family's cards are generally portraits reflecting significant personal events of the year. (www.wikipedia.com--Christmas Card)

And not wanting to miss out on the card mania, I too have started spreading the love through greeting cards. I can't help but think that it is slightly wasteful since most these cards will be thrown away come the new year. So I've tried my best to buy charity Christmas cards. One set was from GFNC the other from the British Heart Foundation. If I'm gong to contribute to the killing of trees, at least the money should go to a good cause, right?

But while searching for the perfect pack of cards to buy and send and reading cards given to me, I can't help but notice that the real greeting of this time of year is missing from a majority of the cards. Where did the Christ from Christmas go? All the greetings say "Happy Christmas", "Merry Christmas", or "Best Wishes for the Christmas Holidays".

I'm all for being multi-cultural and PC, but I thought the point was to be open-minded to all religions. I feel that the whole movement towards being more multi-cultural or PC has just given people an excuse to bash Christianity, rather than embracing our differences and moving on with life.

So in this season of Christmas cards remember that in fact the holiday started with a miracle baby in a manger.

The Cost of Globalization

This probably isn't exactly the lesson about globalization that I'm supposed to learn, but hey!

Subway club+Coke Cola+potato chips from Subway...$8
Grande Gingerbread Chai Tea Latte...$7
Book from Wal-Mart (Asda)...$7
Single serving of Lucky Charms...$3
Globalization...PRICELESS

Sometimes you just need a good American culture fix to handle the English culture.

***Please note the ridiculous price of these items that you would pay half the price for back home.The "American Section" at Selfridge's in Manchester

Rogan Josh

Tonight Amy and I made our first curry dish. Curry is now the most popular dish in England surpassing meat and potatoes or fish and chips. It was also my first lesson teaching Amy how to cook.
It was very simple since we bought the rogan josh sauce from the store as well as the pappadums. We cooked up the chicken first then added the curry sauce and let it simmer for 30 minutes. While that was cooking we started the rice. It was a very simple meal to prepare, and very yummy to eat!!!

It can be made with either chicken, lamb (traditional), shrimp, or veggies.

Here's a recipe for a rogan josh sauce. But I don't know how good it is, since I obviously did the cheater version!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/simplelambroganjosh_67784.shtml

Charis House Open Day

This Saturday was the Open House Day and anniversary celebration for Good News Family Care. We sold cookies and other goodies along with products from the woodworking project at the farm in hopes of raising a little money for GNFC.
There were displays of each section of GNFC and their purpose in the organization.
At 11am we had a service including a speech by a resident, singing, a presentation from a member of the board of trustees, a speech from one of the directors and other musical contributions. This was followed by a sandwich and soup lunch for everyone.

The Holiday Season

Thursday we combined our Thanksgiving celebrations with Christmas celebrations since Binod will be back in Nepal for Christmas. Sue, Amy, Binod, and I went to Chatsworth. This is the house of the Duke of Devonshire. Its most recent claim to fame is its feature role as Mr. Darcy’s house in the latest rendition of “Pride and Prejudice” with Keira Knightly.
They have recently just decorated the house for Christmas with each room being decorated all in a certain color. The house on it’s own is splendid, but with the Christmas decorations makes the house even more magical!
We returned in the early afternoon to continue our cooking extravaganza for our Thanksgiving feast that night. While things were baking we also watched “Wallace and Grommet” and played Scrabble. I was very impressed with how well Binod played Scrabble considering English isn’t his first language. I don’t know that I would have been so successful playing in German!
For dinner Amy and I had Mick, Sue, Tammy, Binod, Lisa, Jo and Naomi over. We invited about 15-20 more from church and work for dessert. It was great to have so many people come celebrate the holiday with us. However, it did get confusing celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas in one day!
For dinner we served a traditional meal with turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, corn, green bean casserole, salad, and dinner roles. For dessert we made 2 pecan pies, 2 pumpkin pies, apple crisp, apple bars, zucchini bread, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and peanut butter cookies. Sue also made mulled wine for everybody.
I was very happy that so many people came and the food turned out so well. It made the holiday much better than I had expected. But I did realize that there actually is “No place like home for holidays”. But I also realized that I have been very blessed to be placed in such a supportive environment for my year abroad. It made being away from family on Thanksgiving better than I could have anticipated!

English Kids Say the Darndest Things

A few silly stories:
A few weeks ago I was sitting in the living room with Sadie and her mom. She pointed to my thumb and asked me what it was. I told her it was my thumb. I guess because of my accent she said, “That sounds like thong. That’s the kinda pants [underwear] my mummy wears.”

Last Friday we went on an excursion with the Whaley Bridge youth group. Since it was an activity out of the normal there were a few kids who don’t usually come and therefore aren’t used to me yet. On our way home one girl (about 11) told me “You don’t talk like I’m from around Buxton. But I can’t figure out where it’s from…It’s not Buxton, not Birmingham. It’s not Newcastle.” Then Nigel said, “No it’s much further west than that.” She kept naming places ending with another girl in the back telling her that I was from America. Her response was, “Well I guess it’s east from England…depending which way you’re facing.”

Yesterday I was having lunch in the dining room with a mixture of staff, residents, and community support clients. Sadie had been sick during the night and wasn’t at school. However by lunchtime she was obviously feeling much better. I was teasing her about “playing hooky” which is a term not used in England. She had also been playing with Junior Scrabble during our conversation. When Natalie (a community support client) walked up to the table Sadie asked Natalie to play hooky with her, clearly thinking that I was calling the board game she was looking at hooky. I laughed so hard I started choking on my vegetables.

Another Lesson in English

I’ve decided that is time for another lesson in British English!

Stone- pit/ weight measurement (=14lbs)
Courgette- zucchini
Brush- broom
Coach- bus
Keeper- goalie
Kit- uniform (sports)
Cash point- ATM
Swede- rutabaga
Go off- expire
Engaged- busy (phone line)
Ta- thank you
Shattered- tired
Dungarees- jeans
Butty- sandwich
Pitch- field
Whingging- whining
Ring- phone call
Call- come for a visit
Mam/mum- mom
Nan- grandma
Post- mail
Chuck- throw
Pinch- steal
Takeaway- take-out
Swot- nerd
Nick- steal
Sweets- candy
Cling film- saran-wrap
Plaster- band-aid
Solicitor- lawyer
Car park- parking lot
Settee- couch
purse- wallet
Prawn- shrimp
Plait- braid
Brew- cup of tea of coffee
Fancy dress- costume
Faff around- goof around
Hash key- pound key (#)
Stag night- bachelor party
Hen night- bachelorette party
Scrummy- yummy
Aubergine- eggplant
Candy floss- cotton candy
Gherkin- pickle
Icing sugar- powdered sugar
Jacket potato- baked potato
Jelly- Jell-o

Guy Fawkes Day

Guy Fawkes Day is November 5. It is the commemoration of the failure of Guy Fawkes and his followers of blowing up Parliament and killing the king in 1605. His group was Roman Catholic and their goal was to end Protestant rule in England by killing the Protestant aristocracy. However their Gunpowder Plan was foiled and it is now celebrated annually with a bonfire and fireworks. Historically old clothes were stuffed to make a body (supposed to be Guy Fawkes) and placed on top of the bonfire to burn. This is now seen as a little too archaic and gruesome and is not as popular as it once was.

My celebrations of Guy Fawkes started Nov. 1st by attending the bonfire in Fairfield. However, due to extreme cold and me being ill we left soon after the bonfire started and missed the fireworks. Saturday night we were able to see the fireworks in Blackpool put on for the event.

