Viviendo La Vida

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From my window in the bus as the Belgium and Scotland groups departed...

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So, it would appear that I am extremely lazy. I didn't go to Brussels. I didn't go to Scotland. I stayed in Oxford for the break...yet I still didn't post. Readers, on behalf of myself, I apologize. Unacceptable behavior really.

My break was beautifully spent. I shared the Vines (my residence) with only about 7 or 8 others, as opposed to 30. We made meals together, went to a Brazilian restaurant, watched Love Actually, talked...unpressured by time or a schedule. But I also spent a lot of time by myself reading, giving shape to some new music, walking through the crowded streets, sitting in coffee shops, writing, thinking...even more unpressured by time. It was some much desired time to spend with the Lord. For that, I am grateful!

Also, a lot of my week looked like this...

(picture compliments of Shayna Borland)

Skype allowed us to "hang out" for hours! If anything, staying back from the trips was worthwhile just for this! The usually-jammed bandwidth here at The Vines was freed up for the whole week! Nevermind the time difference... I miss you, Kat.

Now it is the weekend after "Naught" Week (or Oth Week) here in Oxford--the week before lectures and tutorials begin. All the "freshers" have arrived and the peaceful arterial Oxford streets are now pulsating with an influx of international hype. The SCIO (Scholarship & Christianity in Oxford, our program) students have for the most part met their tutors and chosen their lectures and are starting their first papers. This Saturday morning, we are all spread out across the city in the libraries, the parks, and the residence flats. Things are definitely picking up.

I am excited about my tutors! They are both young academics passionate about their subjects. I look forward to the weekly and biweekly (fortnightly) meetings. In particular, I look forward to becoming more conversant in philosophy. Learning philosophy is in many ways similar to learning a foreign language. Once you recognize the terms and their place in the history of philosophy, you can begin using them knowledgeably. If you don't know what's at stake or the history, you are at a loss. I hope my weekly one-on-one conversations with my tutors not only grow my understanding and resolve of important issues, but also my ability to speak and relay my findings!

That is just a glimpse of life here now. Here are a few photos I have collected over the last few weeks...

A collection of technicolor insects at the Natural Science Museum in Oxford.

Ross got the bird to give him a high-five!

In Bath, showing my support for Kat and her Canadian roots!

P.S. Rugby starts this upcoming Tuesday. All I need is a mouth-guard and some boots and I will be ready. A friend from St. Ebbe's (the church I attend and love), John, is playing for St. Hughes. I am going to join him! (Look for posts on St. Ebbe's and Rugby in the near future.)

"All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." (Isaiah 66:2)

Waffles, chocolates, and nation-wide transportation strikes...

Ever had a waffle? Or chocolate? Or French Fries? At risk of sounding elitist, unless you've been to Belgium, the answer is "no", you haven't. This past week, spent in Brussels, Ghent, and Bruges changed my life forever. First off, I deepened relationships with some solid Christian brothers and sisters; and to a quality only achieveable by experiences I will now endeavor to relate.

Going into detail about all the beautiful things we saw and ridiculous adventures we had would take longer than I want to spend. Sorry! :) But here are the highlights:

1. Ghent. Wow. Probably the most beautiful little city I've ever laid eyes on. It's cobbled streets, stone bridges, medieval cathedrals, and ridiculously delicious waffles were unforgettable. The only thing missing was Valerie. And to be honest, without my boo, everything I saw and experienced in this heavenly spot and on the rest of this trip was simply incomplete. John and Dave I think would agree, as pictured below.

2. Nation-wide transportation strike the one day we needed to catch a train to get back to Brussels from Bruges so we could make it to the airport and catch our flight to come back home. Here's what went down: John, Blonde John, Kenneth, Danny, Dave, and I were sitting down to a nice, classy, gourmet dinner at the Quick Mart. We had parted ways with the girls; they still had reservations for another night at the hostel in Bruges, and we were headed back to Brussels that night, planning on meeting them the following day at Waterloo. John had been talking to the manager, asking him when the last train from Bruges to Brussels was. "Nine-thirty", he said. "After that, the strike starts." "Oh, ok", we said. Three or four seconds passed. "Wait, what?"

