wait, Stonehenge isn't in Scotland?

London, Windsor Castle, Oxford and London (June 21-26)

For many years now, I have felt my lofty list of travels had a large hole: London. Yet, to tell you honestly, I had little desire to go. I can't really explain why, but I've always said if someone handed me a plane ticket, I would go at least 200 places before deciding on London. 

Then something interesting developed. Pepperdine has a semester abroad program there where I can complete my certificate in International and Comparative law. Since this certificate is something I am very serious about getting and I love the idea of living in Europe again, I recently became convinced I couldnt leave Europe without checking it out. 

Combine this idea with the stroke of great luck that I had a friend from junior high and high school with a free weekend, after a cost analysis and brainstorming session over Facebook chat, I had purchased a plane ticket to London as my last European trip of the summer.  

Let me start by saying, it was AWESOME to see Arleta. We go way back. Arleta is currently working on her masters in Public Policy at American university in DC. DC has done her well. She looks great and is the ever intelligent, bright, bubbly, talented Arleta I know and love. In high school, I had the pleasure of sharing a locker near her, having classes together, acting with her on stage and directing her in competition play. Perhaps more interestingly, we went on what feels like thousands of double dates and group outings with our circle of friends and boyfriends at the time. How long ago that seems now! We were also roommates to Vienna my senior year. Since her undergrad at UGA, my frequent Athens excursions while I was at Bama and numerous gatherings throughout Atlanta, we have remained good friends. With no lack of subject matter to be discussed, our friendship feels like a cozy sweatshirt. We had the best time and were at full speed the whole trip.

With our theater backgrounds, you shouldnt find it surprising a large portion of our budget went to seeing shows at night. 

We got in late Thursday and met up at the hotel. We talked until nearly 4 am and woke up just in time to be served the last cups of coffee at 9 am. We were gently scolded for a neighbors complaint that we were loud, to which I blurted out, "sorry, sir, it's just that we haven't seen each other in three years!" 

Fridays itinerary: Picadally Circus, Trafalgar Square, The London Eye, getting very rained on and nearly carried to Ireland by the wind, Baker Street, Madame Tussands Wax Museum, the Tower of London and London bridge with a delicious royal cappuccino and chocolate cake break. For the evening, a great Italian meal and Sweeney Todd

Saturday: For a great deal, we were ultimate tourists and joined a guided tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and 

Oxford. As we were on an incredibly tight schedule, we didn't really have a lot of time at any one place but we got a nice taste of everywhere. From entering the castle we only had an hour so just imagine the crowds of Asians with their audio guides and other tourists filling each room and Arleta and I LITERALLY border line jogging through each room saying "sorry, excuse me/pardon/pardon me/PARDÓN/excuse-muaa/MOVE!" in any language it came out, every few seconds. I almost ran over at least three people. Pedro, the guide made it incredibly clear the bus would leave us of we weren't on time and they wouldn't be sorry. We were also instructed to get lunch before climbing back on board and no tourist was going to prevent me from eating that afternoon. We made it with three minutes to spare, even with the big hoooopla of the changing of the guard. Which is no small ordeal, let me tell you. And when a police man asks you to stay there on the sidewalk, you take that machine gun seriously and forget you're about to be abandoned by your 70 pound tourbus, trust me. 

It was an adventure we soon realized was just beginning. Two hours later armed with a coach bus nap, we got a history lesson over the microphone and caught our first glimpse of Stonehenge. Thanks to traffic, we had just over 30 minutes at Stonehenge. certainly not as big as I was expecting, it was still super cool to be there. After walking allllll the way around thinking it was a circle, we realized we were at a dead end and had to walk allll the way back around. Again, causing substantial stress regarding missing the bus. This time a little more so, since we were in the middle of no where in fields. At this time, I'd like you to tell me if you could point to where Stonehenge is on a map. Because, before pursuing the brochures on London I seriously thought Stonehenge was in Scotland. So did Arleta. This is rather embarrassing to admit. But just tuck this away for the next time it's relevant. We laughed and laughed and laughed about this all weekend long. 

