The top of that lift and around ot the right is where we spent most of out time at Kitzbuel.  

So violent. So funny. 

We took a hike on saturday... thankfully no one ended up like this.  

Testimonies...

Such a scary word,
implying a stage, sweaty hands and
a lame recounting of my average life.
At least until I am sat in my chair,
paper in front of me,
mind flipping through the pages of my life
to look hard at th e chapters and
phrases that wouldn't be there if
not for Jesus.
To actually notice the things Jesus does
over and over for this selfish little girl.
To imagine how to express those
experiences and lessons to the class or church,
sitting there just as uncomfrotable as me,
wondering why I'm doing this,
wondering if there's a real reason,
wondering how it can make a difference.
At leaste until I remember it's Jesus.
For Him I say this,
because of Him it's not up to me
and I'm not scared of
what I have seen and
testify.

Word of the Day:

Excitement.
For 2 reasons:
1st - God and His Word. Revelation fills me with so much excitement. I think part of that is due to how I respond to symbols and imagery, but also simply because of teh content. God has the most incredibly amazing outacontrol plan. He is powerful. He is just. He is mercify. He is perfect. His word is perfect - it fits together so crazy... the Bible (expecilaly Revelation) sends you on "treasure hunts" (in the words of Hans Peter Royer). Yaay!!
2nd - SNOW. I had forgotten how excited snow and the prospedct of snowboarding makes me. Being surorunded by snow sport peopel, in a ski town, with a lift and run out my window, having snowboarded less than a week ago and knowing I get to go again in May AND looking out the window during lectures to see snow falling.
Im really glad I gave God my attitude before today so that I can enjoy this.

It's Wednesday Again.

Last wednesday I said goodbye to someone I love.
Last wednesday I was in Spain
eating Churros and Chocolate, calamari and "perm" cheese.
Riding trains and busses and trams
not the usual way.
Riding next to a seat occupied by luggage,
not by the boy who has changed my life.
This wednesday started with a hello rather than a goodbye
A voice alone rather than person standing in front of me.
This wednesday I am settled rather than en rout
With some of the same people, but not all of them.
In review, last wednesday sounds worse.
In reality, this wednesday feels worse.
But last wednesday I said goodbye
So I tell myself this one is better.

Rio Vida... home for a week. 

Heh... Mike and Lisa were in the gondola. I for some reason decided it would be fun to snowboard down *that*. (It actually was. I laughed most of the way down.) 

Had to do it. 

w00t!!! This is Kitzbuel. Oh heck yes, I really was there. 

*grins* Us in Alacante... 

This is taken from in the Sea off the beach just down the road from Rio Vida in Alacante where we stayed for a week. 

The Gueill Park, also in Barcelona. We spent the afternoon here, just sitting in the sun, peopel watching and napping. 

Again, from the park across the street. 

The Sagrada Famillia in Barcelona - Gaudi's cathedral in the works. No words can describe. 

This is THE Pizzeria in Manarola. We ate here every day and thought about it every minute. The Pesto Pizza was ... Amazing. Janell espeically lived for it. 

Abbey Road in Pompeii. 

Pompeii.... yeah... I've seen older. 

Gelato... So good. This was our dietary staple for all of Italy.  

Manarola in Cinque Terre... mmmm love it. 

Italian Espresso. Oh the joy... Ally and Pammy are in the 3rd heaven. 

Group shot (for Danny...) in the Vatican Museum. 

Me and my South Carolinian love... 

