Hunger is the Best Spice

As I begin to settle in to my new surroundings I feel as though the days are flying by. I have kept up with most of you via e-mail and it seems that we all feel like time is just passing by. As the days get colder here I begin to realize how little time I have left to enjoy my outer surroundings. I remember when I was in Colorado and visitors would talk about the mountains and how awesome they were to just look at and I had to tell them I never really looked. We grow accustomed to our surroundings so quickly that I think we fail to notice the beauty that surrounds us. I have to say that I have already begun to feel it is normal to walk out of my corridor of the castle into an immense courtyard with the coolest clock tower and pass the green rolling hills littered with grazing sheep all as I head to breakfast at the beloved hour of 7:30-am! If there is one thing I have learned, there is in fact two 7:30's in a day.

The students here are truly a blessing. I feel extremely comfortable around so many people, despite not knowing more than 2 dozen names. It is embarrassing when I pass people and they know my name and all I can say is a great big HEY! My claim to fame so far has been in the dining hall. I love food and I like to eat often, but here it seems as though food is a scarcity. We sit at tables of 8 people and the food comes out buffet style for each table. Well, the Brits portions are nothing shy of pathetic and I have to take matters into my own hands and conduct proper table dining. I make sure to prompt the table-members beforehand to portion out each of the dishes we get as fast as they can so that we can go up to the seconds area and get more. And even that hasn't been enough often times, so I have had to make the appropriate amendments. I am known for going around to other tables and asking others, ever so politely, if I could have the food they haven't touched. During the first week I made my rounds for food I began to realize that the tables I was receiving the most food from was the girls tables, so given that I don't want to starve I have begun to eat at tables where all girls sit. It works out perfectly! I was warned before I came that the food here would be bland and that was an understatement. I don't really notice the tastelessness now because I am a firm believer that hunger is the best spice.

I find it ironic, or maybe just God getting back at me for knocking the food so much, that I am in a family group led by the cook! Her name is Ellen and she is the sweetest little lady, but think about how much better things would taste if a bit of her rubbed off in the food...ba dum tsh!

I will be going on my first outreach tomorrow with a small group of students here. We are going to Lancaster University and mingling with students in a local cafe in hopes of building relationships with them. I am excited but real nervous as we haven't been given many details and I don't know how large a stage we may be placed upon so pray for us!

Well, I'm out like.....you can finish the rest.