European Travels and More

So I realized I haven’t posted in a while and I apologize. I definitely got that post-spring break laziness that attacks after getting a taste of unproductivity, and all my efforts in self-discipline have been going toward the massive amount of paper and projects piling up. Since I last posted I have had two big European adventures! Firstly, John, Cooper, and I went to Portugal for break! That was a fantastic experience. We spent two days in Lisbon, one in Fatima, and two in Porto. Lisbon, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful, friendly, and culturally rich cities I’ve been to. People generally don’t list it as a top destination in Europe, but I think it will be my favorite place I visit this whole semester. To be honest though I think a large part of my enjoyment of it was because of how warm it was. I forgot what it felt like to feel intense sunshine and actually be hot in short sleeves. When we first arrived in Lisbon we really just wandered the streets for a while and went into many little craft shops and beautiful churches. In our wanderings we happened to walk into a church that turned out to mark the place of St. Anthony’s birth and Pope JPII had visited there. It was one of the crazy moments where I realized just how full of history every part of Europe is that we could just happen to end up in this really special place when just taking a nice stroll close to where we were staying. We also visited a monastery in Belem in Lisbon called St. Jerome’s monastery which is probably the most ornately beautiful building I have ever laid eyes on. You can see the picture below. Our day in Fatima was really a once in a lifetime experience. It felt amazing to be a young pilgrim traveling with friends to be able to grow in holiness through the experience of traveling to a sacred space. I felt really in communion with my church and felt closer to Mary than I have in a while. It is a beautiful thing to think about her selecting three poor children to spread so many important messages through. God works in mysterious ways, and I am grateful to have been able to walk the paths of this particular working of the Lord. Porto was a beautiful port city where I tried port wine for the first time and went on a wine tasting and tour. I felt very adult. Porto had amazing food, views, and of course, churches.

Lisbon!

Wine Tasting in Porto

The Monastery of St. Jerome

At Fatima

A tile commemorating the Pope’s visit. We prayed at the exact same spot!

 

We got back in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday of break and basically spent the rest of the time recovering and getting caught up on work, cleaning and such. The following weekend, John and I went to Copenhagen, Denmark to celebrate my birthday. I have always wanted to visit Denmark since I am Danish. It was really neat to talk to my grandmother before I left about the names of her grandparents and other ancestors from Denmark and figuring out where they grew up. The Danish food (and pastries!) were amazing but unfortunately we got some pretty bad weather. I felt like I was back in South Bend with how cold and windy it was. So we stayed inside a lot and went to quite a few museums. The Danish people were incredibly friendly and I did feel pretty at home there. As much as I enjoyed it, I still haven’t figured out how the Danish are the happiest people on the planet. It was very cold and everything was pretty expensive…. but they do have a strong sense of community and pride, and plenty of beautiful buildings as well!

At the picturesque wharf.

There were tons of beautiful castles and gardens all over Copenhagen!

 

Last weekend I stayed in London and finally got to go to High Tea with my friends! I don’t think I have ever eaten so much in my life! Well, at least since Thanksgiving…. Friday night I finally got to watch The Imitation Game and then on Saturday we went to see Bletchly Park where the movie was set and where the code-breakers of WWII lived and worked. It is really an untold story of some of the most important work and efforts of the war. They say the work that happened there shortened the war by at least two years. The movie was really a powerful portrayal of some of the people involved focusing on Alan Turing. His narrative is really heartbreaking and an important reminder of the need to embrace and love all people as they are, especially people who are different. Sunday we went to watch the Head of the River Race on the Thames from the Hammersmith Bridge. Over 400 crews were racing a huge crowd stood on the bridge to watch. It was really fun to feel apart of London doing that.

Bletchly Park. You’ll catch quite a few glimpses of this mansion in the movie, The Imitation Game

Here we are feeling fancy having tea with all the trimmings at the Gore Hotel in Kensington, the poshest part of London.

Watching the boat race

The semester is really flying by, but I am really ready to see my family again. I also can’t wait to show off this city to them and do a little more exploring too!

Checking in on my goals

At the very beginning of my semester I made some goals for myself while abroad. Now that I am about halfway through the semester I wanted to take a minute to evaluate those goals.

1) I want to grow culturally by pushing myself to experience at least one (at least somewhat) unfamiliar cultural event a week. 