Tauernhof

Arrived at the new home on sunday in one piece. Or rather, 4 pieces, you might say. Me, my backpack, my rolly duffel and... The Pillow.
I've been having attitude problems today, so I'm going to list off the GOOD things about being here right now (this is as much for me as it is for ya'll)...
The buildings. (very nice and cute and new)
The food. (it ... tastes. good. wow.)
The location. (we're IN a town, we dont have to pay 2pounds30 to get to one)
The 30 people from Capers. (even though I miss the rest)
The 40 new people. (so many oregonians. crazy.)
The staff. (i Way miss capers staff but i wont talk about it now. and martin and hans peter and the rest are cool i admit.)
The WIRELESS. (oh heck yes. i wont talk about the fact that mine isnt working right.)
The privacy. (i only have one roomate.)
The feeling of being unpacked for once.
The lectures. (yes for Bible school. sucks to have not been to church since Easter.)
The family groups. (yes i've been kicked out of the last family [Daveo and Jelly are still bro and sis...] but i now have BB and Dana)
There. It is as good place.
And I've gotta run....
Dinner in 10 minutes. Dinner that will taste good. Dinner that has already been paid for !!

Spain... ¿Again?

Goodbyes...
Airports...
Packing...
Sleepless nights (if only Girona were a bigger airport or that Barcelona weren´t SO hard to find a place to sleep at)...
Leaving one beautiful place for another...
Sunburns. nutella. weird white yogurt. going to the dungeon to watch a movie. pictures. laughing at how cute Janell is. paying cash. being amazed at all the palm trees. looking for the @ sign. speaking french on accident instead of spanish. discovering that people don´t even speak spanish here. seeing the torchbearer crest as sign of ´home´.
Realizing that this is one of the best times of my life...

Mmmm

Yesterday and today have been so beautiful. I can´t believe I am going from spending 3 days in the sand, soaking up the sun, listening to the waves and looking at the palm trees and deserty mountains to snowboarding in the Austrian Alps. *giddy laugh*
We have done absolutely nothing since we arrived in Alicant, seriously. We get up at 9 for breakfast and then go back to bed till anywhere betewen 12 and 2, then get up only long enough to get dressed and find somewhere else to lay about. (ie the beach or one of the decks) Sometimes we sit up long enough to play cards (dutch blitz or chinese) or watch a movie, but that´s about it. Today we´re being quite productive and have made it into town for a few hours. Love it. Yay Spain and yay friends who also enjoy being lazy.

Sorta Confusing but Sorta Normal

I dont know but I think Ive finally gotten used to the keys on the keyboard moving around on me, not exsiting at all, or having new little symbols on them depending on what country Im in. Also, I think Ive finally gotten used to just doing things online for memory, as all the words are (today) in spanish. Good times.
Right, yes, we´re in Spain this week. Green and blue sea, grey and yellow mountains, red-tiled villas, wind-damaged palm trees, amazing art, friendly (though rather unhelpful) people; I think I like it here. There is a weird thing with dog crap everywhere, though.... (yeeeeah) but other than that, NO complains.
So I dont know exactly how thorough the christian grape vine is (I know Capernwray´s is incredible) but I figured it was about time to post it on the internet that yes, I do have a boyfriend. ( :D ) He´s a wonderful South Carolinian boy named Josh Schreck and the rest you can email me and ask me about. Tragically it has been impossible to get to a computer that I can hook my flash drive up to, so no pics till I get to Tauernhof, most likely. Ya´ll can wait, I´m sure. :)
So yeah... life´s full of changes and suprises, hey? God sure is good.

Spring Break

I know I haven't posted for a while, and at €1.50/15 minutes it's gona be short.
Just to make things easier, I think I'll just say where we've been so far (just assume that I said 'we loved it' after every location)
London [Westminster Abby, London Eye, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Holy Trinity Brompton and Hillsong for Easter], Rome [colluseum, pantheon, spanish steps, trevi fountain, Vatican museum, St Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chappel... lots of shopping lots of people] Pompeii, Florence [didn't go see the David or Uffizi Gallery BUT it was lovely and we did a lot more shopping and eating and relaxing in the sun (no, I did not wear sunscreen muahahaa)], Manarola in Cinque Terre [took us an eternally long and mixed up train ride to get here, but it's so much more than worth it. ahhhhhh.]
We're supposedly meeting up with Mike and Lisa here, but that so far hasn't happened. But we'll be here for a few days non the less, then it's off to Spain!

