On second though -

I may put up some stuff periodically throughout the year about the post-research synthesis and writing and all that, or at least links to where you can find what I write, what conclusions I come up with, etc. So, keep a look out for all that!

7/19 - I have learned what I can from this world, now I must return to my own.

What I did:

Rode on a plane for 9 ½ hours. It really wasn’t that bad though. I left pretty early and the plane ride back was all in the daylight, so I got to look out over lots of cool puffy clouds and even see some islands with snow topped mountains (tip of Greenland maybe?). I had some stress getting my connecting flight because of the ridiculousness of US customs. It was so much easier in Britain – I just talked to one lady, grabbed my bag, and walked into the country. But no, US made me stand in line, talk to one person, frantically look for my bag that did not come for another 20 or so minutes, then stand in another really long line (while trying to hide some chocolate from the sniffing dog) only to answer the same type of questions from another guy. I wound up with plenty of time to make my connection, but I was sweating it for a little while. And looking back on it all, I realize that it really was not a terrible process, just a terribly pointless one.

My flight into Dallas was nice and I finally got to sit by someone who was willing to talk. I arrived to be greeted by a “warm” welcome in Dallas. I immediately felt that it was nice to be home, although I would be more than content to still be in England. I also realized that I tend to be over-critical of ‘home’ – America – and that I over-romanticize foreign countries, when really it is all (in my limited experience of well-off, advanced countries) pretty much the same.

I got to eat some tasty Mexican food (I stayed well away from anything that said the same overseas) and got home. I was a long day and I had a lot of time to just be with myself, but now I am just tired and really ready to sleep.

Sincerely, thank you to everyone for reading this. I have enjoyed sharing my trip with you, and hope to be able to tell you even more about what I got to do, see, smell, experience overall during this trip. It really does mean a lot that you would take time out of your day just to read what I have to write. I also thank you for your support, encouragement, prayers, direction, help, or anything else you did to make this trip what it was.

I will not be publishing on this particular site anymore (although I do plan to leave it up). If you want to continue to follow me and my thoughts I would suggest checking out: http://pat-on-the-back.blogspot.com/. It will have less to do about me (i.e. what I do everyday) and more to do about what I experience around me (i.e. God, other people, funny stuff, meaningful stuff, etc), which I think is much more interesting and important to write about anyway.

God bless and I hope that you learn just as much from all of your journeying as I have learned from this one of mine.

What I learned:

All who have been reading this blog you can give yourself a pat on the back (haha – typically my internet username) because you have just read the equivalent of 90 single spaced, typed pages.

US customs is ridiculous and trusts without really trusting. If you have ever been through it recently, just think back (sorry to evoke such nightmares) and I think you will know what I mean. So many checks involving questioning, but it is all based on the honor system and what you can’t hide from a dog or random bag searches. They trust you to be truthful without really trusting you to not bring in anything you aren’t supposed to.

The weirdest place I have ever been in my life is now a walkway in the Detroit airport connecting terminal A to terminals B and C. It is straight out of Willy Wonka/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory complete with lights and music– and I think you know what part I mean.

US terrorist risk is “high” right now which is a bold red-orange colored pencil color. I guess I shouldn’t jest at this, but really how do you measure that? It seems so arbitrary.

Call me crazy, but I actually kind of like airplane food – the real meals you get on international flights, not just the nuts.

7/18 - My last full day: A bit of rest(lessness)

What I did:

I purposely did not do much today so that I could rest and get packed up for leaving. Plus it was Saturday and a good day to just rest.

So, I slept in some and for most of the waking day I watched some of the Ashes (cricket) on tv. I do not blame it all on Graham (who was into it) because I was interested too, mainly because this test cricket is slightly different than Twenty20 which I watched earlier this trip. It is also nice to watch cricket because you can do other stuff while you watch. So I spent a lot of time online too. I found a lot of new friends on Facebook, sent some emails I realized I meant to send a while ago, and just chilled out. I tried not to feed my restlessness too much and to allow myself to just enjoy my final day in the country.

I did get a little bored halfway through the day:

I made what will probably be my last cup of true English tea and had my last English meal (my flight is pretty early tomorrow so my breakfast will at best be airport food, which doesn’t count). Then I found a trailer for The Last Airbender and watched it a couple of times!!! So exciting!!! I can’t wait for July 2, 2010!

Time to pack up and get some rest.

What I learned:

A little more about test cricket.

I have ridden on a lot of trains.

The winner for the most common name of all the people I met the past eight weeks is Steve (or variation thereof) with at least 9 occurrences and a close second was Chris with at least 6. It did seem like a lot more of each.

The Last Airbender is set to come out July 2, 2010. The trailer does look a little serious, but still exciting (and thanks to Katie for reminding me about it).

7/17 - A wet trip west

What I did:

I woke up early to try and get out to get to Salisbury early and also to not get in the way of the cleaning lady that would be coming. Unfortunately, I was about 10 minutes late for that. Also, I knew the forecast was for about 80% rain chance, but I figured it would be worth it. Rain prevented me from this trip several weeks ago, and I would not let it again. So I set off with my eyes to the sky to get the train to Salisbury.

I got all the way there and it was still relatively bright with the sun glowing through the overcast skies, which I took as a good sign. My first goal was to get out to Stonehenge, and to try to do so before it rained (I knew it was inevitable). I got on the tour bus, which I at one time both hated doing and found very interesting. It told us lots of cool interesting things about the town and Stonehenge as we made our way out there. Without a car, it was really one of the only ways to get out there though. We made a few stops in town and made it about halfway out before the rain started to pour down. Oh well, I was expecting a wet day anyway.

By the time we actually unloaded the bus, it was not bad. We walked in and one good thing about the bus thing was that entry to the site was included, so we didn’t have to wait in the ticket line, but went straight to get our audio headsets and walk on in. I was impressed with the headset purely because of the numbering system. It actually made some sense as opposed to any other museum I have been to that has had them. It used the numbers 1-7 with two extra information options that just doubled the previous number. Proof that it can be done in a simple, logical way.

We walked under the road and out to the site. It was pretty cool, and I could have spent even longer out there if it had not been for the rain. But I got plenty of face time with the big stones. I also realized that the wetness was no deterrent for hundreds of people pilgrimaging out to empty their purses to see the big rocks. To be honest, it was not really what I had in my head. It is hard to explain what is different. There were definitely more stones than I thought there were, and it took up less space than I thought. But we could get up fairly close and there was lots of interesting information and it was nonetheless impressive.

