The Internet is BACK!!!!

After a week of a media/internet/ipod/film fast, the internet is back with a vengeance :-) It's Saturday and after a crazy week it feels so nice to just veg out and relax. The weather this morning has turned into a full on romantic backdrop, with fog rolling in so thick that I can't even see past the front drive....for all you movie lovers imagine the ending scene in the new Pride & Prejudice when they are walking towards each other....that's right, I get to live it (well sort of, just not with Mr. Darcy!) Last night was a fun filled night of improv, the second annual theater sports night at Capernwray. And yes, I did participate, I was unknowingly signed up on a team with three guy friends who took the liberty of adding me...crazy kids. It ended up being such a blast and we came in second place (we should have been first...even ask the students!) There were certainly some VERY embarrassing moments, but being able to laugh my way out of them was a huge plus! For those of you who have experienced me in my crazy giddy times, you'll be able to have some idea of how silly I was last night.
Tonight we are having a fancy dress and silly games night (in England, fancy dress means costume dress up) so my theme is Pirate...it should turn out to be an interesting evening, with all of the costume plans that are coming out! I'll be sure to post pictures from yesterday and tonight on facebook and hopefully here soon!
I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving! It was different not being with my family this year, but it didn't feel awful because all of the American students were going through the same type of emotions, so we were able to hang out and comfort each other. A large group went out and played American Football in the cow pastures, which was so much fun to watch..freezing, but fun! Then the kitchen staff did a really nice job of decorating the dining hall and serving us a very delicious substitute Thanksgiving meal. I really appreciated that, especially because they didn't have to do anything for us, I liked the fact that they took into consideration how big of a holiday it is for us!
Well, at the moment I can't think of anything else that is too exciting right now, but I will be sure to keep you all updated, so keep reading!
Love to you all...signing off from this side of the world...

questions...

i must made a really difficult decision that i just haven't been able to let go of yet. It's only been two days, but this was one of the biggest decisions i've had to make in a long time. What made it even more difficult was being away from home and those who's input means so much to me. I know that God has a plan for everything that I do, but this is one of those instances that i'm not sure if i trusted wholly in Him and made the wrong decision. I really need prayer for peace about this decision and that i can support those around me. love and miss

Lancaster

why is the internet faster at mcdonalds??? Katie and I are using our time wisely and uploading photos to facebook....i'll certainly try to upload some here as well :-) We have also stuffed ourselves with delicious Cafe Nero coffee and muffins and are now...i'm not gonna lie, sharing a mcflurry and a coke. The reason being that coke is often code for pepsi here and Katie misses Coke...we also discovered a delicious candy twisted into the ice cream called cruchies...who cares what they are but they are soooo tasty! The rain has been coming down and with it came my impressive ability to make a total fool of myself....Here's some advice, don't run in the rain unless you are wearing appropriate footwear, i'll let you in on what happens when you don't, you fall, rip your jeans, and scrape up your knee...oh and get wet because most likely you've fallen in a puddle! It's a great thing, let me tell you. Hope everyone in the states is enjoying a day off...love to all

Rain....

It's 8:30 at night here on Saturday the 8th of November, and it's raining...what a shocker! In fact, this week has been the driest since we arrived, so it is a bit hard to have to readjust to it again. I haven't minded the rain so much here, but it gets hard when there are so many moments when all you want to do is go outside and not get drenched!
I find that when it rains, I tend to mope and think a lot more about home and what I miss about, mostly the people. I think the rain has become a metaphor for my homesickness, when it comes it comes in waves and doesn't always affect me. But when it's a real storm, it just knocks me over like the rain here that comes at you from every possible angle that there is just no way of getting out of it without getting drenched.
I love it here in England and am not looking forward to the day I have to leave, but I still want those back home, to know how much I am looking forward to hearing from them...hint, hint....b/c I certainly want to be kept up to date with your lives, even though I'm so far away...I will be back and have to be updated!!! Post is always appreciated, doesn't matter how big or small, even a quick note will brighten my day!!! And there is a guarantee in my answering, one of my favorite things!!! just ask and my address will be given!

SCOTLAND!!!

Edinburgh climbed the list of my favorite cities after this past weekend! A three hour train ride took me and my two travel buddies up into Edinburgh last Friday and like every new place, we were a bit lost at first, but once we gained our bearings, we were pros of navigating the city. I loved everything about being in a big city again! It seemed strange at first to be surrounded by the bustling of people, traffic, and fellow tourists! It was also quite a bit of fun to do some shopping as well ;-)
Being seperated from my friends was actually quite sad, but it became evident pretty quickly that I was enjoying the seperation from a massive group of people. On Saturday, we woke up and spent a few hours hiking up St. Arthur's Seat and got to take some beautiful photographs of the view of the whole of Edinburgh. If anyone is thinking about traveling the Scotland, this hike was absolutely amazing and well worth the effort, trust me, I managed and was not at all wearing appropriate footwear!
Sunday we spent on a mMercedes mini coach on a 9 hour tour of Loch Lomond, The Trussachs, and even Stirling, where we got to tour the Stirling Castle and view the William Wallace Monument (Braveheart)!!
It was hard to get on the train and return to Capernwray, mainly because I loved being in a hub again and being surrounded by other people who I don't see every day. Living in a small community really takes a lot of me at this point. So after a very eventful weekend, this past week has seemed pretty slow. We all had fun telling eachother stories about our different adventures and seeing pictures of trips to other places. Even though we are so close to Scotland, traveling is hard, but I certainly hope that I will be able to make it back to a country that contains some awesome family heritage!!!!

Capernwray

It's hard to believe that six weeks have passed since I left the sunny shores of California. In that month and a half, my life has changed to a level that I didn't even know would have been possible in that amount of time.
After an interesting moment at customs, I made it into my new home country for the next few months and spent an exciting three days in London. Exploring one of my favorite cities for those three days was such a great experience and I was so happy to have the time alone to explore. I got to see the sights, spend time in my favorite museums and even see a show!! The fact that I did it all in such a short amount of time is still astonishing to me now. :-)
Capernwray Hall is a phenomenal building and I still have to pinch myself with the truth that I live in a castle. The main house, contains girls bedrooms, the loung, library, prep room, and common room, laundry room, and a whole other host of rooms, with a courtyard enclosed with the boys rooms. Our dining hall, sports hall, swimming pool, and conference hall (where lectures are held) are all just a quick walk out the back door of the main house.
My roomies are amazing and we get on extremely well, we are of varied home lands, USA, Canada, Slovakia, and England. It's amazing how God seemed to know exactly who we needed to be blessed with and put us together for a reason.
Friendships have been a huge blessing here and although it helps with making it feel more like home here, it makes me miss home and friends left back in the states a bit more at the same time. So make sure you all know how much I love and miss you all!