Finals Week at Capernwray

It's not at all what one might expect a finals week to look like; normal lecures replaced with not exams or presentations but worship and sharing and O.T. reading. Study is replaced with long conversations, last minute rule breaking and packing. One thing remains the same: no sleep.
This really is a good week, though.

Good things yesterday:
Getting up 10 minutes before the breakfast bell (it's a record) and singing "Going to the Chappel" as the wake up call for the express reason of annoying Justin.
Frosties for breakfast.
Rob mentioning "Short Circut" in lectures.
Rob lecturing.
Final session of "Hinds Feet" spent on amazing limestone cliffs with friends and hot chocolate.
Erin letting me pack as much stuff as I wanted in her suitcase.
Only one evening lecture.
Tie Dye with Leslie!
Capernwray Unplugged cd arrival.

Good things today:
Sleeping in half an hour.
Family breakfast.
Year book signing (people signing mine, not me signing theirs).
Last trip to Lancaster.
£111 for peace of mind.
Plane tickets to Paris.
Friends.

Thankyou Jesus

We've had the director from Tauernhof, Hans Peter Royer, speaking to us this week on "Turning Truth into Experience". I can't explain any other way than to say it's been powerfuly simple and profound at the same time. One of the first things he spoke to us on was just the simple obediance of saying "thankyou" to God when ever *anything* happens. So this week, when stupid little things have gone wrong, I've tried to work on that. Haven't always been successful, naturally, but it has been pretty cool as far as seeing the results (my sanity).
Some of those cool little things that God's done this week:
Left extra weight in Erin and my suitacases so that I can send more with her and mail less.
Provided a hostel yesterday for Ester weekend (yeah I thought we were gona live on the street).
Gave a lot of people the inclination to be really nice and cool and helpful.

£52 Box

Hm. It's interesting how it's costing so much more to mail stuff to austria than it is to fly there. More even than flying to Italy, Spain and Austria combined. Hm. Yeah my laptop's worth more than me.
Well, it's good to be home. A little werid... for a number of reasons. Every few hours BJ and I find eachother cos we miss eachother, and every time I see Ashley or Becky I hug them. It's also a little weird because instead of lectures today each team is sharing about their experiences over the last 10 days. Some people think today is pretty much the most borring day we've ever had, but I so far have loved hearing about everyone's outreach and how God has been working and how amazing the church in Britain is. And then the whole issue of the fact that we're all so excited to be back and to see eachother and then we have to deal with the fact that in another 10 or so days we're leaving again. For good. Thank goodness for Tauernhof. All of us austria kids are so stokd to be going there. It's going to be amazing. But England and Capernwray are amazing, too. Sigh.
So, email and snail mail are cool. The mound of packages and stacks of mail were incredible to see on arrival in the Hall yesterday. Even more cool because one of each was for me. (Yes, I am a selfish being.) Mmm, and even cooler because my Pammy Wammy finally got mail.
Yes, the rambling must come to an end at some point, so I'll stop this unorganized flow of bits and pieces that flows from my fingers now.

Lemsip and Telly

[England is so Cool could be the title of my day]

Kiddies in uniforms,
St. James' isn't catholic.
Eyes closed in the car,
That or walking again.
Curry or traditional,
Tea, tea, and more tea.
Soaps and reality shows,
One uni vs another.
Can I say Really good accents.

*shrugs*

Having internet access for some reason makes me feel inclined to blog regularly even though I don't really have much to say.
How is it that Nottingham and Bolton have snow and Leyland doesn't?
Forgetting how to propperly chat online is something I never thought would happen.
The "Destinations" catagory on the Ryanair website is my favorite and least favorite thing - it gives you the information you need, but not what you want.
Warm showers, even if they involve strings, buttons and dials, rock my world.
Tonight was a night for experiencing a real communion service: 6 people (4 from Capers), a wonderful loaf of bread, a table, a guitar, honest sharing.
In England they call erasers "rubbers". And they don't say "crap".
At the end of this week my team will have the strongest right shoulders Capernwray has ever known.

