This Has Gotta Be the Good Life

I went to London last weekend with Mary Grace to visit two of my dearest friends, Olivia (henceforth referred to as Liv or Livy or some variation; she pointed out that 'Olivia' is only used when it is something serious, which is true) and Julie (aka JuJu, Jules, etc)! We had SO MUCH FUN!!!! I love all of them so much, and when we are together, it is like all that love comes together and explodes in hugs, laughter, great conversation, jokes, dancing, singing, etc. Truly, its the best (the only thing that could have made it better was if the rest of the Wonder Week crew had been there! Missed y'all, Kare, Hil, Laur, Carolyn, Kristin, and Katie!).

Liv, MG, Julie, and I in Hyde Park

On Friday, we left really early and met up with Liv and Julie by 8:30. We hugged and screamed in the courtyard of the Royal National Hotel and then made our way up to their room. They had class, so MG and I grabbed breakfast and then napped on their beds. The girls came back, and we visited with some guys on the trip, and then we hit the town! We ate at this perfect cafe called In Season (go there! So cute and good and inexpensive!). Then we made our way through Trafalgar Square (had an interesting time trying to sit on the lions...that never ended up happening, haha), down to Big Ben, across the river, and found a wine and cheese festival. We walked around and spied pumpkin cheesecake. Of course, we had to split a piece! And it was delicious. Then we headed up to Westminster for an Evensong service. Wow. That was beautiful! It was soo cool to be a part of it. The choir was incredible, and their voices were all echo-y in the huge cathedral which made them sound even more ethereal and heavenly. After that, we headed to this pub called The Globe (yes, after the theater) with Allie and talked and laughed over fish and chips! Yum!

Big Ben!

We headed back to the hotel for the night, pushed the beds together, and all piled in together. If you are a girl, you know exactly what I mean when I saw that those are the best times. I don't even remember all that we talked about, but it was perfect.

Love JuJu!

Saturday morning, we all got ready for our day. As Mary Grace was straightening her hair, the fire alarm went off and we had to evaculate (we may or may not have had something to do with setting the fire alarm off in the 1000+ room hotel....we'll never for sure...). It was hilarious, but we finally made it down to breakfast. then we headed to check on tickets! There were no good tickets for anything we wanted to see, which was disappointing. But we decided to stop by the Les Mis theater just in case. The manw as really grumpy, and everyone had turned to leave, but Julie and I spotted a "Standing Tickets, £10" sign, so I asked about it. "Oh, yes, you can buy those, but you have to stand up for the whole (2 hour and 50 minute) show," he said. We looked at each other and immediately began pulling out our money. Les Mis!!! In London!!! For £10!!!!

Fire Alarm! We'll never know...

We joyfully made our back through Picadilly to Hyde Park, where we had a wonderful picnic enjoying the sunshine. After a while, we wandered down to Harrod's where we ate some incredible fro yo, looked around in awe (or overwhelmedness), and rode the Egyptian escalator to the voice of the live opera singer. In honor of Carolyn and our love for Victoria and Albert, we headed to the Victoria and Albert museum! We didn't have long, but it was fun to look around for a while. We grabbed a double-decker bus back to Picadilly. We headed to Chinatown, stopped in at Four Season Chinese restaurant, had a hilarious experienec and some delicious Chinese food, and then headed to Les Mis!

My beautiful friends

The show was, in a word, incredible. I loved it so much. We were all spellbound. Afterwards, we of course went to meet the cast! I think we were all slightly euphoric when we walked home, singing and talking and laughing and dancing a little too. It was perfect!

So Silly

On Sunday, we headed to all Soul's for church and then to Camden markets. Camden was very interesting, kind of more punk than I was expecting. But it was still fun! We grabbed some lunch and ate in the hotel room so I could get my things before boarding the train back to Brussels. I hated saying good bye, but knowing that Liv and Julie are coming to Brussels next month made it ok!  All in all, it was a perfect weekend. Thanks, Julie and Liv, for everything! Love you both!

Glory Glory Glory

God doesn't need me.

A major theme in life since becoming a Believer is God's glory. From what it means to how it is displayed to it being the point of my life, I have constantly learned things about God's glory.  Frequent questions I ask myself are: 1)How can I glorify God? and 2) What can I do to bring Him more glory? And this weekend, sitting in Inistioge in one of the most beautiful places I can imagine, I realized how wrong those questions are.

God doesn't need me to glorify Him. In fact, I cannot give Him any more glory than He already has! While yes, I want my life to please and be an expression of His glory, it doesn't give Him more glory. He has the glory. When Jesus lived the perfect life, died on the cross, overcame death, and broke sin, that is God's expression of glory. He already has all the glory simply because of Who He is. Yes, God in and of Himself is glorified because of Who He is.

And so I cannot do anything to bring God more glory. God doesn't need me to do that. He can't have more glory because He already has it all!

I constantly find myself trying to live up to what God has done for me. After all, He sacrificed it all. And He did it for me. So shouldn't I live a life that is worthy of that? The funny thing (well, not so funny, really) is that I can't. I can never be worthy. When I was preparing to be baptized, Daddy asked me, "What would you say to God if, when you got to the gates of Heaven, He asked, 'Why should I let you in here? What have you done to earn this?'" I thought about it, and as we talked, the answer became clear: "In all honesty, Lord, You shouldn't let me in here. I have done nothing. But You did it for me, and because of Jesus' sacrifice, You forgave me." That is true. Yet I still find myself pushing myself harder, pressuring myself to "earn" God's love, to be worthy of the sacrifice that He made for me. Even though I know the truth, that there is no way I can ever live up to it, that is where I find myself time and time again.

Now a new part of that struggle has been realized. I can't bring God glory, because He has already done it. All I can do, all that I can do, is love Him. And that does not mean living a perfect life, because God knows that I can't and He does not expect that of me. What it does mean is chasing after God first and foremost. It means not settling for what I feel but trusting what I know to be true. It means wrestling and not giving up and not taking the easy way. Loving God means I fail but in my failings I don't despair; instead I rejoice at the God I serve! It means I choose life in every thought and action.

No, I am not enough. I am not worthy. But God looks at me, He sees me for who I am, He sees the dirt and filth and shame, and He smiles and says, "You are Mine. I love you. And see, I am doing a new thing! I am making you new, and I delight in that! You are not enough, but I AM."

And so today, again, I choose to trust and walk in Him and live in the freedom of loving the Lord.

Ireland

And my European travels continue! This weekend, I went to Ireland. Let me tell you, this is something I have dreamed of my whole life. Ever since I was a little girl, I have imagined visiting Ireland and what it would be like. So early early Friday morning, Mary Grace and I boarded a plane for Dublin!

Standing by Liffey River

We arrived at only 7:30 am, local time. So dropped out things at the hostel, and then we immediately hit the town! First things first, we went to Queen of Tarts for breakfast. If you ever in Dublin, do not miss this! Not only was it charmingly decorated, but the food was incredible! I had the best scone I have ever eaten. Yum!

Raspberry tart!

Next we wandered around Dame Street for a while, up through the Temple Bar area, including a stop at the best bookstore! Then we headed back to the City Hall for a free walking tour. Dave was our tour guide, and he started off as a very entertaining guide. We heard a brief history of Ireland, as well as some fascinating stories about the places we visited. Our first stop was Dublin Castle, followed by an interesting wall, on up to Christ Church Cathedral, and then a break for lunch. Dave was getting a little too political on us, spouting a lot of anti-capitalistic ideas about the financial crisis that we really not what we wanted to hear, particularly on vacation from our internships where we talk a lot about the financial crisis in Europe! So we went with them to Trinity College, but then we split apart from them. We wandered around Trinity for a while and then headed to St. Patrick's. There is a beautiful park outside St. Patrick's that was fun to walk around in. And the inside of the cathedral is beautiful as well! Jonathan Swift is buried there, and it was interesting to see many fascinating stories and details written on plaques around the church.

This gate was built to hide the slums from British aristocrats visiting the British who were ruling Ireland at the time. It serves no purpose except to pretend that the slums don't exist.

After St. Patrick's we headed along the Liffey River to the O'Connell area. We stopped in at the famous Post Office where on Easter Monday, April 1916, the Irish rebels announced that Ireland was an independent republic. After wandering a little, we freshened up at our hostel and headed to O'Neill's for dinner! We split fish and chips, and it was delicious! Plus the atmosphere of this traditional Irish pub was fun. Then we wandered down to another pub where we heard there was free music and Irish dancing. We sat at the bar, ate dessert, and "split" a Guinness (I only could take about two sips). The music eventually started, and it was fun to hear people sing along. It was getting late, and we had been up since the wee hours of the morning, so we called it a night before the dancing started.

