days go by

A lot has happened in the past two weeks. Easter break (or Spring break as I'm more accustomed to saying...but which I've been informed is exclusively an American term and not what we say here- oops!) is complete. Easter Sunday marked three of six months that I'm spending here in England. Mommy has come and gone. I've been to Paris, Florence, Rome, and the Lake District of England. I'm halfway through the adventure of a lifetime and I couldn't be happier.

Mommy arrived March 30 and we spenty a cold, rainy day exploring my little town of Chester. Despite the horrible weather, Chester didn't fail to impress. I knew it wouldn't. My mom loved walking the cobblestone streets, staying in my old and adorable house, listening to the English accents, and having dinner at one of my favorite local pubs on the river.

On the 31st we flew to Paris! We stayed in a hotel with 2.50 euro/5 minute showers and staff with slim English abilities. I quickly found, though, that Mommy seems to enjoy pretending to speak other languages, seeing how long she can keep a conversation in French going with nods, smiles, and "oui!'s". Not exactly my cup of tea, but we met some fun people along the way because she did this.

We spent April 1 in Paris, and I have to say that it really is everything they make it out to be in the movies. I am absolutely not a city girl. Cities are big and crowded and overwhelming, but despite Paris' definite status as a major European city, there was something so different about it. It was so beautiful, so fresh, so romantic. I loved Paris. We rode buses through town to get glimpses of everything, strolled through the Louvre, relaxed while writing postcards home in a city park, and took a long walk across town to see the Eiffel tower. Oh yes, and we had some lovely French food and were so thankful and happy to find the French people very kind and helpful to the two of us obvious foreigners.

Paris

We rose early on the 2nd to make it to the train station for our 7am train to Florence! We spent the entire day riding through the French, Swiss, and Italian countrysides and I saw some of the prettiest sights of my life. The Alps were amazing. We arrived in Florence that evening, had some pasta, wine, and gelato, and settled into our adorable little Italian hotel, run by a sweet family and with a balcony off our room with the most beautiful view of the Florentine rooftops and Tuscan hills in the background.

train ride

We spent the 3rd and the 4th (Easter Sunday) in Florence. We wandered through the quaint streets, visited the Uffizi Gallery (largest collection of Florentine art in the world), the Accademia Museum (where we saw Michelangelo's David...and it was amazing!), enjoyed picking up a few handmade gifts in the local shops, and attended a Catholic mass and the Scoppio del Carro festival on Easter morning. Florence was absolutely lovely. Despite being very touristy (I think I saw just as many Americans as Italians...), the city was easy to get around, fun to explore, and felt relatively safe.

Florence

By the time the 5th rolled around we were hopping another train to Rome. Upon arriving in the most chaotic city in the world (okay, Heather and Rachel...the most chaotic city in Europe!), Mommy and I spent two hours lugging our stuff, walking in circles around Rome trying to find our hotel. Upon arrival with the help of the tourist center and the waitress of the restaurant next door (there was no sign...) we were welcomed by the hotel manager and told that we were being relocated to her cousin's hotel across town. Joy...to...the...world. Her cousin (???) took us to relatively clean and safe hotel that was literally a two minute walk from the train station where we arrived and set out. Welcome to Rome. Now I know why the say "when in Rome...."

We spent the 6th and 7th in Rome, and it definitely is a beautiful, amazing city. We had some wonderful Italian food in little restaurants run by some lovely families, and enjoyed taking a couple long, nighttime walks to see the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and the Pantheon at dark. Beautiful. By day, we saw the Colosseum, The Vatican (where we saw the gorgeous Sistene Chapel!!), the Villa Borghese (a beautiful villa with an art museum and countless acres of surrounding gardens where we fancied getting lost), and attended mass at St. Peter's Basilica. Rome was great, but after three days of constant chaos I had had my fill and was happy as ever to return to Chester.

Rome

We flew back to England on the 8th and had a nice evening in Chester before Mommy flew out to go home on the morning of the 9th.

It was so wonderful to have Mommy visit. Even though I go three months without seeing my family all the time at Hendrix, it feels so much more difficult knowing there is an ocean between us. It was good to see her. It was time. I miss my family, and I miss my friends, and I miss home, but I don't want to go home. Not right now. I love looking at globe and realizing just how far I've come. Mommy jokingly asked me if I wanted to come back to Texas with her, though, and I smiled and said no.

Because I can't seem to find a way to describe how much I love it here in England. Even though the weather is no where near my beloved Texas heat and the cuisine can't hold a candle to Tex-mex, bbq, or any perfect Southern dish to come out of my mom's kitchen, there is something about this place that is becoming a part of me. And, in minuscule ways I hope, I am becoming a part of it.

England wasn't my plan. It wasn't my dream. I never thought to myself how lovely it would be to live and study in England. Not once. My study abroad placement at Chester Uni kind of just...fell into my lap. Frustrated with trying to figure out where to go and feeling like Chester was the only last reasonable choice to make, I said okay. Terrified, uncertain, and excited, too, I left for England with faith that God was with me always, that He saw a bigger picture than I, and with a heart full of deep hope for what was in store.

Hope is a beautiful thing, isn't it?

I love England. More every day. I love the fact that it's springtime now and the daffodils sprinkle the entire countryside. I know because I took that bus back from Belgium. I love going to pubs and I love the way everyone talks. I love TESCO and I love the Chester walls. I love realizing that I will never have the fashion of an English girl, but finding it fun to try. I love going to church in beautiful churches with centuries of rich history treasured inside their walls. I love the way people drive on the other side of the road, I love Sunday roasts, I love riding the train.

So much more than any of that, even, I love the people. It's been three months and I've gone from crying in the Houston airport in the British Airways line when I realized all the strangers around me were speaking with English accents and I was about to go somewhere where everyone talked like that, but I knew no one, to feeling surrounded by a beautiful, loving community. Thank yall. Thank yall so much.

This past weekend, I had the perfect end to Easter Break with a trip up the Lake District, perhaps one of the most beautiful parts of England. I met some more absolutely lovely folk, hiked a mountain, and had a million more reasons to love England with every mile of motorway we drove up there and back. It was incredibly, incredibly beautiful.

The Lake District

Funny how man-made structures like the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum can't compare the the simple, majestic wonder of looking at the world from atop a mountain in the English countryside. I can't believe God made the world this beautiful. Yet He did. And I am here, living in it.

So here's to all the hopes that did not disappoint in the first half, and here's to life, just life, in the second half.

I've been journaling a lot here, and there is a quote that I copied down in the front of my journal. I read it a couple times a week, many times out loud to myself, because I think it says so much about where I am, and how I want to live. I hope it blesses you as much as it's blessed me...

And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in a play. My hope is your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born inside of you, about learning to love a woman or a man, about learning to love a child, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God. We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?
It might be time for you to go. It might be time to change, to shine out.
I want to repeat one word for you:
Leave.
Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn't it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don't worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed.

-Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts