Tuesday, September 22, 2009

London: Change is Good

London is full of suprises...everyday is a new experience for me. I am learning so much about myself and about the world around me. Today was a nice day. I really enjoyed myself. Aside from what most of my flatmates think, you really can have a lot of fun without any alcohol. I woke up late this morning, just allowing my body to wake up when it had enough sleep. I got a full night's sleep. Eight hours, woohoo! We were supposed to have a fire drill this morning at 8am, but I guess it did not happen. Last night around 2:30 my flatmate said we were supposed to have it around 3am, but she wasn't all there so maybe she did not really know...
Anyway we did not have it which was nice. The morning was very relaxed, the maids were cleaning the flat so I did not take a shower for awhile and then did not eat breakfast because they were cleaning the kitchen and we heard there was a free meal. Oh my goodness, we have had at least one free meal almost everyday since we got here! It is insane. I feel like I never get a chance to eat all the food that I bought. There were a couple times that I actually felt like I was getting tired of free food. I know it sounds crazy, but its true. Lol. Well the free meal did not exist so we ended up making lunch. Chelsea, Joel, Christina, and I made lunch up in Joel's kitchen which was fun. Christina basically lives in my room. She is always here and stays the night quite often. It is fun having an extra person around. I love her. We shared potatoes and veggies for lunch which was nice.
After lunch we rode the bus into town to Putney. There are a bunch of little shops there and it is pretty much the closest place that has everything. I was not going to go, but of course I gave in and went. It was fun. Chelsea and Angela really wanted to go to a yarn store so we went there and it was so precious! It made me really want to knit. Everything was so soft and now I really want a little knitted beanie... Angela and Chelsea are so talented. When we got back from Putney, we went back to Roehampton which the CU ( Christian Union) were putting on a big BBQ. It was so much fun! First of all the burgers were amazing...then they also had tea which I love and I just the little CU group that we have met. They are all so precious! Mike is one of the main guys that we met last time we had a BBQ and he is so goofy. Tonight I found out about the big rivalry between Froebel College and Digby Stuart College. Ok so Roehampton University is broken up into four different colleges: Froebel, Digby Stuart, Southlands, and Whitelands. The two dorms that the Biola students are in, Southlands and Froebel. I am in Froebel College, but I will be taking my classes in Digby Stuart. I was having fun with Mike because he is from Digby College...Froebel College does not like Digby. I fought with him because Froebel is going to win the football game ( soccer)! It is called a Frigby game, which is Digby and Froebel put together. The sad part is that I will not be here for the big game because it is at the end of the year. But my school will still win! We are the zebras and Digby is the lions. I told him that zebras always beat lions in a fight... he disagreed. Digby has beat Froebel 5 out of the 6 times they have played them, but this year will be different. I know it!!
Anyway Mike is a fun guy. Then there is Jack. He is another one kind of in charge of the CU. He is a lot of fun to hang around. They are all so welcoming. He actually remembered my name this time which was lovely. He introduced me to his cousin. Her name is Michelle. She just came to study in London this year at a Music school. She already has a degree in teaching so I had a great time talking to her. I really wanna play cranium and taboo and all sorts of games with my new friends. They are all so great! Jack is hilarious. He is always messing with me. Him and Michelle kept making me say literature because I guess I do not say it right or at least not the way they say it. It was so funny. They are such a good group of people to hang out with. There is also Elizabeth who is always super excited about everything. She is cute. She did not talk to us for very long this time because she was running around everywhere, but she remembered all our names which is very good. Jack is not so good with names... He forgot Angela's name, so I taught him how to remember names. Hopefully he uses my tips.
So after we hung out with them for a few hours, we headed back on the bus and train to a college group get together. We found the most amazing church this Sunday. God is so good to us!! The first church we tried and it was absolutely amazing. They have a strong college group that meets every Tuesday night, this was our first time going. I left feeling so refreshed. The message and worship was amazing and the fellowship is so encouraging. Everyone was so sweet and welcoming. We just feel like we really belong. One of the pastor's of the church is going to make a Thanksgiving dinner for all the Americans...isn't that so sweet?! Oh they are all so amazing. It is a very young crowd, and they have such a passion for what they do. There are these classes called the Alpha classes which were started by this church and their advertisements can now be seen all over the world. The worship leader is Tim Hughes, he is a pretty famous artist. It is amazing! Tonight was so great though, I met several different people and everyone was so sweet. They always feed us everytime we go which is great. They feed us with the word and physical food as well. :)
I met the sweetest girl, her name is Liz and when I met her I thought she was like 21 or 22, but I found out she is 30. She was our small group leader and I had a nice long talk with her about culture and relationships and all that good stuff. She is engaged...everyone is getting engaged. Yeah Lisa!! ( A little shout out hehe)
Then I also met Naomi and Hetti (Harriet), they were very nice and friendly. Also there were a bunch of Americans there from different areas. This girl Liz that I met ( a different one from the first one) was from LA, but when to school in Boston and now is in London. Small world, huh? Then we met a guy just as we were leaving who was from Florida, his name was Austin. Another nice fellow. It was so great talking to all this different people. I love meeting the English people with their accents and different terminology. Like when we were on the bus going to church, Christina and I got talking to this young fellow who thought is was really strange that we went to a Christian Uni ( thats what they call University) because there are no such thing in England. Ther culture differences are so interesting here. I literally learn something new everyday.
In the service this evening different people had different images that they felt like God was giving them that they wanted to share with the rest of the group and I could just feel His presence there through the words that were spoken. I know it is going to be a hard semester. There will be a lot of road blocks and speed bumps, but I am excited for everything that is going to shape my life. I know God knows what He is doing and He brought me here for a reason. I am working on preparing myself for everything He has for me.
Thanks again for reading! There will be a lot of make-up blogs to come...

Love always, Danni

1 comment:

  1. oh man how do you say literature then? haha i love reading your experiences danni! write more about the cultural differences I find those fascinating :)

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