St. Patrick's well

You can find this "Door of Reconciliation" in St. Patrick's. Sons of two feuding families chased their way throughout the town, and one barricaded himself inside the church. The one outside finally said, "I am tired of this. Let's call the end of this feud and live in peace." The one inside didn't believe him, and so to prove himself, the one outside the door cut a hole large enough for him to stick his arm through to show he was serious and had no weapon. This is where the phrase, "chance your arm" comes from!

On Saturday, we got up, had breakfast, and then parted ways. I headed to County Kilkenny! The train ride was beautiful, and when I arrived to Kilkenny City, I hurried to meet my bus to Inistioge! That bus ride was perfect, winding through a number of towns and alongside a river. I departed at Inistioge, and the town was so beautiful! My family originally came from The Rower, which is 8 miles from Inistioge, too far by foot with no bus going there. I was very sad that I did not get to find my ancestor's graves or see the area where they actually lived. At the same time, Inistioge is beautiful, and it is the nearest town, so I'm sure my family spent time there as well! It was a perfect afternoon. I wandered around the town for a while, but I spend most of my time by the river, next to the Ten Arch bridge. There were a few cows and sheep, and the river trickled over some stones near where I was. I just enjoyed the day, had some much-needed time, and even got to sing a little!

Ten Arch Bridge in Inistioge!

Inistioge Town Square

Eventually, I headed back to Kilkenny City. This area reminded me of Bruges in some ways because it was a smaller medieval town with a similar feel. There is a castle and a huge park and a number of churches. St. John's Church in particular was neat to visit. I wandered around Kilkenny City for a while, and then I met my train back to Dublin. Mary Grace and I met up and headed to the O'Connell area. We grabbed a quick dinner and then just wandered around, taking in the sights. Finally we made our way to a pub with some more live music (but wasn't too rowdy - we were both tired from our days of travelling!). We sat at a table in the back and talked and laughed and listened to the band play good Irish standards like Mustang Sally and Rolling in the Deep. (They actually did play a few Irish standards, but it was funny to hear them sing unexpected songs too.) Eventually we returned to our hostel to go to bed, and the next morning we returned to Brussels!

Kilkenny Castle

Old church in Kilkenny

It was such a nice and relaxing weekend. Dublin was fun to visit, and I loved Inistioge and Kilkenny City! I really want to go back to Ireland to visit other areas like Donegal and Galway and The Rower. I'm already trying to talk Mama into going there in the next few years! We added it to the five year plan (you know, the one we made up just so we could add this trip to it!), so hopefully it will happen! Ireland, here's to you.

Last night in Dublin

Normandy

We went to Normandy last weekend. What a paradox!  As we walked along the sites of World War II battles, the sun shone down in the best weather we've had since being in Brussels. It was truly the most peaceful weekend, yet we were learning about devastating battles...

My apartment at Pont du Hoc

On Friday, we loaded up in the Furman bus for the 7.5 hour drive to Normandy. We were all fairly excited and in high spirits. There was lots of talking, lots of laughter, lots of napping, and lots of reading for school. Eventually, we made it to Bayeux! We dropped our stuff at the hotel, and then Sey, Cameron, Mary Grace, Theresa, Leah, Connnie, and I went to this great pizza place for dinner. Yum! Such good food and hilarious conversation!

Saturday morning we met our tourguide Claire and loaded the bus for our tour of Normandy. We went to a German cemetary, which was interesting. Then we headed to Utah Beach, home of one of the invasions. What a cool place! Not only was it wonderful to stand by the ocean again (!!!!), but it was incredible to think about American soldiers leaving their ships and storming the beaches.

Utah Beach

After a while we stopped for lunch. We grabbed sandwiches, pastries, and drinks, and then we headed to picnic on the beach! Talk about ideal...So perfect. We headed to Pont du Hoc and saw where the Americans attacked the German bunker. We got to tour inside the bunker, which was interesting. Afterwards we headed to Omaha Beach, where soldiers stormed the beach to push back the Germans. Incredible. Then we went to the American cemetary - wow. The graves are endless. Row after row of soldier who sacrificed that I might be free. I just can't get over that. This was particularly moving because those men where my grandparents' family and friends. I'm so thankful, words cannot even express it.

