English to English Translations...

Ok, so a lot of you have asked what new words and phrases I've learned over here. I'm thinking I will start a little list here and when I remember more (or learn more!) I will continue to add to it!

- when asking for the restrooms, however weird it sounds, ask for the toilets (or "the loo" of course!)
- to take a short "kip" is equivalent to a little nap
- a "spag bowl" is short for a bowl of spaghetti
- a "nappy" is not a nice rest but a baby's diaper :P
- a "trolley" is not something you ride in but that your groceries do; a grocery cart!
- "zed" is how they call the letter "z" ('ex', 'why', 'zed')
- a "cuppa" is simply a cup of tea
- a "pie" is not a dessert here and may come with strange meats buried inside! (kydney, steak, chicken...)
- don't say "pants" around English friends (to them it means what's under your pants); here we say "trousers"
- gas station is a "petrol" station because that's what goes in your car, petrol (I've found the British to be much more literal than Americans)
- "quid" is the slang for money (pounds), like how we would use "bucks" instead of dollars

A White Christmas

This Christmas was a very different kind than I have had the last 20 years. My sister Kate was celebrating on the islands of Tahiti in the sweltering heat, I was freezing my toes off in the English snowy weather, while the other four members of our family enjoyed the traditions of stockings, presents, Christmas breakfast, and the joy of sitting in around a Christmas tree as Dad reads the real story of why this holiday exists. As I pondered these past delights I remembered that though I am not with my family doing all the familiar things we do around this time, I should be celebrating the best gift ever given - the gift of God's very own Son sent to our humble and broken world to deliver us from the bonds of sin so that we can freely enter His presence! How incredible is that?! Though we celebrated the day with festive gingerbread house making (it was pretty much a masterpiece if you haven't seen it...) and songs of baby Jesus and good times and good food, it was refreshing to attend the Christmas Eve service at our little church down the road in our village of Bridge.
Upon entering the very rustic old church each of us were given a "Christingle." This is a Christmas tradition originating in Germany back in the 1600s, but in the more recent centuries has traveled to England as part of their Christmas celebration. The Christingle is an orange with a red ribbon around it symbolizing the world and Christ's blood shed for it. Then sticking out of the top of the fruit is a white candle that reminds us that Jesus is the "light of the world." Around the candle are four cocktail sticks (toothpicks :P) with little gummy candies stuck on top of them representing that Jesus rules the four seasons and four corners of the earth and provides us with daily food. The tradition is to light the Christingle and place it in your window on Christmas day to share with the world the light of Jesus Christ. A pretty cool idea, huh?! I think the US could benefit from this Christ-based Christmas tradition. :)
Well, I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and remembered to dwell on the greatest gift we could ever receive!

Hello Snow

Yesterday, we had the grand idea to venture to the nearest Costco (about an hour's drive toward London) to grab some lunch and do some serious shopping - American style. But we were surprised by a white storm only twenty minutes down the road! Though most of the English make fun of us driving an "SUV" around the streets of Canterbury, we were the ones laughing when none of the 2-wheel drive cars could make it up a 10% grade hill on the highway! There were two police men who were literally pushing cars uphill in the blizzard as we motored by. It was incredible how fast the snow dumped on us - almost six inches within an hour or two! So our Costco adventure was cut short as we wisely turned around to avoid getting caught in a gridlock (that would actually last hours!). We had quite the winter wonderland adventure though! Here are a few pictures of the snow :)

The "Panto"

Yesterday i was privileged enough to see my first British pantomime! Dan, Val, Audrey and I went to watch Robin Hood under the temporary tent serving as Marlowe Theatre. It was really fun and interactive! The narrator, who was also a funny character in the show was dishing out jokes the entire time and asked the audience to participate with sound effects, singing, clapping and answering questions throughout the performance. I was actually impressed with their singing and dancing! It was fun to watch and so many of the kids in the arena were on the edge of their seats waving their flashing glow sticks around, boo-ing at the villain, and cheering for the hero, Robin Hood! It was great fun, and even though I didn't understand all of the British humor I was quite entertained and loved experiencing the English tradition of the pantomime.

My English 21st Birthday!

December 1st 2010 I reached the great old age of 21!!! I pulled back my curtains for the first gift of the day - SNOW! I've never had snow on my birthday before so that was a happy surprise! Val and I started out the day right with a delicious brunch at Mama Feelgoods, a cute cafe down the road in Patrixbourne. We had a pot of tea and cream alongside an amazing english muffin sandwich with poached egg and bacon that is better than any American bacon I've had! To finish off our breakfast we each had a piece of the richest coffee and walnut cake! It was a wonderful snowy day and we spent the rest of it enjoying the weather, baking mom's traditional chocolate kahlua cake, and talking with friends and family! I got to pick out the bottle for our dinner wine but wasn't carded at the little corner store :( Haha! Val and I watched a chick flick before bed. And one of the best surprises of the day was getting to skype my sis Kate in Tahiti!! It was seriously such a blessing to see your face, Kate lady! I loved it :)
To keep the celebration going, on Friday I was able to visit my friends Brandi, Emily E., Emily B., and Stef in London! We spent a great day in London town by ice skating at the Somerset House (hosted by Tiffany & Co.!), eating at London's best Thai restaurant, walking around the city, visiting Hyde Park where we experienced the Winter Wonderland carnival with icing sugar covered spanish churros and hot mulled wine, walked through Harrod's department store, and got some inner-city pizza that only cost 2 pounds! It was a great train ride and a full day of blessed time with friends from across the world. I would say it was a very memorable 21st birthday :)