Fireworks have been going off every night since last Thursday and now 2 days after the official Guy Fawkes Day things have quieted down significantly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes

Fish 'n Chips, Lights, and Roller Coasters

Last Saturday in the early afternoon, I headed to Blackpool with Amy, Lisa, Jo, and Paul (Lisa’s ex-boyfriend/Demi’s dad). It was about a two hour drive through windy country roads past Manchester and Liverpool. It is a seaside town—one of the most visited in the country. It is known for fish and chips, tacky lights, games, and rides. As we were driving through the English country-side I was able to do a lot of thinking. For one, I am still amazed at the natural beauty of this country. The grass is so green—shocking for a girl from the desert! I love watching the sheep grazing in the grass. I’m also still shocked sometimes that I am actually living in England. It still hasn’t hit me 100%. I also noticed how relived I was to get out of Buxton. I felt this huge weight lifting off me. It was a freeing afternoon!

We arrived around sunset (yes, the sun is setting around 4pm!) and Amy, Paul and I bought wristbands to ride the rides at Pleasure Beach. It is the English equivalent to Six Flags. The main attraction of Pleasure Beach is a roller coaster called The Big One which is the largest roller coaster in Europe! After going on a couple of rides including The Big One we walked down the boardwalk a way until we found more rides. Paul paid for Amy and I to do a bungee-esqe ride with him. In this particular ride you are strapped into a sphere and then catapulted into the air!!! It was terrific! I loved it! And I have it on DVD, just in case no one believes me!

After that thrill we searched out a place to get fish and chips. This was my first fish and chips experience. It’s nothing too spectacular, but no trip to Blackpool is complete without it! While we were eating our fish and chips we saw the fireworks put on for Guy Fawkes Day (more in a later blog). We then met up with Tammy, Matt, Demi and her friend Sarah, and Binod who had just arrived from Buxton in Blackpool. We went on a few more rides and then headed back to our cars to look at the illuminations.
Every year from the end of August to the beginning to November Blackpool puts on Illuminations along the boardwalk as a tourist attraction. They are very cheesy and tacky, but it was fun to see them none-the-less. After seeing the Illuminations we headed back to Buxton, arriving home around 1AM. It was a terrific day with friends, adrenaline and a nice escape from Buxton!

May I Have S'more, Please?

Tonight for "pudding" Amy and I made s'mores for our English friends. Everyone loved them, although they were messy and asked for more.

I thought it was funny making them with Cadbury's chocolate rather than Hershey's, but they were just as good! For the graham crackers and marshmallows, my parents sent them over in a care package! There is no equivalent for those over here! I was also really happy that I had some marshmallows left over for sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving!!!

It was so fun introducing everyone to something new.

7 Degrees of Kevin Bacon

Here is a very brief breakdown of people that I interact with on a regular basis or almost regular basis. Remember the game “7 Degrees of Kevin Bacon”? Well it seems that everyone in Buxton is connected to everyone else in less than 3 degrees! I suppose that is a side-effect of small-town living. And I’m sure with the copious amounts of people I’ve met since my arrival this list has probably forgotten someone!

From the House:
Amy: Is the other YAGM volunteer that came over with me. She graduated in May from Gustavus with a degree in religion. She is from Minnesota. She works at Charis House doing admin, office duty, and family support.
Binod: Is the volunteer from Nepal. He works at the farm. He has been here since January and will return home in December. He is hoping to find a job teaching English when he returns home.
Tammy: Is from Canada. She came to England about 3 years ago as a volunteer for Charis House. She returned because she made great friends and fell in love with Matt S.
Sue: Works for GNFC doing recovery work. She is married to Mick and they have 2 children in their late 20’s.
Mick: Is a high school (equivalent) physics teacher and the pastor for Buxton Community Church. He is married to Sue and they have 2 children. His sister is Tammy’s mom.

From Charis House:
Maia: Is my supervisor. She is a support worker at Charis House as well as one of the leaders for Little Fishes. She is married to Matthew P. and they have a 9 month old daughter, Bethany.
Naomi: is Roger and Hazel’s youngest daughter. She recently turned 18 and is in her last year of school.
Lisa: Works in the GNFC Nursery as well as at the farm. She has an 11 year old daughter, Demi.
Jo: Is a community support worker. She also started at Charis House as a volunteer and has been there ever since. In January she will be moving to Sheffield to study mental health nursing. She will be missed very much.
Keith/Debbie: Are half of the management team for GNFC and live in a flat in Charis House. They have four children: Jack (20), Roy (18), Anna (14), and Megan (11).
Roger/Hazel: Are the other half of the management team. They live in another flat in Charis House. They have 4 children. Their oldest son lives in Brazil and their younger son lives in South Korea. Both daughters live in Buxton.

From Women’s Group:
Sandy: Is a music teacher. She and her husband have 4 daughters. The oldest is studying viola in Oslo. The next oldest is studying English/Drama at university. The 2 younger daughters still live at home. They are a very musical family, often contributing their talents during church. She is also the gracious host of women’s group each week.
Avril: Is a very active member of BCC.
Susan: Is a community support client. She has 2 sons who live with their father in a near-by town.
Julie: Is a community support client. She has a daughter and a son, two cats and a dog.
Barbara: Is a community support client. She has 5 children and 2 grandchildren.
Brenda: Has 4 sons. She is currently raising her 13 year old granddaughter, Katie.

From Church:
Andy/Emily: Are responsible for the youth activities for BCC. Andy is a professional poet and Emily is a school teacher. Andy is also the manager for the Buxton Christian Football (soccer) club. They have 2 daughters: Connie (15) and Beth (13). They are delightful girls.
Allister/Sarah: Also very active in BCC. They have 2 daughters. Sarah’s sister is Emily. Sarah is also a school teacher.
Tim/Beryl: Tim is a carpenter. Beryl teaches first grade (equivalent). Beryl is our designated “TFG friend” and a great cook. They don’t have any children, but have unofficially adopted Rachel (35) who has asthma and related illnesses.
Matthew: Just started going to BCC. He is a culinary student at the University of Derby. He is the second oldest of 11 children.
Michael/Beky: They have 2 children together, Josh (7) and Abbie (5) and Matthew S is Michael’s son from his first marriage. Beky is Roger and Hazel’s oldest daughter. Michael works with Tim and Beky is in charge of Good News Nursery

From Little Fishes:
Sarah: Is a leader of Little Fishes. She is married to James and they have 3 children, Eleanor (4), Gregor (2), and Samuel (10 months). Her mother is Mary W. from Charis House. She used to work at the GNFC Nursery and is now a stay-at-home mom.
Nicola: Is a leader of Little Fishes. She is married to Matt B. and they have a 7 month old son, Joel. She also used to work at GNFC Nursery.
Maia: Is a leader of Little Fishes. She is married to Matthew P. and they have a 9 month old daughter, Bethany.

From Youth Group:
Nigel/Chriss: Are co-leaders of the youth group at the Good News Church in Whaley Bridge. They have three children, Thom (22), Alex (18), and Lizie (20). They graciously host me every Friday for dinner.
Thom: Is a music teacher at the college level. He also helps at a fairtrade store in town as well as youth group on Fridays. He is Nigel and Chriss’ oldest son.
Rob: Helps with youth group. He works for the railways and is married to Cheryl and they have three sons aged, 4,3, and 2!

As you can see there is a lot of over-lapping in social circles.

"Can I steal someone's yogurt?"

As someone who enjoys learning languages and has made blunders along the way, I find this story particularly funny and endearing. And we all know that we have made mistakes similar to this one:

Yesterday Binod (the volunteer from Nepal) was eating leftover curry takeaway. It was too spicy for him and he was suffering while eating it more than enjoying it. Sue suggested that he put yogurt on it to make the spiciness less intense. He was yelling all over the house, "Can I steal someone's yogurt". He disappeared into the kitchen and returned with his plate of curry with yogurt on top. However, he had misunderstood Sue had suggested he put plain yogurt on his food and instead he put strawberry yogurt on top.

Now, that is not a curry I'd like to try!!!

Lonestar

Tonight Tammy, Amy and I decided to have dinner out. We chose a Tex-Mex restaurant in Buxton called Lonestar. Hanging by the front door was a Texas flag. Inside the restaurant there is a painted mural of a cowboy in the distance in the sunset. There are chili peppers painted on wall and tequila and Corona ads. It was great! Every once in a while a familiar taste of home is so great.

I had the Rio Grande Tacos. Although they were nothing compared to tacos in NM, for Tex-Mex in England they were actually really good. To save myself disappointment I came in to the restaurant with really low expectations (I am kinda a snob when it comes to NM Mexican food), but the food was good. My mouth was on fire for the first time since I left Las Cruces, and it felt so good!!! Tammy was laughing at me because I was so excited for my mouth to be on fire.

We’ve decided to return for my birthday dinner!

The Word Made Fresh

Saturday night I went with Hazel, Sue, Cida, and Naomi to a one-man play in a village about 20 minutes from Buxton. The man, Dave has taken about 20 various Bible stories from both the New and Old Testaments and turned them into 5-10 minutes comedic stories. I thought he was great! My favorite part was that he wasn't afraid to make a complete fool of himself--and did so quite often!

From the Old Testament he covered Noah (Genesis 8), Moses (Exodus 32), Gideon (Judges 7), Samson (Judges 16), Job (Book of Job), Daniel (Daniel 6) and Jonah. At his point we had an intermission where tea, coffee, juice, and scones were served. However, I must say that the 200 scones that my mom and I made for my fundraiser were much better than these!!! And that made me a little happy! From the New Testament he covered the stories of Zechariah (Luke 1), a shepherd at Jesus’ birth (Luke 2), the story of paralytic man (Mark 2), Peter (Luke 22), Thomas (John 20), Paul (Acts 26). At the end of the play Dave shared his own testimony of modern day miracles. As an infant he had severe developmental delays and after prayer and laying on of hands he showed so much progress that at his next doctor’s appointment his mother was accused if bringing in the wrong baby!

The evening was great fun and I really admire him for using such a fun and informal way of reminding us of modern day miracles.

Friday Night Lives

One of my duties in my schedule is to attend and help with a youth group at the Good News church in Whaley Bridge, a town about 30 minutes from Buxton, on Friday nights. But since I’ve been here transportation has been an issue and I hadn’t made it until this past Friday.

Instead of staying at Charis House until 7:30pm to do family support, I went home with Chriss who is a community support worker for Charis House. She lives just outside of Whaley Bridge. I met her son Thom (22) in Buxton and he drove both us to Whaley. There I met Chriss’s husband, Nigel, who immediately gave me a hug (which was much needed this Friday evening) and her youngest son Alex (17). Chriss and Nigel also have a daughter Lizzie (19) who is off at university right now.

After a great meal of spaghetti, salad, and cake we headed off to youth group. The youth group consists of about 15 pre/teenagers from 11-18. We played teambuilding games and did a short Bible study followed by biscuits and juice (or tea for the adults). Then Chriss drove me home. It was a such a great night and I am really looking forward to getting more involved with this youth group.

To Be or Not to Be

It’s been just over a month since my arrival in Buxton. As I become more and more familiar in my surroundings I’ve noticed an internal struggle with myself. I am becoming more comfortable with my new “language”, understanding more and more words. But I am now struggling with whether I should be using them or not.

I feel like if I do use the words I’m just faking it and it’s not authentic. But by using my “American” words for things I feel like people think I am trying too hard to be American. That I am being inflexible.

When does it become natural and comfortable to speak like a native? What do people think of me using my American words? What do people think of me using British words?

I remember my sophomore year of college in my multicultural education class we had extended conversations about assimilation vs. acculturation. It was something that I struggled with in Germany as a first grader, even thought I obviously didn’t realize it at the time. And I assumed that I would never struggle with it again. But I was wrong. I want to keep my identity as an American. It’s who I am and who I will always be. Spending time in England is showing me that it’s actually even something to be proud of! But I don’t want to be viewed as the ugly American who can’t adapt to new cultures and customs.

The other day Steve asked me if it’s weird to hear an American accent cause I’m so used to the English one, or if the English one still sounds odd. After thinking about it for a second, I realized that both accents stick out to me. I’m stuck in the middle.

Both my mom and Steve are so adiment that I don’t come home with a British accent. However, some of my friends are hoping that I’ll come home with a British accent—or at least able to do a good fake.

It’s interesting to see how much a variation in the same language can give you a mild identity crisis.

Happy Thankgiving, Canadian Style

The Holiday Season is upon us. Usually we are used to this beginning with Thanksgiving the last Thursday of November, however, living in an international household this year we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving tonight.

Tammy cooked all weekend preparing us a traditional Thanksgiving meal that she would have if she was back in Canada. Her meal consisted of chicken, mashed potatoes (one with cheese, one without), rice, chicken rice, meatballs, Yorkshire pudding, peroggies, green bean casserole, salad, roasted carrots, and of course gravy. For dessert we had chocolate trifle, raspberry trifle, and a berry jello. Everything was amazing.

Tammy’s dad is of Polish descent and both parents were born and raised in England. Our Thanksgiving resembled American Thanksgiving with a Polish and English twist to it. Yorkshire pudding is a typical dish in England and peroggies are a typical Polish dish.

All 5 of the volunteers came as well as some staff from Charis House, people from church. It was a packed house with close to 20 people for dinner. We went around and said one thing that we’re thankful for. The particular one I chose was Facebook so that I can easily keep in touch with all my friends back home. But I’m thankful for many other things. Like email, phone cards, care packages, wireless internet, MacBooks, webcams, myspace, new friends, old friends, family, new family, my boyfriend, comforts of home, the ability to try new things, God, music, pictures, laughs, smiles, sunshine, and many more things that makes life worth being thankful for.

I’m looking forward to sharing American Thanksgiving with my new friends and family next month!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_pudding

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierogi

This Week's Activities

This past week has been a very fun week for me, with almost always something to do. Last Sunday Amy and I went to the Opera House to see the European Ballet perform Coppelia. It was great seeing a ballet not on TV or the LCCB’s The Nutcracker. This is the first live ballet that I have ever seen that was not performed by the Las Cruces Chamber Ballet. It was a great experience, but still a little strange.

Tuesday I joined Naomi and Tammy for an aerobics class. This was the first time I’ve ever done aerobics and I had so much fun. It reminded me of the jazz class I took in high school—but slightly different. The name of the class is Bums and Tums Madness (or something to that effect). I was fairly sore the next day, and even more sore by Thursday.

Wednesday night we had a dinner party at Debbie and Keith’s flat. They are co-founders and part of the management team for Good News Family Care. They are one of the family’s that live in Charis House. They had all five volunteers for dinner and various other people associated with us and GNFC for dinner. Debbie made curry with a lot of other things I’ve never had before and everything was delicious!

Friday night the leader’s of Little Fishes (the mom/toddler group I work with) and I had dinner at Nicola’s. We had Chinese take-away and talked about the group and planned for the rest of the year. I am now in charge of finding crafts for the children to do that are associated with the week’s Bible story. I’m really looking forward to that since that was always one of my favorite things about teaching Sunday school. It was a nice meeting, but a little awkward since I am the only single/non-mother in the group. But I can always appreciate a funny story about little ones.

Saturday night I went out with my new English friends: Tammy, Lisa, Jo, and Naomi. I had an experience last night that I’ve never encountered in England. Or Europe. I was carded. I’ve never had to show ID when ordering a drink before. The manager said that since I look like I’m younger than 21, she needs to see ID. I find this odd because the legal drinking age in England is 18. We noticed that Naomi, who just turned 18 in September was not carded. When I presented my NM driver’s license the manager said that she would accept it this time, but she really shouldn’t since it’s not British. I really should show my passport. But following that logic: my passport isn’t British so why would that be acceptable?