Omaha Beach

American Cemetary at Normandy

On the way home, we stopped at these German guns, but the field was so inviting that I had to have some frolic time! I just want to build a house on this spot and give tours to Americans all day and drink my tea overlooking the ocean...Sigh.

Frolicking. So wonderful!

Facts

Some random things to note:

- Saying "y'all" to English speakers here is not the same as using "y'all" to English speakers in Diosd who are used to Southerners. These people who have learned English only in Belgium, or wherever they are from, are for the most part just really confused.

- You know you look American when people bring you your drink with ice in it without you even asking.

- Eye contact makes people extremely uncomfortable here. You get some weird looks. (Thankfully when you are smiling at babies or little kids the mom is happy that someone else thinks her kid is as cute as she does, so then she smiles back at you)

- Random but wonderful 70s and 80s music blares in the metro station in the early morning. Its really great, I actually always want to stay in the station and listen to it!

- You begin to recognize the people who continually drive/cycle/walk on your street even though you don't really live in a nieghborhood, so to speak.


- Celine Dion makes EVERYTHING better!

Ypres

This weekend we took a day trip to Ypres (or Iepers), pronounced "E-pra" or I-pers (or as the British called it in WWI, "Wipers"). Ypres is the site of several famous battles from both WWI and WWII. It was fascinating to visit this area, and although it was a very long day, I loved it.

American monument

When we arrived, we first went to the American monument, placed right next to this remarkably beautiful field where not 100 years ago a horrific war was waged. After this monument, we headed to some bunkers that were on a farm with some goats! Then we headed to the first graveyard of the day. Next we went to a cathedral, took a quick lunch break, and then headed to the In Flanders' Fields museum. This museum is so good. If you are ever in Ypres, please go. It really depicts what WWI was like and makes it real. Its very moving. There is one area where you stand near this speakers and it hear what the Christmas Peace must have been like, with soldiers singing in English and German, shouting back and forth, "Merry Christmas!"It was really moving to think about that happening, the glimpse of humanity even in war. There is another part of the museum where it represents what Passchendale was like - wow. That was very emotional.

Goat!

Copy of "In Flanders' Fields" in a bunker near where McCrae wrote the poem

Anyway, after the museum we headed out to a few more graveyards. We went to the German graveyard, where there are 40,000+ soldiers buried in mass graves. Then we went to the British graveyard and memorial. There is a little museum at the beginning. As you walk up, you hear a woman's voice saying names and ages. These are the names and ages of every British soldier who died in WWI. There is a display of many things pertaining to these men, but my favorite were the letters. You can actually read letters send back and forth. I saw several that men had written to their parents, a few that wives wrote to their husbands, even one a soldier had written a woman named Mabel to tell her that Frank has died the night before...Thinking about those families at home, bravely writting their soldiers, not even knowing if they were still alive...wow. And then you walk to the actual graveyard. There is a beautiful monument, and the whole area overlooks the salient area.

British Graveyard

I really loved our time in Ypres. As I walked from grave to grave, reading the names of men and what was written on their stones (everything from Bible verses to "Dearly beloved by his wife and little son" to "Age 23. Thy will be done"), all I could do was say thank you. These men fought for my freedom. Most in these graves were not even American, yet they sacrificed their life for my freedom. They gave it all to fight for what they believed in. My respect for these soldiers grew immensely as I learned more about what they faced. Actually seeing  the places where men fought and lost their lives, where they overcame the enemy against all odds (seriously - the Germans were on the higher ground), where they lived and suffered from all kinds of illnesses yet still went to fight every day to protect freedom, this really changed my perspective.

Graves of soldiers from all over

I think another reason this was so moving was because of my brother. I am so proud of my brother, who is currently at a military school, preparing to serve my country and defend my freedom. Thinking about him and how he wants to protect the things that America stands for, and then seeing the ages and hearing some stories of boys who did the same thing in WWI just made it more real for me. The mental image of WWI was all the more vivid in my mind because of this. So thank you to everyone who sacrificed to defend freedom, both in the past and the present and those to come.

Thankful that I could stand on this bunker with these friends freely!

