Slight Change of Plans, Still Have Many Adventures Ahead This Spring

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm sure you have all been curious as to why there hasn't been a recent update on European happenings and Scottish festivities. Quite unfortunately, I had to return to Minnesota late last week due to a health condition. Please don't worry, it's very curable, but it was necessary for me to get started with the proper treatment.

Though I don't have any immediate plans set in stone, I look forward to seeing what God has in store for me, whether it be in the form of volunteering, taking online classes, enjoying books that have been on my reading list for years, improving some culinery skills, spending quality time with family, or a combination of all of the above!

With Love,
Christine

Little Sleep Despite Thousands of Sheep to Count!

My weekend on the farm proved to be quite the adventure and matched very few of my expectations. I was expecting to be completely "roughing it" but ended up with a quite pleasant stay. Three hours after boarding our minibus on Friday night, we stumbled out into the quaint little town of Shap. Mr. and Mrs. Chalmers, my host parents, warmly greeted us as soon as we touched ground, and by the time we had arrived at their farm they had nearly learned everyone's name. We learned later that they bring in students like us nearly every weekend to escape from University for a few days and enjoy the outdoors. In the summer, they use their farm as a summer camp for children with disabilities, so they conveniently had a bunkhouse that provided enough space to house all 8 of us!

Mr. and Mrs. Chalmers

Despite our late night arrival, Mrs. Chalmers had prepared a full pasta dinner for us when we arrived, complete with a cupcake dessert! I’m sure it would surprise few to learn that we seemed to have tea offered to us before and after every meal! Tea time led to some great dinner table conversations about farming, our Scottish roots, the changing times in regards to technology, and Scotland’s upcoming referendum that proposes independence from the UK. According to Mr. Chalmers, independence would be a complete economic disaster for the nation, and I would tend to agree.

I was expecting my weekend at the farm to be a complete outdoors affair and had packed accordingly with sweatpants and old tennis shoes. I believe we were all a little surprised when on Saturday morning we loaded up the van to be brought into the town center. Our morning and early afternoon was dominated by window shopping and tourist attractions. The first stop was to the Appleby Farmer’s Market where we picked up some fresh vegetables for our chicken dinner. Continuing on with the food theme, we stopped at a chocolate factory and indulged in a little dark chocolate. My favorite item for sale was a box of chocolate that you could eat the box after finishing the chocolate inside!

Chocolate Factory

After our chocolate stomach had been satisfied, we quickly visited the Appleby Grammar School where, believe it or not, George Washington’s older brothers went to school! We were not done with our history yet because after grabbing some baguette sandwiches, we had a picnic lunch in the remains of King Arthur’s father’s castle. I’m sure you all remember the stories of the knights of the round table and young King Arthur pulling the sword out of the stone, but I didn’t realize that a real King Arthur existed! Little did I know I’d be eating a sandwich in his father’s Pendragon Castle…

Outside Pendragon Castle

Farmer Bob Milking the Cows

Another highlight for me on Saturday was taking a walk with Ginny, the farm dog, through an enchanted looking forest with magical looking streams darting in and out the path we were following. Had Ginny not been so determined to have a speed walk, I would have taken more pictures of the terrain! When I arrived back at the house, the rest of the crew was putting on their wellies for a trip to neighboring Farmer Bob’s cow farm. I had asked naively the night before if we would be able to milk any cows, and the Chalmers had gone out of their way to set up an appointment! We weren't actually able to do the milking because there was a pretty intense milking system in place, but we stood right alongside the cows and herded them into their place when it was time for the next one to get in line! It was fortunate that we ALL smelled of the same stench at dinner because we had quite the odor to us for the next couple of hours!

We had another long dinner Saturday night that consisted of three courses: chicken curry, apple crisp, and cheese and biscuits. It took me a while to rationalize the order of the courses and the overall theme of the meal, but the taste made up for it in spades!