By the time my jeans were soaked, I took a last look and headed for the tunnel under the road to finish listening to the audio guide. After a while the rain let up a lot and I went to wait out for the bus to come back. It got there and we saw some more of the countryside and some burial stuff around the site. The tour includes a stop at a place called Old Sarum, which is where the original town at Salisbury was built. If you ever opt for this method of exploring this area, definitely take the stop here. Not many people did, which I don’t understand (although it was all in English and I know that many of the people in the bus were not talking English to each other whether they could understand it or not). I got out, and it was a little bit of a guess to find where to go, but it is on a big hill, so I just walked towards that. There was a nice path to the top and admission to the site was included in the ticket I had. So I walked around. It is basically some ruins of an old castle and next to that a cathedral on a big hill. What made this really cool, though, was that you could walk all around it. It was the most accessible site (especially compared to Stonehenge with its roped off paths).

So I explored and climbed around ruins. It also had a great view all around including Salisbury. It started to rain a little again, and it was time for me to go catch the bus again. Right when I had started to dry out, I again got soaked waiting for the bus. But I was soon back in the city center of Salisbury with what looked like the promise of not much more rain, and if there was then plenty of shelter. I walked around some finding first the shopping center, but breezing through it to check out Salisbury Cathedral. It was pretty cool and I looked around some and sat and listened to a choir practice which was definitely one of the highlights of the day – they were really good. I walked around some more and saw an original version of the Magna Carta (supposedly the most well preserved).

After a while, I headed back out to the rest of the city and found St. Thomas’s church which has a nice big fresco-like wall painting that looked cool. It was a very barren church though and I did not even see anyone that worked there. It was dark and very few visitors. I walked around some more all along the Avon river and through the city until dinner. After eating a little, I headed back to the train station to complete my last journey out.

I got back into Fleet and noticed that the overcast clouds had cleared to make way for a breath-taking sunset. That really made my day. The sky was full of colors that would not even be matched in an 8,000,000 count assortment of Crayola Crayons. (Although it would be kind of cool if it was an electric lime sky, just in a very different way). I finally made it back to relax and dry out after a cold and wet day.

What I learned:

The mystery of what Stonehenge was built for. Wouldn’t you like to know?

The spire of the Cathedral is slightly cooked to the south west (I think). But it is not enough to be worried about, yet.

I could be botching all of this, but this is what I vaguely remember hearing from a mixture of things related to the Stonehenge tour stuff: Three rivers converge in Salisbury. There was an elaborate system of canals built around the city until they became carriers of sewage and disease. The cathedral was built very quickly as far as cathedrals go, and only has about a 4 foot deep foundation, but under it some other materials.

There is a snack food here (maybe in America too) called Twiglets made by Jacob’s. In my humble opinion they taste terrible. I was trying to think of something to relate them too as I ate, but I could not. I am sure they appeal to some people’s taste buds, but I’d prefer to go hungry.

I have a real soft spot for sunsets.

7/16 - One last interview, one last view

What I did:

I went back into London pretty early to make sure I would be there for my 1pm meeting with Ian. I walked around a little looking for lunch and trying to act like I at least knew where in the city I was. I felt very out of place because I was in the middle of the bank/business district area where everyone wears suits and are running all over the place. But I carried on and walked literally all the way around the place I was meeting Ian, but slightly on purpose because I had time to kill and wanted to see more of the area since I had not spent much time in it.

I finally made it back to the church converted to bookshop where Ian works and had a nice long interview with him. It will probably be my last and was a great note to end on. He was very insightful and may have helped me add another dimension to my research. I will leave it that cryptic so maybe you will have some incentive to actually flip through whatever I come up with at the end of all this.

I left Ian with two new books in my bag and headed out to look around London one last time. I walked back to St. Paul’s and spent some more time there and prayed there. Then I walked back towards the monument to the fire of London to see if it was free, but it was not, and I saw no reason to climb all those stairs just to get a nice view. Then I went over to the Temple area and got to the church where they have some effigies right before it closed. Just enough time to look around, snap some photos, and get booted out. I walked around that area of Westminster some more and eventually made my way down to the river and walked along it some. I went back to the parliament area and eventually found a pub that Mr. Wightman (high school English teacher) suggested and had some food that was just as good as he said it was.

Then it was time to leave. I decided to walk all the way to the train station instead of getting the tube again. First, because I have a lot better chance to not get swine flu the further I stay away from the craziness of the tube. But really it was nice to get one more view of the city.

I got back just before it started rain. Caught the end of Talladega Nights before getting ready for bed.

What I learned:

The larger picture of geographical London is starting to finally be pieced together in my head.

There is a constant influx of tourists like a river coming out of Westminster tube station. But I guess I am sort of part of them, at least I was definitely in the exact same boat several weeks ago.

7/15 - Telling Tales

What I did:

I hung around the house for a while in the morning, then got ready to head into London. I would be visiting the Moot community again (go back two Sundays for the first time) for their meditation service. I purposely headed out pretty early to spend some more time in town. I decided to go check out the Victoria and Albert Museum.

I was not really in the mood to visit a museum, but that all changed when I got there and went through the first exhibit. It was a special temporary one called “Telling Tales: Fantasy and Fear in Contemporary Design.” The first part was fairy tale themed furniture and stuff and the second part was kind of an eerie, hell like mood. I thought it was all really interesting though. Then I checked out as much of the rest of the museum that I could in the next 2-3 hours. It is for some reason my favorite museum so far. I really liked the way things were laid out and what they had. I don’t know, maybe I just suddenly got in the mood for a museum.

I got into the center of London with enough time to grab some dinner and then head over to St. Mary Woolnoth church. I was just in time and greeted several of the people I met last time. I went in and sat down and we soon started the meditation. Ian was there (not necessarily the leader, but kind of the go to guy/enabler of the community) and he soon began by explaining what we would do. We had a good 25 minutes of meditation and some talking after about meditating. It was very good and peaceful (especially in contrast to the craziness of the city barely audible right outside the walls), but I also realized just how not used to it I am.

Afterwards, I got to talk to some of the members of the community some more and even got to tag along with some of them to a sort of small group type of thing they call mini moots. I even ran into a guy I met at the (mysterious) weekend thing I went to a while ago, which was fun. We sat and talked for a while, then eventually we went to the pub so Ian could get some food. We met another couple there and had a lot of really interesting discussion.

After that, I went back home and very easily and quickly fell asleep as I tried to record all my observations.

What I learned:

Parts of the Jubilee line of the tube are the newest and most recently worked on. I guess I had not ridden on any of this part until today, because they have these fancy doors right by the track that prevent anyone from purposely or accidentally jumping onto the tracks or even getting near the train until it has stopped and opened its doors. I guess it helps, but it seems kind of silly and unnecessary in my opinion.

Museums in London are all huge and impossible to get through in any short amount of time.

I need to hone my meditating skills.

7/14 - Official researching

What I did:

I put on a shirt this morning and looked down to see it almost still folded over because of the large amount of wrinkles. So I did the logical thing and first said it doesn’t matter and just went on. But then I thought again and decided I could just put on a different, non-wrinkled shirt. So I did that, and then refolded a lot of my clothes so that they wouldn’t get as wrinkled. Ironing at this point just seems pointless (not that I would have done it at any point on this trip or anytime really).