So far I have experienced an incredible number of cultural events that I never would have experienced otherwise. These experiences have ranged from attending evensong in various Anglican churches, to celebrating Chinese New Year, to getting into pub culture (although not too into it Mom and Dad…), to eating haggis. I’ve experienced tea time at the nursing home with many proper British women. I’ve been to plays and musicals and stared at paintings for longer than ever before. I’ve walked around numerous museums. I went to a mass entirely in Italian, but in the heart of London (it was an accident but still really neat). I’ve gone to markets and so much more. But I want to do more. I am beyond excited about traveling to other countries soon such as Portugal and Denmark, and I can’t wait to experience those cultures.

I think this is my favorite piece of art that I saw at the Tate Modern. I have been working on growing my appreciation for modern art…with limited success…

I have learned all about a new sport! Rugby! We have been getting into the 6 Nations Tournament!

Me and my mummy. You could spend days in the British Museum!

Chinese New Year in Trafalgar Square

2) I want to get to know the people of London, hopefully by participating in service.  I think one of the most valuable parts of any study abroad experiences is getting to know people who’s lives are nothing like your own.

Last week I posted about an amazing woman I met at the nursing home. I have become very attached to some of the people I visit with, and have learned about the world from them. I have also grown incredibly attached to the children in my class I work with every week at Drumbeat. The teachers and aids in the classroom have tried their best to educate me on British culture but I’m still very American to the core. Unfortunately London is very urban and the British are polite to an extreme, meaning I haven’t been able to make a ton of best friends for life on the tube, but I have been able to meet some people from King’s College through a joint event our college’s did. Thankfully my professors who are from here are not shy about talking about their lives and the culture here, so I have learned a lot through them. I really want to continue to work on this and meet many more people.

3) I want to disconnect from the parts of myself I don’t like, such as the technology addicted parts, and focus on paying attention to the world around me instead of being in my own self-absorbed world. To this end, I want to get lost. I want to have to ask for directions, wonder down streets I don’t have to take to get there the fastest, just ride around on the bus for a while going no place in particular and get off when I see something I want to check out. I want to explore instead of plan, and dive in without fear.

The other day John and I picked a park at random and wondered around it for a few hours. We both agreed that the experience of walking around this beautiful park (Regent’s Park) was a reminder of how blessed we are to be in this city of endless possibility and beauty. This park was an oasis of peace and calm in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city. My friends and I have gone to many markets and other sites in London that you can easily get lost in, and don’t worry I have gotten lost a few times (but not for long). But there is still so much more to explore in this city…

The word beautiful doesn’t even begin to cover some of the places we have wondered around in.

John looking at the birds in Regent’s Park. It was a dreary day and yet the park was still magnificent!

4) I want to be able to see God in places I never have before. Being in a big, diverse, and foreign city is definitely out of my comfort zone, and being out of my comfort zone does one of two things to my faith: it either deepens it, or weakens it. I want to deepen my faith my being able to look at faith from a million new angles. From historical angles in this wonderfully ancient city, from the angles of the poor and migrants here in London, and from angles I can’t possibly predict right now.

During my time here in London I have definitely encountered the Lord. I have seen God in natural wonders like the beach and hills in Scotland, in the craftsmanship of towering Cathedrals like Canterbury, Westminster Cathedral, and Christ Church at Oxford, in the peaceful chapel at Fisher Hall celebrating mass with Fr. Andrew and the ND London community, and most especially in the people I am here with. I am so grateful for this whole experience!

I love the friends I have made here, especially the Taco Tuesday Crew in all our disfunction (photo taken by Olivia).

5) I want to come back changed. I want to come back as a more accepting, braver, more savvy, more global, and more aware person. I want to come back as someone who is fully present to each moment, and fully appreciative of the beauty and culture around them. I want to come back with new friends from all over the world. But of course, I hope to only deepen the core of who I am: a simple child of God who just wants to make God happy by making this world better than I found it.

I can say without a doubt that I have changed internally since coming to London, but I know I have a lot more growing to do. These goals are all works in progress, but I know I have come a long way since I first typed them out. I can’t wait to see what else this semester has in store!

My Canterbury Tales

Unfortunately I spent much of last week recovering from a nasty cold, along with many of my friends who were also sick. Traveling with people when one of them is sick means everyone gets sick. At least we could commiserate with each other. I also got to check off having a unique cultural experience last week through my visit to an urgent care clinic. National Health Care in the UK definitely has its positives and negatives…

Once we were all feeling a lot better on Saturday, we went to visit the charming town of Canterbury in Kent County, in the South of England. Our rector, Josh, his wife who is a historian at Oxford, and his two adorable twin baby boys went with us, and shared with us the very colorful history of Canterbury. Canterbury has traditionally been one of the three major pilgrimage sites in Western Europe, along with Rome and Santiago in Spain. It’s famous for its Cathedral which was the British equivalent to St. Peter’s Basilica. The town itself houses ruins of the birthplace of Christianity in England that we were able to see. St. Augustine of Canterbury was sent by the Pope to try to evangelize England and set up a church there. It was on those grounds from which Christianity was spread. Canterbury became especially famous after the death of St. Thomas Becket who was killed by the King’s nobles after a dispute over the intersection of Church and State. After claims of miraculous healings through his intercession, the spot of his martyrdom and burial became incredibly popular to visit for the faithful. John, being really into English martyrs, was very excited to be in the place that he made famous, and the spot in which he was murdered. We were able to pray in the chapel where he was killed which was really special and a great way to begin this beautiful Lenten season. The Cathedral of Canterbury was absolutely breathtaking, and we enjoyed a wonderful evensong there. You can see pictures below.

The Canterbury Cathedral. It was truly magnificent.

I snuck this right before evensong. You can see how breathtaking the inside of the Cathedral is as well.

My wonderful friends in front of the ruins of St. Augustine’s Abbey- the birthplace of Christianity in England

Sunday I went to Trafalgar Square to check out the Chinese New Year activities which were great to be apart of, but it was crazy crowded. It still amazes me how many opportunities there are in London to learn more about other cultures. On Tuesday I got back to visiting at the nursing home after a week off recovering from my cold, and it was so great to see everyone. I visited a few of the residents for a while in between mass and lunch and was reminded of how humbling that experience can be. One of the residents I visited with was a nun in Zimbabwe for 40 years and then left because she felt called to start a homeless shelter in London, which she did. Even very debilitated and 89 years old, she still fundraises for hospitals in Uganda. It was really an inspiration to learn all of this about her, and I sincerely look forward to developing a friendship with her.

I was greatly saddened to hear of the death of Fr. Ted Hesburgh, who was one of my great role models. I am very glad I was able to meet him. I will never forget our conversation where he spoke about his devotion to the Holy Spirit who he felt was a female Spirit. I am upset to not be on campus to attend any of the services there, but we will be having services here in London to commemorate him which I’m grateful for.

Next week is midterms week which seriously blows me away. I have five papers due, hence the lateness of this blog post.  I cannot believe my time here is almost halfway up. There are so many things I still have left on my London bucket list, but I am also really missing my family, so it won’t be that hard to say goodbye knowing I will be able to be with them again. Next time I write it will be probably after my Spring Break adventures to Portugal. You will be in my prayers at Fatima! God bless, everyone.

Scotland Adventures

Last weekend my roommate Emily and another friend Melanie came in from Dublin to visit. We went on a whirlwind tour of London in a little over 24 hours to make sure they got to see all the highlights. It was a blast to do all of the touristy things with them like visit platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station, go to the British Museum, and take plenty of Big Ben photos. I’m so glad they could come and it was so great to be able to show them London, which is definitely beginning to feel like “my city.” This week was incredibly busy with meetings, papers, and even a pub quiz (finished 3rd so I was proud of us!), so I am just now getting around to posting again.

It was a dreary London day with Emily and Melanie but we made the most of it! It was so wonderful to see them!

Friday morning we left for Scotland by train at 9am. Word of advice: don’t split up with your group members on your way to the station. Olivia and I had a few moments of sheer panic before meeting back up with John and Cooper at the station. We boarded a very nice train sitting at a table and breathed many sighs of relief to all be on the train together on time. The ride up to Edinburgh was simply breathtaking. We got extremely excited when we spotted the sea, and enjoyed many of the lovely towns we passed through such as York and New Castle. We arrived in Edinburgh at 1:22 and were scheduled for a free tour at 2. Our first steps into the town from the train station were magical. There was plenty of people around but nothing like the hustle and bustle of London, and it gave off a much more hospitable and tourist-friendly vibe. There were steeples and clock towers and beautiful monuments every way you turned, in a charming way with picturesque hills all in the distance. We walked across a bridge and met up with a few more friends before beginning our tour. We had a wonderful tour and at the end went back to a graveyard we went past to find the graves that J. K. Rowling saw to base names for many Harry Potter characters off of such as Tom Riddle and Prof. McGonagall. After that we popped into the cafe where she wrote the majority of the 1st and 2nd books. Pretty soon after we headed back to our airbnb and met the nice family we were staying with. Our tour guide recommended a great pub right down by Portobello Beach about a 10 minute walk away from where we were staying, so we grabbed a delicious dinner there. I tried to be adventurous and order a new drink which was just terrible. Never get a fiery ginger hot cocktail. Unlike mine, Cooper’s risky adventure of getting a haggis burger paid off.