Turns out we had about an hour to contact the girls, who were eating dinner on the other side of town, get them to their hostel to check out, pack up all their stuff, rush to the train station carrying all the bags, get everybody tickets, board the final train, and hope that the train didn't stop halfway to Brussles, since Bruges and Brussels are about an hour apart, and the strike was set to start at 10 pm. We all made it on the train with time to spare! The train got going, and moved through the city we were worried it would shut off in. We neared Brussels. About 15 minutes out, by our reckoning, the train slowed to a stop. We read the sign bearing the station's name. Not Brussels. "Everyone get off", said the loudspeaker in French and Dutch and then English. We got off, all eleven of us, with all our luggage and merchandise and pillows. We guys set about doing the manly thing, and started madly asking around how in the world we could get to Brussles from Zweberhaugenshmergenbruken, or wherever we were. "How long would it take to walk to Brussels from here?" we asked. "3 days", they said. "Ouch", we said. Then they told us there was a final local train heading to Brussels, leaving in 1 minute. We rushed to the right platform, bags a' swinging, girls a' screaming, and we made it onto the train seconds before the doors closed. Forty five minutes later, we were all safely at our hostel!

Stories like this one and the one following show how skillfully, graciously, and lovingly the Lord draws us into himself when we need it most. He shows us how hectic, how full of unknowns, how problemtaic life can be, then envelops us in the comfort and protection we always receive and never deserve. To our frantic questions of "how?" and "why?" he replies, "my grace is sufficient for you". To our frenzied prayers so lacking in faith and humility, he gives answers of comfort and hope and peace. Any one of many things could have gone wrong, and the result would have been hours of stress and hundreds of euro. God is so good.

3. John, the guy on the left in the white hoodie, got his pocket picked by a frenchman on the way to the train and we almost got in a gang fight on the streets. Exaggeration? Nope. We were walking at 1 am toward the Brussles train station, from which we needed to catch a 4:30 bus to the airport, about 45 minutes away. The street was decently lit, and the eleven of us were sort of spread out in little groups, stretched out into a little mini American procession, walking down the sidewalk. The following is mostly from my perspective, with relevant info spliced in from John and some of the girls.

I was walking in front, listening to music on Dave's iPhone, when I heard Bethany shout "Guys! John!" or something like that. Dave and I turned around to see John sprinting down the sidewalk behind us at breakneck speed. Male instinct, already discussed, kicked in. Both Dave and I dropped our bags and started sprinting after them, along with all the other guys in the group. Then I realized no one was staying with the girls and the luggage in a sketch part of town. I can really only remember it in slow motion, but as I ran past Kenneth, I said "Kenneth! Staaay wiiith thuuuh giiiiiirrrrls!" and continued to sprint down the street after John and, as I now gathered from rumors that had spread through the line, the thief he was chasing.

By this time Dave, Blonde John, Danny, and I were running together, and as we turned a corner we realized we couldn't see John. "Over there!" said Blonde John, and we looked down a side street and saw John, breathless, but yelling at this guy, and--the scariest part--surrounded by three other guys. Four on one. Not for long.

The four of us sprinted to the scene, yelling "Hey!" "What's going on?" "John--you okay?" Seeing us arrive, the four locals took a step back and started making excuses in French, acting as innocent as possible. The girls told us later that, as we had dropped our bags and had started in pursuit, they could see fight in our eyes. And we were ready for one. The Lord, again, was gracious and good. No fight. No foul play. John got his wallet back, which we found out later had been dropped by Frenchie when John was chasing him. Kenneth found another local eyeing it on the sidewalk, and, with a "give me the wallet or I'll drop you" tone of voice convinced the man to hand it over. Kenneth also managed to grab all of the bags we dropped, consolidate them, and protect the girls from the numerous shady-looking characters observing the scene. Atta boy. This is Kenneth on the right. Hilarious and kinda goofy usually; dead serious and motivated when necessary. We recovered everything, and made it safely to the train station, where the nightwatchman let us sleep until we caught our bus a couple of hours later.