Then I got ready to make a short train trip into a part of London called Sutton. I was going to meet a guy called Jason who works at a Vineyard church plant. I did not know much of anything about him or Vineyard churches in general besides what I read about online, although I know that there are Vineyard churches in the States too. I got there fine and early enough to grab some lunch and walk down the main street for a little while.

Then I went and met with Jason who is a great guy and apparently very well read (his office was literally stuffed with books). It was good to actually interview someone again officially and structured. It makes me feel like I know what I am doing here and that this project is somehow organized and put together. Kind of like dressing up a cat as a dog for Halloween. It at least seems like something good has happened, even though it is still really a cat.

It was actually a really good interview, and (take it as you will) I can see how Jason is really good in the ministerial position he has now. An hour and a half later I was headed back towards the rail station and got to see a couple of interesting sights of Sutton.


While walking back to the house, I noticed how nice of a day it was. It was right at that time that the clouds are as full as they can get and are dripping out a little bit making the air cool and wet (but not quite humid). The pine trees respond by being as strong and sweet smelling as they can be, and the light breaking just barely out of the clouds on its long journey to the edge of the world made it all pleasant in every sense possible. All in all, it was a nice walk back.

I got back and messed around on Spotify some more which continues to impress me and got a few things in order that were previously out. I just rested the rest of the night, wondering in the back of my mind if it would be worth it to go back into London tonight to see if I could find any Harry Potter craziness, but tired legs, the price of another train ticket, and the silliness of it all convinced me otherwise in the end. Watched some British soaps while finally eating a meal (besides a quick bowl of cereal) at Graham’s again and a little more tv the rest of the night.

What I learned:

Milkshakes are not necessarily the same. I went up to a stand selling burgers and stuff after lunch because it said they had milkshakes. There were some large silver, metal machines that looked like milkshake machines back home, so I ordered one and the lady reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle. She shook it up and gave it to me. I opened up the bottled milkshake, a little shaken as to what happened, but drank it anyway. Not near as good and really just kind of like very slightly chunky milk.

A lot more about Vineyard and Jason’s views on church.

Bowfinger (with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy) is a ridiculous movie.

7/13 - The Final Countdown

What I did:

I woke up early to get breakfast. The hotel I got continued to amaze me. The same guy was the only one I saw the whole time this morning, and he was just as friendly. I got a full English breakfast (not the wimpy continental stuff) for no extra cost and it was delicious. He talked with me some asking me about why I was there and where I was from which was nice, especially since my last hotel experience was the huge Holiday Inn in Telford where I knew I was just a number and I was issued an empty promise of someone coming to get me online for which I waited an hour. Not that I am bitter or anything, but lesson learned. Go to York and stay at the Park View Guest House, do not go to Telford and stay at the Holiday Inn (unless you are visiting Safe Space and it is your only option, that might be worth it).

I heard that the weather may turn bad on the tv this morning, so I tried to hurry up and get out to see some of the city while it was still a nice day. As it turned out it did not start raining until I was just getting into the train station at 5:30. So it was a beautiful day to explore York. I started by walking back down to the minster to just see how much it cost to go in, since I did not get many photos last night. It was a little steep, and since I had already looked all around, I just took what pictures I could looking out past the admissions booths and left.

After that, I headed out and found a section of the city wall. I don’t remember when it is from, but there are sections of it still up all around the city. It was interesting and gave me a good view of the rest of the city in some places. After that I walked some more, got a little lost, but got back into the center of town and reoriented myself. From there I walked out to a church that had an interesting art exhibit, the York castle grounds, and then back into the main center area.

I was craving some fish and chips and convinced myself to get some despite not really liking the last batch I got in London. But I found a nice place and this time it was much better. I actually liked it and it did not make me feel too sick. I took it back to the minster area where there is a nice lawn and ate right there. I got up refreshed and headed through some streets (including Blake Street) and then out to the art gallery. It was not that impressive, but it was free and I did find a couple of paintings that I really liked. After that I wandered through the York Museum Gardens were there were lots of ruined buildings, including the ruined St. Mary’s Abbey. I laid down under a tree for a while here and just enjoyed the beautiful day.

But, it was soon time for some ice cream. I had seen a place earlier and made a note to return. I did and was not disappointed. A generous helping of triple chocolate in a crisp waffle cone hit the spot. You can’t tell me that doesn’t look good. I enjoyed it while walking around some more and seeing some interesting (and slightly disturbing) street performers. I walked down to the Ouse River and watched the boats go by.

I walked over the bridge and around on some more of the old city wall and noticed I still had a bit of time. So, I headed over to the National Railway Museum. It claims to be the largest railway museum in the world, and was actually very interesting. They had lots of old trains and artifacts and even an active workshop where you could see trains they were restoring and working on. I figured this would be a nice warm up to the next several hours I would be spending in a train to get back to Fleet.

After the museum, I headed to the rail station and made my way back. No excitement on the return trip. I did get on the wrong tube train in London, but I jumped off quick enough before it flew off and got on the right one. I got back and didn’t do much the rest of the night, except one really exciting thing. I had been hearing about this program called Spotify that allows you to listen to any song for free. So, I downloaded it and have been playing around on it some. It is amazing! Sorry American readers, because it is only in the UK, I think (which makes me just hope that I can still access it when I get back).

What I learned:

There were royal coaches made specifically for the English royalty that travelled by train, but the cool thing (I thought) is that during the war when times were tough, their accommodations were very plain. It looked like a bad hotel room, which I am sure was not too bad for the time, but still it was very modest.

The Flying Scotsman is not a specific engine, but rather a rail line.

I had put this on my Twitter a few days ago, but in case you didn’t see that - What I am most excited about: having a legitimate reason to listen to the Final Countdown all week! I was not joking, and listened to it twice yesterday. But I was not going to listen to it today. Then the hand of God reached down in the form of iPod shuffle setting and on the train tonight the song came on. Haha.

In the past 5 days I have slept in 4 different beds.

York is my favorite city I have visited so far.

7/12 - New sights and sounds

What I did:

I slept in a little this morning, but got up in time to get caught up with recording observations and blogging and all that good stuff. Soon, though, it was time to head out once again. So, I grabbed a train into London and then out from there to York. The second train was actually really cool because it had free wifi. So I got to continue to update stuff and catch up with things online. Also, there was probably the most unhappy child I have ever heard in my life on the entire 2 hours of the train ride (thank goodness for headphones).

I got into York and it was very easy to find my way around. I went straight to my hotel, but passed some interesting stuff on the way that I made a note to check out later. I got to the hotel, which I quickly found out is the best hotel I have ever stayed at. It is kind of a town house style and tucked away in a row of houses. The staff (only one person I have met so far) was really friendly and my room is really cool. I don’t know why I was so excited about it all, but I was. Nice beds, plenty of room, good view, free wifi, and even complimentary biscuits with the tea (which unfortunately are already gone). And, it was only 35 pounds for the night. I would highly recommend it to anyone going to York, although I guess that is kind of what I just did.