The next morning we set out to climb the famed Arthur’s Seat. It was a heroic feat to get to the top, but instead of the regular stunning view that met the brave hikers who made it to the top, all we saw was fog. It was a little disappointing but definitely a unique experience to climb so high up in the mist. I felt empowered after our climb but mostly exhausted, so we rested at a pub and watched the first half of the English v. Italy Rugby match, and John and I tried our very first haggis (pictured below).

We made it to the top of Arthur’s Seat! I think the facial expressions say it all…

Yummm haggis!! Actually it tasted really good.

We went to the Scotland National Museum and then headed to climb Carlton Hill. This time we really did get an amazing sunset view and climbed up the national Scotland monument. We were so exhausted from all the climbing and walking (15 miles worth) we called it in pretty early after exploring many cute tourist shops. This morning John and I woke up early to take a sunrise walk on the beach which was really wonderful and then met up with Cooper to go to mass in the city. It was a nice mass and then afterwords we met up with everyone else to go to the Edinburg Castle. This Castle contained more beautiful views and tons of Scottish history. My favorite part was seeing the famed Stone of Scone which my sister and I watched a movie on and ever since then loved to joke about it. It’s hard to believe such an unassuming regular rock could have such a colorful history. Seriously it couldn’t look more unexciting, but I was pretty pumped to see it. We spent a while there and then headed to the train station. I’m writing this on the train, but we should be back in Ole London Town soon. Scotland was incredible, the landscape was gorgeous, the city was inspiring, the people were wonderful, and the accents were….really hard to understand but still charming. I have many great pictures and souvenirs for family to remember it by, and a super sore body to remind me of the fun adventures. But I’m glad to be going home to my own bed and routine, and to London which I come to love so much.

John touching the Firth of Fourth which opens up onto the North Sea

Michelle and Olivia checking out the cannons in the Castle. Traveling is all about who you are with! I’m so thankful for the wonderful friends I have made!

Updates on Cosmopolitan Living

Getting used to living in a big city has been such a change. I am feeling like a Tube pro now even though I still get a little overwhelmed by the rush hour crowds. I actually am enjoying living a little bit away from city center and having to commute because it forces me to slow down in between all of my activities and just have a moment to sort of be alone with my thoughts and/or reading even if I am surrounded by strangers. Since last week I have had some pretty exciting experiences that have made me feel rather cultured and like the sky truly is the limit in a city of opportunities such as London. My class took a visit to see Sunny Afternoon last Wednesday, which was my first theater visit since arriving in London. It was about a 60s London band called the Kinks. I really enjoyed every minute of it and am still listening to songs from the band. In the middle of watching the musical I realized that one of the actors plays a main character on a favorite BBC drama of mine called Call the Midwife. My friend Olivia also loves this show and we went completely fan girl after the show to meet him and a co-star after the show. You can enjoy a picture of way-too-enthusiastic us below.

Olivia and I fan-girling!

Friday I had my very first fish and chips dinner at a great pub about 5 minutes form where we are staying. Saturday was a lazy, rainy, London day. We attempted to be adventurous and visit Portobello Road Market which I have always dreamed about visiting since I grew up on Bed Knobs and Broomsticks (no one else was apparently though). It was even better than in my dreams, but the weather was so terrible and cold we called it in pretty early and headed back. That night we began John’s birthday celebration by seeing the 39 Steps in Picadilly Circus. It was a fantastic play and full of fun. Sunday was a continuation of John’s birthday celebration and I took him to tour Wimbledon since he and his family love to watch Wimbledon a lot. He really enjoyed it and I learned a ton about tennis that I didn’t know before. We also toured a the English national rugby stadium earlier during the week as a part of the program here, so I felt like a cultured sports enthusiast or something after all those tours and sports museums.

Twickenham Rugby Stadium

Here we are at Centre Court in Wimbledon

Fish & Chips. Doesn’t get any better than this.

