Four and a half months down, one a half months to go.
Oh, yes, and I graduate college a year from yesterday.
I love England and I miss home. My heart is definitely going to be torn in half (if it isn't already) when I get on that plane on July 4, but we won't talk about that right now.
My dad says he sees a pattern forming in my life:
1. I don't want to go somewhere (England wasn't first on my list...)
2. He tells me to go anyways, so I do
3. Hysterical crying ensues
4. In a very short amount of time, I fall in love with the place and am happier than ever before
Yep. Sounds about right.
My parents also told me over Skype a couple weeks ago that I sounded English. I'm not really sure what I think about that, but I can assure you that "yall" remains an active part of my vocabulary that isn't going anywhere.
I'm officially done with the four classes I was taking at the University of Chester and am now doing what they call "work-based learning" where I basically get to work a job for five weeks and then have to write a big report about what I learned at the end. My placement is with the college chaplaincy and and I'm doing a research project for them, interviewing former members of the Christian Union and seeing how CU has affected their life down the road. I'm excited to be able to talk to people about their faith...I think conducting all these interviews is going to help me be able to engage in those types of conversations more naturally in the future.
Oh yes, and the chaplain asked me if I wanted to preach in chapel in a couple weeks. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity for me to explore that facet of ministry, I said yes...terrified. To say the least, it should be interesting.
On the whole, I found my classes here exceptionally frustrating. I felt like school was a lot about knowledge transfer rather than actual learning, there is no interconnectedness between disciplines, and schooling seems to be a lot more about job training than personhood development. This made it great for finding time to travel, and it gave me new found appreciation for Hendrix. I actually gave a spiel about "unto the whole person" the other day to the chaplain, Ian, who is trying to slowly integrate some of the same ideals into the thinking of Chester's faculty. I guess it takes a step back to realize just how much Hendrix College is an absolutely exceptional institution. (Not that I ever thought otherwise, it's just that after three years you begin to think that it's normal....and it's not.) I couldn't be at a better college, and I will return there in the fall more thankful than ever.
What else, what else, what else?
Oh yes, I've learned to drink my tea without sugar :)
I successfully prepared a homemade cottage pie a couple weeks ago. I bought all my vegetables at a local greengrocer and then hit up TESCO for the rest. It took me about three times as long as it was supposed to to prepare it, but I was still pleased to be able to make a traditional English dish.
A friend who does chaplaincy and youth work in local schools is going to let me shadow him in the next few weeks to give me yet another taste of ministry. I'll get to see some school assemblies, Religious Education classes, and such. I'm quite excited about seeing how things like that work in another country, because obviously, the separation of church and state is a little different over here.
I went to a football game!! It was seriously one of the coolest experiences ever. I went with Jon and his dad which was super fun company, and the feeling of being in the stadium (is that the right term?) with so many people going absolutely CRAZY was really neat. It was unlike any other sporting event I've ever been to, and (not really being a big sports fan to begin with) I've found that football (aka soccer) captures my attention in a way that no other sport ever has.
England's got a new prime minister! I'm continually humbled by the fact that I don't understand American politics...much less British.
I spent a lovely day yesterday with my American friend from Utah, Chelsea, popping into a bunch of Chester's little shops that we'd never been to before. We got milkshakes and I found a set of six adorable little tea cups at a secondhand shop for three pounds!
Chelsea is one of those girls that simply has such a beautiful outlook on life that it makes you a better person just for being around her. I feel the same way about a couple other of the Americans I've met here in Chester. It's so amazing to not only have a few people who understand where I'm coming from as an American exchange student, but even more than that, these girls have some of the best attitudes towards life that I've ever come across. Every single day, they remind me of what a gift our time here is and inspire me to live life to the fullest. I'll forever have a bond with my "American girls"...there are some things that no one else will ever understand.
I'm so thankful for my English friends as well. I've met so many people here who have just been incredibly kind and welcoming to me. Talking with other friends who have gone abroad, I've realized that not everyone has the privilege of becoming friends with "the locals"...if you will. I feel ridiculous saying that because, to me, my English friends aren't "the locals"--they're just my friends. But that's why I'm so lucky. There are a couple people that have really come to mean a lot to me, that have become true friends in every sense of the word, and I have a lot of hope that we will remain friends despite the distance that will soon separate us.
It doesn't get dark here now until about 10 or 10:30 at night, so I spent a portion of yesterday's evening walking around Chester and taking pictures of all the little pieces that have made me fall in love with it. Then I spread out a sheet in a field and soaked up the seven o'clock sunshine while writing letters home and reading a book. I genuinely believe that Chester, England is one of the most wonderful places in the world.
I've learned a lot in these past few months. This entire journey feels like this huge, unexplainable gift. Something that I don't deserve and can never repay. I don't know how to put into words how much it humbles me to look at my life right now, because I don't really know how it could be much more perfect.
That is something that I've struggled with during this journey. Why is it that my life is so perfect and I've been given this gift and I get to see all these things? Why me?
I really felt like God put a lot of those worries at peace in my heart at church this morning. God loves me. It's not fair, it's never been fair, and it's never going to be fair. It's okay to recieve good gifts. It's okay to be happy. It's okay that I don't deserve it. That's what grace is about that that's what being a Christian is about.
Dear God,
I love you too.
Thank you for grace.
Thank you for the gift of this journey.
I've quite liked it.
Please show me how, and give me the grace, to give it all away again.
Love, Michelle
p.s. enjoy the pictures of my pretty pretty pretty little English town, yall...
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