Work and Rest

These past two weeks have been an enjoyable time but I have had a little more work to do for my classes because of some presentations and essays that fall around this time of the term. Although it has been work than the earlier weeks, I am still enjoying the people and places around me, as well as the subjects I'm diving into here at school. Last week I gave a presentation on cults of Apollo in Sparta for my Ancient Greek Religion class and now I am writing a paper on a Greek temple of Hera in Southern Italy for my Greek Art and Architecture class. I have truly been blessed with classes here that are so intriguing.

My Greek friend and "Kitchen-mate" Stef

For some good study breaks, Spencer and I would either spend time with some friends or go exploring. A few days ago we decided to take a hike through the Blean woods, a local forest in Kent. Again I was made speechless and the beauty of the creation around me. It was both overwhelming and peaceful at the same time. Pure grace.

Blean Woods

Holly in the woods

Local fields near Blean and Canterbury

Today, for yet another break from our studies, Spencer and I went into town to have lunch at a local pub. After lunch we ran some errands and decided to check out a few places in Canterbury we had yet to explore. We discovered a really great farmers market in town called the Goods Shed. It was a unique building and full of real Kentish foods. We also found the St. Augustine Abbey, which was really just the ruins of the Abbey. We couldn't go on the Abbey grounds because it was closed when we got there, but we will be sure to return and check it out. After that we went to the site of the King's School, a secondary school here in Canterbury. It sounds silly that we would go to a high school for fun, but this school is believed to be the oldest running school in the world. It began in the 600s and was started by St. Augustine himself. It was full of beautiful, aged buildings. I hope we can get onto the school grounds sometime and get a better look.

The Goods Shed

Produce from "the shed"

Part of the King's School/Old entrance to St. Augustine Abbey

St. Augustine Abbey

This weekend I am off to Paris to spend time with my friends and celebrate my 21st birthday. I am so excited, and the nerd inside of me can't wait to overstimulate my eyes with breathtaking art and architecture. I will be sure to share some pictures when I return.

I am learning more and more that God brought me here to think. It sounds ridiculous that I would have to get 1000's of miles away from home just to rest and think, but it's true. It is so easy for me to be busy; it's almost painful for me to not be. Here, God has taught me to stop and not be pained by the thought of rest. It's like I am now having to breathe in all these thoughts and ideas that I have been "too busy" to deal with and my lungs can barely hold it all in. God's given me a time to rest so that I can breathe normally again. For that, I am so thankful.

Awe Inspiring Switzerland

Hey Everyone!

So, last weekend, my friend Spencer and I took a trip to Switzerland. I was most excited to go because I was looking forward to seeing more of the countrysides of Europe, not just the big touristy cities. The beauty of this country blew me away! Seriously, if you are in Europe and get a chance to travel around, go here.

A small park in Zurich

Words to live by...

After a night of sleeping in the airport (or in my case, a night of re-reading Harry Potter 7), waiting for our 6am flight, we arrived in Zurich, one of the biggest cities of Switzerland. Even for being of the countries biggest, this city did not overwhelm me at all. It still had a comfortable element that I would attribute to small towns and villages. The architecture was absolutely amazing; there were a number of amazing churches, bridges, gardens, and more. We also walked down the Bahnhofstrasse, which is one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world (of course we didn't buy anything). After a few hour in Zurich, it was time for us to catch our train to Lucerne, where we would be staying for the weekend.

Some house in a small park we found

European money looks like candy (British Pound, Euro, Swiss Franc)

Lucerne is one of my favorite cities in the world. We spent some time touring around the local attractions. We saw the famous Chapel Bridge, which is the oldest wooden bridge in all of Europe. We also saw an amazing Lion sculpture (carved into the side of a cliff), several local churches, plenty of shopping streets, and also a set of towers and walls that used to enclose the city during the Roman era. Aside from the architectural beauty, Spencer and I loved the selection of Swiss cheeses and chocolates. I don't think I could ever forgive myself if I didn't at least have a little bit of Swiss chocolate. Both the chocolate and the cheese were well worth the money we spent on them.

