Sparks in the Park…

England’s Remembrance Day is probably how the American’s Veteran’s Day should be – an actual day of remembrance surrounded by Independence Day type of bonfire and firework freedom celebrations.  I was a bit too new last year to really participate and understand it, but this year’s been different.  I went to a few bonfire and firework events and I even wore a poppy (a Remembrance Day pin that you wear on your lapel).

And the fireworks and bonfires were definitely the best part.  We shot off our own fireworks on Thursday evening in honor of Guy Fawkes and even prepared our own scarecrow-type commemorative effigy of his burning.  The highlight of the evening was probably when I had my first-ever go at lighting a rocket firework.  Apparently you’re not supposed to stick it in the ground at all…Oops.  I DIDN’T KNOW!  But apparently everyone else did.  haha.  So, I just about caused an explosion.  The firework struggled to take off and almost went off in the ground not too far from our lil’ gathering, but fortunately shot off just in time…haha.  Since we survived, we can all laugh at the mishap.  But needless to say, my friends wouldn’t let me light any other fireworks.  haha.  aww, so sad.

But the best celebration that I got to go to was on Saturday night.  Dave’s village had this cute party called “Sparks in the Park.”  And it was darling!  Back inside a nature park, they had set up a whole event.  They had barbeque going and a live band.  They had a massive bonfire that they lit after about an hour, followed by the sweetest fireworks display.  It was set to a 10-15 minute music medley with proper fireworks directly overhead and firework fountains, spinning wheels, and curtains just before us.  It was just so precious and sweet.  And I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to fireworks.  I actually had to look straight up rather than off into the distance.  I loved it.  Good moment, just being there.  Sparks in the park.  (smile)

Rekindling Childhood…

Not that I’m that far separated from my childhood.  And not that I don’t still act like a child most of the time.  haha.  But there must be something about finishing 7 years of studies, including a bachelors and a masters, that makes you want to return to a simpler time. 

And finding myself in just that circumstance, I have decided to rekindle my childhood.  It’s an exciting time to get back to myself and my personal interests and hobbies.  So, I’ve gotten back into pleasure reading.  Yay!  But not just any reading.  I’m reading children’s literature and starting with all of the best of British children’s literature.  After all, when better to read it than while living over here?

And it’s absolutely wonderful.  I’m getting to read all of the magical books and stories that I somehow missed as a rather illiterate and ignorant child.  And I get to experience the real magic of them.  So, I’ve started with the greatest authors of Oxford while living and working here.  And I’ve finished Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and Sylvie and Bruno; C.S. Lewis’ 7 books comprising The Chrnoicles of Narnia; and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.  Now it’s into The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

And it is all very…magical.  (sigh)  I’ve loved it and still am loving it.  I’m a child all over again and traveling from world to world in the company of heroes, learning life’s lessons, and adventuring.  And it might sound funny, but I’m remembering more about who I am or the me I imagined as a child and lost sight of as a diligent student and developing adult.  And it’s refreshing.  My own adventures are making more sense and taking better shape.  (sigh)  Magical.

I’m So Excited!!

“I’m so excited!  And I just can’t hide it!  I’m about to lose control and I think I like it!”

I get to see my parents in less than two weeks.  That’s all.  That’s why I’m SO excited.  I’ll be joining them in Ireland for a few days before bringing them back to visit my England, tour the cities/sites, meet my friends, and attend my graduation!  Yay for family!

I miss my parents so much this feels like coming home from the mission all over again!  (sniffle sniffle…YAY!)

I Moved…

So, I moved to Reading last week.  I’m now half way between Oxford and London and living near our stake center.  I’m living with newly adopted (dare I say, surrogate) family – Kathryn and Tim Witts who are absolutely wonderful.  And I’m now in closer proximity to many of my friends, etc.  It is absolutely fantastic.  I love it.  (sigh) ahh…happiness.  This is exactly what I’ve been needing…

And yes, work is great too.  Many fantastic opportunities and experiences are coming my way.  And the commute’s not bad at all since I get to come home to family and friends. (big Lindsay smile)

The “Worst” Roadshow EVER!

Along the same line of Sports Day, our stake also has an annual Roadshow Activity.  I say that they’re similar not because sports have anything to do with acting, singing, and dancing, but because these are both SERIOUS competitions here.  It’s quite funny really, but even funnier because it’s true.  And I have to say, Oxford is particularly competitive about the roadshow, being the longstanding takers of the trophy and title. 

So imagine my surprise when I was asked to direct Oxford’s roadshow this year!  I’m not sure what they were thinking, but I did give it my best shot.  Fortunately for my sake, however, the ward members and especially the youth really came together and made it all happen.  It turned out quite well.  We didn’t win, but our show really turned out.  Everyone kept telling me how funny it was and that we were worthy of the win.

