Hope and Faith

OSAP took their students on a trip to Stonehenge and Bath on Saturday. It was all very beautiful and interesting.  It also snowed while we were in Bath, so that added quite the adventure!  Bath is set on a hill, so there are many sloping sidewalks, which of course made walking (or shall we say sliding), quite fun. ;)

I am just so blessed to be in such a beautiful country with opportunities to go and see so many interesting things. I know that my time here with Summit Oxford is going to be one that forever shapes my life: mentally, academically, and spiritually.  

I'm being challenged in my faith, as we dive into controversial theological issues. But no matter what, I know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I know that His mercies are knew every morning, and I have been shown grace and given life through Jesus Christ. Because of this hope, and the relationship I have with Him, I can live every day to bring Him honor and glory, and no theological disagreement is ever going to change that. 

Food and facts

When I get back to the states, grocery shopping is going to seem so easy. I won't be complaining about it anytime soon. You can get a cart, fill it up, check out, push it to your car, put your groceries into your car, drive up to your house, and carry them a few steps inside to your kitchen. That used to seem like somewhat of a chore, although I always did enjoy it. Here it is completely different. First I must walk about 25min to a grocery store, carry around a basket to fill up with food, check out, fit as many groceries as possible into my backpack then pack the rest in plastic bags, and carry it all back to the flat 25min back. The worst part is going back, especially if I decided to shop like an American and do all my grocery shopping for the week at once (it's more economical after all).

But, it's really not that bad once you get used to it. It's fascinating to see what sorts of things they sell at the grocery store. Anything that's American is more expensive. But they have lots of really good british and indian foods. 

I don't know what it is about living in another country that makes me want to cook and try making new things, or even old things that I never used to make much. It is a lot of fun having our own kitchen. I'm able to experiment with lots of things. It also saves a lot of money, instead of eating out frequently.  But, as far as eating out goes, the best part about food in England is mostly everything except the English food. English food is okay, but usually really bland.

So, last night I made tortellini with tomato sauce and veg for dinner, and  nutella crepes, just because.  I've never made crepes before, but they were surprisingly easy! They were also really good. I shared with friends, and they seemed to enjoy them as well :)

Today I went and printed off a ton of articles for my International Business tutorial. Then on the way home I went to the farmers market. It was lots of fun going around looking at all the meats, cheeses, breads, juice, honey, desserts, and vegetables. :) I got a couple of things, including a lamb samosa.  Yum.

By the way, it's absolutely FREEZING today! One of the little rivers I walk past every day was frozen over. The real feel temp is 24 degrees. Bone chilling cold.

I am in the process of writing a paper on transaction cost theory, so I should be getting back to that! Just wanted to give you a little "taste" of England! Cheers!