Anyway, I was really tired, so I chilled in my room for a bit and turned on the tv. I watched a little bit of some weird Tim Allen movie having to do with kids with superpowers. It was pretty terrible, at least the part I saw, so I decided to just go walk around a little and find some dinner before going to Transcendence this evening.

By 7:30 I was walking back to York Minster to visit Transcendence. It was a really cool service, and what they call an ancient future mass. It was held throughout the minster, but mainly in a back room called the charter house. We all gathered there (a little over 100, making this by far the largest group I have visited). Apparently it is made up of people from an emerging group called Visions and the regular attendees of the minster along with many people from all over York. All of the structure of the service was very high church and traditional, complete with a censer and chanting, but the way things were done was in a much more modern way. For example, we sang what they said was possibly one of the first hymns ever written, but it was set to kind of a modern, dance beat. The rest of the service included a short sermon and some prayer stations set up throughout the minster where people could just kind of roam about. We finished with Communion and some more singing and call and response.

There was some cake afterwards and I stayed to help them tear everything down. During this time I got a cliffs notes version of some of the history of the minster, at least the parts we were walking through. I also got to go through the crypt and even sneak a peak at the treasury under the minster. It was a really cool place and by far the most impressive building I have ever seen. After putting everything away, I joined everyone at the pub and met several more people and had some more conversations about the service and its history.

All in all, a great day and I am excited to go check out York some more tomorrow.

What I learned:

Sometimes you just get really lucky with hotels.

Tim Allen is in some strange movies (and several with a sci-fi theme).

The charter house (where the service was in the minster) is actually not consecrated (or sanctified, or whatever the official terminology). I thought that was really interesting since it is part of the building. I don’t know what that means functionally, but they did say that you couldn’t have a marriage ceremony there.

York minster has been around since the 620s and has had some famous baptisms and such.
Most shops and restaurants are closed on Sundays, especially after 5. I don’t know why I hadn’t run into that problem before today.

7/11 - Plenty for you to read now

What I did:

I woke up and had a delicious breakfast with Steve and his wife Jo. It was actually probably the most formal and biggest breakfast I have had the whole trip. I then got cleaned up and came back downstairs to find the two of them playing some Mario Kart Wii. I couldn’t resist and jumped in on the next game only to get my rear handed to me. I quickly realized that not only am I out of practice, but I am far inferior a player to the two of them. Sorry America for representing you so poorly in international Mario Kart.

After several games we decided to get ready and go into town. There is a place called the Custard Factory (which is not a custard factory) that they wanted to visit along with a couple of other places along the way. I gladly joined them and we soon headed out to catch a bus. All the while we traveled into town Steve explained some of the history of the place, which is always very interesting.

Steve and I got out at a music store that he likes and said we would meet up with Jo later. It was a very nice music store that sells a lot of second hand albums. I looked around for a while, but held off from buying anything (knowing that I would have to transport it a long way). But it has inspired me to find a place like it in Dallas. Then we walked into the Bullring area of the city center and met back up with Jo. We went and grabbed some lunch at a place called Wagamamas that was very good. Then we finally headed off to the Custard Factory.

It was about a 10 minute walk into the south area of town. I found that it was kind of a flea market for vintage arts and clothing stores. It was really cool, and again, I kind of want to find a place like that in Dallas. We walked through an art exhibition that was somehow related to work with people with mental and psychological disabilities. We walked through a couple other stores, one at which we got to make these cool wooly pebbles. It was fun, and maybe something I can integrate into something back home. We walked through a couple more clothing stores that were very interesting.

Finally it got to be about time for them to head back home and for me to catch my train, so I said my goodbyes and thanks and headed back down to London. When I arrived in London, it was spitting rain (I think that is the correct rain terminology). Not pleasant to be out in, but it doesn’t completely soak you. So, I tried to figure out where I could go. The train got to London faster than I thought it would meaning that I got into town about 3 hours before Grace started. So, I walked past University of London, which was not that exciting. Then I headed to the British Museum. I knew it was the one I had already been to, but it was the closest thing that I knew would be open and that I could probably find something to do in.

I did notice that there was a new exhibit showing called medals of dishonour. I checked it out and it was really interesting. Basically it was artists satirical making of medals to remember terrible things that people have done. They had some really old ones and ones up to very recent.

After that, I walked back to the center area and on the way saw half of an exhibit that was closed last time I was there, but nothing really exciting. I sat down for a while, which turned out to be kind of cool because there were a lot of foreign people around me, so I got to listen to several different languages at once.

After I got bored of that, I went outside again. The rain was still sprinkling down, and I still had about an hour before I needed to go to the tube to travel out to Grace. I walked around a little more and went into some shops. Finally, it started to rain a little harder, so I took refuge in a starbucks and grabbed a hot chocolate. I was hoping to get free internet too, but no luck there, so I read a little.

Finally it was time to head out to Grace and see them at their big service. I knew they were having a barbeque today, but since it was raining I hoped that everything would still go as planned. I entered the tube station to find that it was incredibly busy and that there were delays on the line I needed. Nevertheless, I waited it out and finally made it to where I needed to go just a little after 8, and to the church only about 20 minutes late. So I had about 3 and a half hours from the time I arrived in London to get there, but didn’t make it. I was a little frustrated with that, but just walked on in.

They were still having a barbeque but they were bringing all the cooked food inside where everyone was eating. I was not too late to miss the food and had plenty of time to eat and talk with people. At about 9 we started the service. It was a very nice service and I really enjoyed it and felt moved by it. We did some creative reflection and communion, and before I knew it it was over. We had some pudding at the end, which gave me more chance to talk to people. It was good to see people I had met before along with many knew people.

Eventually, it was time for me to run to catch a train back out to Fleet. I was pushing it already in banking on the very last train to leave, so I did not want to miss it. Luckily, everything went smoothly and I made it back very late, but safely.

What I learned:

Birmingham is the home of Cadbury and the outlying towns used to be where the workers lived. For some reason that whole image just reminded me of Willy Wonka.

How to make a wooly pebble (I don’t think that is what they were really called though).

There are a lot of drunk people on London public transportation after 11pm.

St. Pancras rail station has comfy chairs and is not a bad place to spend the night if you miss your train. This did not happen to me, but to one of the guys I was talking to tonight. Still, it was good to know given I still have a week to miss that last train out.

It is better to do nothing after having already reached your destination, rather than doing nothing and then frantically trying to get there on time.

7/10 - Catching up with myself

What I did:

I woke up pretty early at Jim’s so that I would not hold him up in getting to work. We had a nice cup of tea then set off. He walked with me most of the way and we had some interesting conversations about gardening and growing vegetables and stuff like that. Eventually he split off on his bike and I walked back into town. I did not do much in Oxford this morning, because I needed to get back, pick up some stuff from Fleet and then head back out the Birmingham this evening. So, I went straight for the rail station.