We didn’t have a ton of time on Sunday, but with the time we had we toured the farm and learned about the types of camps they host for disabled children during the summer. You wouldn't naturally imagine farms to be wheelchair accessible, but because of the many grants the Chalmers had received, nearly all areas of the farm could be enjoyed by boys and girls with various disabilities. After a couple of rounds of bananagrams and a long exchange of hugs, we parted ways with the Chalmers and slept the majority of the bus ride home. Now, about that reading I had brought along to do…

Good Thing I Always have Cute Sheep Photos to Look Back On...

Tastes Like Chicken

Dearest Friends and Family,

I can’t believe that my first week of classes have come and gone already! I am very thankful to have Fridays free from work, and today I am preparing to take a weekend homestay trip to Shap, which is a small town in northern England. I’ll give you a full update in a couple of days, but what I know now is that I’ll be staying on the Chalmer Family Farm and may be getting a little dirt under my fingers if I could make any predictions…

I thought I’d also give you a quick update on some of the highlights of my week. Tuesday night I joined my friends Jessie and David to go to the Grassroots Comedy Night held in one of the student unions. It was a great experience, but I think we were more humored by how much of the British-themed comedy went right over our heads than the actual jokes! Nonetheless, it was a great atmosphere and totally worth the one “quid” we had to pay to get in.

The highlight for me on Wednesday was meeting with Megan, my church friend, for lunch. When I asked what she might be hungry for, she mentioned that she wanted to try some local fish and chips, a popular UK dish! Although I’m not a seafood fan, I found the fried fish to taste “just like chicken” and figuring that there was Heinz ketchup available at the pub, I was quite happy with the chips (fries) as well!

Yesterday’s highlight would have to be the stir-fry night I had with some of my friends. We all contributed different vegetables, meats, rice, and noodles, and cooked up quite a mix! We also managed to cook up quite the mix of dishes to wash…but that’s neither here nor there.

While we were eating, one of the British flatmates who had joined our group mentioned that she had always wanted to visit Minnesota! Quite curious, I inquired further to hear the rationale behind the desire. According to Jenny, “I love Marshall’s accent in How I Met Your Mother.” This clearly was not quite the response I was expecting, but I was still very excited to have found another Minnesota enthusiast (we’ll just have to use a loose interpretation of the word enthusiast in this case).

Well, I’m off to the farm! Those sheep don’t know what’s coming for them…

First Day of Classes and the Gym

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has been praying for me and keeping up with my blog. Your encouragement has meant so much! My first day of classes went well, but it turned out to be quite different from US university classes. I was expecting to be given a course handbook and explanation of the class during the first lecture; however, on the contrary, I sat down in my Psychology class and the lecturer just started in on her topic. It turns out that in my psychology class, the lectures will consist of different topics taught by different professors each day. I’m not sure I’ll ever meet the course organizer who will determine my grade!

My logic class was similar in that we didn’t discuss the class as a whole at all and instead delved right into some practice arguments. It’s a very foreign topic right now to me, but I think that I will find it fascinating!

I felt that I spent the majority of the afternoon in the library asking every other student walking by a different question. I quickly found out that it’s quite different here to find books, check out books, print, access email, etc… I’m already on a first-name basis with IS Help Desk professionals. I promise, it’s not just me, they couldn’t seem to figure out my computer settings either!

Exhausted of studying, I decided to take on the gym. The gym turned out to be my international experience for the day. As I peddled along on my stationary bike and watched BBC, I gazed around the room at the different choices of workout attire from different nationalities. As you may imagine (but I don’t advise), many of the European men wore extremely tight and short shorts. Also fascinating were the women who chose to wear quite fashionable polos as they ran on the treadmill. I can only imagine what they must think of my workout clothing choice of shorts and a white tshirtJ

International Tea Time

I did originally intend this to be more of a weekly blog, but I find there to be too much to shareJ This morning I enjoyed meeting new friends at the University’s New Student Orientation and while visiting the Society (club) fair in the student union. We got a pamphlet entailing all of the societies we could join, which was a quite overwhelming list including the skydiving society, the bagpiping society, and wine tasting society among many others!