Last but not least, we arrived in Oxford. Just walking around these buildings, I felt my IQ rising. Wow the history and intelligence that has been born and cultivated in that quaint little town. For the first time we realized we didn't care if we got left in Oxford because we were in love with that city. Securing Oxford sweatshirts for good vibes on next year's late library nights, we had a decision to make. Stay and enjoy Oxford or take a chance at getting back to London in time to make a show. Our day had been near perfect so far so we pushed our luck a little further and got back on the coach bus. We got into London, passing Alfred Hitchcocks house and the hospital where William and Harry were born and went straight to the box office with fingers crossed there were still tickets. Seated comfortably we breathed a sigh of disbelief at how incredible our day had been. And then Billy Elliot blew us away. A perfect day indeed. 

Maybe you know, maybe you don't, but last Saturday was the 23rd, marking 4 years since Mom upgraded to her mansion in heaven. This post would be incomplete without mentioning that even with the great adventures and sights, naturally this was on my mind. I miss Mom everyday. As some of you who I've clued in already know, I think I've missed her more this year than any other time. Grief is a really bizarre thing and unfortunately it's not something you can hide in a box under your bed and pull out when convenient. Like I always say, some days are good, some days are super good and some days are really rough. I just want to take a second to share how deeply grateful I am for the amazing network of friends she left here who bless me incredibly. I can't explain how much easier you make her absence and how blessed I am that she lives through you all and that when needed, you're all still there. Though I couldn't call you, just know I was thinking of you missing her too. 

I was with a great friend in a great city and I really am looking forward to a hug in America. And I can't wait to take advantage of being just a call away next year. I intend to use and abuse that, so be warned! 

Sunday: After snoozing for an hour, we rallied and set out to go shopping. We shopped, explored Covent Garden and had Fish and Chips for lunch before Arleta had to leave for her train back to Brussels. Since I am finished with work, I chose to stay in London another two nights. 

One of Dads Biolase connections and her ADORABLE boys met me for lunch. Jackie and I met in Hungary but I had been hearing her praises and stories for years before that. She is just great and I was SO honored that she drove into the city to meet me. To make it even better, I was thoroughly entertained by her boys (age 8 and 9) for an entire afternoon. Their British accents are the 

greatest thing. It's like anything they say is a movie line. I loved them. After receiving the greatest London souvenir- table napkin art by the youngest boy, we walked along the Thames then said goodbyes.

The high school where I work on Mondays and Wednesdays was doing an exchange outside of London this past week so Silvia and Melania were already in the UK when I landed. Sunday was Melanias birthday and their only free day, so we met up in the evening. We walked ALL over that city. From one side of the river to the other, waving to all landmarks, skipping through the parks and stopping to peek into shops and for coffee. Susana, one of the English teachers, and I didn't have class together so I didn't work with her other than in passing a few times. She is so sweet though and it was awesome to have these pre-goodbye memories in London with Silvia and Melania. Oh Lord, I will miss them both so much next year. 

Symbolically, the weekend in London ending marks the beginning of the next chapter called "Saying goodbye in Madrid and moving to California" which will span until the first day of law school on August 20th. 

Here are some pictures from the trip. Enjoy!

George Clooney at the wax museum. He loves me and we are basically wedding planning right now. 

Hitler. WHY?

London really caters to the stupid tourists. And I appreciate that. 

Our ROYAL cappuccinos and the best chocolate cake ever at the tower of London

the tower of London

Windsor castle

when we were almost stranded due to the changing of the guard. tell me you aren't dying for that hat. 

trying to be serious. unsuccessful. AWESOME hat. 

Leta with fish and chips!

 oh heyyyyy Big Ben. 

it was a little windy... STONEHENGE. 

 feeling smart and reading with coffee in Oxford

 Jackies precious boys. Though I look pregnant in this photo, I assure you that I am not. 

