Well folks (the few of you that actually read this), it’s been a while. It’s been a long summer, one I spent almost all of living alone in Macon scraping together enough money to pay for this trip. A few weeks ago I went home for a few weeks before Brittani and I left for Europe, trying to sort everything out and spend some time with the family and friends before the trip. Wednesday night I left the States and it has been pretty much non-stop movement ever since. Over the 48 hour period between 11:15 on Wednesday evening and Friday evening I have hopped around between 5 different countries, more than I have ever been in my life. We left Atlanta that night, had a layover in France the next morning, and arrived in London that afternoon, took a bus down to Oxford to drop off our bags, and took a bus back to London to sleep in the hostel we had already booked. The next morning we took a train from London to Holyhead, Wales, and then we took a ferry to Dublin.
I had left the country only once before today, and that was to go to the Bahamas when I was 12. Since I was young and that's only a few miles from Florida, I’m still counting this as my first major international excursion. So far the experience has been surreal. I’m really not sure what exactly I think or feel about it yet. To be honest, I’m still not sure it’s quite sunk in that I’m here. Since we got accepted, Brittani and I have been poking each other, looking over with our ridiculous grins dripping with excitement, exclaiming, “We’re going to Oxford!” as if this were utterly new and previously unannounced information. And every time she or I would do this, it seemed to be just that. We were even doing it on the plane ride over, because even then it seemed like we needed to remind ourselves that this thing we had planned (and I use that term loosely) was a real thing and actually happening.
After the waiting for this since October when I applied for the program, the stress of trying to plan and pay for it, and the work I’ve done both to get in and to afford to go, my emotional response to this whole affair probably resembles a roller coaster of some kind. I say probably because I’m still really not sure. I’ve been tired from the trip the jet lag, and confused and worried from getting lost with Brittani on the way to the Hostel and London (we found it eventually), and I’ve been excited enough to burst for the 11 months leading up to this process. My body’s been in transit for 48 hours, so I guess my brain has a right to still be.
There was a considerable amount of stress before Brittani and I left as we realized how underprepared we were/are, and ended up having to drop our plans to go through France and Germany before term started, and opted for Ireland because it was closer, cheaper, and ultimately simpler.
There are a few things I do know about what I want out of this trip though. I want to grow and I want to learn as a person, as a Christian, and as a friend. My dad gave me some good advice before I left, and one of the things he said really struck a chord with me. He told me that if I want to get something out of this, to listen and watch as well as I can. I should be slow to speak and be less concerned about whether or not these people in Europe like me than about what I can learn from them. I should keep my eyes and heart open to what God has has for me in this trip and what knowledge I can take back with me, because those are the things that will stay. It was good advice, I think, and I’m taking it to heart. I’m going to try to see as many things and people as I can before this is over, but that’s not all. I want to know my friends better and myself better. I want to grow closer to God as I see more of his people and his creation. If I see more facets of his image and his handiwork, maybe I can learn something about him and something about myself.
I had left the country only once before today, and that was to go to the Bahamas when I was 12. Since I was young and that's only a few miles from Florida, I’m still counting this as my first major international excursion. So far the experience has been surreal. I’m really not sure what exactly I think or feel about it yet. To be honest, I’m still not sure it’s quite sunk in that I’m here. Since we got accepted, Brittani and I have been poking each other, looking over with our ridiculous grins dripping with excitement, exclaiming, “We’re going to Oxford!” as if this were utterly new and previously unannounced information. And every time she or I would do this, it seemed to be just that. We were even doing it on the plane ride over, because even then it seemed like we needed to remind ourselves that this thing we had planned (and I use that term loosely) was a real thing and actually happening.
After the waiting for this since October when I applied for the program, the stress of trying to plan and pay for it, and the work I’ve done both to get in and to afford to go, my emotional response to this whole affair probably resembles a roller coaster of some kind. I say probably because I’m still really not sure. I’ve been tired from the trip the jet lag, and confused and worried from getting lost with Brittani on the way to the Hostel and London (we found it eventually), and I’ve been excited enough to burst for the 11 months leading up to this process. My body’s been in transit for 48 hours, so I guess my brain has a right to still be.
There was a considerable amount of stress before Brittani and I left as we realized how underprepared we were/are, and ended up having to drop our plans to go through France and Germany before term started, and opted for Ireland because it was closer, cheaper, and ultimately simpler.
There are a few things I do know about what I want out of this trip though. I want to grow and I want to learn as a person, as a Christian, and as a friend. My dad gave me some good advice before I left, and one of the things he said really struck a chord with me. He told me that if I want to get something out of this, to listen and watch as well as I can. I should be slow to speak and be less concerned about whether or not these people in Europe like me than about what I can learn from them. I should keep my eyes and heart open to what God has has for me in this trip and what knowledge I can take back with me, because those are the things that will stay. It was good advice, I think, and I’m taking it to heart. I’m going to try to see as many things and people as I can before this is over, but that’s not all. I want to know my friends better and myself better. I want to grow closer to God as I see more of his people and his creation. If I see more facets of his image and his handiwork, maybe I can learn something about him and something about myself.