Weekends Really Are for Relaxing

I hate to say "God is good" when I'm having a particularly good time, but why not say it - it's always true whether I feel inclined to say it or not.
Today is one of those days where I feel undeservedly blessed. At Capernwray we have this thing called 10 Day Outreach. Sounds terrifying at worst and stressful at best. But actually, contrary to what we all thought and (the staff Will say "told you so") I'm begining to think this is going to be one of the coolest weeks of Winter School.
In a list: faithful God, freakin rock star team, excited and friendly church, way cool Pastor Tony, wonnnderful host home (Phill and Carol... mmm love 'em) with internet, hilarious yet useful puppet shows, lots and lots of kids, food (need I say more?). Yeah. Obviously, we just got here and the "real" work hasn't started, but it's looking exciting. (Said whilst siting in a warm room with a full tummy and no plans for the evening, granted.)
I think I've used my 20 minutes, and Capernwray habbits are hard to excape.
Sleep tight everyone.

Oops...

the system was unable to perform your operation. Please try again in a few seconds.
A few seconds my eye. This will be my first time saying this, and I hate to do it.... but.... STUPID GMAIL. ARg.
Well. Since I can't email anyone at the moment this is sort of like an email for Mike and/or Lisa. Hi M&L- yeah... it's just the three of us in Austria. Uhhh we booked a hostel in Barcelona for 2 nights. (called the Mediterranian Youth Hostel. Very creative.) And we were thinking of spending the night in Pisa in the airport unless you can find something really close. Lemme know. Thanks :) Yaaaay 4 weeks!!!
(Sorry everyone else. That was massively obnoxious, I know.)

Love From the Sky

Aka Snow.
From time to time it snows here but only in the air... it doesn't like to stick.
But then this morning it did. It may only have been a fraction of a centimeter, but that's okay. It was still enough to catch on my tongue and to make into little baby snowballs (or... snow chunks) and Just enough to make snowangels on the tennis court. And not enough to make it impossible to walk the Look in pjs and flip flops.
And then the sun came out and we had snow coming out of blue sky. Can it get any better? Then the sun actually came up higher and melted most of the snow.
But I have pictures and a wet hoodie.

They Say Blame it on Spring

It seems the theme of the last few days has somehow been weddings/engagements, the works.
Bookshop Jenny and her adorible Canadian honey just announced their engagement.
I've just been looking at beautiful pictures from my dearest Beka's wedding for the last 15 of my meager (but well coveted) 20 minutes online. It feels me with such a feeling of "I Should have been there" that it's positively horrid. Though I am so grateful to see the pictures and pretend as if perhaps I really was there.
So I thought I'd describe *my* day in wedding jargon:
Something Old: Paul's epistles. Our adorible Scotish speaker. The familiar feeling of "why again did I stay up till 2 last night?"
Something New: My limited understanding of some of their concepts. The experience of a good-tasting lunch.
Something Borrowed: Pam's black Half-Zip. A glass of water at lunch. A copy of Hinds' Feet on High Places.
Something Blue: The speakers on this lovely little iMac. The sky today. The state of the pidgeonhole labled "M"

"Yis"

So many giggles. I forgot what happy people and caffine do to you. It's curious, hey?

Deep Breaths

Hm.
Since when is living in a castle in the country with a bunch of your friends to study the Bible stressful? This is not supposed to happen.
But that's okay.
I'll have a quiet time. I'll go to bed before 2:30am. I'll make the calls and write the emails that are required of me. People will stop being mean to other people. People will stop changing their minds about other things. People will start being happy.
Then tomorrow'll be just fabulous.
Yeah.

Ah

Good day.
Good dessert.
Good lectures.
Good friends.
Good email.