John and I explored Soho the rest of the day on Sunday until mass there at a beautiful church right off of Soho square. We had a wonderful family dinner cooked by our great friends and tried to stay up to watch the Super Bowl but let’s be honest I fell completely asleep in the first few minutes. This week has been great. I have decided that the Tate Britain might be my favorite art museum of all time, but I think I have a bit more exploring to do before I make up my mind. John and I made the best meal yet tonight and it was seriously delicious. I don’t think we’ve ever been so proud. My work load is really picking up, but I have to remind myself that this semester is about learning from the world around me as much as it is learning in my class so there is no need to pressure myself. I was also able to volunteer for a few hours at Little Sisters this week for the first time and absolutely loved that. Everyone there is such a gem and the nuns are so full of life and love. I am so looking forward to developing relationships with the many residents who I will be serving lunch to every week. I already feel myself becoming more independent, more confident, and more globally minded. I think of my world in much broader terms than I ever have before, and honestly if that’s all I get out of this semester, it would have been worth it. But I know I have already gotten so much out of living here in London and meeting so many wonderful new people, and I have so much more to receive and to give.

As my school work is starting to pick up, I’m afraid my posts are going to get shorter and shorter. I am really enjoying my classes and definitely getting in touch with my artsy side. I am currently working on a paper on Sherlock Holmes which is very enjoyable to write once I make time to do it. I can already tell that my time here is just going to fly by, so I do want to be sure to record on here some of my major experiences of growth during this unique experience. Last Wednesday I went to the National Gallery which is just a stone’s throw away from my classroom building with my London as Art Capital Class. My professor is fantastic and really made me think about why certain exhibits were displayed in certain ways and why buildings that house art were designed in certain ways. I have always desired to cultivate a spirit of wonder and observation for this wonderfully wide world around me, and I am excited to think that this class will really help me to do this. On Friday I went walking around Trafalgar Square and the Victoria and Albert Museum with our required course here. It has yet to cease to amaze me how much history and culture is contained in every square kilometer of this city. Saturday the program took a trip to Stonehenge and Bath that I went on. If I’m being honest, I was not excited about seeing Stonehenge at all and was really just going to see Bath, but I ended up being very glad I went to Stonehenge. Its mystery and ancient history were really mesmerizing and of course it was fun to take as many different pictures in front of it as possible. Bath was an incredibly charming down. I definitely felt transported back to the days of Jane Austen and was wowed by the architecture. Seeing the Roman Baths was definitely a highlight as well. It’s hard to believe that there was an entirely different culture and civilization that lived and dreamed just like me on these same streets. I find it very humbling. Sunday I experienced my unique cultural event for the week attending a Pentecostal service with my Theology of the Holy Spirit class. It was an interesting experience but one I enjoyed for the most part. Praising the same Lord with people who I have often considered pretty different from myself was a great reminder of how similar we all really are. We went to mass later that day at our local church here in Hammersmith, and some friends made us a delicious breakfast for dinner. I’m beginning to get into a rhythm of living here and love it. I have also enjoyed hearing from my friends who are scattered across the world studying in various places and seeing how they are adjusting. It becomes clearer every day just how small this world really is. With the passing of a dear family friends this past week, I am also reminded how important it is to relish each day as the gift it is and make time to see the beauty in every place and person I encounter.

Enjoying the beauty of Bath with these lovely ladies!

It was too fun taking pictures in front of Stonehenge.

Getting Past the Honeymoon Stage

I’ve been in London over a week now, and am beginning to get past the wow-that’s-hilarious-that-they-say-jumper-instead-of-sweater stage of my adjustment. I’ve been to all of my classes now and feel comfortable getting places on my own. As I was walking across Trafalgar Square today, instead of marveling at the sights around me, I marveled at the faces of people who were clearly seeing them for the very first time. That being said, I think there is a lot I am still going to be shocked by when it comes to the differences between my culture and London culture, and I definitely still have so much to explore in this beautiful city.