Each Sunday for about the next 10 weeks I will be taking part in an Alpha Course. It was started in London as a basic Christianity course for “baby Christians”. It has now spread worldwide. Buxton Community Church does this course whenever necessary. We were invited to take part in the course. It basically covers the basics of being a Christian. We were given a ride to Tim and Beryl’s in a 1950’s sports car. That was exciting. But don’t ask me what kind of car it was. I’d never heard the name before, but it was made only in the 50’s and only in Britain.

It was a fun-filled week and I’m looking forward to more!

TFG Orientation Conference

This week was my Time for God Orientation conference. It was held at Cliffs College near Sheffield, about 30 minutes away from Buxton. In past years they have done these orientation sessions almost immediately upon arrival and then the volunteers are sent to their placements. This year they decided to change this process since we come from America with a week on orientation to a week in England for orientation. They both have their advantages. At this point I was able to have a better understanding of what I’m doing, and not doing, and can talk to my TFG field officer about specific concerns. But on the other hand some information that I learned this week would have been more beneficial a month ago rather than now.

Time for God is a British charity that helps young Christians from around the world find a placement for a year of volunteering. At my conference there were volunteers from Germany, Hungary, Uganda, Sweden, Belgium, South Korea, and four of the YAGMs. It was nice to be re-united with some of the YAGMs but it was even better to meet people from around the world.

It also helped to talk about culture shock, even though it isn’t as significant for the Americans as it might be for the Africans or Asians, it still is culture shock. It was good to learn the signs of culture shock and I began to realize that my difficult week last week could easily be attributed to culture shock.

One thing I noticed at the conference was the age of the volunteers. Most were 20 and younger doing this “gap” year before starting university. I find it very interesting that in Europe it is more common to do this at the post-high school age and in the US it is more common to do it at the post-college age.

Oddly enough it was comforting being around the Germans. When they learned that I spoke German many asked why I didn’t want to serve in Germany. I explained to them that I felt it wouldn’t be as challenging for me since I have spent a significant amount of time there. It wouldn’t feel new and exciting. After realizing what a comfort it was to be around them I realized that Germany would have been relatively easy for me. I know the language, the culture, the history, the people. It made me very happy with my decision. I also met the very first German to not like Germany. He hopes to never return to Germany. I would say it’s safe to say that most Germans love their country and think it to be the greatest on the planet. I was so intrigued with Tom who hopes to live either in London or San Francisco after his year in Scotland.

Another aspect of week that excited me was getting money!!! They are having difficulties setting up our bank accounts and so most of us haven’t received our stipend for this month that we should have received on the 20th. They gave us half our stipend in cash and hopefully the other half will be put in our accounts in about 2 weeks. It was also helpful to get budgeting tips for the year. They had a lot of suggestions that seem now like common sense that I’d never even considered before.

Overall it was a nice getaway from Buxton and was good to see old YAGM friends and make new TFG friends. It was slightly frustrating to be getting orientation information almost a month after our arrival in England, since the information I had already mostly figured out already. But I’m now looking forward to our mid-year retreat in Wales in January!!!

Being Entertained, British Style

Last weekend was a very fun weekend for me. In the midst of bouts of homesickness I found fun ways to keep myself occupied.

Friday night after finishing up at the Charis House I went over to Lisa’s flat for the English premiere of Disney’s High School Musical 2. I had never been a fan of HSM until coming to England and watching the first one a few weeks ago. I think I’m more taken with it given it takes place in Albuquerque. The second installment of the tween movie was set at a country club in Disney’s Albuquerque. Although it wasn’t an exact replica of “real” Albuquerque, it was close enough for me to really miss the desert. My friends were asking me if the sky was really that blue in NM saying it looked fake. Then they laughed that I was stuck in Buxton where the sky is gray most the time.

Sunday morning while preparing tea and coffee before worship, one young teenage girl was asking me if American high schools were really like that. I was entertained of the idealism that young teenagers have and their impressions of the U.S. based on TV and movies.

Saturday afternoon I went to my first Buxton Christians football (soccer) game. I’ve only been to a handful of football (soccer) games back home. Although I’m not a huge fan, it is something I’m hoping to develop over the year. I went to the game with some WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends) of the team. Before heading to the game we went to Sarah’s house (Queen WAG) for tea and cake. Tammy explained to me that there are some women in Britain that aspire to be a WAG—for a professional footballer. It is an interesting sub-culture I’m hoping to learn more about. Tammy said that it might be possible for me to become an honary WAG since I won’t be dating one of the footballers.

Saturday night, Amy and I went to the Buxton Opera House to see a production on Annie. It has been several years since I’ve seen the story of Little Orphan Annie and I was impressed to see all the historical references contained in the musical. I am interested in knowing what other Brits thought of the musical since it is so “American”. There was a joke made about Babe Ruth and I was the only one in the entire theater to laugh. It’s funny that some things don’t translate, even in the “same language”. This weekend Amy and I are hoping to see the ballet Coppelia at the Opera House.

Sunday night we were offered tickets to see a movie in the Old Hall Hotel Pauper’s Pit Theater. They have a very intimate theater where they show movies every Sunday. A couple from church had the bought the tickets and weren’t able to go that night and gave them to us. This week they showed “The Last King of Scotland”. It was a very powerful and heavy movie. I recommend it for anyone who hasn’t seen it. Walking home from the theater I had a thought. Why is it that the British are able to criticize every mistake that the US’s foreign policy makes when they have made the same mistakes in their history. It really frustrates me and makes me a little angry. I’m not saying that our government and foreign policy is perfect or faultless, but the Bible verse from Matthew 7:4-5, “How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” comes to mind.

I have also become very interested in a British soap opera called HollyOaks that is on weeknights at 6:30pm.

Being on the Wrong Side

I've mentioned that I'm having difficulty crossing the roads in England due to the English driving on the wrong side of the roads. Over the past week or so I've discovered some new problems with being on the wrong side.

When walking on the sidewalk it is quite a disconcerting feeling the hear/feel and car come whizzing up behind you with no more than 3 feet from your precious body to the metal cage.

The worst one is however being in the car. It is still a very odd feeling to be in the front seat on the drivers side but having no control over the car's movements, since you are actually in the front seat on the passengers side. This uncomfortable feeling is made worse by being on the wrong side of the road. I am constantly expecting on-coming traffic to hit us head-on since my car is in the wrong lane. And then I realize that we are all on the wrong side and if we all stay on the wrong side we shouldn't have any major collisions. But with all these complications of being on the wrong side combined with the narrow and winding roads though the British country-side leads to a queesy feeling in the tummy.

Normally I am not one to get car-sick. In fact putting me in the car was the only way my parents could get me to sleep and now that I'm older being in the car has always been a soothing sensation. That was until you put me on the wrong side. Even a 20 minute drive through the country-side is enough for me to regret eating breakfast.

I recommend bringing dramamine before any adventures on the wrong side.