 OLYMPIC PARK

 my boss, Siliva and Melania on a beautiful day of walking!

 in front of Buckingham Palace

 THE GLOBE. 

not everyone gets to meet their hero

        

(Julia and I in 2005 and now in 2012. Someone has grown and it's not me... )

My apologies on the absurd delay on this post. I have written it several times and still it's not quite right, but at last, here is the update on the work being in done in Vienna as promised.

It didn't hit me that I was going to Vienna or in Vienna until I walked past a large illuminated billboard for "the perfect Weinerschnitzel" in the airport between the arrival gate and the exit for baggage and ground transportation. I realize that sounds silly, but it is true. It's no secret, these past weeks have been crazy. A schedule I created and was so incredibly excited about the entire thing that it wasn't until each individual trip was practically already in progress that I could fully grasp where I was and what I was doing.

I got to the new place really late via taxi. After giving Reggy some sunflowers I had brought with me, hugs, and a glass of water, I collapsed into bed and woke up to the smell of freshly baked muffins in the morning. Though still groggy, I was jolted awake when I realized the huge outpour of God's blessings before my eyes. The new place is a MANSION. It is HUGE. It's INCREDIBLE. I couldn't stop thinking that all weekend.
As always, things are changing in Vienna and Reggy's direction and ministry is continuing to evolve as she tries to match needs and follow God's will. As you may recall, in the first few years of my trips to Vienna, Reggy had a room in a large building for what was essentially government subsidized housing. She used this room mainly for hosting activities for the children of the families living there and then began helping a small number of refugees from Africa on the side. In the most recent two years, Reggy had her apartment where several children were living with her at any particular time and she also had a youth center where several of the African guys lived full time and events were hosted regularly. Now, Reggy has moved into a house on the outskirts of the city where she is living full time with several girls. Since this is her home, there is quite an adjustment to be made on her behalf and as well as those who would attend bible studies etc. This new home will host "house church" every few weeks, but will also be large enough to host other events, though those invited will require some precautions unlike the "free for all" that was the youth center. All of the Africans are living on their own now, though some are still using aid from Reggy financially. This is amazing to me.
To see how these kids have grown... its ridiculous. For some perspective, my first trip, Michelle was 5. Now she is THIRTEEN!!! I know I have been "growing" too, but... jeez. It doesn't seem like that much time has passed!

The new house has great potential and I am incredibly thrilled to see what great things will happen there. I just closed my eyes and thought about this tiny room where we barely had sufficient room to sing VBS songs that required motions to a house with enough rooms to comfortably sleep ten people! WOW, our God is good.

Of course, there are still problems. Daniel is still not out of the woods with his immigration papers, so continue to think of him. One of the girls that I love the most from all the trips is pregnant, so that was shocking news. Reggy is taking care of her though and donations have been made for supplies for the coming baby. There are some other sensitive things going on that I will discuss in person when I am home. There are still kids and teens in real danger and a list as long as Santa's to being praying about, but what I want you to get out of reading this post is that God has been ridiculously gracious to this ministry. I am more confident than ever that God is doing amazing things in that place and I am honored and thrilled to be have seen it with my own two eyes.

As I worked furiously on my law school applications this year, I had a lot of essays to write. Tough questions were thrown at me and I had a word limit to explain why I wanted to go to law school, who I am, what inspired me, what diverse perspective I would bring to the law school classroom, etc. When working on these essays, it became clearer to me than ever how my mission trips have shaped who I am and what I want to do. I wrote about my relationship with Daniel, how we met, his struggles with immigration after his family was persecuted in Nigeria for their faith. It was a really amazing moment to be able to tell him in person how thankful I am for him in my life. Usually it is the other way around, when he sends his thanks for my Dad and my support. But this time, I got to tell him, through tears that I think a huge reason why I am going to law school is because of how much he touched my life. I was able to have a similar conversation with Reggy. One of the other Nigerian women asked me what my next step was and I was able to tell her I want to go to law school and she said, "so you can help people like us one day." And I told her, "yes, that is the plan!"It was a REALLY cool thing and all else aside, worth the trip. Reggy is certainly a hero to me and I guess its a pretty cool thing that not only have I met her and watched her work, but I've had this opportunity 7 times. These people are part of my heart and I intend to be dedicated to them the rest of my life.