This evening I ended up attending Central Church with my new friend Megan from Texas. It was great to have someone come with me because it was quite a long walk to get to the church. The service didn’t actually start until 6:30pm, so when we arrived early at 6 we got a great chance to meet other students. Megan and I sat down next to two lively “freshers” who had much to share about the University. Christian, a philosophy major who works part-time at Build-A-Bear recommended the cycling society. Eilidh, an art student, encouraged me to join the mountaineering club and invited me to join her the next time she went bouldering at the gym. The service itself was a great respite from all stress and the worship was tremendous.

Perhaps the best part of my day was arriving back in the flat. Though I was hoping to prepare for my first day of classes, I found myself easily putting my work aside when my flatmates asked if I would want to come hang out with them. We made tea and Costanza, my Italian roommate, had German butter cookies that she had brought from home. We talked for nearly an hour, each of us interested in learning about each other’s culture. It was fascinating to hear how early in school they had to choose their track of study. Costanza had to choose political science when she was 14, Ariel (from China) chose Business when she was 15, and Melissa (from France) decided when she was 16. We also discussed some of our national holidays and favorite family traditions. In general it was just so wonderful to be sitting around a small table with girls from three completely different upbringings. Way too cool!

How many college students does it take to change a lightbulb?

My IFSA orientation is officially over and I am moved in to a four person flat right on a main road. I can’t believe I am finally experiencing the city life for the first time! I’ll admit I’m starting to get used to simply walking out onto the street and having the grocery store just a block down the road. Or perhaps turning the other way and finding three delicious Indian restaurants within eyesight, all serving yummy naan bread at all hours of the dayJ

This morning I got up to meet some of my friends to find the Farmer’s Market! It turned out to be a very good choice as we found many vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, and breads. My personal favorite part of the experience involved talking with the local farmers and hearing about their stories. One man sold granola bars, which are sold in local pubs, thus “a bar within a bar”. Who would have thought that the same person to order a whiskey would also buy a granola bar…

After the Farmer’s Market I continued on to do some more exploring, including finding the church that had been recommended to me. I didn’t have time to go inside, but I hope to check it out tomorrow, weather permitting. (it’s supposed to rain/snow most of the day). I also made it to the gym and bought a semester’s membership. It’s quite nice and in slightly better shape than Wake to say the least…

Unfortunately, as the title would suggest, a good portion of my afternoon involved trying to get more light into my room by my desk. The room came with a desk lamp, but I couldn’t quite get it to work. After trying many outlets, I diagnosed it to have a faulty light bulb and adventured out to find a new one. Long story short, my first trip involved finding a bulb with the wrong type of screw. Still persistent, I went back to the store, exchanged it for the correct bulb, and came back to my room to determine that the desk light had more problems than I thought. Still no luck. At that point I broke down and bought an entirely new desk lamp, insisting that the store manager let me plug it in and try it out before bringing it homeJ He did give me a funny look, but desperate times call for desperate measures…

Tonight I met up with other new students for a traditional Scottish buffet. Yes, I did go all out and try the haggis, and after voiding my mind of the ingredient list, was able to swallow and actually enjoy the taste. I learned quickly that it helped to have a protective covering of mashed potatoes around my spoonful J I was incredibly impressed with the background of all the students I met. It became quite ordinary to meet someone who knew three, four, or five different languages. I was amazed at the amount of world travel the students had already experienced at 20 years of age!

It’s hard to imagine being ready for classes starting Monday. The European school system sounds like it will be a true challenge! Good news is that I’ve got a working desk lamp, so bring it on, Edinburgh!

Safely in Edinburgh…and starting to explore!

I’ll admit I’m starting to hit severe sleep deprivation, but there is too much to tell to take a nap now!

