Last time I posted, I was ecstatic that I had made it through an incredible and challenging term at Oxford, and I was bound for France! So, I obviously made it back alive from France, and it was amazing! From Saturday to Tuesday, we traveled around Marseille and Aix en Provence. It was definitely relaxing. Bryce, Victoria, Charlotte, and I did nothing but get up in the morning, go to the beach, walk around, stop, lay on some grass, sleep, read, eat baguettes and cheese for lunch, walk around, plop, lay on some grass, and go to bed around 9. The first day we were there, actually, I slept for 17 hours! On Tuesday, we took the train into Paris, and had our first dinner at a sketchy kebab place because it was the only place that was open after 10 pm. The next day, the girls took the metro over to Versailles! It was absolutely beautiful! I've been wanting to go for so long, so I was so glad that I actually got to be there in the Hall of Mirrors :) On Thursday, we visited the Louvre and ate lunch (baguettes and cheese, of course) under the Eiffel Tower! Surreal! While I was there, I learned how to masterfully say, "I'm sorry, I'm Canadian." (My apologies, Christoph). Going along with my natural tendency to find myself in the most entertaining of situations, I caught a teenage Parisian girl trying to pickpocket my backpack. I fended her off by appearing as large as I could and making loud noises to appear more intimidating.They're more scared of you than you are of them.
I then traveled solo from Paris through the Chunnel (underground under the water!) into London, where I caught a bus back to Oxford. I stayed with my small group leader until I flew out of Heathrow the next morning straight into LAX. Insane! Needless to say, it was a very relaxing trip that was SO much fun!
So, I've been home for a little over 2 weeks now, and it's been crazy adjusting back to America, but not as hard as I thought it would be. This is probably because I was really excited to be home with my family, and it's been so fun since I've been back. Since being back, I've felt awkward saying "restroom" instead of "toilet," I've had to smile more at people here, and I could smell the smog when I landed. It's weird using my phone, I have a pantry of food rather than going shopping to have a shelf-full every week, everything seems louder, and I don't have to bag my own groceries. Palm trees are everywhere, I'm still not sick of the heat/sunshine, and Hulu and Pandora work on my computer. But I also miss good chocolate, riding my bike everywhere, and people saying Cheers! when I leave the store.
These experiences are always bittersweet because I'm fully aware that I'll most likely never see all of the people I met ever again. It's such a blessing to meet people from all over the country and world and become good friends with them, but it's always so hard for me to leave. Maybe some of you have experienced that feeling that everywhere you live for a period of time has become one of your homes, and you feel that the people that lived life with you have become a family to you. That's why it's such a hard thing for me to leave. BUT, even when I feel completely empty, God fills me up again and makes me feel whole. I don't know what I would do without Him. :) Overall, by studying at Oxford and living in community with so many amazing and wise people, I learned how to be more disciplined, think deeply about the world around me, and love people no matter where they're from. I've found myself having a consistent schedule every day since I've been back, and I randomly decide to research and study different topics that are interesting to me (which never, ever happened before). I've become more patriotic in the country where God has placed me, and I can appreciate the beautiful things that are unique to America (country music, 50's diner music, etc. :).
I grew so much in so many different areas because of this journey - I had a few good cries, TONS of laughs (especially late at night), and had so many meaningful conversations with friends. I had my views challenged, and I grew closer to God because of it. I found myself having more meaningful times with God (daily) than I have ever had at home because I really wanted to know what I believed about different things. I got to try my hand at cooking, the piano, the fiddle (thanks, Abby!), and Sardines in the Wycliffe corridors. This, by far, has been the most meaningful international journey I have ever taken, and thank you for coming along with me for every part of it. I loved sharing all of my experiences with you, and I hope it was, at the very least, an entertaining insight into what it was like for me to go through this journey.
Thanks for the support - it's been fun :)
AND...you didn't think I would forget, did you??
Here's the final list...
- Salad dressing vs. Salad cream: They don't put dressing on their salad - ever. They do have "salad cream" available in the store, but for the most part, you be getting a dry salad when you order it. I think we appreciate our variety of salad dressings.
- Sprinklers = Hose Pipe. Sprinklers is just more fun to say. And it's a dance move.
- Santa = Father Christmas. I'm pretty sure we like Father Christmas more - or it just reminds us of Narnia which, in turn, makes us warm and fuzzy inside.
- Their American accents vs. our British accents: They may disagree with me, but I heard more British people say that certain Americans had good British accents, and I met one guy that had a convincing American accent - the rest just resorted to weird half-southern sounding accents. I can't tell them
England: 14, USA: 15.
Congratulations, 'Merica. You win this time :) Now let's get some Olympic wins!
Love you all!
P.S. - Since I've liked blogging so much, there is a sequel, should you choose to read on. Enjoy :)
http://californiasummerstories.blogspot.com/