I’ve had some incredible experiences since I last wrote. As for my classes, all of my professors seem super interesting and I am really loving taking a break from large science classes. It is so great to talk about literature and art and things I don’t normally get to talk about but love. And of course, it’s pretty fantastic to be able to talk about paintings that are hanging in the National Gallery next door along with many of Monet and Van Gogh’s works. I am taking a psychology class this semester as well, and it is a very unique sort of class. I travel about a half hour outside of the downtown city to a quieter neighborhood and spend a few hours in a classroom with children who have Autism Spectrum Disorders at a school that specializes in this. After that we sit down and learn about the psychology behind it taught by one of the leaders in the field. I had my first experience of this last week, and it was a lot to sort of take in. I have a tendency to romanticize volunteer experiences in my mind before they happen, but I often forget that volunteering and working with vulnerable people is often very difficult and extremely uncomfortable at first. It is hard to see past the screaming, the drooling, the nose-picking student to love a beautiful child in need, but the people I am working with do it every day, and give their whole heart to it. In the short time I spent with the children I will be working with, I went from feeling extremely awkward not knowing how to handle a girl biting her hand and grabbing my neck, to putting my arms around this same girl so naturally when she was frightened by a loud noise. I feel my heart already beginning to change from this class, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

Oxford was of course, truly inspiring. It is such a quaint town with so much history and breath-taking architecture. Whenever I asked John (my boyfriend) the question of where he most wanted to go in the world, he always replied, “Oxford” because of his great love for C.S. Lewis. Visiting this place with him this past weekend was a real life highlight for both of us. We took a walking tour with our rector whose wife is a professor at Oxford, and then stopped into this little old bookstore. The store was really magical, with tons of old books on theology, history, and literature. John was in heaven, and even more so when he stumbled across a first edition Lord of the Rings novel in a glass case in the store. We walked down the street stopping in plenty of quaint little shops, and finally arrived at our dreamed of destination: The Eagle and Child, or “Bird and Baby” as Lewis, Tolkien, and their friends called it. We enjoyed a delicious English lunch and drank a pint, marveling at being in such a historic place. After wondering around a bit more, we went to evening song at Christ’s Church Cathedral. That was nothing short of divine. I think it will be one of my favorite memories of this whole semester. The Cathedral was dark but you could feel the ancient history all around you, and candles majestically glowed from where the choir was sitting. The choir was made up of all men, and it was half little boys, whose voices were just incredible. Thinking about it even know gives me goose-bumps. The service was quite like a Catholic one, with slight differences such as praying for the Queen before anything else. It was really a wonderful day, and I will treasure the memories forever. You can enjoy some pictures from it below.

Christ’s Church Cathedral at Oxford.

The Eagle and Child!

John’s heaven, a.k.a. St. Phillip’s Bookstore in Oxford

The architecture of Oxford was amazing!

I went to go to mass and to see if I could volunteer at the Little Sisters home here in London since I had been told by everyone back in the States to do so, and of course I am never really content without some opportunity to be with the elderly on a regular basis. It was a really beautiful walk to get there and I didn’t even get too lost getting there! I felt very independent and cosmopolitan. Mass with all of those adorable elderly people was really refreshing for my soul, and I am greatly looking forward to spending time volunteering there each week.

It’s been a little over a week, but I already feel I have had some major growing experiences here for which I am truly grateful. I am grateful to the program and to my wonderful friends who make the more dismal parts of city living bearable, like having to cook for ourselves all the time (Taco Tuesdays are a huge success!!). I am grateful to my family for supporting me in this adventure, and mostly to God for giving me everything I have, even the challenges.

A Wee Bit Different: The Adjustment

It’s been 4 and a half days in London, and so far I am loving every minute of it (minus the dishing out pounds left and right part). I’m beginning to feel comfortable on the tube station, although rush hour is tough for anyone who has any sense of personal space. The buses are another story, but at least I’ve attempted! I’ve had some delicious meals and a lot of cereal. By far the most exciting discovery has been Pound Land which is basically like Dollar General but they actually have quality things and many essentials like milk, eggs, soap, and most importantly chocolate!! I’m grateful for my upbringing which has exposed me to city living gradually, making the hustle and bustle of the city fairly easy to get used to. However, the biggest adjustment has been learning to live on a budget. On campus, thanks to the meal plan which has afforded not only endlessly large meals in the dining hall but also flex points to buy food and other items around campus, I have not really had to worry about feeling hungry. All of a sudden I am feeling guilty about buying anything non essential such as snack food, drinks, or dessert. On top of this we are walking 7-9 miles a day so my appetite is more ravenous than usual, and normally I’m almost always hungry. I have come to understand the feeling of being hungry and having to decide between goods due to budget. I think this is an important lesson that I am very glad to be learning, although my stomach might not agree. I’m sure soon I will loosen my own leash and allow myself to splurge a bit, but I want to start out right and not be shocked at how much money I have wasted in a short time. Also having to cook my own meals makes me even more appreciative of everything my wonderful mum does for our family. It takes a lot of effort and thought to plan, cook, and clean meals, and it takes me away from exploring this beautiful city. The most successful meal so far has been very bland turkey and vegetables pictured below…. I’ve definitely got to step up my cooking game. We are planning on Taco Tuesdays in my building so hopefully that will sustain many of my friends who are surviving on eggs and bread. Anyway enough about food, can you tell I’m hungry writing this??

