An update: Life is good.  Life is bad.  Life is tolerable.  Life is illuminating.

(Am currently procrastinating on homework.)

I hope all is well as we venture off in these new directions like post-grad. like, our last year(s) and semester(s) in college, student teaching, et cetera...

OK, so I have pretty much come to the conclusion that Oxford is a fairy land.  Not like it's all sunshine and flowers-- there are homeless people, druggies, lonely folks, depressed people, garbage, dirty men, urine-scented alleys and infuriating library systems-- but still.  Here's what happened this week.  Tell me it's not crazy!

We visited Christ Church College and saw where Harry Potter was filmed, the Great Hall the Hogwarts Great Hall is based off of, a garden where the girl who inspired Alice in Wonderland used to play, the tree where the Cheshire Cat supposedly lived, and a movie being filmed called "Northern Lights."  My roommate and another girl named Jordan saw Nicole Kidman, who's starring in the film! 

My roommates and I went out to a pub one night with an Oxford boy who's met Daniel Radcliffe (apparently a total crackhead), the prime minister's son (apparently a total jackass), and has seen Mr. Bean, who apparently shops in Oxford and lives right outside of it!  (And went to school here!)

Yesterday, we went to Winchester and saw where Jane Austen died, an original document she signed, the old capital of England during the days of Alfred the Great, a fake round table circa King Henry VIII's reign, and boxes holding the remains of King Ethelbert, King Canute, etc, etc.

Today, I was playing ultimate frisbee over in the park right next to Prince Charles's helicopter!  Krystal and Jordan saw him, too, and took pictures of him!

Wtf????  Lol :)

UK :-)

Well!  So!  Life over here in Anglo-land is pretty much AMAZING.  I have great housemates and roommates and am soaking in a whole new world of knowledge. 

Okay, so today was not super-duper great.  I received an email this morning which for some reason sent me on a whirlwind of anger.  I am not kidding- I was downright seething.  It all has to do with a stupid group project which, in hindsight, really is not that much of a big deal.  But still- it bothers me.  A lot. 

Here's what happened- miscommunication.  I learned what it was like to be on the receiving end, and it SUCKED.  Like, a LOT.  The whole situation really opened my eyes to many a thing.  As my prof said (well, this is not verbatim, but close enough), "It's hard working with people."  (I.e., "Life's hard, get over it," just in nicer terms. )  I know that I have not heard everyone's sides of the story and am not sure if there even is a "story" at all. 

So- another thought- I love my family.  I mean I love them with this fierce, hard, unacceptable love.  Then I realized yesterday- Is the reason I love them so much because they love me and are the only people who have always loved me unconditionally, wholeheartedly, no matter what I do?  It might sound selfish, yes, but I wonder if that's really all it is.  So here's the thing- Why don't I love Christ that much?  HE LOVES ME UNCONDITIONALLY, FORGIVES ME NO MATTER WHAT I DO.

So, this love should probably be the same for Him.  Fierce, hard, tough, unwavering.  Sometimes I am so afraid that God will see how much I love my family that He will take them away from me so I will turn from Him.  Pretty irrational?  Perhaps.  But it's a real fear of mine.

Is tradition a bad thing?  We discussed this in small group.  Hmmm...

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