Stats

Since everyone so Loves straight information, I think I'll throw a bit out:

Couples I know/love engaged since I've been gone: 6
Couples I love who have gotten married since I've been gone: 1
Friends who have started blogging since I've been gone: 2
Babies born back at home that I missed: 3
Cool movies that have come out that I haven't even Heard of: More than I can count.
Amount of wonderful people from home who actaully send me pictures: 3
Average hours of sleep I get each night, and somehow still think it's not enough: 7 1/2
Number of assignments we've had at Capers (all year): 6
Countries that will be added to my list over Spring Break: 3

Oh Dear Me

How the time flys.
So, this week we are studying Hebrews, World Religions and Minor Prophets. I think it's gona go so fast.
And as we finalized travel plans today (and bought plane tickets - w00t!!), it seems so soon that we'll be done with 10 day outreach and Capers and England.
Speaking of, in case anyone was intersted in praying (*hint* ;)) my group consists of BJ (Colorado), Becky (N.England), Ashely (Beaverton), and me, and we are headed to Leyland Baptist Church in North Preston (about 45 minutes away). In a couple weeks we'll head there for a weekend to preview, basically, and then we'll go for the 10 days in the begining of March. Eeee. :)
Internet time also flies. Maybe it doesn't... maybe it's just so short that there's no way to know where it went.

Haha You Were Waiting.

It finally happened.
Today, for work duties....
They gave me a knife.
A Big Knife, at that.
Of course I cut myself.

Gleh. Stupid.

Emails are now officially equated with homesickness.
I was doing quite well and rather happy until i walked into this computer lab. Once arrived and signed in I was pelted with lovely emails from lovely people with lovely pictures of lovely times. And more engagment announcements that are expected yet jarring.
Still, I will check my mail and check those blogs. I suppose I'd rather be informed than wondering. Or maybe not. Wondering is fun. And then I can think whatever I like.
Either way, I'm still not there. Not that I really even want to be anywhere but here. I have a bedroom in a Castle, a window seat in lectures, 180 people who rock around me, daily lectures from people who Love Jesus. What really could be better for 12 January 2005.
And yet I sigh.

THERE

Hello dear ones, from southern England.... I'm here with my brother Daveo. (http://servantheart.blogspot.com - check it out)

This week has been a mass of running here and there, thither and yon, really.
Lesse... monday, left Cologne for Salisbury and Stonehenge. Tuesday to Bath (go there. now. it's amazing). Wednesday to Cardiff and back to London. And finally, thursday to Maidstone. And at last, here I will stay. For a day.
Theeeen it's back to Capers. And there I will Not move for at least 2 months. Not carry a backpack. Not buy a train ticket.

Dont get me wrong, all those things are fun and good, but I think for the moment they are done and gone. And Trace is gone; it was a strange morning - to travel alone on a train. But I have enough good memories stored up to keep me for a while.

This is my school picture.
(Hehe.... this makes my 3rd one *ever*) 

Beilefeld to Hannover

Probably the most romantic, in every
sense of the word, scene I have ever
looked upon.
Dense, grey mist gives way to
reveal a mountain (by English
standards. In Germany, it is probably
a hill.) Up from the firs rises a
lonely, stone ruin; An archade
wearing a cross
Watches a churning river, a small
red tiled town
And the traveler who mistakenly
sits in 1st class, watching and dreaming.

Whining session; zou amz not want to read this.

Not so fair.
I just read on Litaäs blog that Skzlarr wished she and Bob a Merrz Christmas. I want to be jealous. Ö) But thatäs okaz. I wont be I wont. Becyuse, I mean... 4 wonderful people called me and left messages. That was lovelz.
)this post is being written from a euro kezboard and i have no desire to relearn how to tzpe, so figure it out. muahaha=
What is uuuuupppppp... mz email wont open. Östicks tongue outÖ
I have a cold and have not been sleeping because of it.
K, Iäm done.

So, good things:
I am learing a few words/sentances in German. Good times.
Helga and Wadim kick serious butt.
So do AJ and Anna.
The train from Kaiserslautern to Beilefeld runs a good waz along the Rhine. Beautiful.
There is snow everzwhere.
Mz stomach is full of Chinese food. And tea.
The room is full of the sounds of familz and Capernwraz with Casting Crowns in the background and a kezboard clicking in the foreground.
I got to be a part of a jr hi retreat zesterdaz.
I am tzping on a kezboard that has the Funnest Ever kezs: °§ßüöäµ HAH.
OOPS. haha. Couldnt get caps lock off there for a minute. Heh. Iäve got it all undercontrol now.
No more bad attitude. Now zou dont have to regret that zou read this.
Tchus.