I was particularly excited about my few contributions.  The basic concept for our show was my idea and came from Mel Brooks’ “The Producers.”  Our plot was to design the worst roadshow possible – the worst actors, choreography, music, setting, directors, and script – all under the ruse of ensuring that Oxford doesn’t win yet another roadshow.  So our roadshow follows the organizers from casting all the way to the production of THE worst Romeo and Juliet you can imagine.  It was so random!  But if I may say so myself, it took quite a bit or work and skill to do bad, well.  But we did it.  I even got to direct some of our young women to do a hilarious synchronized swimming skit!

And the best part of the whole thing?  Since our goal was to produce the worst roadshow EVER, I can’t be blamed for us losing!  It was a genius idea!  I got all of the credit for the idea and none of the blame for us losing!  BUAHAHA!  Anyway, do enjoy some of the photos:

It’s a Small World!

I had a funny realization last night.  I was on the phone with my parents (love them) and something my mom said really got me thinking.  We were talking about what I was like when I was 20 and my mom just said in passing, “That was before you went out into the big world.”

And it’s true, since I was 20, I’ve moved about 17 times, lived in 12 or so apartments, had around 35 different roommates, lived in 5 countries, worked through 8 plus jobs, and graduated with two university degrees (one of those pending).  I’ve travelled to new states and new countries – Nevada, California, Oklahoma, Senegal, Belgium, England, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Romania, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Italy.  By all means, I have gone out into the big world, learned a lot, and changed a ton (thank goodness too). 

But the strangest phenomenon has started this last year.  Despite all of that and the fact that I’m off living in England, I really feel like my world is strangely getting smaller again (in a good way).  Or at least my worlds are somehow starting to come together and merge into one.  Hmmm…I’ve had dreams like this before…you know where you somehow breech time and space, and people from different places and times are in your dream together?  Yeah, well, that’s kind of what I mean by my world getting smaller again.

Examples?  Well, when I first got here, imagine my surprise when one of my friends from my first year at BYU happened to have moved to Oxford too.  Yeah, we ran into eachother at church.  And then there are all of my Romanian friends living and working in London.  And there’s the fact that my family and friends are actually visiting me here and experiencing this too (Kit, Lisa, Erin, and soon my mom and dad, etc.).  And then there’s my friend Elizabeth who just happened to show up at Oxford one day to do a month-long research project for a professor – she and I had known eachother from the Missionary Training Center, BYU, and the Provo Temple Thursday Evening Shift.  And finally there are little experiences like the fun one yesterday too:

I was in a department store and heading toward the escalator when an everso charming young salesman somehow succeeded to stop me and get me to try this line of hand products.  I’m not sure how he did it as I almost never stop for stuff like that, but for some reason I just couldn’t say no.  And the little booger was really charming.  And he was very flirtatious and laying it on thick; It was so funny.  Well, come to find out…He’s Romanian (no wonder why the whole dynamic felt so familiar, haha)!  So…I freaked out, laughed, and started chattin’ him up in Romanian.  His co-worker and he just jumped back in disbelief that a non-Romanian knew Romanian….And then get this!  So, he asked me why I lived in Romania and why I learned the language.  I told him that I was serving a mission for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he didn’t even let me get the whole name of the church out before he stopped me.  He said, “That’s where I went to English class.”  Yeah!  And so, come to find out, we were there at the same time too (though hadn’t ever met before)!  CRAZY! 

So now I have two new friends, Alfredo and Colin.  I’m going to go back and try some more of that handcare stuff, practice my Romanian, and get them to come out to church here (flirt to convert, baby!).  Incredible. 

But this is what I mean by my world getting smaller.  Places, times, and people are starting to overlap and come together.  And I like it…really, love it.  It’s a small world afterall.

I’m Going to Be Published!

 

 

Astonishing!  I know!  But I’m going to be published!  The exploratory, qualitative research study that I did in Senegal, West Africa as part of my undergraduate studies has been accepted by the Journal of Global Social Work Practice for either the November 2009 or May 2010 issue!  YAY!

Go On and Ask Me…

When I was little, my dad always did the sweetest thing to check in with his girl (ahem, me).  He’d always ask, “Linny, you happy?  Let me see happy!”  And I’d respond with my toothiest grin (not always the prettiest sight before or during braces, but dang it, it was still cute!).

And okay, okay.  I admit it.  We still do it now.  haha.  All the time. 

So yes, go on and ask me…Because I’m really happy, daddy.