Before I knew it I was back in Fleet walking back to the house. I got there and realized I had a little time to relax and dozed off a little while getting things together. Then, back to the train station. I knew the end of this week would be crazy, but all this train time is definitely a change of pace. Then on to Birmingham to visit a church this evening.

Well, sort of a church, but I’ll get to that in a minute. I got to Birmingham a little early, so I went to the shopping center to grab a bite to eat. I was working solely off of a card I was given about 6 weeks ago when I visited Sanctuary, and it said that there would be food and worship, but I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be much food, so I ate a little anyway. It soon became time to walk on over, so I did. I had been in the area before when I had some free time in the city, so I was not too lost. I found it fine and right at 7:30. I rang to get in, but no one answered. Finally, I called the number on the card I got and luckily someone answered. She told me that they were meeting, but not until 9 and at a different place – the Red Bar.

So, I killed and hour and a half by walking around to find the Red bar (which took about 10 minutes) and then chilling outside of Birmingham Cathedral to read. I read for over an hour while a bunch of teenagers talked and gathered and skateboarded around me. If I was the youth pastor of any church in the city, this would definitely be the place I would be. It made me want to just talk to the kids anyway, but for some reason I refrained.

Finally, it was 9, so I headed to the bar. Pretty much no one was there when I got there and the DJ, who was the one leading the service, was setting up her equipment. I picked up a flyer for the event and noticed that the first hour (9-10) was supposed to be worship and then from 10-4am was dancing and party and normal bar stuff. I stayed until 10:30ish, because I had to catch a train out to where I was staying tonight. But I don’t think I missed too much, because it was all pretty much the same from the first I sat down. I enjoyed myself, but I don’t really know if anyone was worshipping. It is definitely one of the harder things for me to call church (not that I think anyone is intending for it to be so). I did like a lot of the music she played. I knew that there were a couple other people that would be playing/controlling/dj-ing the music the rest of the night, but I just could not stay that long. Also, I did see Pall right as I was leaving.

I got a train out to Longbridge and met up with my friend Steve that I met last weekend. He showed me to my room and we both were ready to crash. He did leave me with a warning to close my door though, because they have a cat and it will come in and stand on my face. Haha. The best pet warning I have ever heard.

What I learned:

It is best to check online on a group’s website before going to visit them to make sure nothing has changed in 6 weeks time.

Lakes can explode through a giant burp-like process of CO2 building up under the pressure of the water and then suddenly being released (but only in more tropical climates where a natural diffusion of gas in the body of water does not occur with seasonal cooling). And it can (and has) killed people.

7/9 – The start of a crazy weekend - Oxford

What I did:

I woke up early to head out to Oxford. I wanted to get in some sightseeing before I had to meet up with the people of mayBe, and I got into Oxford at about 10:30. It took me a little while to get oriented, and I quickly found that Oxford wasn’t anything that I imagined. For some reason I basically had Hogwarts in mind in thinking about the whole city. A large university area with maybe a little town just outside its walls. This was not what I found.

I walked by Oxford Castle then somehow completely missed high street. I basically walked all around the city and made it all the way to the University parks. By this point I figured I would turn around and head back into town where all the people were, and on my way I saw some grass tennis courts. It kind of broke my heart a little that I could not play on them.

I made it back into town and finally found all the popular sights (and all the tour groups). The best way I can describe Oxford is like Texas A&M only with all the empty spaces filled in with shops and buildings and streets (and everything much older). It is not my favorite city, but I did enjoy my time there. I walked around and looked at the outside of several colleges and libraries. Then I walked down to Christ Church college and stopped for a little while to eat some. At this point, my friend from SMU named Josh called me and we decided to meet up. He came and found me. He is studying at Oxford for the summer and just got there about a week ago along with many other friends of mine. I happily greeted a friendly, familiar face and we set off.

He gave me a little tour and helped me put some names to buildings I had previously passed by. After a little bit of that, we walked back to the college he is staying at, University, and he showed me around it. I did not realize this until around this time, but not all of the colleges open to the public; those that do generally are open about 12-5; and of those that do open, not all are free (but some are). Anyway, he showed me around and told me some of the history and what he has been doing. We had a nice chance to relax for a little while in his room. Then, we decided to go out, and he was going to show me a few more places. On the way out in the street I saw Sydni! Haha. Somehow I knew I’d run into her, but it was good to see her and Kaitlin and Vicki. I didn’t get to talk long though since we all kind of had our own stuff to do.


Josh and I kept going and he took me over to the martyrs memorial and St. John’s college. At that point, he had to go run some errands and left me to continue my sightseeing. I got to go in St. John’s and a couple of other colleges that were open and free. I walked around for a while and saw some market area and other exciting stuff. I eventually found a homemade cookie place with an old guy in there, and I couldn’t help but stop and get one. I am also happy to say that this is the only thing I actually spent money on in Oxford. It was delicious too.

It got to be 5 and everything started closing down that was of interest to me. I tried to run by the modern art museum, but it was closed. So I rested a little, then headed out to the place mayBe would be meeting. It is actually in Cowley, which is east Oxford I think. It was about a 40 minute walk, but not a bad one. I got to the guy’s flat who was hosting it tonight and was one of the first people there. People gradually trickled in and there were several families and several funny children. We eventually ate some dinner then went through a service based around journeys and labyrinths. It was good, and went by fast. Before I knew it we weren’t quite done, but for me to get a bus and train back, I needed to go. Fortunately, Jim, whose place we were at, offered to let me stay the night. I gladly accepted and got to stay to the end and have several good conversations. This community is interesting because they are in a big transition just having lost their leader and founder. So, it was interesting to see how they are adapting.

Everyone left and Jim and I sat and chatted for a while over some tea and toast. The evening wound down and I soon found that I was very tired from an unusually busy day.

What I learned:

The layout of Oxford. I guess I was just disappointed that it was not Hogwarts, but it was definitely cool in its own unique way.

Apparently, if Hitler had taken over England he would not have bombed Oxford, because he wanted it as his base.

Homemade double chocolate chip cookies are always worth it.

A lot about many of the colleges and notable buildings around the city. Josh was a very good unofficial tour guide and helped me understand where I was located in the present (in relation to the rest of the city), what the past of that spot was, and where I should visit in the future.

The Oxford study abroad program is really cool, but I am still glad that I get to do what I am doing instead. If for no other reason than I don’t have to get all dressed up to go to ‘high table’ dinner. The dinners I have been a part of are probably much more meaningful and are typically eaten on the floor in jeans.

7/8 - Familiar Scenes

What I did:

I debated for a long time about how early I should try to get back into London. If I got back early enough, I could drop off my stuff and then head back into actual London (which I simplify – I am staying in Fleet, which British people would not consider London at all, but even most of them don’t know where it is, so being from Texas and being used to saying that I live in Dallas when I actually live an hour away in a town called Sherman has bled through to this. Fleet is about a 40 minute train ride out from London, so I will try to be more specific) to go to a meditation thing at Moot. I eventually decided a bath and seeing if Matt could drive me to the rail station after work was worth it more than rushing and getting a bus into town.