Clock tower from the Roman wall

The famous Lion sculpture

View from a hilltop in Lucerne

Chapel Bridge

This kind of God's creation was everywhere

A walk through the city

On our second day in Lucerne we decided to go for a hike in the mountains, even though it was raining. Despite the poor weather, the beauty of Switzerland beamed through the fog that day. I truly think the hike up Mount Pilatus is in my top 5 most beautiful places I've ever seen, a prime example of God's beauty.

We found this small park on our way up the mountain, I rode this zipline :)

On our last day we enjoyed both Lucerne and Zurich a little more, which included feeding the swans and ducks, eating lunch on the lake, and remarking on how everything in Switzerland costs ten times more than it does in the states (and that is no exaggeration). It quickly became time to go home, so we returned to the Zurich airport where I experienced the best example of Swiss kindness and generosity. A woman in the airport, working at a Swiss chocolate stand, was making fresh chocolate truffles from a chocolate fountain. As I stood there, drooling at the site of such a divine dessert, she offered me TWO free truffles, just because she wanted to let me try them. If you know me well, you know that such an offer will win my heart over in a second.

Swiss soda, it's really good!

Spencer feeding some cranky swans

Chocolate!

It has been another good week in Canterbury. I gave a 20 minute presentation last Friday in my Ancient Greek Religion class, so I was busy a lot of the week preparing for that. Now I am just enjoying the weekend and looking forward to whatever comes my way next.

Cheers!

The Vine

I returned Monday night from a weekend in Switzerland to the town I have come to love so much, Canterbury. I can't wait to share with you all my experience in Switzerland, but since that'll take quite a bit of picture uploading and it's already 3am here, I'll have to leave you in suspense until a later day.

However, the reason I decided to blog at such a late hour was because tonight was a beautiful night of God's intervention. I hate to use that term sometimes as it makes me a feel a bit over dramatic, but there is no better way to put it. Yet again, God has opened my eyes, comforted my anxieties, and reminded me He is with me always. Only, this time, He did it through a fellow American. A pastor from a church here in Canterbury called Vineyard Church came and spoke tonight at the Christian Union. He is a Californian who moved here a few years ago with his family and started this church in Canterbury.

The Christian Union asked him to speak on priorities, and he turned to the well known analogy of God as the vine, we as the branches. He read that passage, and then went on to break some cultural barriers that we have in our world today. He explained how we live in world where we are trained to produce. We go to school and get good grades to go to college and get a good degree to get into a high paying career to start our family and have kids and tell them to do the same. We are so focused on what we can do on our own, we ignore God.

The pastor used the example of his eldest son, who is only 10 years old and in his 5th year of school. Now, Canterbury is in the Kent region of England, and in Kent, a test is given to 6th year students (11 year-olds) that basically puts them on 1 of 2 tracks: better education or vocational training. These kids start to train for this test 2 years before they take it. Now, we live in a world where not doing well enough for the "better education" option means we fail in productivity, we fail at what is supposed to give us our self-worth. And they are putting this pressure on 11 year olds! He and his wife have decided not to have their son take this test because of the crazy amount of pressure it puts on kids and the wrong message it portrays in this aspect of productivity and self worth. I mean, imagine taking the GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT at 11 years old. Talk about a mental breakdown.

Back to the vine and branches analogy. The pastor made the point that this verse is about Jesus being the vine, the source, that we need to connect with so that we can "bear fruit." It's not the other way around. Our priority is to connect with God, fuse our branch with His vine, and watch as God makes this fruit from us. Our priority is Him.

It's funny when I write about things that have been said to me that I find important and want to share on this blog. After reading it, it sounds so simple, and the truth is, conceptually, it is simple. There's no difficult thought process to it. Yet, I find myself in need of a constant reminder of so many of these "simple things." So, priority #1 is a connection with God. We all know that right? Yet, I find myself in awe of how God reminded me exactly that message tonight, and He knew very well that it's what I needed to hear most right now. That isn't simple; that is divine intervention.

I'll post pictures and talk about Switzerland soon! Love you all.

