In London Today
Sunrise: 4:44am
Sunset: 9:17pm

Back in February my sister and her family from Spain came to visit for a few days. On the first night I explained the blinds - 'they don't close all of the way, I hope this does not throw off your sleeping patterns...'
'What no Black-out Shades, what sort of backwards country is this?' Naomi replied teasingly.
(in Spain, every home comes equipped with built in metal black-out shades that really do keep your home completely dark no matter what time of day it is)
But really it would be not problem - as in February the sun goes down at 4 and rises at 8:30ish.

This morning at about 5am the light was pouring through our less than adequate window shades and in the grouchy fogginess of my mind to those words Naomi said came back to me...What sort of backwards country is this?
...perhaps one that will make me the early morning riser I always wish I were (for 4 months out of the year at least)!
Either that or I need to realize that I am the backwards one for not biting the bullet and purchasing proper curtains.

I found culture shock came slowly when I moved to London. It took a good six months for it to really sink in that I truly was the foreigner. Mostly I found it was in the nuance of the vocabulary where I most felt like the outsider.

Just for fun, I have been putting together a list of words and phrases I have encountered since arriving in London. I thought you might enjoy a few.

to faff (v./adj.): a waste of time, to dither about.
'Sorry we are late, Abi kept faffing about with her makeup.'
or
'I would rather not fill out those forms, it is such a faff.'

To take the micky: to make a joke at someones expense or to make fun of someone

Elevenses (n.): a late morning snack just to tied you over till lunch, usually to go with a cup of tea.

Queue (v./n.): a line you have to waitn
someone may ask you, 'Is this the queue for the toilet?'
or
'People have been queuing for ages and ages to get a look at the Van Gogh gallery'

Moreish (adj.): when one helping will simply not be enough, usually given as an excuse to take a second (or third) helping when a person knows he probably shouldn't.
person standing next to a plate of yummy chocolaty cake might say:
'I really would like a piece but it looks so moreish that I won't be able to stop once I taste it.'

I caught on quickly that if you through words in like,
Brilliant! or Fab! to describe anything I was excited about,
by putting 'a' in front of coffee or tea (ex: a coffee),
& by complaining about the weather
(which really I don't because, well that is not cultivating a thankful heart, and on the whole I really do love rainy drippy days!)
I would not stick out like a sore thumb any more than I had to.

Remember, Remember the 5th of November
gunpowder, treason and plot
I see no good reason why gunpowder, treason
should ever be forgot

I am hearing fire works going off in the neighborhood tonight - I believe a pre-celebration to Guy Fawkes day here in England. On the 5th of November England remembers a man named Guy Fawkes, who on the 5th of November 1605 was caught in the the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several barrels of gunpowder - for his plan you see was to blow up the noble Houses of Parliament and all who were inside. Guy Fawkes was tired and convicted for treason. So that all would understand how serious treason is the governing authorities made the 5th of November a day to remember the fate of man who tired.

And so this Thursday everyone here will be reminding each other that treason is a terrible thing and it will never be forgot. They will remember by setting off fireworks and making bonfires where effigies of Guy Fawkes are burned.

I don't think Nathaniel and I will be burning any effigies though we might try to find a good fireworks display to watch!

All morning long on Friday there was the noise of construction outside my second floor window at work. At one point, I happened to glance out the window to observe two of these hard working men taking a break outside their British Gas Works van. Of course this is normal enough, but as I watched I realized that these sweaty, burly men were not stopping to rest their feet and take a smoke, no these men were making proper cups of tea out of the back of the van! Anyone else find this slightly amusing?

I began to reflect on the role tea plays in the life of the average Englishman - after living in London almost a year I think I have come to understand and even appreciate the place tea has.

• Tea is the solution to any problem you may have no matter how big or small.
• Tea is the perfect antidote for drippy dreary weather that seems to chill you right to the bone.
• Tea naturally encourages people in social situations to feel like they have something to do.
• No day is quite complete without a cup of tea - which somehow rights the world of all its issues for a few moments of the day.

I remember feeling a bit tea logged during the first month of being here because you are constantly being offered a cup of tea. To refuse is unthinkable or if you do refuse you must be slightly mad! I think my body has adjusted quite well since those first weeks, and I admit that every now and again I get an odd feeling that life is just not quite complete without a proper cup of tea in the middle of the afternoon.

A couple weeks ago Nathaniel helped with a missions week in a little English village - Sherbourn St. John. He was gone for the whole week - and I was invited to join him for the weekend!

Friday morning I was up early and off to the train station. I arrived at Waterloo Station in London where I was to catch a train out to the country. I tend to feel a bit romantic about trains - I think I get it from my mom - so I brought along what any girl might have when traveling on a train to the English country side to see her husband. A good book, a few ginger snap cookies, and a special treat - a latte from a local coffee shop which I bought while stopped at Waterloo Station. hmmm - happy thoughts!

An hour and half later, I hopped off the train. Nathaniel and a few friends picked me up and off we went to see Winchester Cathedral where Nathaniel said I would see something very fun.

I was very intrigued by what I would find "fun" in a beautiful reverent cathedral so I looked and looked but seemed to look in vain! I made the full circuit and nothing! Nathaniel a few steps behind, called me back to look at something. Wouldn't you know, I missed it? There Nathaniel pointed out the "window" memorial of none other then Author Jane Austin!


The actual burial place was at the back of the cathedral - I was satisfied with the memorial window and felt no need to retrace my steps. It was indeed very fun, and as the week progressed I found out from several ladies I spoke to that I was in Jane Austin's old stomping grounds as it were! I did not have time to visit any other Austin sites but thought if I ever make it back out to Sherbourn St. John, I would happily make time to see a few of the well known landmarks.