Sunshine

Today was absolutely beautiful. The sun was out. It got up to 60 degrees. Flowers are blooming. I sat outside enjoying the sun, and it felt like God created today just for me. He did, right? It definitely felt like an answer to prayer at least.

I had some encouraging moments this week. I received an essay back and got the highest score I've gotten all year - I went from high pass to distinction. By the way, the English grading scale is very weird. It's graded on a scale of 1-80, and anything above a 60-70 is the B,B+ range. I got a 73 and was so happy. Wouldn't have felt that way in the States. I also talked to one of my professors about some problems I was having with my dissertation and my dissertation supervisor and he handled it all for me. It made me realized that sometimes it is good to express your frustrations. I usually keep that kind of thing inside. Anyways, my situation is much better now, and I feel a lot more optimistic about the project I'll be producing now. Finally, I discovered a smoothie shop near campus that I didn't know existed. You have no idea how exciting this is for me. I love me some smoothies. And it's nice to have a place to go and sit in the afternoon besides a pub. I spent two hours after class hanging out with my coursemates in the smoothie shop, and I walked away feeling happy and relaxed. I've been so focused on school, it was a good reminder that I need to take breaks every once in a while.

The one where I make bad life choices

I am supposed to be writing my first draft of a lit review right now. Hence the post. Actually, there may be a surge in the number of posts I make to my blog in the next few months, since all I will be doing between now and July 1 is writing.

I have made several self-destrucive decisions in the last week.
Bad decision #1: It took me a whole year, but I finally stumbled upon the games package on my computer. I made the mistake of opening up Spider Solitaire and teaching myself how to play. If you want to know a good way to pass an hour of your day without realizing it, play solitaire. Now instead of Facebook providing a study distraction, I have solitaire, which is much more deadly.
Bad decision #2: I began watching The Hills online at MTV.co.uk. The American television stations won't let you watch their shows from outside the country, and one of my friends mentioned that she watches her MTV shows on the UK website. It was The Hills or Real World, and I'd like to think I chose the lesser of two evils, but the smart decision would have been neither. Now I am hooked, waiting for the day when Heidi will finally dump Spencer and realize she's been an idiot.
Bad decision #3: I have started spending too much time and money on iTunes. It started when I heard the new Madonna and JT song on BBC radio 2 and couldn't get it out of my head. Then it started with a rampage to catch up on all the new music I've missed in the last 7 months. The most embarrassing song I purchased would probably be Jordin Sparks, "No Air." I usually try to stay away from American Idol offerings, but this song was too catchy. Cleaning my room while belting it out with Jordin, I actually wished I had had my heart broken so I could feel the song more. So any men interested in breaking my heart so I can sing more passionately to a sub-par pop song that will be forgotten in two months, just let me know.

I'm perfectly aware of how ridiculous I just made myself sound. And thus ends my essay-writing procrastination.

The one where I look back

Tonight I did something I like to do every once in a while ... I went back and read some of my old journal entries from my time at Baylor. After reading for a while, I was reminded of a few things. I had an incredible college experience. I miss Baylor so much. College life in England is so different from the States. No mascots, school spirit, homecoming, football games, or rivalries with other schools. Things that are much too cheesy for the English. Reading back through my journal showed me what an incredible journey God has taken me on the past four years. Good and bad decisions. Highs and lows in my walk with God. Gradual maturity, which you don't really notice until much later on in life. Looking back to entries I wrote before freshman year, I realized that I'm a completely different person than I was in high school or first two years of college. Europe has played a big part in that. I have a feeling that in 20 years when I look back on my life, my two stays in Europe will bookend a specific chapter in my life. One that was filled with confusion, frustration, growth, adventure, and change. I think this chapter is definitely going to be an important one for preparing and defining who I will become and what I will do with my life. The biggest thing, however, that I got from reading my journal is the proof that God answers prayers. I realized that the things that I wrote about once or that were repeated prayers in my life have been answered, and I never stopped to give God the thanks and praise he deserves. I see now how God has answered my cries in his own way in his perfect timing. It assures me that the requests I have been making over the past years that have not yet been answered with a "yes" will come when the time is right.

School is so overwhelming and life-consuming right now, and it was so good for me to have that time of reflection. God is going to help me meet all the challenges I have left here in the next three months just as he always has.

Fun British word/phrase of the day: nip = go
"I'm just going to nip to the store."

PS- I am jealous of you all experiencing the sun and spring in Texas. It has been raining/snowing/hailing here the last two weeks. I can't wait for the day when I can go outside without my winter coat.

Dunluce Castle, N. Ireland:

I had a great trip. Ireland was as green and beautiful as always, and it was so fun have a friend to show me all the spots.

The one where I ate moose

Five girls, six days, and one volvo makes for a long trip, especially when it takes two hours to get every one in one place and out the door in the morning. However, Norway was beautiful. It was the only place I've visited in Europe where I felt like I could be in North America. There were lots of rolling hills, pine trees, red farm houses, fishing boats along the ocean inlets, and just beautiful nature. It reminded me a lot of where my family lives in Minnesota, so I felt really relaxed and peaceful there. Almost like a mini-homecoming. It was also nice to get to stay with my friend Kirsti's family. Last week was the first time I have been in a house since moving to England in September. Crazy, huh? It felt so good to have a mom around to take care of us, and to be able to lay on a couch again and to watch TV. I haven't watched TV since the Fulbright put me up in a hotel for our conference in January. I stayed in their upstairs room, which had its own balcony and an amazing view. On our last night, Kirsti's mom cooked us a traditional Norwegian dinner, which included moose meat as the main course. It was good, but a different texture from any other meat I've tasted. I guess the closest comparison I could make would be to roast beef.

I wanted to upload pictures of Norway, but blogger isn't being cooperative right now. I'll post some later. Now I'm leaving tomorrow morning to visit a friend in Northern Ireland. I'm so excited! I love Ireland so much, and this is the first time I'll visit it this year.