After a warm send off from my mom with scrambled eggs and toast, we somehow managed to part our ways without tears at the airport. Perhaps some of the best news of the day was realized when I checked my bags and each was under the weight limit by a significant amount! Security was a breeze on a Wednesday, so I had over an hour to do some airport wandering. After I came to the realization that American dollars would do me no good in Scotland, my brain was exceedingly successful at coming up with a multitude of ways to slim down my wallet. I bought a MN tshirt to give to someone as a gift and picked up a few snacks before boarding the plane.

I had a really peculiar feeling about one girl who had got on to the plane with me, and the plane probably only had 20 people on it, so I moved to sit closer to her and asked where she was headed. Believe it or not, she too was headed to Edinburgh with IFSA! Emily, who goes to school at Gustavus, had not flown since 2007 and I could feel her nervousness on the whole trip. Imagine not flying for that long and then flying internationally! I was more than happy to lead her to the next terminal and to our IFSA group room.

It turns out that our group is much larger than I expected. I’m sure there are some who traveled independently, so it will be interesting to see the size of the full group during the official orientation starting tomorrow. The group room honestly felt like freshman orientation all over again with questions like “Where are you from?” and “What are you studying?” asked a million times over. More than anything, though, it felt like EuroTour all over again because we were in the exact same group room as the one that started my last European adventure. Too bad I didn’t find three great friends who happened to want to write a blog together…

The hours dragged on, but finally it was time to start our next flight. I was all the way in the back of the plane; however that managed to score me the earliest serving of dinnerJ I was very hopeful of sleep, but alas, it turned out to be a long trip of solving Sudoku puzzles…

Eyes drooping and legs wobbling, we managed to look presentable enough to pass through customs and immigration. Two cheerful IFSA staff members greeted us at the baggage claim and escorted us to our hotel via two coach buses. It was a pretty smooth transition. Mom, remember when I was worried that I had over packed? Well it’s still possible that I over packed, but I did not nearly over pack as much as everyone else did. I believe that I was the only girl to not need a cart to carry luggage, you’d be proud, DadJ

After driving by the castle, I miraculously got a burst of energy and decided it was time for some exploring. I dropped off my stuff in my hotel room and had three incredible hours of exploration of the city on my own. I started by trekking to George’s Square, which is the hub of the academic buildings on campus. Somewhat on a whim, I decided to find the Visiting Student’s Office and see if anyone would be able to talk with me about my schedule. Not only did Calum talk with me, but he easily changed my schedule for me. As of right now, I’m signed up to take Marketing, Self and Society, and the Philosophy of Logic. More importantly, I’m no longer signed up to take Greek and Roman EpicJ

Pretty pumped about the result of my decision to visit the VSO, I continued on to visit the library and other academic buildings. Feeling pretty confident in my directional skills at this point, I ventured on and found my dorm (though I couldn’t get in) and the surrounding stores. Right next door to my dorm is a school supply store and right down the street I found my new favorite lunch spot, the Baguette Express. I spoke for a while with the woman inside, explaining that I would be coming there often and that I loved her accent. She made me a grilled chicken “toastie”, which is a toasted sandwich. I was feeling a little like a local eating my toastie while walking down the cobblestone streets in my pea coat.

My last stop before determining that I was much overdue for a shower was to the Edinburgh Castle, which was absolutely stunning with the morning sun. After climbing what seemed like an endless set of stairs, I could look out and see the castle in front of me and the entire city looking the other direction.

The best part of my whole excursion came when I offered to take a picture of two women in front of the castle. They seemed to be about my age and we began talking about the city and where we were studying. One of the girls was from Georgia and was studying in London for the semester. The other was named Meagen and mentioned that she was from Alabama but was now working in Edinburgh. Before leaving, Meagen tentatively asked me if I happened to be in search of a local church. Very excited with my response, she explained to me that she worked at Central Church and thought that I would enjoy the 6 Gathering on Sundays. She gave me her phone number and email and told me that she would love to get me connected if I so wished. I couldn’t believe my luck and enjoyed checking out the church’s website. (http://www.jesusattheheart.org/ )

God is good! Thank you for all of the prayers!