Yeah it tasted pretty bad. I teased John for bringing ketchup, but I ate those words pretty quickly… and the ketchup.

Pub Selfie!

Nerding out at the Museum of London

Seeing the London Eye was pretty amazing. And being here with this wonderful guy isn’t too bad either…

The culture has been another adjustment, although it is a very exciting one. My favorite movies, actors, shows, and books all seem to be British, so I am already a little obsessed with the culture. In my class on London writers today I got giddy hearing my adorable teacher talk about Sherlock Holmes with her British accent and sense of humor. I was definitely nerding out but I couldn’t help it. Hearing people say “rubbish,” “trousers,” and “lift” as natural as can be gets my dimples showing for sure. Last night the program rented out an entire beautiful pub and provided us a Sunday roast dinner. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. I don’t know who said anything about English food being bad but clearly they didn’t have the meal I had, or they weren’t as hungry as I was….. We had mass before that at King’s Cross College right off the Strand (I actually know where that is now!!!) in their breathtaking chapel. It was really special to celebrate as a displaced community of sorts, but also in such a historic place. They actually had a DNA stained glass window with Wilkins and Franklin who researched at King’s Cross, next to Jesus who had atoms floating around his head. It was pretty amazing, especially for someone who has studied these people for a while. Yesterday morning we took a walk down to the beautiful riverside in our neighborhood of Hammersmith. I felt like I had stepped out of Notting Hill or a Viking River Cruises commercial. It was so charming and picturesque and the sun was even shining to top it all off! The world proved to be even smaller than I thought after getting a Facebook message from my sister’s best friend who was in London for the weekend with her husband this weekend, and we were able to meet up. My friends and I went for our first pub experience on Friday night and I have a picture to capture the experience above. It was surreal (and not just from the alcohol). Actually I think that I won’t be drinking beer at all since it tastes pretty terrible and is pretty expensive, but it is so fun to just be in the pub atmosphere with good friends. All in all it’s been one amazing experience in just 4 and a half days, and I can’t wait to see where the rest of the program takes me and the wonderful people here with me!

London Journey-And so it begins

So I haven’t blogged in forever, but I thought I should probably start up again since I am on a once in a lifetime trip abroad for the semester in London. I arrived yesterday, way too early in the morning after getting maybe one hour of sleep on the plane. Yesterday was definitely a haze, but beyond exciting as well. There were many things I wasn’t expecting that I realize are going to be challenging, such as making a new friend group after getting so comfortable with my friend group back at ND, and having to cook every meal on my own, but there are unexpected graces and joy in these challenges as well. I have already met and began to form friendships with many wonderful people, people I imagine myself being friends with for life. And going shopping for groceries and various important things with some of these people yesterday made me feel like a real adult, but one who wasn’t in this growing up process alone. Taking the tube around the city and cooking dinner last night was really invigorating and even on just about no sleep, made me feel very alive. This city is just throbbing with energy and diversity, and I couldn’t be more excited to be in the midst of it with so many wonderful students. But before I really get involved with the city, I want to make some goals for myself as a sort of spiritual exercise this fine London morning. So here we go:

Goals for my semester in London:

1) I want to grow culturally by pushing myself to experience at least one (at least somewhat) unfamiliar cultural event a week. While out walking yesterday I saw so many advertisements for plays, concerts, and various services, and I can’t wait to dive in. I can’t imagine a time in my life where I will have more opportunity to do this, so I want to take advantage of it while I can.

2) I want to get to know the people of London, hopefully by participating in service activities regularly.  I think one of the most valuable parts of any study abroad experiences is getting to know people who’s lives are nothing like your own.

3) I want to disconnect from the parts of myself I don’t like, such as the technology addicted parts, and focus on paying attention to the world around me instead of being in my own self-absorbed world. To this end, I want to get lost. I want to have to ask for directions, wonder down streets I don’t have to take to get there the fastest, just ride around on the bus for a while going no place in particular and get off when I see something I want to check out. I want to explore instead of plan, and dive in without fear.