So I walked around. I guess I can spill this now. I have been trying to find some nice thank you gift for Matt and Rachel, but I continue to draw a blank. I went out in one last desperate effort and still came away empty handed. I guess I am overthinking it terribly. But I at least left George something and a bag with an explanation as to why it is relatively empty (which is upstairs, btw, if you haven’t found it yet, I left it as a somewhat pleasant surprise to come across).

After walking around for a while, I got some lunch and headed back to finish packing up and getting ready to go. I still had a while before Matt got off work, so I spent some time online, reading, and dozing off. Finally, Rachel got back and put on an episode of 24, but right as she was about to start, Matt came in. It worked out well, though, and after saying bye to them both I got on my train to take me out of Sheffield for what I hope is not forever.

The train ride was fine (I seem to be having more luck on them now-a-days) and I got into Fleet. Now, I was debating on how to get my stuff from the station to Graham’s house and my shoulders started to ache just thinking about the last time I had all this stuff with me in that location. I finally (and wisely) decided to get a taxi. As much as I hate that, I just couldn’t take hauling all that stuff all that way again. It is a decision I definitely do not regret. When I got to the house, some guys were meeting upstairs, so I stayed covert on the bottom floor for a while, just glad I am finally here again.

I just spent the rest of the night relaxing and watching some tv. I got in part of a movie called Drop Zone, but cut it short to catch Ghostbusters 2.

What I learned:

I can see how Twitter can easily become addicting.

Humans have as many hair follicles (as much density of hair) as chimpanzees. Chimp’s hair is just longer and thicker. We also don’t grow hair in the same places – lips, palms of hands, soles of feet.

I am a terrible gift giver, but a much better server. I would rather any day to show my appreciation by washing dishes than by giving a gift.

What to do if a psycho-kinetic ectoplasmic slime takes over the city – statue of liberty play.

7/7 - A day at home

What I did:

I pulled the screen thing over the window in my room last night so that the sun would not rudely awake me at 6am again this morning and not make it really hot so that I cannot comfortably go back to sleep after being woken up. I found out that it worked when I finally got out of bed at about 10am. I tried the cereal weetabix this morning, which for the American readers are these large whole grain cereal bars that soften up under milk. I always wondered why this and not normal cereal, and how to eat them, so after talking to Matt about it last night, I decided to give it a go. It’s a bit different from Lucky Charms, and although not bad, I can’t say I am completely sold (they just get soggy too fast and I am not a soggy cereal kind of guy).

I made a list of things to do today, all online, which basically involves planning the rest of the week. I have different places to go every day, so I will have little time to get everything together again for the next day, and since I had a free day today, I figured it would be good to think ahead a little. So I spent pretty much all morning and afternoon doing that. It was another rainy day for most of the day, so I didn’t feel too bad about just staying in.

After doing about all I could (or at least all I could stand) on the planning side of things, Matt and Rachel got back and we all watched Seven Pounds. It was good to watch it through a second time, being able to better understand all that is happening. I still have a few problems with the film (like why do they have to be ‘good people’? the fact that he is doing it out of guilt, the abandonment of real relationship), but ultimately I do like it, especially in how it shows that life is not necessarily the ultimate thing to live for (haha, I just realized how weird that sounds, but maybe you can get what I mean), how powerful it is, especially as a slow-moving, non-action packed film.

We had some tasty dinner while watching a show about some place that helps rehabilitate animals, then I had the house to myself for a little while I cleaned up. I eventually picked up a book Matt gave me yesterday. It is by the author Bill Bryson, who apparently is American born but lived in England for a long time. He is a travel writer and at the point of this book (which is about America) he had moved back to the States. I only read a little and it was pretty funny, especially some stuff about baseball and how ridiculous Americans can be. One thing I found very interesting though is this: (Speaking of American post offices) “Here there are never any queues and you are in and out in minutes” (Bryson 42). Now, I don’t know his experience of US post offices, and I understand I have no experience in British ones (which I am sure a terrible), but I know that that statement is far from accurate in my minimal experiences of the US post office. I can recall standing in “queue” for an excess of 30 minutes at times in the relatively small town of Sherman waiting for a simple sheet of stamps. And no one is ever happy to see you. Nevertheless, I am sure there are worse things, and perhaps his comment applies well to his own local post office.

I also got to experience a warm cup of Matt’s delicious hot chocolate. He told me before I drank it that he makes good hot chocolate and that people sometimes come over just for it. A little bold to make such claims before even letting me try it, but it held up to its lofty reputation. I thought it was very good and deserves at least twice as many stars as Empire gave Seven Pounds. While enjoying this rich cup of chocolatey goodness (which brought me back to my days of having a cup every night a couple of years ago) I got caught up reading some of my friends’ blogs. A good way to finish off the night.

What I learned:

My bum does not particularly like sitting in the same place for more than a couple of hours, even if it is a comfy couch.

I don’t think I could fully get into Bryson’s work, but it was nice to have a reprieve from any serious reading and I do think it is really good to have stuff like this to read through every now and then that is just enjoyable and fun to read through.

I get so caught up in my own trip, that I too quickly forget that all my friends are having amazing and notable summers of their own. It is good remembering that I have forgotten to keep up with them though, so that now I will hopefully not forget again.

I just realized how appropriate it was to watch Seven Pounds today (July 7). If that is not a coincidence, it is well thought out by someone who picked out the movie.

I really do feel 'at home' here now. I feel less and less a guest in a strange house; unfortunately this is most likely my last night here.

7/6 - Transcribing interviews/coding data (or something like that)

What I did:

I woke up and put my stuff away and had some breakfast. It was a pretty slow day all day. I finished getting caught up on writing down all I did last weekend. It was rainy all morning and while I wanted to get out and walk around some, I waited to see if the rain would clear. After lunch it finally looked like it would, so I headed out to the town center.

I just walked around for a while trying to avoid all the people that try to stop you and talk to you about some important cause. Then I headed back to Matt and Rachel’s place. It was a really chilled out evening and we just sat around for a while. While eating dinner we watched an episode of CSI and a show I had never seen before called k-town or something like that. It was about some police officers in New Orleans after the storm and apparently did not last long on the air.

During this time I also tried to get stuff sorted out for this week. I have a big move back into London in the next couple of days and then a busy week of being somewhere different every day. So, not an exciting day, but it was good to have some time to just collect myself and be able to think about what all I took in this weekend. I think I am supposed to call that “Transcribing interviews and coding data.” It’s my official code for “took some time to just rest and not do anything.”

What I learned:

I really can’t bring myself to buy anything. Even stuff I really liked while looking around today. But I justify it easily because I really don’t have any room in my bag and dvds are usually in a different region here.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to predict what the English weather will do. It’s easier in Dallas – you know that it’s going to be hot and sunny.

7/5 - Banking on friendships (because they're not in recession)

What I did:

The end of my top secret weekend drew near and I wound up catching a ride to London, where I had planned to go. The guy who drove me, let’s just call him Naz, is a great guy and I was very blessed to get to know him. We had some really interesting conversations on the way. It was only about a 3 hour drive and we talked some about churches, engineers, American university fraternities (which really surprised him), and we listened to some Wimbledon on the radio. He works as a structural engineer, but recently got a degree in youth ministry (which he said he has not used yet). He commented on how things are so easily shared between the UK, US, and Australia along with other places.

We got into London and he explained to me some about the parts we drove through. We got to the Bank tube station and drove around to the church where Moot meets. We got there at about 4:30, so I still had a couple of hours left to kill. Naz gave me some contact info for some people and then said bye. I walked around for a while looking for a bathroom because I really had to pee. I found some that were closed and just there to taunt me, but finally found an open Starbucks. I got a tea and also managed to find some free internet. I got the number for the mayBe contact who I was supposed to meet this morning, but didn’t. I called him and after several tries finally got in touch and explained it and he said I could come on Thursday. I looked up some train times and found that I needed to leave by 9, which I figured was very doable, since the service was supposed to start at 6:30.

Then I walked around some and looked at the monument for the fire of London that burned down the whole area I was in. I had seen this monument before, but had no clue what it was. Then I walked over London Bridge and back and along the Thames path some. It got to be time to head over, so I walked back to St. Mary Woolnoth. I experienced Moot, which was a nice service around a theme with some time for meditation and responsive reading. The people there were very friendly and welcoming. I will be going back there on Wednesday hopefully, because they do something a little different, and I am glad to be able to hang out with everyone some more.

After the service we went to the pub, which was back over the bridge I think. We talked for a while, but I had to go very soon to catch the train. So I rushed to the nearest tube station and headed for the train. It looked like I would be fine, but then at the stop before the one I needed, the guy came on the intercom and said we wouldn’t be stopping at the stop I needed. I started to panic a little, but rode to the next stop and switched to another line and hoped it would stop where I needed. It did and then I literally ran through the station to buy my ticket (which was on the opposite side), then I ran up the stairs to the train platform and literally got on the train seconds before it left. It was crazy, but I made it. I then had about 3 hours to kill on the train and got caught up writing about all I had done this weekend.

I made it into Sheffield at 12:30 and got a taxi to Matt and Rachel’s. George was a little too excited to see me and I really hoped that I (or he) would not wake anyone up. I went to sleep very easily after a long and exciting day.

What I learned:

It is best to allow a good amount of time in order to get to your train.

St. Mary Woolnoth (where Moot meets) is an interesting church that is mentioned in a T. S. Eliot poem and because of that has a little corner dedicated to it.

British Starbucks makes good chai tea lattes too.

The fire of London was supposedly started by a Baker on Pudding Lane.

A fine example of my excessive use of limerick

The events of this weekend are officially classified as top secret. I am sorry. But here is a nice poem to ease your troubled soul.

There once was a man called Mark
His style was quite sleek and stark
He lived in a town
Built up from the ground
And watches “The Boosh” till it’s dark.

His choice brand is quite fruity
He recently scored some new booty
A nice new iPhone
With streaming new downloads
Brings near the tweeting community.

But his friendships grow deeper than this
One can tell by a network quite rich
A close friend called Jonny
Who’s seen as quite a ‘hottie*’
Or at least a rockstar if he wish.

His other friends are many
Some Chris-es and Steves a plenty
Loads of other cool men
Women and children
Gathered where progress meets his’ry.

For chatting they did not terry
And amongst conversations much query
They had lots of good food
And plenty of booze
Their spirits were rich and merry

United by a common Spirit
These people will never quit
Meeting new friends
Creating new trends
Emerging, searching, and loving it.

But still they can find the time
To relax, retreat, and unwind
In such a busy land
Where dreams are so grand
Real relationships here can you find.

The point of this rhyme, you see
Is how important these relationships can be.
Though it’s a messy affair
Diverse, but with care -
True life is found in community.

*not an observation of mine personally

7/2 - I'm back

What I did:

I did not have a very rushed day today, but I knew I had to be in Telford by the evening. So I relaxed around Matt and Rachel’s house for a while and around lunchtime headed into the city center to get a train. I got there fine and made it to Telford. I walked to the shopping center and decided to grab a snack and try to figure out where my hotel was. I finally found where the street was I needed to walk down on one of the mall layout maps, but it took me forever to find the road because it goes underneath the mall. But I did and walked to the hotel.

I had a lot of internet problems but after 3 different passwords and an hour and a half I was online. During that time I got to watch some tennis though, and I didn’t really have anything else to do. It got to be time for me to head over to Mark’s house (the guy who leads the group I would be visiting today). I went and could not find any taxis by the mall where there were tons of spaces for them. So I rushed over to the train station and found one. He did not know where the street was that I was trying to get to and the area it is in is called Newdale. He knew that but asked me if it was new Newdale or the old Newdale. I had no clue, so he went and asked the driver behind him. But we made it there fine and right on time. He was actually a very nice guy too.

So I walked into Mark’s house and met everyone. We soon all sat down around a dinner table (there were 8 of us) and shared dinner together. We had quiche which was jokingly called a Christian dish since it is at every Christian function. We talked for a while about all kinds of stuff while we ate and immediately after, and a lot of it happened to be about stuff I would have asked about concerning their community. It was almost as if they were answering my questions before I could ask them. It also worked kind of in a pattern, where someone would bring up something and then someone would tie in some scripture to back up a view. It was almost like a bunch of mini sermons by all the people completely unplanned.

Eventually, Mark focused everyone and we spent some time listening to the story of the sacrifice of Isaac and meditating on it. Mark guided our thoughts with some things to think about and the story was read again. After a while we had communion and some time of prayer and a final blessing. Then everyone slowly began to talk again about a bunch of different stuff. Texas got talked about a lot (Mark had recently been to Houston), especially southern breakfast. Eventually we got on to the topic of British comedy and within minutes Mark went to get his laptop to look up clips from Black Adder, The Boosh, and other funny clips on YouTube. We spent a very long time sitting around watching these. People trickled out, and eventually we all left. I got a ride back to my hotel and almost immediately went to sleep.

What I learned:

British comedy is slightly an acquired taste.

Holiday Inn in Telford is huge and I found that my room was so big, I did not really know what to do. I have gotten used to the small, compact English style bedrooms and it really threw me off.

Telford is a very new city and is even built on more of an American city planning model with different sections of malls, and no true town center with a major street.

7/1 – It's fine Scottish weather we're having. The rain is falling straight down and kind of to the side like.

What I did:
I took a lot of pictures today.

I woke up early today to make the three and a half hour trek up to Edinburgh. Getting up there was fine, just really long, but the second leg of the train ride was nice because it takes you right past the east coast and you can look out over the water.

I got to Edinburgh (which is in Scotland for anyone who does not know UK geography), and walked around for a little while. I walked down to the National Galleries, but decided to not go in. Throughout the city you can look up and see Edinburgh castle on top of a pretty big hill. So, I decided to make my way up there. I got there and got a really nice view of the city. But it cost quite a bit to go in, so I decided to just walk around it and move on. Plus, I had a lot of ground to cover in one day.

After that, I walked up and down the Royal Mile, which is a stretch of street that has a lot of shops, street performers, and old buildings (like St. Giles Cathedral). I went in the cathedral and enjoyed the music and humor of several street performers as I passed by. One duo had small ukuleles and were playing Chop Suey by System of a Down. Haha. I made my way down the Royal Mile and at the end is Holyroodhouse Palace, the Queens residence in Scotland I believe. I walked around it some and noticed there were tons of police all around and news reporters. But then I saw some really nice mountain/hill area that was open to the public and had some trails through it. So I climbed up one peak. On the way up I heard music and saw a lot of people gathered around the palace, but I never found out what was going on there. I also realized just how hot it was with the sun beaming down climbing up a hill. I managed to squeeze out some drops of sympathy sweat for all you Texas friends.

I got close to the top, then the trail started to go down. That was no fun, so I found a way up and finally got to the top. It was a wonderful view of the city and I spent some time just sitting there. Then it started to rain some, but I had already seen a higher peak just a little further, so I went for it. By the time I got halfway up that one, the rain stopped. I got to the top and the view was still great. And this is where my trip started to get interesting.

After spending some time looking around and taking pictures, I went off to the side to pray. That may sound cheesy, but it seemed like the right thing to do. So, I sat and started, but I was immediately interrupted by a guy who had asked me to take a picture of him at the top. He was friendly and just asked me a couple of questions about where I was from and what I was doing. He was from Uruguay and working in London. When he heard I was studying churches he asked if he could ask me a question since I am more in touch with spiritual stuff. I kind of laughed, then said sure. He was looking for relationship advice. He explained his situation, which was probably kind of normal although a little complicated. I had no clue what to tell him, but managed to stumble something out that allowed him to think about what he should do more. I could kind of tell that it didn’t matter what I said, he would do what he was planning to do anyway, but I tried to encourage him. After a while, we swapped email contact and right after he left, I thought of something I really wanted to say to him. But, thankfully, I might still be able to.

I finished praying and walked around the area some more. I made my way down to a small loch that was at the base and finally decided to head back into town. I was getting very hungry. It rained a little off and on again the rest of the day, but I continued to walk around. I got some really really good ice cream. Also, Matt told me that they will fry anything in Scotland and encouraged me to get something like a deep fried mars bar. So, I took his advice and got one. It made me feel right at home at the State Fair.

As I walked, someone asked me for directions. Haha. But I guess there are just so many tourists there that everyone is asking whoever they see for directions. I ate my dinner in a little park area where a bunch of teenagers had gathered. It really made me want to find out where these gathering places are for kids in Dallas or Sherman. Eventually, it was time for me to go grab a train. The first two I could take were cancelled, which I later learned was from lightening strikes disrupting the signals. I finally got on one, but we wound up not moving for almost 40 minutes of the whole trip. But, it was a good chance to get to know better the fellow passengers. I finally made it though and got the last connecting train to Sheffield. I also rode in my first ever taxi to get back to Matt and Rachel’s. But it was a long day and a late night and I was ready to just crash.

What I learned:

The train service does not know how to deal with lightening.

Edinburgh is really nice.

I really don’t know how to respond to a request for relationship advice.

At around 8:00, the roads from where I am staying to the city center are pack, causing the bus to at best crawl along.

Fried Mars Bars are pretty good.

(A rare picture of me):

6/30 - Connecting

What I did:

Today was kind of a relaxing/planning day for me. I am quickly realizing I have very little time left and a lot more places I intended to visit than I have time to. So, I got some stuff set for the rest of this week, then it got to be lunchtime.

I wanted to get out and walk around some today and I also wanted to check out a coffee shop that I have heard mentioned several times called the Rude Shipyard (I think). So I walked down to it. I got there and noticed that it was a nice small coffee shop with a ton of books all over the place. I got a strawberry-banana smoothie and a piece of spicy Mexicana pie (I just couldn’t pass up a combination like that). The food was good, although the smoothie was a little more tart than what I am used to with strawberry-banana. I also had fun looking around at all the books. I know I am no book snob, but it was fun to see how many I had read (most for school). There were actually a lot there that I wanted to read too. I knew you could buy the books, but I didn’t know if you could read any while you are there, so I just enjoyed my meal and left.

On the way back I ran into a guy who asked me for directions. Haha. I actually knew where he was trying to go (mainly because we were basically on the street he was asking for) so I tried my best to direct him. I was going the way he needed to go, so he followed me for a little while, but gradually pulled back and got on his phone. I hope he found where he was trying to go, but I don’t know if he completely trusted my directions.

I had seen this sign every time I pass by, and I am continually grateful for my name being what it is.
















I got back and did some more planning, calling, emailing, etc. All that stuff that really sucks the life out of you. But, I have a decent idea of what I will be doing the rest of my trip. I also went on a Facebook friending spree. Haha. It was kind of exhilarating, actually. I raided Matt’s friend list to find all the people I met at Cliff (at least all that I could remember, and I am sorry to anyone I forgot). I really thought about whether to do it or not, though. Hopefully I will see some of them again – that would be amazing. But most likely I will not. So, can I actually use this to maintain such brief and long distance friendships? Obviously, you see the decision I wound up making, but I equate it to playing video games with people. Playing video games can be really good and it can be an excellent way to spend time with someone. But you have to be careful, because while you are in the same room with the person, there is probably not much actual interaction going on. So it can kind of deceive itself into being a friendship when it really is not. The same with friends through facebook. How do we get past a mere sharing of statuses and really keep/continue friendships through networking things like this? I think it is possible even if that is not how they were meant to be used, it just takes a lot more effort. Something I am still struggling with.

Anyway, you can tell I have had some time to just think today. I spent some time reading and chilling the rest of the night. And, of course, more Wimbledon. Matt got home and Rachel had to go work, so Matt and I went out to a nice Indian dinner. The food was great. After that we came back and watched Shooter, which I had never gone to see in theaters or rented. It was an exciting movie and a good way to end off the day

What I learned:

Things could be much worse as far as my last name goes.

How Edinburgh is pronounced (not how it looks). And a good thing to know before I travel up there.

British people are never satisfied with the weather.

Pretty much everyone from Cliff that I met was on Facebook at some time today.

There is always someone I have forgotten to keep updated on how things are going for me here. Unfortunately this time I found out it was my mentor for the project. All good now.

Wireless internet continues to amaze me, confuse me, and frustrate me. But at least you know you always have just as good of a random chance that it will work as you do it won’t.