Dear Jesus, please take us home. Amen.

Thank you Chin family for taking such great care of us! It was a blast to spend this time with you. God has really blessed us!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, wait NO!

My English adventure is not over just yet. I found out a few hours ago that my flight for tomorrow has been canceled, along with hundreds of other flights out of London. As frustrating as this can be, I feel like God has really taken care of Spencer and me. We got the very last train out of Canterbury on yesterday to London before they shut down the train station because of all the snow; we have been blessed to stay with our friend Charlotte and her family while others have to suffer the cold and stress of staying days in the airport; we enjoyed a beautiful day in snow-covered London instead of stressing over a flight we have no control over; we have an amazing travel agent who somehow, in his bountiful air-travel wisdom, got us on a flight (God willing) out on Wednesday before Christmas. As bad as this situation may seem, God has really taken care of us. We are safe, healthy, and cared for. What more could I ask for (except for maybe the sight of California, haha). But truly, I am thankful.

I'm hoping to get home on Wednesday, but we shall have to wait and see how the weather turns out. Until then, please keep us in your prayers. Thanks and almost Merry Christmas!

This is not goodbye, but see you later

I am less than 24 hours away from leaving Canterbury. This city and these people have been so inspiring to me, but more importantly, it has become a home to me. I am going to miss this home so much, but it is not goodbye to Canterbury. As my friend Lavinia put it, "this is not goodbye, but see you later." I am glad to hear that.

I have had so many experiences here: spiritual, relational, educational, emotional, comical, etc. All the time I have spent here with these friends will never be forgotten. God has blessed me by surrounding me with amazing people wherever I go, whether that be at home, San Diego, on vacations, on missions trips, or here in Canterbury. I have been surrounded by a lot of love here; I could not ask for anything more. Thank you to all of you who made this place home to me. This post is for you; I want you to know how important you are to me. This is not goodbye, but see you later.

Here are pictures of some (definitely not all) of the people here in Canterbury that I am glad to have as friends:

Some great friends at our "Farewell Americans" party

It's not a party without a Pizookie

Hannah - We are the Harry Potter fan club

Sarah - One of the most joyful people I know

Simon - My comedic friend from the Midlands

Felicity - I could not ask for a better person as my neighbor

Dave/Dan/Laurence - Three fantastic guys who I better see again soon

Nicole - Always a joy to be with, I love your excitement for pancakes and Thanksgiving

Josh - A downright great guy

Stef - my Greek, happy, lovely, friendly, always excited neighbor

Charlotte - I'm always laughing with her

Doug - Canterbury would not have been the same without you, Shipwreck Doug

And, of course, Spencer, my traveling buddy and one of the best friends I could ask for

And the many more that I don't have pictures of right now...you are all loved.

Final Days

I am now counting down my last three days in Canterbury. Yesterday was such a wonderful day. I woke up in the morning and headed down into town for Early Morning Praise with my church here in Canterbury. Then, I spent the afternoon in town, soaking in as much of Canterbury as I could. Finally, it was time for an evening with friends at our farewell dessert party. It was a great day.

I am going to miss these people; I am going to miss this city. I have had such a wonderful three months here, and God has worked in such deliberate ways. I am eager to be home for Christmas, but I do feel the sting of leaving this place.

Looking back at my goals for this experience, I would definitely say, I no longer feel like a foreigner in Canterbury. It has become another home to me, a home I cannot wait to return to in the future. I will miss this home more than I can express in words.

Athens: The Amiable and the Ancient

Ok, I know the title is a bit cheesy, but it truly describes my experience in Greece. The place is full of friendly people and magnificent ancient history.

I spent these past three days in Athens, Greece, my final travel destination of the season. On Friday morning, we had our traditional American pancake breakfast in our kitchen with a number of our friends. Then that night before heading off to the airport, I joined in on the annual Kent Uni Christmas Carol service held in the Canterbury Cathedral. It was a candlelit evening with traditional English Christmas carols for the students of my university and I am so glad I was able to go to before getting on my train for the airport. To see the cathedral lit by candlelight and filled with the sound of carols was stunning. Check out the video Spencer took below:

A candlelit carol service in the Canterbury Cathedral (kind of a tongue twister to say)

After the service it was off to Athens! We arrived Saturday evening with empty stomachs, so we went straight to finding a restaurant. We had one of my favorite meals of all time at a place called Scholarhio. They came out with this giant platter full of smaller plates, each with a different dish on them. You pick out the few that you like, with some bread, water, and wine, all for a flat rate. It was so delicious; I have fallen in love with Moussaka! After dinner, we took a walk through the Plaka district, a very quaint and relaxing tourist center, and then went off to our hostel.