4) I want to be able to see God in places I never have before. Being in a big, diverse, and foreign city is definitely out of my comfort zone, and being out of my comfort zone does one of two things to my faith: it either deepens it, or weakens it. I want to deepen my faith my being able to look at faith from a million new angles. From historical angles in this wonderfully ancient city, from the angles of the poor and migrants here in London, and from angles I can’t possibly predict right now.

5) I want to come back changed. I want to come back as a more accepting, braver, more savvy, more global, and more aware person. I want to come back as someone who is fully present to each moment, and fully appreciative of the beauty and culture around them. I want to come back with new friends from all over the world. But of course, I hope to only deepen the core of who I am: a simple child of God who just wants to make God happy by making this world better than I found it.

A Year In Review

Well here it is, 2014. I wish I could say I kept all of my 2013 resolutions, but that is quite untrue. On that note, I apologize for not posting something for so long. I knew I was going to get caught up in the semester and forget to do this, but I had hoped I would be able to take some time to reflect on my life more through the tool of this blog. That is one of my resolutions for 2014- take more time to reflect. I sometimes feel that all of a sudden I look up and my life has just flown by without me noticing a thing. I put so much energy into just doing what I have to do this day that I don’t even have time to be creative, to think outside the box, to dream big and imagine the possibilities of what I could do with my life. But 2013 hasn’t been a total failure. In order to dream big about what I could do with my life and how I can save the world, I have to learn about what needs to be done. This-excuse me-last year, and last semester especially I learned so much about the brokenness of our world. It was amazing how so many of my classes overlapped in what I was learning, and they all had to do with justice. It was as if God knew I would need a lot of information at once to get the message that there is a battle at hand and I need to take a side. I heard a speaker this year who works for justice in China against the one child policy and forced abortions speak of why she does what she does. She said God is referred to as the God of Hosts more than any other title in the Bible. She said this means God is the commander of armies in this war, and we have to take a part. I normally shy away from such extreme language, given my meek and peaceful disposition, which I consider worthwhile. But I think we do have to choose a side, and chose every day to pick up our weapons of love, truth, and beauty to fight against injustice and darkness. In high school one of my theology teachers told me I have a strong hypocrisy meter. When he said that I felt that he struck something deep inside me. At a very core place of who I am, I am not able to live with hypocrisy. This has informed so many decisions I have made and explains so much about why I live the way I do. I remember a time in my life when I didn’t want to be my sister, or a goody two shoes, or that religious girl. I have spoken to young girls about my conversion from that girl to one I am today. That conversion came about because I made a decision that I was not going to be halfway in and halfway out of what I believed and who I was made to be. I was either all in, or not at all. This same hypocrisy meter lead me to do service this summer, to put my beliefs into action, and that decision changed my life. I learned so much this summer about love and loss and life. But I was faced with the real world when I came back to school. I went from a place of complete vulnerability and helplessness to college, where everyone has it together and minds their own business. It was such a tough transition, despite having the best boyfriend in the world with me again and so many wonderful and supportive friends. The home represented everything good about humanity, despite the horrible sufferings I saw there. To leave that was so difficult, especially when our world tells me that college is the place of glory days and the nursing home is to be looked upon with fear and distain. But I know what I am called to do now is be a student and fill my mind with the wonderful and important information that so many people at Notre Dame have to give me. This semester I learned so much about poverty, injustice, and Catholic social teaching. I felt I was given so much knowledge about this beautiful and broken world of ours, and the great need that exists. It terrifies me because I know with great power comes great responsibility. And once again my hypocrisy meter goes off. I write this on vacation with my family in beautiful Florida, with a full stomach, surrounded by people who love me, with a suitcase of very nice clothes. I believe in solidarity, subsidiary, the common good, voluntary poverty, and doing God’s will. I try to be a good person but when I look at Jesus and the saints, I know I have so far to go. I guess it starts with being mindful of the poor and vulnerable, forming relationships with people in need, educating myself about their plight, thinking of solutions, advocating for them in my community, and giving hope to everyone around me. Wow that sounds pretty hard now that I write it out. Quite a daunting task I must say. I guess I should heed my own advice I often give- just pray. I have long been convinced that prayer will save the world- although when you look at my life it would seem that I believe action will. I need to get back to prayer, to reflection, to surrendering total trust to God. Gosh that sounds even harder than saving the world sometimes. But salvation has begun with Christ. It is not up to me, I just have the awesome opportunity to participate in the story of it. So where will I end this train of thought/reflection of 2013 and the purpose of my life. I guess with this quote: “Seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” Please Lord, help me and all of your children to do this. Amen.