Hm... Reality Check

I always thought that I had a decent grasp of reality. I understood that America is not the only country in the world of interest, that people are people every where you go, and that there really is a war going on involving real people.
But about an hour ago I stepped out into a parkinglot and wondered if maybe the loud noise I was hearing could be attributed to more construction in the area. No. It was a helicopter bearing wounded. The hospital that we were at evidently patches up the majority of injured Americans from the Middle East. The guy walking down the hall with the sling on his arm wasnt hurt playing football. Neither was the kid with the crutch and the limp in the cafeteria.
What a way to spend Christmas. I feel humbled for my lack of gratitude.

"It's Christmas Eve and I've only wrapped 2 presents"

Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the undertaker, the clerk, the clergyman and the cheif mourner: Scrooge signed it. And Scrooges name was good for 'change upon whatever he put his hand to.
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The children were nustled all snug in their beds, while visons of sugarplums danced in their heads.
Once upon a time there was a girl who loved Christmas. She loved baking and shopping and wrapping and eating candycanes and reading and sitting by the fire and singing christmas carols. Once year she went away to another country. (A few other countries, to be exact) She was afraid that she would miss everyone too much, or not at all. Or that she would miss the traditions too much or not at all. But then when the time came she discovered that there are people and lights everywhere you go. And that her memories would hitch a ride in her backpocket even across as ocean or two, and they always will.
Christmas still came. It came with out packages, boxes or bows. And there came a sound from the Whos down in Whoville, the tall and the small. A sound that got louder and louder... "Welcome christmas, Christmas day. Christmas time is in our grasp, as long as we have hands to clasp"
Christmas comes to the Whos like a little light from the sky that gives them Who Hash and hands to hold. Christmas always comes, but as the Light of the World from heaven, Who gives us the Bread of Life and a hand that will never let got.
Merry Christmas and Love To All....

*$ and McDonalds

What country am I in?
People say everything in the states is bigger, but let me tell you, I have never seen such a huge Starbucks.So big. And I guess this McDonalds is small, but only compared with the other fast food restaurants here in Leicester Square. The computer keyboard *is* odd, though. Very small and very hard to type on.
What country am I in?
No one speaks English. No, I'm not refering to the various British accents. French is the language I hear everywhere I go. Not even my barista was British. She's from Sao Paulo. *shrugs* It's a party.
Maybe Germany will actually be German.

Fast Food is My Hero

Burger King has internet.
Internet that allows gmail and blogging, none the less.
(Last night, much to my deep disapointement, I discovered that my hostel does not.)
I'm sitting in a busy, shiny, crazy Piccadilly Circus right now, listening to horrible American pop music, smelling greasy food, and sensing questionable sticky under my fingers - and feeling very happy.
But it's Christmas time in London.
This weekend so far has been somewhat of a whirlwind of tourist attractions and photos. We're making good progress of seeing the city. Well, definitly the underside of it. Something like 1 1/2 hours a day have been spent in the tubes.... Piccadilly, Victoria, East City, Jubilee, Bakerloo, District; it gets us everywhere we need to go. Gives us our excersize, too - all those stairs, escalators and halls. "Mind the Gap" oh how it makes me laugh.
And Tracy's here with me.
Yay.

Awww

How fabulous is this:
Adrain and Joy let me help put up their tree and decorate it. *And* go to their niece's Christmas program. (129 little angels singing and reciting in little Irish accents - can it get any cuter? Yeah, didn't think so.)
And thank you small Irish towns with loads of Christmas lights and crooked Christmas trees.