Platter from Scholarhio

Now, there are a few main tips I have for anyone planning on traveling to Athens:
1. If you are a student, be sure to ask about student rates for transportation, museums, and more. We found that almost all transportation and museums are discounted or free for students.
2. In the winter, try and hit all the famous sites and the museum (Acropolis, Archaeological Museum, Ancient Agora, etc.) on Sunday. They are all free on Sundays between October and March.
3. Try and stay near the Plaka/Acropolis area. We stayed in a hostel called Athens Backpackers. It was my favorite place I've stayed in for my travels. The people were extremely friendly, the place was very nice, and everyone staying there seems to want to get to know you. Also, being right by the Acropolis is very convenient.
4. Eat at Scholarhio near the Plaka district. It was one of my highlights of Athens. It costs 14 Euro, so a bit pricier than other places (food in Greece is not usually expensive) but it is well worth the money.

Athens from the Acropolis

Back to the trip - The next day, Spencer and I decided to check out all the historical sites and museums since it was Sunday and they were all free. One of my classes I've been taking here at Kent Uni was on Greek Art and Architecture, so seeing all of these beautiful sites and works of art was such a treat after studying them for three months. At the Archaeological museum, we saw a number of very amazing pieces, including Agamemnon's Mask and the Artemision Bronze statue of Posiedon. Then, we hiked up the Acropolis and took in the experience of treading on such a well preserved ancient site. It was an amazing thing to see! We also were sure to check out the Ancient Agora, the Roman Agora, Hadrians Library, the Temple of Zeus Olympius, and the newly built Acropolis Museum. We packed in a lot, but I never felt rushed, and I really got to enjoy a pleasant day of site seeing.

View of the Acropolis from Philopappou Hill

Boxing Children Fresco

The Artemision Bronze

Our last day, we enjoyed some shopping and exploring the streets. My favorite part was simply interacting with the Greek people. They were all so friendly, and actually showed interest in getting to know you, even if only for a few minutes. I had a random lady on the street even come up to me because she heard my "accent" (which makes her sound a bit sketchy but she was not at all). She asked me where I was from, and if I liked Athens or LA better. Of course, I answered "Athens", and she gave me a pat on the shoulder and laughed heartily. Another older lady saw Spencer and I sitting looking at a map. We weren't lost, just tired, but she came up to us and asked us if we were lost and needed help with directions. She didn't even speak a lot of English but she still wanted to help us. Yet another woman, who owned a little shop in Plaka, helped Spencer and I get directions to another shop for some local cooking supplies. Most tourist shop owners would just try to sell you their stuff, but she genuinely wanted to help us. As much as I loved seeing the beauty of Athens in it's ancient history, I loved seeing its beauty in its people's kindly manner just as much.

View from Philopappou Hill

After three days, I am now back in Canterbury for my last few days before I head home for Christmas. I am a bit glad to be done traveling, so I can really enjoy these few days with my friends here before I must say goodbye. I have enjoyed my classes this term so much, and I am so thankful that God blessed me with a wonderful professor while I was here; she was so knowledgeable, approachable, genuine, and caring, all of which are things I highly value in an educator. Thank you Efrosyni for making my educational experience here at Kent as great as it was. I am also so thankful for the friends I have made in my time here. I don't want to say goodbye to them, but I know I will return again to see them as soon as I can. They have been such a blessing in my life and I have learned so much of how God can bring people together so perfectly; He has done that so much in these last three months.


As sad as I am to leave, I am so excited to be coming home and seeing friends and family. Six more days, and my adventures abroad will be coming to a close. Oh, what a bittersweet time.

Adventures in Italy

I returned last night at 2 am to Canterbury from a 5 day trip in Italy. It was an adventure, seeking out the beauty of Rome and it's surrounding countryside with my friend Spencer. Since it was such a long trip, I think the best way to share it with you is to take it day by day, so here I go:

Day 1, Friday: After lectures, we grabbed our bags and were off to town to enjoy a special Evensong service at the Canterbury Cathedral. This evening service was a traditional Anglican service with hymnals, choirs, and proper order. It was a time-warping experience to say the least; I would close my eyes and feels as if I were attending church in the 12th century. It was truly an experience I will never forget. Afterward, it was dinner with friends and then we were off on the train to the airport. However, as you can see from my earlier posts, there has been a ton of snow lately. If you know anything about English transit and the snow, they don't quite get along too well. On our way to the airport, we found ourselves stranded in downtown London because the trains had stopped running to the airport. After quite a bit of running around, we found our way to the airport with some newly made friends in a taxi with plenty of time to make it to our flight early that next morning. It was an adventure just getting to the airport, let alone Rome.