I'll Just Go and Put the Kettle On

It’s a very well known stereotype that the British drink. I have learned that it’s a fact that the British drink a lot of. I tried to avoid the tea the first couple of days. I’ve been a fan of tea since high school, but only herbal tea. Herbal tea is not readily available here. I had my first cup one day after induction at Charis House. It wasn’t near as spectacular as I had imagined.
So I tried to avoid them for a few more days. At Charis House it’s expected that at least someone will ask you if you want something to drink, usually tea or instant coffee, at least once a day. I finally broke down and asked for a cup of tea. With milk and sugar.
It’s still not that good. I really don’t understand why people drink it all the time. It lacks taste for the most part and is relatively unhealthy.
Then it dawned on me that tea is something that the British see as bringing comfort. If it’s cold and dreary outside, the solution is tea. If you’re having a bad day the solution is tea. If the plumbing in your house has gone out the solution is tea. To any problem that the British face the first likely solution is to have a cup of tea.
In any social setting the first thing done is to put the kettle on. Everyone has their own preference for their tea. I have yet to see anyone not have their tea with milk. Some adding one sugar; some adding two sugars; and others having no sugar. I have mine with milk and two sugars (sorry Mommy!).
One of my church responsibilities is to prepare the tea before church every Sunday. One of my unofficial duties at the Charis House is to get drinks. I’ve noticed that every good host/hostess offers a cup of tea almost immediately after crossing the threshold into their house.
This past week was a difficult one for me. The weather was cold and rainy—by far the worst it’s been since our arrival. I was missing things at home and just overall homesick. Tammy’s solution was to fix me tea. I was hoping that maybe there could possibly be some Hogwarts magic is a cup of tea, but I was let down. It doesn’t help.
But having a cup of tea does warm you up when you’re chilled to the bone. It does give you something to do when working in the office has left you bored. It does substitute for a late-night snack. And most importantly it has become the staple to all social gatherings.
So maybe the simple cup of British tea does have its charms after all.

Thoughts for September (from Newsletter)

As promised, I will be sending out monthly newsletters to keep everyone informed of what my life is like across the pond. I’m hoping that these newsletters will give you a good idea of what I’m doing, what I’m learning, people I’m meeting, and what God is doing in my life and the lives of those around me.
I’m hoping that’ll I have these done around the 15th of each month and obviously I’ve missed my first deadline.
I’m still adjusting to a new lifestyle. Everyone person that I live with and work with are absolutely wonderful ensuring that I’ve settled in okay and adjusting to life in small-town-England. And I have settled in much better than I had even expected. I know that the novelty and excitement of everything will eventually wear off, but I’m surrounded by wonderful people, which is very comforting.
I’m looking forward to the year to come, the new adventures I’ll have, the people I’ll make, the things I’ll learn and the relationships I’ll build.
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The end of August and September has been a time adjustment. It’s an ongoing process.
I’ve had to adjust to the weather. On average the temperature is about 30 degrees colder than current temperatures in Las Cruces. Sweaters and sweatshirts have been my daily attire occasionally adding my new pink rain jacket and polka-dotted umbrella to the ensemble.
Then there is the complication of the English driving on the wrong side of the road. It throws me off every single time. In Manchester they painted “look left” at the crosswalks. I wish these reminders were all over! I end up looking lift, right, left, right, left, right and left once more as I’m crossing.
Another major adjustment has been the language. I quickly discovered that British English might as well be a different language from American English. If I’m in a position where I can add lip-reading to listening I usually have no problems, but phone conversations are difficult. I ask the person to repeat things—a lot! I’m also getting vocabulary lessons quite often. I get teased about not speaking very good English.
Aside from the major differences, there have been the minor ones as well. It seems that everything is different from the envelopes to vacuums to using money. It’s a very humbling experience asking for help for simple things.

Good News Family Care

As I’ve mentioned previously my particular placement in Buxton is working half time at the Charis House, which is associated with Good News Family Care. The rest of the time will be spent working with Buxton Community Church.

Good News Family Care was started 13 years ago as a family center. It has transformed into a women’s refuge mostly serving homeless and victims of domestic abuse. The house is massive with 11 rooms and a “flat” for occupancy by clients. There are also several common rooms both upstairs and downstairs. Also the two couples who are the directors of the entire operation each have their own flat upstairs where they live with their families. This branch of GNFC is called the Charis House.

Attached to the Charis House using 5 rooms downstairs is the Good News Nursery. They serve mothers living in the house as well as other families in the community. They care for children from birth to 5 years and are open from 8 to 6.

Once women have moved out of the house they are assigned a community support worker. The two women who currently serve in this position are responsible for ensuring that the former residents are continuing and healthy and responsible lifestyle out of the house. They are available for making appointments, taking them to appointments, taking them shopping, spending time with them, as well as supervising finances. I’m sure that there are many other responsibilities of a community support worker that I have not yet encountered.

GNFC also has a rehab that used to be housed in the top floor of the Charis House but recently moved a separate house. Women must already be de-toxed before admittance to the house. They are taken daily to the GNFC farm to work—rain, snow, or shine.

The GNFC farm is several miles outside of Buxton. Its purpose is to give clients a valuable work experience. They have approximately 500 hens. The eggs are sold at the house as a way to raise money for the charity. They also have a wood-working project for men as another way to fundraise.

Along with the dedicated staff of the many branches of GNFC, they have several volunteers who usually spend a year in Buxton. Most volunteers come through an English organization called Time For God. This is the organization that the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission have teamed up with. They support Christian volunteers from all over the world creating a global community for GNFC.

The last ministry of GNFC is the church. When the organization started the associated church was naturally named Good News Church. But because of the growth of the church, it eventually split into two congregations: Good News Church, now homed in Whaley Bride, a community near Buxton, and Buxton Community Church, homed in the house. It is a non-denomination church with the congregation made up primarily of residents and staff along with a few other community members. The pastor is Mick the husband from my host family.

Within the church there are several ministries—all of which I’m involved with in some regard. They sponsor the Buxton Christians Football (Soccer) Club, Little Fishes (a weekly group for moms and children under 5), Women’s Group, various small groups and Bible Studies, and Rock Solid (youth group).

GNFC is a growing ministry that is doing a great job supporting families and making a difference in the Buxton community. I’m really enjoying learning more about the work done and having my own opportunity to do good in my new community.

Back-to-School

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.”
--Tom Bodett


Last Monday several of the residents of Charis House began their new term in college (upper high school). For most of them this is the first time they’ve been enrolled in school in several years. They have all been excited and really enjoying their first week of school. They are coming home early to work on homework rather than simply milling around the house with their children in the evening. During dinner-time when I’m at the house I’ve been offering to help them with homework ranging from dividing fractions to letter writing to working on Macbeth.

Their excitement rubbed off on me and I realized that I’m actually sad that I’m not in school and learning new things everyday. That is something I never thought I would say since I was about 5 years old. I guess you could say that I’m a student of a different type of schooling, but it’s not the same. I think I can attribute my excitement to start graduate school next year to the women living in the Charis House. I’m really hoping that all our excitement will endure over the year. Most women are enrolled in courses that will ensure jobs upon completion. I’m so proud of them for taking this difficult step in bettering their lives.

I’m still working on figuring out the schooling system in England—it’s rather confusing so I’ll get back to you on this one…

Great Expectations?

I’d like to say that I came to England with little to no expectations. But the longer I’m here I realize that although I said I didn’t have any I actually did have several. At orientation we were told that it would be easiest to adjust if we a) didn’t have expectations or b) expected our expectations to shatter.

My first expectation that I’ve had shatter was that living in the UK would be a simple adjustment from living in the US. The US was the UK’s child (that’s how it was explained to me in 8th grade history) so the similarities should be more prevalent than the differences. But I’ve seen over the past 3 weeks that even the simple things are different, which makes my life just slightly more complicated. From the vacuums—or hoovers—to even the envelopes, I feel that I have to learn everything all over again. And this process is rather frustrating. I like to consider myself a very independent person and wait till the last possible second for help, but since being here I feel that I’ve lost all sense of independence and have asked more questions than ever before in my life.

My second expectation was that most laws would also be similar creating a similar social setting. But as my work at Charis House becomes more involved, I learn more and more differences between the two countries.

Many of the women here are on welfare equivalent. However, their benefits are so great that there is rarely an incentive to find a job and begin living a more independent life. I am a full supporter of giving mothers/families extra help where needed, but when they are receiving more money than people working full-time jobs without any incentive to do more than watch TV all day, that’s where I have a problem. They receive weekly checks for spending money, housing money, and extra money for their children with no limitations on a time limit—at least that I’ve learned about so far. But if a job is found they usually don't pay enough to cover basic living expenses but pay too much to continue receiving assistance, essentially giving no reason to ever want to get a job and get of benefit.

