Guilt trip

I didn't exactly mean to guilt trip you all into emailing me with my last post...but I'll take what I can get! I will do a better job myself of initiating emails with everyone.

Not much else is new. I've been learning some new words but unfortunately can't remember them at the moment. I will try to post some soon.

Otherwise I am feeling that spring is around the corner! Perhaps I am being too optimistic but there was one day last week that was sunny and in the upper 50s. Now its back to rainy and the lower 50s, which is still warmer than Cincinnati I guess. I bought a new trench coat this weekend and am trying to stop wearing my winter coat. I hope I haven't jinxed anything.

While I'm writing a completely random post I'll make a book recommendation. I recently read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini and it was amazing! The writing was fantastic. The imagery was very haunting and there were themes of sacrifice and redemption that really made me think. It's a little bit disturbing at points so be warned (it is set in Afghanistan). The quote on the front cover calls it "Shattering...devastating and inspiring," and I would agree.

When I bought "The Kite Runner" I also bought "Watching the English" which is by an English anthropologist. In it she describes the various rules of English culture that she has discovered. I'm sure that will give me lots of fuel for future posts so stay tuned.

Hang on or let go?

I'm feeling a little bit homesick right now and it's got me thinking, "Is this a time when I'm supposed to hang on or let things go and accept change?" I don't really think the answer is black and white but then again, I don't know what the answer is at all.

I am loving things here. I love my church, I love the friends I'm making and I'm getting to experience lots of great things. But I'm also starting to feel more removed from my friends and community in Cincinnati. I miss Echo, I miss hanging out with my friends and talking to them on the phone. I miss spending time with my family [although the webcam helps with that some]. Is it possible to invest in settling here and making new friends and a new community and still maintain things at home? I think it really just means that things will be different but I'm not quite ready to accept that yet. I want to expand my circle of friendships and community without things changing. I realize I'm re-hashing a classic problem in life but it's how I'm feeling right now. I can't hang on too tightly but completely letting go isn't the answer either. If anyone has the secret formula I'd love to know it, but I doubt it exists.

I think maybe a problem with my blog is that it acts as incomplete communication. I tell lots of people how things are going but I don't really get to talk to them and I don't hear what's going on in their lives. That is what I miss. I might experiment with stopping the blog for awhile to see if I can find a better way to communicate that is a little more fulfilling.

What accent do you have??

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The South
Boston
The Inland North
North Central
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Apokrea

We were lucky enough to be in Athens during the Greek "Mardi Gras" known as Apokrea. When I say "lucky" you may pick up on a little bit of sarcasm. This link describes the atmosphere, particularly on the last two weekends (we were there on the last weekend). The main thing to note is that the streets are packed with people dressed up in costumes and partying*. The bonus is that they are all carrying plastic clubs. They look like cave man clubs but they are brightly colored plastic.

The article states it is tradition to hit each other on the head with the clubs. I did not find this to be the case...well, not exactly. It was more often that guys of all ages were hitting girls on the [to put it nicely] bottoms. I got hit by 3 year old boys with their moms and by men of all ages. On the other hand, the guy friend I was with could count on one hand the number of times he was hit. The article also states that "They don't hurt but if you aren't in the mood you may find it irritating after awhile." Well, sometimes it does hurt...and yes, I found it extremely irritating. I wanted to whip out my purse and take them down in the middle of the street, all of the sudden it wouldn't look so socially acceptable to be hitting random strangers. My girlfriends and I also joked about getting tazers to defend ourselves. I can just see it on the news now. I did start hitting them back and yelling at them, it made me feel slightly better.

All in all it was a great weekend. You can see the rest of my pictures here.

*I much prefer eating lots of pancakes!

Pancake day!?

One of my favorite foods is pancakes. So, much to my joy (and surprise) I found out there is a Pancake day in the UK! It's basically the equivalent of Fat Tuesday in the US. The perfect excuse to eat as many pancakes as possible...I love it.

Athens...

I hope you all had a great weekend! I went to Athens for 3 days with some friends. It was a great holiday and I really enjoyed getting out of London for a few days. I was hoping for a little bit warmer and sunnier weather but I was happy that at least it didn't rain. Here's one picture for now - it's me, Shari and Shameka at the Parthenon. More on the trip later...

What I miss...

High temperatures in London right now are about 50 degrees. I'm certainly not going to complain about the fact that I don't have to walk 15-30 minutes to the train station or the store in sub-zero temperatures but I do miss the snow. I also know I'm lucky that I had electricity the last few days and that I didn't have to drive anywhere in the icy conditions...but who doesn't love to have a winter wonderland right next to where they live?

And, of course, and I also miss my awesome sister who took these pictures for me!

Stop the Traffik

Friday night I went to the presentation on human trafficking - Stop the Traffik. It was a very overwhelming evening, sort of like watching Hotel Rwanda or Blood Diamond, only not quite as dramatic. They showed several videos, testimonies and gave lots of statistics. For instance, human trafficking is the 2nd largest source of profit for organized crime, following arms. It used to be the third largest behind arms and drugs. They also tied the fight to stop human trafficking with the abolition of slavery. I don't think most people think that slavery goes on but there are actually more slaves now than there were when the slave trade was originally abolished.