A Great Weekend with Even Greater Friends

I apologize for not having posted on here in a while. I am currently getting ready to go to class and then Switzerland! I am so thankful for this opportunity to see so much. Last week I was blessed to see Barcelona, Spain with my dear friends Janice and Spencer. Janice is studying abroad this semester as well in Cordoba, Spain, and I missed her so much (especially since the year before I saw her almost every day).

Some Crazies at the Metro Station

Sagrada Familia

Before we got to Barcelona, Spencer and I had quite a full experience of every sort of transportation available in England and Spain, going from bus to train to plane to bus to metro just to get to Barcelona. It was quite the happy reunion when Spencer and I found Janice at the bus stop, and, of course, our first course of action together: food. We found a small tapas bar for a late dinner and had some amazing Spanish food, something that was quite new to me. I loved it!

Bench at Parc Guell

Me at Parc Guell

The Green House at the Parc de la Cuitadella

The next day we packed in almost everything there is to see in Barcelona! Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, La Rambla, Mercat de Boqueria, Parc de la Ciutadella, and more. It was wonderful to see all the Gaudi architecture, which I found so beautiful, and the parks were breath-taking. By the end of the day, our feet were nevertheless killing us and we were ready to rest so we could enjoy our last day in Barcelona together.

Parc de la Ciutadella Fountain

More Gaudi Works of Art

We woke the next morning to go and get some Churros con Chocolate... oh my gosh! I nearly died right then and there. Their chocolate was so rich and think, I was in heaven. It is vital that I find a good recipe for that when I go home, no joke! After my much needed chocolate fix, we went to the Mercat de la Boqueria, which is one of the coolest outdoor markets I've seen, and we got food for lunch (yes, we were ready for more food). After some exploring in the Mercat, we were off to the Parc de la Ciutadella to eat our lunch at the benches in front of the most amazing fountain structure in Barcelona.

Heavenly Churros con Chocolate

El Mercat De La Boqueria

Even More Gaudi Architecture

The Gothic Quarters

It was, without a doubt, such a wonderful weekend. I got to spend time with two wonderful people in a city rich in culture and life. It was within our last 20 minutes in the city that my emotions were rocked. To put it plainly, a thief stole my bag. A strange creepy man had come up to us and got right in our faces, asking questions and acting so strangely. Meanwhile, another man had come up and taken the bag right from under my feet! Yes, right under me. I felt a rush of emotions: extreme anger, frustration, embarrassment, worry, and after some time (and some wise words and prayers from my friends) thankfulness. Why thankful? Because my wallet and passport were in my pocket, not my bag. Because I had taken my brand new camera out of my bag right before it happened. Because I had friends who speak Spanish much better than myself who were there to support me. Because I could still get back to England. Because I am insured and not too much stuff was stolen. Because God taught me a lot that day.

This is where we ate lunch :)

Janice at the Arc de Triomf (Spain Version)

It was one of those things where I thought "that'll never happen to me!" I am extremely cautious when I travel: checking my pockets ever 5 seconds, making sure I don't leave my bag anywhere, etc. How could it happen to me?! But then I was made aware of my perspective. I had taken this trip abroad with such excitement (which is good) that I naively thought everyday will be the most amazing day of my life. Not to say that I became careless with my materials per se, but that I became unfocused. It has been so awesome to be here, but it is still life. We still live in an imperfect world. We still desperately need God. I was reminded that day that I still need God, even (especially) here. It sounds so simple, but I had started to live like I was on cloud nine, but really, I'm still here on earth (just a different part of it). It was an important reminder, that we are a world that so greatly needs a God who loves us with all He has (which is infinite).

A rainy morning with friends

La Barceloneta, a beautiful boardwalk by the beach

The most beautiful part of this whole crazy situation was on the way to the airport, Spencer pointed out the window of the bus to a beautiful rainbow (which was quite strange since it wasn't even raining that day). He said "Look, it's like God's promise from the flood." I remembered in that moment that my backpack of clothes and such are just materials. God's promise is so much greater than that. He was there with me all along.

There were some strange adverts

Arc de Triomf