But the maternity leave is much better than the US. This past December they changed the laws to give new mothers 9 months off with full pay (it used to be 6 months) and 3 months off with 60% pay. The fathers receive 2 weeks paternity leave.

In order to have to personal TVs in rooms, the household must register for a TV license for each TV. These are purchased annually for approximately £125. Personally I find this a bit excessive and ridiculous.

In Buxton they’ve just started a new recycling campaign called “Binnovation”. But from what I’ve learned from it so far is there are so many rules for the recycling that everyone can easily become overwhelmed and give up before any progress is made. It’s interesting to me to see people who in the United States would be stereotyped in a certain political party, but have a deep desire for recycling. Quite a contrast from what I’m used to at home. But perhaps that is just my cynical American nature surfacing.

The “Protestant Work Ethic” is another expectation I arrived in England with, unaware. I figured that I would more often than not be busy and occupied. I’ve never considered myself to be one who whole-heartedly followed the theory behind the Protestant Work Ethic, but being here I seen that I am most often sitting—unoccupied. And it drives me crazy! I’ve been volunteering for jobs that I would otherwise rather not do, simply because it keeps me busy for at least 2 minutes. I’m trying to be patient…but it’s hard!

I think the last one is the most significant—as well as the most difficult for me. It is the child protection policies followed in England. I think it would be fair to say that the U.S. has an okay policy when it comes to child abuse, protecting the children, and taking the necessary steps with the perpetrators. However, compared to England we have an outstanding system. Over the past couple of days I’ve realized that a child’s word is not considered evidence in a case, no matter how concrete it can actually be. A child can be initially taken from the parents’ care if abuse is confirmed, but just as easily the child is given back—repeatedly. It is a very rare occurrence for parents or whoever is abusing the child to have any legal action taken against them. I find this system heartbreaking, tragic, and sickening. It makes me thankful and grateful for the measures—no matter how small or insignificant—the US takes to protect children from abuse.

I expected to arrive in England with little to no expectations and this week I’ve realized that was the biggest expectation that has been broken.

Manchester Excursion

Last Saturday, Binod, Amy and I took the 10:30 train from Buxton to Manchester. This was the first time we had been to the train station since our arrival about a week and a half prior. It looked different than it had on August 28 and I’m sure it was because it was no longer new and unusual.

Arriving at the Manchester Piccadilly train station about an hour later we tried to find our bearings. The only map we had was from my Lonely Planet Great Britain travel. It proved to be helpful, but a more detailed, larger version would have been much easier. Our first desired destination was the Manchester Art Gallery.

As I almost always do enjoy art galleries, this one was no different. Although there were not many artists that I’m familiar with I enjoyed it none-the-less. I also really enjoyed the fact that on several paintings throughout the museum they had modern takes on the paintings in cartoon form for children that are “dragged” there, by their parents. As a child that was often “dragged” to museums as a child, this approach to entertaining the younger audiences would have been much appreciated. They also had a section of hands on activities for children. It was essentially a children’s museum and art museum combined for a great family experience. On the top floor was a craft section with a dollhouse exhibit, which I loved. I’ve always loved miniatures and dollhouses. But the highlight of the museum was free admission. Apparently most museums in England do have free admission.

After lunch we were walking around and came across a parade. It was the oddest parade I’ve ever seen and I could never figure out what the purpose of the parade was. We also heard a marching band. This all took place in front of a large Ferris wheel, which looked identical to the London Eye, so I’ve decided to call it the Manchester Eye. At this point we headed towards the Science museum. As we were walking we passed the Manchester Cathedral. We stopped inside and heard a children’s choir practicing for that night’s prayer service. They were amazing! I thought it was very interesting that the cathedral looked like every Catholic cathedral I’ve seen on “the continent” I going to make the assumption that it was Anglican rather than Catholic. We also passed the John Rylands Library, which was a memorial for him from his widow. Last summer I discovered my love for libraries and am looking forward to a visit when I can explore this one!

By the time we made it to the science museum Amy and I were pretty tired and uninterested in the museum. Binod had already been there, so he left us and were going to meet up an hour and a half later. So while Binod was off exploring, Amy and I sat in the museum café. Around 5pm we headed back towards the train station for the 5:30pm train back to Buxton.

My overall opinion on my trip to Manchester was “meh”. My Lonely Planet guide hyped-up the city to be the “cultural center of the North”, but my opinion was it was great for shopping—which I sadly didn’t get to experience—but the museums were sparse and not easily accessible for tourists. But I am planning on returning at least once again this year, this time hoping for some shopping!

Learning a new language

When I first learned I was going to be serving in the UK I was very excited that I was not going to have many language struggles. However as I'm beginning my second week in Buxton, it's become apparent that I am having language struggles and they won't be subsiding anytime soon. Most of these are just funny anecdotes, but there are the occasional frustrations and they mostly come when I'm working with children.

I've began a list of odd words I've encountered over the past week and I'm sure as the year progresses I'll have many more. But here is the start of my list:
*bin- trash can
*dummy- pacifier
*poorly- sick/ill
*tea- dinner/supper/and of course of the drink
*dinner- lunch
*supper- late night snack
*knackered- exhausted
*hoovering- vacuuming
*jumper- sweater
*mobile- cell phone
*crikey- geez (or any other equivalent)
*fortnight- two weeks time
*pudding- dessert
*chips- french fries
*crisps- chips (as in the potato kind)
*football- soccer
*college- last two years of high school
*university (more commonly uni)- college
There are others that I've noticed but can't remember now...

Another difference I struggle with is the way they say times. Half seven means seven-thirty. However, in my German studies I learned that "halb sieben" (half seven) means six-thirty. I'm still clarifying when someone tells me times. It's a little frustrating, but I'm used to asking language questions, so it's not terrible.

Last week I was playing with Liam (7) and Ethan(5). Ethan picked something up off the floor and was playing with it. I asked him to put it in the trash. He looked at me so I repeated myself. He asked me where to put it and I quickly remembered the "proper" word: bin. Once I asked him to put it in the bin he sprang into action.

On Monday I was playing with Mercedes (5) and Holly (3). Mercedes kept coughing. I asked her if she was getting sick. She looked at me in confusion so I repeated my self. Then she replied "No I'm not sick, I don't feel well."

It helps to have the mother's of children around when I'm talking to them for "translation" purposes. Since they are used to American movies, TV shows, and music they understand me much better than their young children. But I'm put to the test when I'm by myself with the kids. I've also noticed that they have a hard time understanding me and I usually have to repeat myself once or twice. It becomes a little tedious and frustrating.

Yesterday I was being introduced to a woman at Little Fishes (a weekly group for mom's with children under 5). Sarah said "And Christina's from America aren't you?" The woman I was being introduced to said "Well I think I've gathered that". I laughed and said "What gave me away". It had obviously been my accent--or lack of one.

It also makes me giggle a little to hear the Brits pronounce words ending in "a" since it sounds like "er". So my name goes from being Christina to "Christiner" whose from "Americer". Although I love hearing English spoken with a British accent, I've noticed that if I'm not in a position where I can add lip reading to listening I really struggle to understand them. Speaking on the phone has proven to be the most frustrating for this reason.

Stay tuned for more language blunders between American and British English. They certainly are two different languages.

A pence. A pound. A quid. A what?

Money makes the world go around. It's sad, but true. Over the past week or so I've become very aware of money. Which is good in some ways since it's a lesson I need to learn.

The first thing that I'm still trying to learn is all about the British currency system. There's the pence, which is the equivalent of a penny. Then a pound, one hundred pence, which is the equivalent of a dollar. Then there's a quid. It took my a while to figure out what exactly that is. I even googled it and learned that it's slang for a pound. Basically like us calling it a buck.