This Place Is

...A novel - already written and waiting to happen.
Myths and stories abound, and it's no wonder... the landscape does lend it's self, as do the people.
The Giant's Causeway, where we visited on saturday, has a whole story surrounding it about two fighting giants, one from Scotland and one from Ireland (pronounced more like Arr-lan), that is just amazing. I'll try and put up some pictures. Then yesterday en rout to Castlewellyn and New Castle we drove past a pub called The Angler's Rest. (All you Wodehouse fans will understand.) And while driving through the countryside, not *really* lost, because one can never really get lost in Ireland, I have been informed, we drove past the Bronte homeland. Literature in all forms is simply everywhere.
It was a glorious sunset the whole afternoon (the sun starts setting at around 2pm, but isn't completely asleep till perhaps 4 or 4:30) and really quite magical. The imaginiation is frequently sparked, and in different ways every day, mostly due to the weather - if you think the weather in Ptown is manic, try England, and if you think that's bad, come to Ireland. I don't imagine that anyone could live here for too long with out having the inkling to start writing something.

What the

Full stomach
Shaved legs
Double bed.
I'm not at Capernwray.
Empty room
Missing friends
Empty arms
(no one to cuddle)
I'm not at Capernwray.

(thanks for the emails ya'll.... i love you.)

k, this pic is the product of friday night in room 4. (me, jaynekins
and meggles) we had a bit of fun. (20 pictures later...)
 

Gletig Jol

Merry Christmas ya'll... it's feeling like christmas today - half an hour ago I was sitting on my bed and heard "ding ding ding - allison moody please go to the main office you have a package waiting for you" and my whole room screamed. (so did the room next to us, I have just been informed) It was not my camera, but "it's still a party". (my grandparents are wonderful and sent some fudge and stuff. *shh* dont tell or my room'll get mobbed)
And it was christmas yesterday in Room 4. We had our own gift exchanging and junk food eating and game playing time. So rad. I love my room(ies).
And the hall is all beautified. (I'll try and take some pictures...) All christmasy.
And our christmas banquet is tonight.
Christmas. Yaaaay.

last weekend.

Amazing how time flies. It's already the last weekend before Christmas break at Capernwray. So weird.
Next week we'll all be split up and scattered all over the world. Some to not return.
This Christmas is for learining. Learning what Christmas actaully is, not just enjoying the traditions and familiar festivities, but actually paying attention to the "true meaning" (if I can be allowed to use the cliche).
Every year I say that's what I'm going to focus on, but this year I have no choice; here I am, not in Ptown, not at home, not with my family, not with Pioneer Square, not with Peacock Lane, not with Mt Hood, not with TBC, not with The Grotto, not with Lloyd Center, not with my usual collection of books, music, wrapping paper, and gift exchanges. But the things that aren't just my warm cozy traditions are still going to be with me on Christmas - Luke 2, Isaiah 9. And there will be some new experiences that should be exciting... Christmas Eve service in German, extra bonding time with Tracy, all sorts of good things.
God knows best and I'm excited for my upcoming Christmas experience and yours, too. *hugs*

Nearly

The weekend .
The Christmas program .
Christmas break .
Seeing my sister .
Missing you all .

To answer everyone's question of what I'm doing for xmas break:
Northern Ireland, London, various parts of Germany, Salisbury, Bath, London, Kent.

Is it all perfectly planned?
Mmmmm not so much. Much more so than most people's plans, though.

Now for my question....
Do you all *really* not want anything for xmas?

View from the Edinburgh Castle

This is the fabulously adorible B&B some of us stayed in.
These lovely ladies are Meredith and Megan.

This, too, is from the Edinburgh Castle. So rather, *Scotland* still knows what to do with it's criminals.