Day 2, Saturday: We arrived in Rome, Italy in the morning and got straight into the sightseeing. We hit up a lot of the major sites, including the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Column of Trajan, Arch of Constantine, Roman Forum, and the Circus Maximus. I loved just sitting on the steps by the Circus Maximus, soaking in the history around me, as joggers and dogs ran around the great track. Apart from all the history, my highlight of the day came from San Crispinos, a small gelatteria by the Trevi Fountain. This is a must-try gelato; they have many unique flavors, including wine, chocolate meringue, hazelnut, honey, and more. My favorite was hazelnut. It was so worth it, we were sure to return 2 more times.

Trevi Fountain

Best Gelato, near Trevi Fountain

The Colosseum

Day 3, Sunday: After some much desired sleep, we awoke on Sunday morning and headed to the Vatican, not really sure what to expect there on a Sunday. When we arrived at St. Peters square, we were amazed by the thousands of people swarming the center. We soon realized that on Sundays in which the Pope is in the Vatican (like this one), he looks out his window high up in the church, and blesses the crowd. It was quite cool (for lack of a better term) to get blessed by the pope, in 5 languages at that (the man is quite a linguist). After the blessing ,we explored the beautiful basilica (church) and the art inside. Next, it was off to the Spanish Steps, Mausoleum of Caesar Augustus, and Ara Pacis. We ate lunch over by the Mausoleum at this great little restaurant called Gusto. It was the best food I had in the city; there pizza was delicious. After lunch, we hit up this little shop called Mia, which was full of trendy trinkets and furniture, which was fun to look at (I found my new favorite chair/book case there); finally it was time for gelato again, but this time at Giolitti's, a well known gelletaria near the Pantheon, very crowded, but worth it. The end off the night, we walked around Piazza Navona, where a huge Christmas market took place. My discovery there: if there is one thing Italian Catholics love, it is their nativity scenes. Every other shop sold mainly nativity pieces. It was insane, but a fun time no the less.

The Pope blessing the crowd

St. Peter's Basilica

Giolitti's Gelato

Day 4, Monday - We decided to head out of Rome to a little town called Orvieto, before which we toured the Vatican Museum to see some famous artwork, including the stunning Sistine Chapel. It was only an hour and a half by train, which is just far enough to escape the city. The town sits up on a hill, looking over the Italian countryside. It was one of the most beautiful towns I've ever seen in my life. The quaint streets, the towering Duomo, the landscape views, all of it was priceless. We found this little mom and pop restaurant, where I had wild boar for the first time, which was really great. If you ever go to Rome, this is a day trip you MUST take. When we returned to Rome that evening, we checked out two churches I had been dying to see. One was the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Borromini's first commissioned work, and a beautiful one at that! The second, was Santa Maria della Vittoria, which houses the beautiful and historically rich sculptor, Ecstasy of St. Teresa.

Vatican Museum

Orvieto, Italy

Streets in Orvieto

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

Day 5, Tuesday - We took our second day trip, this time to Tivoli, another beautiful place just outside Rome, up on a hill. The town was fun and quaint, but the highlight was definitely the Villa d'Este, a beautiful estate, with a magnificent garden that was unbelievable. I could spend hours in there, just reveling in God's beauty. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

View from Tivoli

The Garden of Villa d'Este

Day 6, Wednesday - Our last day in Rome we decided to do some tours and just soak in the city one last time before heading back to Canterbury. We did a tour of the Colosseum and saw the Pantheon in the morning. We then head to southern Rome, a much less toured area, where we found, what I think (as do some well esteemed food-bloggers) to be the best pizza in Rome. This place, called 00100 Pizza, was definitely not a tourist-trap; in fact, I don't know if they wanted us there at all, but we stayed anyways. The pizza was delicious! Finally, we ended the trip right with a final gelato from San Crispino, and then it was time to head back to Canterbury.

Sant' Eustachio Cafe - Hot Chocolate, SO GOOD

All in all, this trip was one of a kind. I love Rome; I love Italy; it was such a joy; but, in the end, Canterbury has won me over as the best place for me in Europe. I was glad to be back in this little town, where I have 2 more weeks to enjoy before it is time to head home. This weekend's adventure: Greece! I'll be sure to bring you all the news when I return. Until then, Cheers!

Shopping in the Snowy Streets

Today I went shopping in the streets of Canterbury as it continued to snow lightly. Now I am sitting cozily on the couch in my favorite Starbucks avoiding the cold walk back to my room and decided to share some pictures from the day.




I found so many great things today in my shopping adventure. One of the best finds was another amazing bookstore! This one, called the Canterbury Bookstore (original, I know), is just as great as the Oxfam bookstore. It is slightly pricier but the selection available is a little better than Oxfam. Also, this month they are selling all books 50% off, so it was a great deal in the end. I also found some amazing old drawing and photos from Canterbury and the surrounding county dated to the 1800s and before. It was another great day for book shopping.



The one major downfall to the beautiful snow is the canceled flights and trains. I am praying that my flight to Rome is canceled this weekend, but all I can do is pray and be patient.