The rest of the trip, both prior and following was marked by delicious food, beautiful vistas, plentiful laughs, nights in airports and trainstations, strolling streets under umbrellas, climbing towers, jumping hedges, boarding trains, and collapsing exhausted into youth hostel bunk beds. It was quite a trip, and would be nearly impossible to duplicate. Reminder after reminder of the God's goodness and mercy with chocolate and waffles and fellowship thrown in. Does it get any better? We'll see.

Cheers!

Thoughts from a Belter who may be pure mental.

Seeing as Colby had an entire week with nothing else to do and still did not post, I am forced to make up for his stagnancy and post from the bus to Oxford.

A couple of business matters:
1. We apologize for our lack of updating in past two weeks. As we adjust more and more to our schedule here at Oxford (staying up late, waking up early, reading, writing, thinking without stopping) we should also get better at posting regularly.
2. Regardless of how you choose to interpret the word "knickers" I feel like my point remains unchanged.

Right, on to the good stuff. I've just spent the past four days in Scotland for our fall break. It was wonderful. I was able to relax without spending much money, see some old friends that I met in China a couple years ago, and make some new ones. I saw some castles, ate at the best fish and chips spot in Scotland, and climbed a large rock on the Scottish coast. I was also able to do some reading in Kierkegaard for fun and in preparation for one of the courses I am taking which will be starting this coming week. I really enjoy reading Kierkegaard. Quotes like, "One or another may succeed, for our age does not stop with faith,with its miracle of turning water into wine; it goes further, it turns wine into water," interspersed throughout grab your attention and keep you interested. I'm drawn to quite a few of his ideas, but not all of them.*

Through different experiences in his life and the implications of them on his philosophy, Kierkegaard considered the relationship between an individual and God to be the only relationship of any real importance. Other relationships can be good, but they fall short of man's fullest potential and calling in scripture, that is to be a "man of faith." In doing this I believe that he misses the great benefit and encouragement which other relationships can provide in our pursuit of a relationship with God.

This was made particularly clear to me this weekend as I stayed in St. Andrews, Scotland. My friend Gill who I was visiting didn't have enough room in her flat form myself and the two other friends, Dan and Aubrey who came too. So Aubrey stayed with Gill, and Dan and I stayed with a family from Gill's church. The Stirlings were one of the nicest families I have ever met. I had never met them before and yet they welcomed me into their already full house of four kids and a dog. And neither was this a one time favor for a friend. This family is constantly bringing young people into their house that are needing a place to stay and letting them live there for up to months at a time, feeding them, and giving them a home. Their hospitality has been a huge example to me. I hope to one day have a house that I can open freely to those who are on need, and to hopefully through that be an encouragement in their walk with God.
Our human relationships ought to be and can be a model and a fortification for our relationship with God, rather than a hindrance as Kierkegaard would suggest.

Thank you Gill, Sarah, and the Stirlings for being such a blessing to me and my friends. The trip was unforgettable.

*To be fair, Kierkegaard wrote most of his thoughts on this subject under a pseudonym so it may not be what he thought, just what he was thinking.

London, lazy scruff, and Gothic spleandour

So first of all Ross apologizes if any ladies were offended by our ignorance of what the term "knickers" meant (apparently it doesn't mean knee socks). If it makes you feel any better, Ross biffed it on the gravel yesterday while riding his bike. I only caught the aftermath, but was close enough to hear Colby state matter of factly "And down he goes" as it was happening. Don't worry Aislinn, he doesn't even have a scratch, and was still able to bust out our nightly workout routine of push-ups and crunches.