What can we do about it? Well, that's the overwhelming part. Here are a few ideas they suggested:

1. You can sign the petition that they will be presenting to the United Nations and global governments.

2. You can donate money or buy a freedom key. I bought a Freedom Key for 1 pound. It seems like it will take a lot of keys to make a difference.

3. Buy fair trade products.

4. Sponsor a child. People become vulnerable to human trafficking when they are in great povery. Sponsoring children through Compassion or World Vision prevents children and families from becoming vulnerable to trafficking.

5. Get up and do something (that's my way of saying it, not theirs). There are lots of organizations and projects that you can get involved in if you have the time. This is something that I hope to do some day, I'm not sure exactly when and how but I don't think I'll be content giving money to the cause. Here is a cool article about some people making a difference that Kelly passed along to me. Even just raising awareness in your community will help and there are resources on the website to do so.

Okay, I'm stepping off of my soap box for now...but I might get back on it later.

Band geek...

I played in the band at church tonight! It is so great to play with other musicians again. I brought my keyboard with me but it's not always as fun to play by myself. I'd really been missing not playing in a band for the last few years so I am excited to be in a group again. I get so much enjoyment from music.

A few people have told me I'm addicted to concerts...and that might be true. But I could also spend hours online looking for new music. A friend recommended a site to me, www.pandora.com. You can go there and enter songs or bands that you like and they'll build a radio station around the styles you enjoy, not just the genre but the actual musical elements. You should check it out.

more music

Check out the band in the latest iTunes ad, the Fratellis.

They are playing at SXSW and Coachella soon. But before that, I'm going to see them in London.

more pictures

If you aren't tired of looking at my pictures I posted more from my Paris trip. I know at least my mom will want to look at them...

It's all relative

BBC is reporting England's "worst snow this year" is heading in tonight. If you read the article* you'll notice they're talking 2-5 centimeters for Southeast England and up to 15 cm in some areas. Let's see...if I look at my ruler 5 cm is about 2 inches. Whoa! Watch out everybody, a blizzard is coming! Granted, 2 inches is more than the 1/2 inch we got shortly after Christmas. Hey, I'll take what I can get. I'm just jealous of all the snow in Cincinnati right now. I miss the cozy feeling of being snowed in- as long as you don't have anywhere important to go!

*You might notice the article also says to bring along a torch if you have to travel...hehe, that's a flashlight, not a giant, flaming stick.

Blood Diamond

While I was in Paris I saw "Blood Diamond." It was a gripping, powerful movie but very disturbing. I guess I didn't realize how violent it was going to be but some parts of it definitely made me sick to my stomach. It wasn't just watching the scenes but it was thinking about the lives the people were forced to lead. I had a similar reaction to "Hotel Rwanda." Movies about such horrible, real life events often cause me to be overwhelmed by the evil in the world and then feel powerless to do anything about it. I suppose the point is to spur me on to make a difference in every small way I can (and I hope I will take that to heart) but at first it paralyzes me. Times of feeling totally helpless remind that I'm not in control and that praying is the biggest way I can try to make a difference in the world.

It also makes me realize how blessed my life is and reminds me to thank God for everything. When I start complaining about minor annoyances, being stressed at work, or not having any clothes I want to wear I really need to put it into perspective and be thankful. Thankful that I have a place to live, a loving family, great friends and that I don't live every day in fear. Thankful that I have a good job that provides me great opportunities and that I have food to eat. Thankful that I am saved by grace and have hope for the future.

I would recommend the movie but only if you know what you're getting yourself into. (If you want to stick with lighter fare that's fine, too.) At least when I strike it rich and start buying lots of diamonds I'll remember to make sure they aren't conflict diamonds.

What I'm not watching...

I'm not watching the super bowl...I hate to say it but it doesn't start til 11pm here and that means it will go til 4 or 5 am. Sorry, I am not cool enough to be able to stay up that late and work the next day. I'll be rooting for the Colts in my sleep.

What am I watching? I'm going to watch hours 3 and 4 of 24! I decided to watch it on the UK station, but that means I am behind the US by a few weeks. They only showed the first two hours the first week, which was already a week or so behind the US...tonight they are showing the 4th hour. So, I will watch the 3rd hour from last week (I was gone) and the 4th hour tonight. Then I will finally know who gets killed! My bet is on Chloe.

Bonjour!

I'm back in London after a seemingly long week in Paris...it feels like at least a couple weeks that I was gone! It was a fun trip, though. The weather wasn't that great until the weekend, but it didn't matter much since I was inside the hotel every day in training sessions. It was great to meet new co-workers from all over Europe and hang out in Paris. Wednesday night I flew to Frankfurt for a presentation and came back on Thursday night. The meeting went well - I think the additional trip made the week seem even longer. I am glad to be back though, near the end of the week I was getting homesick and feeling way out of my comfort zone! Here are a few pictures. I'll post the rest on webshots soon.

Me in La Defense looking back towards the rest of the city and the twinkling Eiffel Tower!

On top of the Arc de Triomphe!

The Latin Quarter...

The Sacre Coeur - it was a gorgeous day!View from the top of the Sacre Coeur. Definitely the coolest views in Paris!