Another thing I'm still trying to sort out is which coin is which and which bill is which. It doesn't help that in my wallet I still have American coins and Euro coins mixed in with the British coins. What I'm doing so far (and it's working) is trying to count the coins out, handing it to the clerk and telling them, "I hope that's right". They have pence coins, 5p coins, 10p coins, 20p coins, 50p coins, 1 pound coins, and 2 pound coins. It's all very confusing and tricky.

A piece of advice that we received at orientation in Chicago was to not convert the price of things into dollars. This has proven very difficult for me, but I'm trying to get better at since it'll make me feel not as bad about spending so much money. The exchange is currently about 1 pound for $2.16. So for everything you buy, double it, add a little more and that's about what you're spending! I bought a birthday card the other day and it was cheaper that what I spent on postage to the States. I saw a rain jacket yesterday for 140 pounds. Double that and it's close to $300. For a rain jacket. But fortunately another store was having a 50% off sale, so I bought a brand new rain jacket for 29 pounds. That's even cheap in the States!

My last struggle is with having money and not having money. The ELCA sent us off with $100 to last us till our first stipend is paid. Well when we got here that was only 40 pounds. To last a whole month. It's gone already. I have more money of my own, but I'm trying really hard to save that for traveling--however, my pretty new raincoat did come out of my bank account. Our first stipend comes in Sept. 20 and I'm very excited, even though it won't be a lot of money. It'll be interesting to see how I can survive by only getting money once a month. Stay tuned to see how well I succeed at this endeavor. I'm excited to learn how to challenge myself to live simply and this definitely helps!!!

Who are you?

Warning: This one's long and very stream of conscious-ish

So in these first few days I have met so many people. All of them have been absolutely wonderful, welcoming, interesting, and just about any other positive word that you can think of! Almost everyone that I've met has some type of connection to the previous person I met and it's getting a little complicated and confusing to sort out. But I'm working on it.

Tonight is the end of my first weekend in Buxton. Amy and I are referred to as either "the girls" or "the Americans". And oddly enough I kinda enjoy that.

Friday was supposed to be my first "real" day at work. First Tammy took us to get registered at the doctor which really only entailed getting forms for us to fill out. Then Tammy and I walked to the Charis house. Since most people have been on "holiday" the house has been very quiet. Tammy showed me how to do a few procedural type stuff in the office. While in the office someone asked me my "surname". It makes me giggle when they say my name because it sounds like there's an "r" at the end. Brian then said "Well that's a posh name isn't it". I have a posh name, haha!

Then she needed to run some errands for her boyfriends birthday and Brian (staff at the Charis House) sent me along with Tammy and Naomi. They showed me some more things downtown, like where the "posh" shops are and then we had Subway for lunch. Definitely not the same!!! When we returned to the Charis House, Tammy sent me home since there wasn't much else for me to do that day. I spent the rest of the afternoon playing on my computer and watching British television.

Saturday, Amy and I went to the market that's held in front of the city hall every Tuesday and Saturday. It was fun but very small.
Then we headed to the Cavendish Arcade (where the posh shops are). We wandered around there for a while. Afterwards we walked through the Pavilion Gardens again. I think they're so beautiful and I think I'll end up spending a lot of time there--at least before it gets too cold!

Last night Binod (turns out I misunderstood his name) made Amy and dinner. He made rice, lentil soup with curry and chicken curry. It was delicious. Tammy invited us to go out with her and her friends. We met up with Lisa (who also works at the Charis house), her friend, and Naomi along with Tammy and Matt and Binod. I went to my first British pub and had Strongbow--which is basically alcoholic apple cider. While we were there a man that Lisa knew came to sit down with us. After learning that Amy and I were Americans he said, "I don't like Americans." My response was, "Geez, thanks!" He tried to take his foot out of his mouth by replying, "Well not Americans individually, but the government." One of the guys we were with tried to help buy saying he doesn't like the way their government plays puppet to George Bush, Tony Blair specifically. In an attempt to stop any further political talk in a pub, I said no government was perfect. After a long pause of silence the big goon asked if anyone smoked, I said I was a non-smoker. He responded "Said with that American accent". It was at this point the whole group left.

This morning we went to church. It's held at the Charis House and is one of the churches that I'll eventually be working with. It's made up of staff from the Charis house, residents of the Charis House, and others that have some type of connection to either one of those groups. Beryl had Amy and I come up to the front to introduce us and encourage the congregation to take us to do things with them. We had several people excited to met us and talk with us. People ask us so many questions--but hey! who doesn't love talking about themselves!!!

Tonight we went to Matt's parents house for his birthday party. It was all people from church. When I first walked in a girl about 13 said "Hey, you're the person from church". Later, Abby, Matt's 5 year-old half sister asked me a question. When I answered her, her next question was, "Who are you?" I'm assuming my "strange" accent was the clue that I was a stranger. I told her who I was and asked who she was. She's absolutely precious and I could tell she just found me odd. One girl (who's 15) was asking me if New Mexico was near New York, Florida, or Alabama. She was disappointed that it wasn't near any of those places.

Although all week I've been the "new volunteer", "the American" or just a stranger in general, it's all been very fun. I've loved sharing about where I come from while learning about this "strange" and new culture!!!

I think I need more sweaters!!!!

I woke up this morning to the gray, sad sky that you hear about in England. And it's just as sad and gray as you'd imagine. I bundled up like I would for a winter's day back home.

Amy and I went to the Charis house about 1PM after sleeping in again. We had more orientation--or induction--with Mary. I also had my first cup of British tea. Pretty sure it's an acquired taste. After a few hours at the Charis house, Tammy took Amy, Cida, and I to the center of town where the shops are. It's a lovely, typical European main street lined with coffee houses, and random stores. I instantly fell in love with it. I even found a store with some scrapbooking supplies.

Tammy left early to run some errands. Amy, Cida and I continued wandering and exploring. Cida doesn't speak much English at all, so Amy and I were trying to teach her some phrases. She can repeat very well and I think she knows more than she lets on. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for her to be here and struggling with the language on top of everything else. We had a great time though. I found a store that has some scrapbooking things. There's also a Subway restaurant and a KFC. Familiarity is very comforting!!! Cida took us to the Pavilion Gardens--absolutely gorgeous!!! We also stopped by the opera house which is currently showing The Twelfth Night and Annie.

Mich cooked us dinner--shepherds pie with gravy and cooked veggies. Exactly what I would have imagined for a British dinner. I tried a new type of soda today--dandelion and something else. A little like rootbeer but it also had a licorice taste...I'm still deciding whether I liked it or not, haha!

The House

As mentioned before I'm living with a host family in Buxton. Mich is a pastor as well as a physics teacher at the university in Buxton. Sue works at the Charis House (Good News Family Center). Their niece Tammy from Winnipeg, Canada lives in the basement. The first floor is where the dining room, kitchen, and living room are. The second floor is where Mich and Sue's room, a spare room, and the main bathroom are. On the third floor is where my room, Amy's room, Benard's room, and the second bathroom are. Each room has its own sink and t.v. I have a pretty view from my room. It's a nice room, but it doesn't feel like home yet.

Day 1

Our first full day in Buxton was Aug. 29, 2007. Amy and I both slept in until about noon then met Tammy downstairs who walked us over the the Charis house. We briefly met Sue, our host mom, before leaving. Her and her husband Mich and Benard had returned from a Christian conference late that last night.

At the Charis House (Good News Family Center) we met a plethora of people, both workers and residents. It was a little overwhelming considering I'm still extremely tired. We had a little bit on orientation (or induction as they call it) and then were sent home about 3:30.

Amy and I spent about an hour figuring out how to set up the wireless on our laptops. We were both very happy that the house has wireless and even more excited when we actually figured everything out. It's such a comfort knowing that I can access email, facebook, and myspace whenever I feel like it. It's also great knowing that I can do webcam chats with Steve and download the latest episode of Greek--my newest addiction before leaving the States!!!