"I enlisted to defend my country against a barbarian invader, to defend the home I love, to defend the world against Prussian militarism. I will carry on with the war until the end, for the same ideas; and with even more strength, because I have a brother to avenge, and those who were unjustly shot by the Germans, and above all for Mr. R., husband of my dear Marriane.

But if you want to know my opinion about military service and discipline? I am antimilitarist. I am devoted to my beloved Belgium, I hate Germany, and everything military.

Forgive my bluntness, but I have learned that in life, we must be loyal above all else..."

- Louis H., 2e Rgt. des Carabiniers, War Diary, 10. February 1917

Beautiful Bruges

After a month of traveling, we were kind of ready to have a calm weekend. Not that Paris, Aachen, and Antwerp weren't wonderful! But the idea of a slow weekend to relax and recover sounded excellent. SO we planned a two-day trip to Bruges!

One of the canals of Bruges!

Now, I'd never heard of Bruges before I was going to Belgium. I'm pretty sure that Daddy told me before I left that I needed to go there. And I am so glad I did! Bruges is this charming, picturesque, medieval town on the coast of Belgium. We took the train in on Friday morning, dropped our stuff off at the hostel, and then made our way into the heart of the town.

Best hot chocolate ever!

First we stopped for hot chocolate and scones at this incredible tea shop called De Proverie. The guidebook recommended it, and it was well worth the stop! Afterwards, we decided to go on a boat tour of Bruges. A canal surrounds and intersects the city, and the boat took us all around, pointing out different sights and giving us some more information on the history. We had actually just studied Bruges in the books we read for the Aachen/Antwerp trips, so it was cool to actually see the port where Italians set up their shipping businesses.

Cole, Cameron, and Theresa on the canal tour

After the canal ride, we stopped in the Church of Our Lady (Notre Dame). It was so beautiful! There is a Michaelangelo sculpture of Madonna and Child in this church, one of his only sculptures outside of Italy. I loved walking around this church and seeing the art and architecture of it. Afterwards, we wandered until we made it to the Markt, the center of Bruges. There stands the Belfort, or the belfry. We decided to climb all 366 steps to the top. Now, if you read my Hungary blog, you remember my post about climbing the minaret. Lets just say that the staircase in the Belfry is very similar,  but thankfully there are lights throughout it. So it was way better than the minaret because I could actually see where I was walking! But it was also even steeper in some parts. Not super fun for me, but hey, I did it! The view from the top was nice, and it wasn't scary because it was all enclosed (unlike the minaret).

Cameron, Adair, me, MG, and Theresa

We headed down and collapsed at the base of the belfry. We chatted for a while, but then we had to move because they were setting up for a wedding or something (Sidenote: Poor Cole and Stephen, the two boys on the trip. They started keeping count of how many times we talked about weddings, not to mention the discussions of hairstyles, clothes, etc. We were just preparing them for the future when they have wives and daughters). We decided to wander along the canals for a while. It was so nice! Bruges really is a delightful town. We found a great restaurant alongside the canal where we ate mussels covered in garlic-butter and frites (a traditional Belgian meal!). We just sat and ate and talked and laughed. It was perfect!

Mussels!!!!

After a great night at the hostel, we hit the ground running on Saturday. First we went to this cute market along the canal. It was a flea market, so I liked wandering along the stands and looking at the goods they had. Then we went back to the Markt, took a right and visited the Berg. We went into the Church of the Holy Blood - it was stunning. Very different from other churches I have studied, but it was so cool. Afterwards we decided to go to this brewery. We got there, and it was a little more than I wanted to pay, plus I don't like beer, and I wasn't feeling that great. So I decided to wait outside in this little square. Stephen decided to join me, and we people-watched and talked while we waited for the others. They said it was good I decided not to go because there were lots of narrow and steep stairs, including going down a ladder backwards! We grabbed some ice cream and went back to the center of Bruges again, where we found another flea market. After walking around and window-shopping, we headed back to the hostel, grabbed our stuff, and boarded the train back to Brussels.

Cameron, Mary Grace, and I

It was such a nice and relaxing weekend. Today Mary Grace and I went to this really welcoming International Baptist Church. We met some cool people, and then we sat in Amon-Re (favorite Egyptian place here) working on our papers that were due Monday!

*The alliteration in the title is for you, Mary Grace!