The Beauty of It All

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It really does not matter the time of day. I often seem to find myself wrapped up in a flurry of blankets, a steaming cup of tea at my side day dreaming out my balcony doors just letting my thoughts run free into the soft rain that seems to silence everything around me. There really is no other way to describe it other than that it is truly wonderful. My hand aches for a pen as my head is swarming with thoughts that seem to precious not to scratch into the leather bound journal at my bedside table. These days seem to pass between a mixture of rain and short bursts of sunshine…I can hardly remember the date and the only thing that keeps me on track seems to be the days of week in which I actually attend school. The rest is just a blur of invaluable memories that I carefully etch into the faded pages of my journal…

The last few days have been a mixture of school and exploration as we have ridden the streets of Oxford till our little legs could pedal no more. I must admit that despite Mitch’s chicken legs, he keeps up pretty well with the group. Mitch and I have really met some wonderful people here, and we are truly so thankful for this experience. We having been planning our trips with everyone and so far we have 2 big trips planned with over ten people: Prague and Amsterdam. We rented a house for 4 days in Prague and we have 11 girls and one boy going. Guess who the alpha male is…that’s right, Chicken Legs himself. We are really excited because we got a great rate on the house, cheaper than the hostels and we are all going to be in the house together with ONE bathroom. That will be interesting, but we do have enough beds for bodies so don’t worry about that. This past weekend our school took us to London to go to the British Museum and the London Eye. The museum was pretty amazing as they had on exhibit mummies…pretty creepy. We also saw the Rosetta Stone which was just absolutely incredible, I am pretty sure Mitch got a ten minute video of it. We are thinking of starting our own series on PBS as most twenty year old couples don’t video tape their time in a museum let alone the objects themselves. The London Eye was basically a huge Ferris wheel that goes really high and you can see all of London, hence the London Eye. Ingenious, I know. I got pretty dizzy that high up and Mitch loved playing the protector role as he shielded my eyes from glancing down to the terrifying ground blow…just kidding, but seriously I almost puked. We are planning on heading into London this coming weekend to explore Buckingham Palace as our school is getting us a discounted ticketed. Mitch and I are getting really excited as Oktoberfest in Germany is looming in the near future which is our first big trip that we planned like 10 months ago (once again because we are planning control freaks, its inherited we can’t help it). Mitch and I have just decided to start a couples devotional (on top of the 12 novels I have to read this semester, don’t worry Mitch doesn’t have to read a thing). We are excited to see what questions and challenges it will bring up as we are looking to grow not only as people but as a couple in Christ. It is pretty wonderful ending each day with the Bible in your hand and his hand on top of yours exploring the beauty and hope contained in each and every turn of the page. Life is pretty unbelievable for us. I know I keep saying that, but we both truly mean it. We are so very thankful for this opportunity as we both know these 4 months together over here are nothing but a far off dream to the majority of couples in the world. And trust me, we are making the most of it.
The other night we went to the Oxford Street Carnival and it was quite a sight. Bright lights, street vendors, games and crazy rides just lining the streets of this historic little town. It was quite painful for Mitch to pass all the games and not play as one try at the games were a meal for us. It’s pretty sad, either eat a meal or try and win a huge teddy bear for your high maintenance girlfriend…naturally he chose the meal. We found this amazing little icecream shop on one of the side streets, and I have a very strong feeling that Mitch and I will become regulars. The ice cream is “made on the premises” as the sign boasts which legitimizes my spending my meal money on icecream rather than food. Perhaps this is why the average study abroad student gains 15 pounds…sugar and starches become the reigning food group. Probably not so good for a pre-diabetic, huh? So besides this, Mitch and I have come to the realization that we are broke. Everything is literally twice as expensive and there is no such thing as fresh deli meat here. Everything is pre-made and packaged. Meat is a luxury, one in which we have really yet been able to afford. Jakob, Mitch, Jesse, and I made dinner last night, or I guess I should say I made the dinner…Mitch was bragging on my chicken and mashed potato dinner (by the way, I hate when he does this, puts the pressure on) so we went to the store and got the ingredients. Ok, I want you to understand that in order for this meal to be successful one MUST have bread crumbs. Naturally, we went to the store and got them. However, when I opened them after I had prepared the chicken and the mashed potatoes were cooking I did not know what the hell I was looking at. It looked like a big pile of mashed up goldfish. I was secretly horrified because there was no way that this was going to be my magnificent chicken dinner because on top of that we had to resort to pre cut slices of chicken rather than breasts because 2 breats of chicken was 6 pounds. So, my dinner ended up being mashed potatoes and goldfish chicken fingers. Not exactly the look or taste I was going for…but the good news was that Mitch was deliriously hungry that I think his taste buds were completely drugged and didn’t quite realize what they were experiencing. In the end, all was good and we were full for the first time since we arrived. Anyway, it was another wonderful evening but when I got into bed that night I couldn’t shake the idea that we truly are poor here. I mean if you don’t believe me then check this out, I invented a little list that totally justifies my reasoning:

Top 7 Signs you are an American in Oxford, hence broke as hell:

7. The milk in your fridge is four days pass the expiratory date but you continue to pour it into your cereal.
6. Anytime you enter the school cafeteria you stuff your pockets full of the complimentary tea bags and sugar packets.
5. Your fridge consists of only two for one prepackaged meals that are made up of entirely carbs that will without a doubt go straight to your ass and your friends shall shortly be calling you “saddle bags”
4. The teacher mistakes your stomach rumble for a passing truck.
3. Your boyfriend actually thinks riding to the pub in the pouring rain to the town center 3 miles away is a perfectly legitimate idea while your dressed in heels, jeans, and a sexy top… AND your friends are all taking taxis.
2. When you go to the grocery store you cannot afford to put your groceries into the 5 pence plastic bags and thus walk out of the store arms full and pockets bulging to jam them into the small basket on the back of your cheap, rusty, 1960’s bicycle.

And the number one reason the pound just really sucks:
1. When you see McDonald’s golden arches looming in the distance you drop to your knees, your vision blurs, and you begin salivating at the thought of 2 cheeseburgers, fries, and a soda all for three and a half pounds.

We love you guys whether we be rich or poor, hungry or full, but just know for the next 3 months we will most definitely be loving you from the state of poor and hungry. Godspeed.

(Oh and just for the record, all the pictures in these blogs are taken by and officially property of Tara Hodgson and Mitch Folks. I know. We are incredible.)

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