Or Not To

To go to breakfast or to sleep
To have instant coffee or soup
To swingdance or go into town
To stay in Germany or hostels in England
To fly out of Cologne or Frankfurt
To spend more or do less
To email or to blog

Do it

So, not to be making a shameless plug for my friend Chris down at Costello's on Broadway, but everyone needs to head there on a saturday or sunday to experience an English Football match. This is an experience like none other, and I know watching it from a warm, quiet cafe isnt the same, but do it anyway. On saturday past about 50 or so of us Capernwray students went down to Bolton for a Bolton vs. Aston Villa game. (To give you an idea of how intense this game was - both these teams are better than Manchester United this year) I would say, and every one here who I have spoken to would agree, that match was one of the most fun experiences of my life. So fun. You have to hear the chants and cheers the crowd does. You can get a flavor of it on tv; I watched some matches on tv before school started and even that's pretty crazy. I mean, you wont get to watch people escorted out because of fights or be enveloped in the great cloud of cigarette smoke, or anything like that, but it'll still be fun. Pretend we're all there together. Yaaaay!!!

I dont understand

Today started out so good.
I dont know what happend.
Okay, so I do know; I came to town.
I just didnt know that would cause such trouble. And its' really not that much trouble, it's just in my head, but still.
First, I got carsick on the bus. (Yall have no idea how fast they drive on these tiny winding roads). I got into town, went to Jessops (the camera store) and it turns out that they cant fix my camera - it would cost too much. Then the library had no available computers. (Good side to that - the library's open late on tuesdays so it's not the end of the world, as i'm obviously on one now) And then I walked into the Post Office to face world's largest queue. (Up side: I had a really kind person helping me. And it didnt cost me as much £s as I thought to send the camera home) I guess that's not too many bad things, but it was enough to make me just want to have a shop to walk into where I know someone and they know me. Or a Starbucks. I suppose Cafe Nero will do. Perhaps one of the baristas I've seen before will be there.

"That's a pleasant thought for a monday"

This week's guest lecturer is speaking on Ecclesiastes. It reminds me of sunday school this past year. I opened to the first chapter and saw more than a bit of writing and thought of Temple. So good.
This week should be good - I have made a vow to as of now only watch movies on weekends. Last week was a bit on the movie over kill side. Heh. Woooo. We'll see how this goes. It must be the week for rules, though - we now have a Room 4 rule that it will be lights out and sleeping at 11:30 (AHH) and at least one clementine for Megan a day. (our dear Megan is "permasick" and we have decided our plot to make her better. Muahaha sounds evil, hey?) And (wow wel'l see at the end of the week how this all turns out) I've decided to try to not procrastinate on my next assignment. (due Thursday... does that mean i'm already procrastinating?)
For all ya'll in school - I do appologize for appearing to be having issues getting less than one project a week completed not at the last minute. Dare I try to say "but you have no idea what it's like here"? Too much fun and too much leisure time :D What can a girl do. (A)
Well, on the the being productive and responsible - I'm off to make a phone call.

Allison The Stupid

So, I spent the weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland, where they have famous people with names like "Robert the Bruce" and other such names involving 'the' something. I herby dub myself Allison the Stupid because I, for a very very elementary reason, found myself unable to post on this blog for quite some time. It will not happen again, unless I have another memory lapse.
Heh. On a happier note, Hello to you all, I miss you. It's funny how here at Capernwray we all cling to eachother because we're together and everyone else we know is away. I realized it was like that when my Daddy Mark (the dad in my capernwray family) went to give a series of lectures on Corinthians at Bodenseoff in Germany for 10 days. My bros and sisters and I were so sad that he was leaving. And then this past week as we were all on travel weekend, not seeing Pamela (my roommate form Corvallis) was so traumatic. Hanging out with bascially the same 4 people rather than teh same 170 people was just insane. We all came back on monday night hugging and saying "I missed you so much!!" Heheh. Kinda pathetic, but hey - we're all we have.
I have found myself adjusting to England more than I thought. The money in Scotland, though it is the £, looks different and I was totally werided out by "different" money. And also I've discovered that I dont have to think about what side of the road to walk on. And I can tell where in England people are from by their accent, which used to be a challenge. And, most importlantly, I have learned to say knickers rather than panties, pants rather than boxers, and even More importantly, to say trousers rather than pants. Hehe.
Well, not to worry, there wont for a long time be such thing as a long post from me, as internet time is always lacking. Hopefully the next post will be Edinburgh pics.... Yeah, I think it will be.