By way of update, last week was more orientation, along with a fieldtrip to London on Saturday. The day was magnificent, and included attendance of a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theatre (Timon of Athens). Somewhere in the midst of strolling through leaf-laden Hyde Park and soaking in Evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral, though, the three of us realized we were more than a little lonely. Valerie, Aislinn, Kat: we miss you! Just so everyone else will keep reading, however, we won't elaborate publicly.

So far this week we've been buried in our books; pausing only to gaze in awe in the dim lighting at the stately mahogany bookshelves and domed Gothic ceilings that surround us while we study in the Radcliffe Camera lower reading room; pictured below. Or maybe to the side; I'm not sure how attached pictures work on blogs. To be honest it'll be nearly impossible to set foot in Kresge Memorial Library next semester.

Our ridiculously solid work ethic in the library, however, doesn't always transfer over to...every day life, as pictured below (or to the side).

When it comes to mundane issues like scruff, for instance, we choose to reserve our strength for more worthwhile pursuits...like eating dark chocolate digestives and needlessly racing up the steep Headington Hill on bicycles after a large meal (this was nearly tragic). Actually Colby and I did finally shave today, satisfied that we had proved to everyone that we were men (lazy).

Tomorrow we're heading on a field trip to Hampton Court, the royal palace of Henry VIII and two of his six wives. Apparently the largest maze in Britain is there; a real maze, complete with tall hedges and a genuine fear of getting lost for hours. It's probably what Rowling envisioned when she penned the tri-wizard cup finale in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Good thing the three of us have a phenomenal natural sense of direction. Actually only Ross and Colby have a good sense of direction. If I don't post again, you'll know why.
Let me close for now by relating to you all how solid Ross and Colby have been; both as a constant source of joyful fellowship and as encouraging brothers in Christ. We have worshipped together and been in the word together regularly, and, most vital to me lately, they have not hesitated to kneel next to me and offer up prayer for me when they sense something is going wrong. By their example, I'm confident I'll look back on this semester and see spiritual fruition I have needed and not prayed for nearly enough. Aislinn, Kat: you should be very proud.

Cheers!

The first few days: chocolate biscuits, fake British accents, and "Oasis" classics

Something key about Britain is realizing straight off that McVittie's digestive biscuits are little pieces of heaven, and not laxatives as the name suggests. For the three of us, this revelation came early and brilliantly, and I've had a chocolate covered digestive in my mouth for probably have the time thus far. But don't worry Valerie, I didn't leave you for a semester just to snack. I also have been developing a sweet fake British accent, and getting old school classics like Oasis' Wonderwall stuck in my head. I'd say the semester has already been a success. But life for us Oxford boys won't always be just a lush, green country meadow. We're set to start our studies in earnest in just a few days. On our way to committing one brutal act of scholarship after another, we'll be pumping out over 100 pages of writing and about 2400 projected hours of research. But we won't mind. The libraries are gorgeous specimens of Gothic genius, and I'm sure there'll be a healthy amount of study breaks at nearby pubs. Cheers!

All Fur Coat and No Knickers

Phrs. -Of a woman, all superficial appearance and no real substance beneath.
Thomas, Colby, and I are happy to assert that the women we love do not fit that definition at all. They not only have the fur coats, but the knickers to match! (maybe even fur knickers if they make such a thing) I consider it a blessing that I have these two brothers with which to share my hopes, joys, and dreams, yes, but also, the hard times. More specifically, hearts and minds that can empathize with the desire to be reunited again with the one that knows me best. As orientation continues, it becomes ever clearer that this semester will be a good time of mental growth while at the same time a serious test of mental endurance, and to be alone in that environment would be daunting. For I do not want to just weather this time of distance in my relationship, but use it to the fullest potential that God intended when He led Aislinn to South Africa and myself here. Thankfully I have two men of God committed to the same thing. To lift me up when I am weak and to whom I can return the favor when necessary.

Go under the Mercy.

Oh right, the picture doesn't really have to do with the post. I just like it. That is the shortcut we take to get to the Philosophy Faculty Library.

University Park

Strolling through the University Park on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, just before tea at the Crick Road house