Tally Ho!

Before and after our week holiday in Italy, I introduced Erin to my England.  We visited London and toured Oxford before we left.  And we hit up Bath, Stonehenge, Reading, Windsor, and London again upon our return.  We did the tourist thing.  We did the friend meeting thing.  We did the seeing my home thing.  And we did the girly shopping thing. 

There were quite a few adventures during our time in England too.  The highlights included:

• keeping up with all of my work and commitments so I could really play
• trapsing up to London early to arrange surprises
• waiting in the train station Starbucks sipping Hazelnut Hot Cocoa and eating Forrest Berry Porridge (my lil English breakfast) and finishing up a job application
• holding up a personally made ERIN! sign with lil’ American flags and a party noise-maker
• sharing lunch at a Spanish restaurant
• guiding jet-lagged Erin around London to see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Thames River, the Eye of London, Trafalgar Square, and Buckingham Palace 
• listening to music while jet-lagged Erin slept, snuggled on a bench in the Buckingham gardens and park
• tricking Erin into walking back to Victoria and surprising her with front row tickets to see Wicked 15 minutes later
• submitting my thesis at the exam schools and celebrating with confetti wands and fruit tarts
• touring Oxford – University Church and Christ’s Church College and Gardens
• eating dinner at a Greek restaurant, Santorini (also the name of the Greek isle that Erin had wanted to visit so badly before we changed our itinerary)
• picnic lunching along the river in Bath, catching a free glimpse of the Roman baths, experiencing the Pump Room and the hot spring water (bleh, but so cool), and attending the Jane Austen museum tour
• stopping by Stonehenge
• meeting up with friends, dancing and talking the night away, and introducing Erin to the kebabs of England
• getting lost for a few hours trying to get to Basildon Park and then Windsor Castle
• sychronizing the free audio tour all of the way through Windsor Castle
• dropping by CS Lewis’ cottage and neighboring nature reserve
• introducing Erin to pickled onions and her first English Fish and Chips
• getting a new calling, teaching Sunday School, and impromptu speaking in Sacrament Meeting
• spending Sunday with friends and family – playing games, going on walks, and eating sausage sandwiches
• letting Erin drive the rental car – her first experience on the other side of the car and on the other side of the road
• shopping in London
• visiting St.Paul’s Cathedral and seeing the Globe Theatre and Tower Bridge
• waking up from our last night sharing a little single bed and feeling pretty good about it

Ciao Bella!

I promise that we did more than eat on our Italian holiday despite the photo evidence!

My sister, Erin, and I just got back from a week’s holiday in Italy.  We started in Rome and worked our way down the Amalfi Coast throuch Pompei, Sorrento, Positano, and the island of Capri.  It was all a boiling hot tourist trap teaching me to never plan on Italy in July or August again - what a rookie mistake – but I promise it was still exceptionally beautiful and fun.  We had some real adventures!

Some of the trip highlights included:

• starting the trip with a stress stomachache, getting carsick, throwing up on the bus on the way to the airport, and reassuring my sister, “Italy’s going to be amazing!”
• eating authentic gelato once or twice a day
• sweating profusely
• being told several times a day that I’m absolutely beautiful and have the prettiest eyes in all of Italy (despite looking rough and sweaty as all get out)
• staring and gawking at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
• wandering around St.Peter’s Basilica – massive!
• eating my weight in nocci and/or salami
• walking through the colosseum at sunset
• getting locked in the Palentine until a good hour after closing, wandering around alone, and having to climb over the gate to the cheers and praise of an audience
• visiting the ancient Roman city ruins of Pompei (destroyed and preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius)
• picnic lunching on our own private beach on the blue water of the Mediterranean and swimming (touching the Mediterranean for my first time)
• shopping through the small street shops of Sorrento
• catching up on my sister’s life over dinner (nocci again, haha)
• napping on the beach of a beatiful cliffside city overhanging the Mediterranean
• drinking lemon smoothie in the blistering heat
• squeezing on an already overcrowded bus with a lot of smelly, sweaty people and winning the “who’s touching the most people?” game that I made up myself (6 people)
• wearing my swimsuit for a few days in a row
• riding a chairlift to the top of an island mountain
• taking the 24 minute roundtrip chairlift again to retrieve my sister’s shoe from the side of the mountain
• ducking into the blue grotto and cheering my sister on as she jumped ship for a swim
• getting a boatride back around the most inhospitable island for tourism and travel
• enjoying cafe culture and writing a few postcards
• sleeping in the Naples airport after 3 nights of camping – air conditioning and free toilet paper
• realizing that holidays are great, but being ready to get back to life and home