At 6PM Debbie picked Amy, Benard, and I up for dinner at Tim and Beryl's house. Along the way we also picked up Cida, a woman from Brazil also working at the Charis House. Tim and Beryl have the volunteers over for dinner once a week and also take the volunteers for coffee when needed. Beryl's relationship with us is she's an outlet when work becomes too much for us. This is such a blessing since she does not work at the Charis House and will keep anything told to her confidential. Her dinner was excellent and they are a wonderful couple. Beryl is a kindergarten teacher and helps with worship at the Charis House on Sunday. Tim does construction work. This was the first time we spent any time with Benard (the volunteer from Nepal). He is great, very funny and has such an infectious laugh! Cida (the volunteer from Brazil) knows very little English. I felt so sorry for her at dinner since she wasn't included in much of the conversation. For pudding (dessert) we had a cheesecake like cake topped with blueberries (I think!). They also had cream to pour on top of it--very British. So I did and it was wonderful!!! But I probably shouldn't make a habit out of it!!!

We returned home around 9PM and spent a little more time talking with Sue. She seems wonderful and I'm excited to spend more time with her and get to know her better!!! I was proud of myself for being able to stay up until 10. I tried to watch this weeks episode of Greek but after I realized I was listening more than watching I decided to call it a night.

The Mass Exodus

Sunday night concluded our week in Chicago with worship. It was so powerful and everyone was so full of emotions that there was hardly a dry eye in the entire group including staff and alumni.

I postponed my packing until Monday morning since I really didn't have too much to pack. The international weight limit has been dropped down to 50lbs a bag and everyone was stressing about that. Luckily one of the alums brought a travel scale for us to all weigh our bags. Mine were 28.8 and 48.5.

We departed the University of Chicago dorms where we'd been staying the past week at approximately 10:30 with 33 of us on board all leaving on various flights. Checking in was such a hassle since we were all a group with visas. So someone had to verify that we all had visas. Once we were all checked in and had gone through security we still had about 3 hours to kill. I went with some kids from the UK team to Chili's for one last cheeseburger. It was divine!

We hung out at our gate for about 2 hours. When it was finally time to board they informed us that we wouldn't be leaving on time because travel conditions were too favorable and we would end up in London too soon. So we waited longer.

When we were finally on our plane I was lucky enough to have the seat next to me empty. I was hoping it would help me sleep better but of course it didn't. The food was bad, the movies were bad, and I slept badly.

We arrived at Heathrow, London approximately 6AM. When going through passport control I was detained since my visa had been denied after the first application. My passport has been flagged for me to be stopped everytime I enter the country now. The woman at passport control recommended that the flag be removed however gave no guarantees. There is no way for me to check the process and will just have to hope for the best if I travel out of the UK and try to get back in. All of our luggage arrived which was a relief. We said our good-byes and headed off to our respective destinations.

While changing money at the airport since I would have to ride the underground to the train station I saw the best sign: "Give us $400 and we'll give you 181 British pounds". What a welcoming sign!

Unfortunately we were traveling on the underground at the same time the morning commuters were. I know we were hassle with our luggage, but what other option did we have? After an hour on the "tube" and having men help us carry our suitcases up staircases we arrived at the Euston train station. We were lucky enough to get to hang out here for 5 hours until our trains left! We encountered a lovely British woman and her dog Max. When she learned of what we would be doing here for the next year she bought us each a chocolate filled croissant. I've found that the British are very welcoming and friendly.

Our train ride was about 2 hours till our first stop. Amy and I both fell asleep, but I was no nervous that we would miss our stop I didn't sleep too well. We changed trains in Stockport and caught the next train to Buxton. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous passing green rolling hills, cows, and sheep. We were greeted at the train station by Tammy (the neice from Canada) and Jo (a worker from the Good News Family Center). They helped us with our luggage and took us to the Charis House (what the locals call the GNFC) for a brief tour and introduction to some of the residents.

We returned to the house to unpack and get settled. We are both on the third floor of the house with a closet that has been converted into a bathroom. Benard, the volunteer from Nepal lives up here also. I took the smaller of the two rooms with a beautiful view outside.

Around 6 we walked to the grocery store--the equivalent of an Albertson's--to buy groceries for the week. I was proud that I only spent 13 Pounds on food! For dinner the girls made us fajitas and we watched British soap operas. I went to bed around 8PM since I basically had no more energy after such a long travel day.

A Week in Chicago

and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.--Micah 6:8

We're coming to the end of our orientation week in Chicago. Tomorrow is our last opportunity for packing, laundry, buying last minute American goods, feeding any expected cravings for food and then we're off. Tomorrow is our last day for familiarity. But really how familiar is Chicago to me.

This is the first time I've spend any significant time in the mid-west portion of the U.S. And I can definitely tell the differences. The most significant difference being the weather. Being mid-August New Mexico is usually hot, dry, with afternoon rainstorms usually lasting no longer than an hour. This week has been warm, humid, with rainstorms lasting no more than 23 hours. Thursdays seminars were interrupted by a tornado warning causing us to have to move locations to the underground parking garage for about 30 minutes till the tornado had passed.

Although this week has been a great one, the highlight was easily having the opportunity to spend and hour and a half in the Art Institute of Chicago. I love art galleries and could spend hours on end looking at the artwork. I spent most of my time looking at European pieces from artists such as Lucas Cranach (cause I'm a good Lutheran) to Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, Manet, and Picasso. There were also some modern pieces which looked very similar to those I received from my preschoolers. I don't understand modern art at all!!!

Most of the week was spent indoors listening. We did a lot of listening. Occasionally we broke into small groups and did some more listening with some actual speaking thrown in. I've grown to despise our meeting room. However the speakers that we've had this week have been wonderful.

Our morning Bible studies were led by a Lutheran pastor from Crenshaw, L.A., Cali. He was simply amazing and inspirational. We've heard stories from the alum team throughout the week relating to each day's Bible verse. (anyone interested in these verses, let me know!) For the late morning seminar and early afternoon seminar we've had various speakers kind enough to share their wisdom with us. We've learned about globalization, accompaniment, partnership, community building, culture shock, gender issues and racism. It's all been so intense. Great and informative, but intense.

I'm getting very excited to leave on Monday. Once in London, Amy and I will be navigating our way through the "tube" to our train station to catch our train to Buxton. Thank God we have about 6 hours to figure it out!!! Amy is from Minnesota and will be living with me in Buxton with our host family and a few other volunteers. She will also be working at the Good News Family Center, but I believe her work will have her doing different things than me.

I've loved getting to know the YAGM group better and meeting the YAVs from the PC-USA church. We're such a great group of young people and it's really inspiring to see all of us so excited to make a difference in the world and live out the Gospel rather than just discussing how we can work on living out the Gospel. I truly believe every one of us has the desire to live out the verse from Micah. Please keep all of us in your prayers. I'm lucky to be placed in a country of relative safety, and I admire those who are choosing to go to the Philippines, Mexico, Argentina, Northern Ireland, Ghana, and India where violence becomes part of everyday living.

I'll have a new blog posted as soon as I get settled into Buxton and figure out the internet situation. But in the mean time feel free to email, facebook, myspace, or comment here!

Love you all!

The beginning

Just a few more days until I leave for orientation for YAGM in Chicago.

Reminder: I'll be living in Buxton, England for the next year. I'll be working with three youth groups throughout the week and at a home for families going through some type of distress. I'll be living with a host family--the husband is a pastor and also teaches physics, the wife also works at the Good News center. There will also be four other volunteers living there. One is from Germany, one from Nepal, another YAGM volunteer and the hosts' neice from Canada.

Important Dates: August 19--I depart at 6AM to Chicago
August 27--I depart for England at 4:55PM
August 28--I arrive in London at 5:55AM
September 15--My first newsletter will be ready (hopefully!)

Now I must resume packing and other final preparations. This is pretty crazy!