If you would like to donate or help support this great work, please do not ignore that feeling. Let me know and I will be overjoyed to give you all the right information.

Of equal importance, please continue to pray for this incredible ministry and for all the lives they are touching daily.

  

Daniel and I in 2006 and then in 2012

at the best ice cream place in the whole wide world... 

the living room of the new place!

Jennifer and I in 2007 and this year, I was there when her and her sister were reunited after not seeing each other for 8 years. The last photo is of her son and I. She is pregnant with another one now! Hero is seriously the cutest thing ever. 

*Disclaimer: The details and facts provided are only as I have observed and interpreted them. There is still MUCH that I do not know about these individuals lives or about what is going on. If there are areas lacking clarity or leaving you with questions, ask and I will be certain to find the answer or look for more details.

an English lesson

what is a countable or uncountable noun?

I recently read a book I found incredibly interesting by Bill Bryson called "The Mother Tongue." As I have struggled to explain many things in our language and have had to learn quite a bit of English myself. Why does it sound weird to say, "How much chairs?" or "How many milk in your coffee?" Thats because of countable and uncountable nouns. "How many" goes along with items, people, etc that you can physically count- chairs, groups, tickets, students, idiots, players, teachers, scoops, etc and "How much" goes with uncountable nouns, amounts etc like milk, water, sugar, flour, time, etc. The more English I have learned this year, the crazier it is to me. A highly recommended read. Here are a few of my favorite quotes (with numbers and facts slightly outdated). As I will be going to London for FIVE days this weekend for an English lesson, I thought this was appropriate. Enjoy!

I can think of two very good reasons for not splitting an infinitive.

1. Because you feel that the rules of English ought to conform to the grammatical precepts of a language that died a thousand years ago.

 2. Because you wish to cling to a pointless affectation of usage that is without the support of any recognized authority of the last 200 years, even at the cost of composing sentences that are ambiguous, inelegant and patently contorted.

 (speaking on the 1961 Webster’s Third New International Dictionary dictionary) But what really excited outrage was its remarkable contention that ain’t was “used orally in most parts of the U.S by many cultivated speakers”

 A dictionary will tell you that tall and high  mean much the same thing but it won’t explain to you that while you can apply either term to a building you can apply only tall to a person. On the strength of dictionary definitions alone a foreign visitor to your home could be excused for telling you that you have an abnormal child, that your wife’s cooking is exceedingly odorous, and that your speech at a recent sales conference was laughable, and intend nothing but the warmest praise.

At the turn of the century, words were being added at the time of about 1,000 per year. Now, according to a report in the New York Times (April, 3, 1989), the increase is closer to 5,000 to 20,000 a year.

(on British vs American English) In common speech, some 4,000 words are used differently in one country from the other.

There are more people learning English in China than there are people in the United States. The teaching of English, according to The Economist, is worth 6 billion (pounds) a year globally. 

Source: pages.mapsofworld.com via Patricia on Pinterest

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Lillian on Pinterest

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Shelagh on Pinterest

#YOLO

For those of you who are not in the Twitter loop, this title is a hashtag that is used to start trending topics on Twitter. It stands for "you only live once." Now, I will begin the post.

This past weekend, I took advantage of a wonderful offer to spend the weekend in Amsterdam and Maastricht, The Netherlands. My roommate, Cande, invited me to join her and her sister and her brother-in-law on their European vacation. Cande's boyfriend, Mateo, lives in a town a 3 hour train ride from Amsterdam called Maastricht. Thursday night, I landed and had no problems at all meeting Cande. We walked promptly to our hostel and crashed. We were both totally exhausted from the week and knew the weekend ahead would require substantial rest. I woke up early, had breakfast in the restaurant downstairs (EGGS and BACON!!! with toast) and headed to Anne Frank's house.
Standing in line sandwiched between a father and daughter from Atlanta and a family from Florida, we passed the time quickly by making small talk in the line. The wind from Amsterdam's canals and overcast skies made for bone-chilling weather, especially compared to the 90 degree heat I left in Madrid the day before. Once inside, I couldn't help but be surprised at how much of Anne Frank's diary came back to me. I remember the cover of the book so vividly and I remember despising having to read what I thought was just a stupid required school book. Amazing to think of my self-transformation from that girl in eighth grade to this girl, who is now going to law school in the fall with intentions of studying international human rights and humanitarian aid with an emphasis on the holocaust. Though the rooms were larger than I had expected (possibly because my Dad has always referred to this small small closet inside a closet in our house as the Anne Frank suite - ha) being in this place obviously gave all the visitors chills.
Throughout the next two days in Amsterdam, the group of us did all the touristy things- the Van Gogh museum, the famous Dutch art museum, stood to take pictures with the "I AMsterdam" sign, The Jewish History Museum, did a canal cruise and walked all over the city to truly grasp its flavor.

Friday night, we had a spectacular Argentinian meal with the best steak I've ever sank my teeth into.
We finished the night by getting ridiculously lost but finally ended up at a bar made entirely of ice, where they provided gloves and coats before entering.

Saturday evening after a full day of sightseeing, we headed onto Maastricht.
Cande's presence in my Madrid life has been beyond a blessing. My living situation this year has been quite a roller coaster ride with four other roommates coming and going. If Cande hadn't been such a great roommate, I surely would have moved out. If Cande hadn't been such a great friend, I could have easily given up on teaching and headed back to Atlanta with my head hung low, defeated. Let me tell you a little bit about why I love Candelaria so much. Cande is one of the prettiest people I know with barely any sense of style at all, always just throwing on simple clothing, but making it look magazine-worthy. Since I met her in October, I have maybe seen her wear make-up three times total, but everyday she looks beautiful. As simple as this is, she has accidentally taught me to care a lot less about what I look like before leaving the house and that simplicity is beautiful. I've been super proud of her as she has made excellent grades, getting the highest grades in several of her classes both semesters. She's got dreams as big as I do and I am completely confident that she's going to chase them until she accomplishes every single goal on her list. We've got all kinds of things in common and definitively some of my most favorite memories in this city have been sitting right here in our apartment. Did I mention that she's an incredible cook? All this to say, this weekend together was a huge blessing because with our combined travel schedules, I will only have one more opportunity to see her and tell her goodbye.
Maastricht is a lovely little quaint town. We hung out like college students just relaxing. Our first night we had a great homemade meal while one of Mateo's friends, Mateo, Cande and I had intellectual conversations until 5 in the morning.
Certainly some of the most interesting people I have ever met with big ideas for making our future globe a better place. They are people who's futures I am as excited about as I am my own. We may very well be colleagues together in a non-profit organization or some huge NGO, who knows!



Sunday afternoon, it was time for me to pack my things and head to the train station. I was having such a good time that with a little convincing from Mateo's friends and Cande, I purchased a new plane ticket to leave at 5:50 PM instead of that morning at 6:50. Under the mantra, "YOLO" I figured I should take advantage of more great memories in the Netherlands. Monday turned out to be rather hectic and for nearly three hours I thought I was going to miss my flight. When I got to the airport, checked in, strolled through security and walked to the gate, I had 5 minutes to spare before boarding! I was thrilled.

Then... lonnnng story short, my flight was CANCELLED. I ended up spending the night at some airport hotel and getting rebooked the next morning. It was 24 hours in total from the doorstep of Mateo's to my apartment in Madrid.
Hey, you only live once, might as well have an incredible weekend and then end up stranded at an airport outside of Amsterdam and spend the night there and come back to Madrid 36 hours after you planned.