Cathedrals and Walking Trails

It's been a busy week! I took my first exam this morning in a hall with 300 other students. It was a strange experience - one I'll have three more times next week, but hopefully never again after that.

I took a break from studying on Monday to take the train to Elgin with a friend. It's a small town about an hour and half north of Aberdeen and home to the ruins of what used to be the second largest cathedral in Scotland. This building was just not meant to stand. There was a fire, then a crazy prince (whose nickname involves "Wolf" and lives on in stories about his legendary chess game with Satan...nice guy, right?) demolished it, and then the Reformation dealt the last blow.

I guess after three major architecture catastrophes, the diocese forfeited. And by the time it was wrecked the last time, Reformed theology had seeped into Scotland, so there wasn't much use for it ruined or not. 

And here are a couple pictures I took while walking the trails around my apartment. Spring came just in time for June! That being said, I had to break out my winter jacket today...

Countdown to Hometurf: Rivers and Rain

When I left Scottsdale for Memphis almost three years ago, one of my favorite things about my new home was all of the water - the thunderstorms and rain, the river, even the tap water is sweeter in Memphis. I decided some time after I moved that I wanted to settle in cities near rivers. There is something lovely about rivers; standing near them is less overwhelming than the feeling of being swallowed up at the edge of an ocean.

In this new country, I've been able to seek out daily time and space near water. It has offered an invitation to rest and renewal, a reminder of new life and of beauty.

I've stopped by Oceans...

North Beach, Isle of Iona

Martyr's Bay, Isle of Iona

and Rivers...

River Thames, London

River Don, Aberdeen

 (more) River Don

by Seas...

North Sea, Aberdeen

North Sea, Dundee

...and Sounds...

Sound of Iona (looking on Mull)

(more) Sound of Iona

...even some tide pools.

North Beach, Isle of Iona

Last week, I spent some time on a park bench watching the sunset by the River Don. I was joined briefly by one of the university chaplains and a very enthusiastic, very large golden retriever. As we shared details of what the following week and month would hold for both of us, I found myself glad to have a moment of peace and stillness by the water - the water had no interest in our words about stress, international plane travel, conferences, holding friends and students in the middle of illness and the messiness of life. It just continued to be a river, flowing, going, always to the North Sea, occasionally welcoming a swan or mallard.

All of the rain aside, I will actually really miss the all of the water here, running along the River Don, and soaking up the view of the East coast on the train from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. The beaches and water in the sound at Iona are some of the most breathtakingly beautiful things I have ever seen, and I love that I can step out of my apartment and be at the water's edge two minutes.

Even though I'll miss all of that, I am eager to see the Mighty Mississippi again, to fall asleep to rain pounding on the window panes, and to be thoroughly soaked after running through a Southern summer thunderstorm.

I also think it might be wise to leave before I see a whale and the beauty of the water here is ruined by my inexplicable fear of aquatic mammals.

Haircuts and Paella

I'm in Edinburgh for the weekend. I love visiting this city. It's like the smaller, Scottish version of London.

We woke up to sunshine and warm(ish) weather, so I spent the majority of the day walking around Princes Street, sitting in gardens looking at all of the blooming tulips, listening to someone play the bagpipes, and wandering through an outdoor food market I accidentally bumped into.

I met a friend I met at Iona and her son for lunch. I discovered that I love Sicilian rice balls (they had goat cheese and leeks in them...there was just no way those were going to be bad). And after we said our goodbyes, I decided that I really, really needed a haircut. This morning, I twisted my bangs and pinned them back for the millionth time this semester. I don't know if it's because it was really awful today in particular, or if being out of Aberdeen (where 90% of women either don't have hair or just go 'wild child' never get it styled) made me realize how awful it's been for  three months, but after passing two salons, I walked into one and got it all chopped off again.

The woman cutting my hot mess hair asked me how short I wanted it, and when the last time I had it cut was. Pixie. December. It took a while to cut it, so we chatted. But in moments that required more attention, she mumbled a little - "You have so much hair. So much...December? So fast...so much hair." 

I have less hair now, which made both of us much happier.

Afterward, I wandered back to the market, and bought some dinner for on the way home. It's moments like that - when I'm holding a tin full of a heaping portion of spiced chicken paella or a crepe overflowing with fruit and custard, meandering down a cobblestone street, with nothing in the world to get done - that I'm glad I took this semester "off" or at least away from Rhodes. I think in a couple months, when I look back, those moments will make trucking through all of those horrible theology lectures and grey days worthwhile.

I head back to Aberdeen tomorrow, but for now, my stomach is full of paella and blueberries, and I have a good book to read. I'll post some pictures when I get back!

London: Face-sized Meringues and Huge Clocks

Here are some pictures from the London trip (there are more on Facebook)!

Big Ben - seriously, it's huge

From the London Eye

Her Majesty's Theatre for Phantom of the Opera

St. Paul's Cathedral

Golden St. Paul on a pole

Borough Market

Between St. Paul's and the Tate Modern 

King's Cross Station

It was a wonderful and very full trip - Westminster, St. Paul's, Tate Modern, National Gallery, the Theatre, a trip to Harrods, an afternoon shopping on Oxford Street...

The highlight of the trip was Borough Market - it was so wonderful on Wednesday that we went back on Friday for the full market. After choosing between flavorless Scottish food or curries for two and a half months, a whole market dedicated to organic, fresh food was incredible.

On Friday, I had a sandwich on fresh ciabatta bread, made with sliced tomatoes, greens and goat cheese. Earlier in the week, we'd bought empanadas straight out of the oven from an Argentinian food cart, ate fruit and pomegranate juice from other stands, and found a baker who was making meringues as big as your face with leftover brownie or cookie crumbs sprinkled on the top.

And, having established some trust with the food vendors in the city, I ate my first British fish and chips!

London, well done. You could make food that's just "okay," and still have better food than the rest of the UK. But you make food that puts everyone else to shame. I am seriously considering going back just to go to Borough Market again.

I'm back in Aberdeen, writing papers, doing laundry, making curry (I'm getting better!), and looking at ticket prices for short trips to...somewhere it's not snowing. Because, no joke, it's still snowing here.

Untellable

At 21, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is still one of my favorite books. Read it if you haven't. At one point in the story, the characters encounter a people without sight. I found a quote from one of those characters to be extremely helpful in processing the last week:

“We do not know what things look like. We know what things are like. It must be a very limiting thing, this seeing."

One of the theologians I've been reading this year spent some time unpacking the difficulty of telling stories of trauma. She asserts that there are things that are so terrible that our vocabulary has no way of fully communicating them. They become "untellable" stories.  And as I've sat with friends, mentors, even strangers, holding their frustration, I know there is truth in what she says.

It wasn't until this week though, that I found her words to be true of something beautiful. Holy Week at Iona, the teaching, the people, relationships, the hours spent wandering along the Sound, the late night services in the cold, drafty Abbey, will live in my very bones for years to come.

And even as I acknowledge the profound mark the last week has had on me, I have to also admit that it's difficult to share, not because I don't want to, but because my vocabulary cannot move into moments of sweet community, theology that made me want to weep with joy, and meals so perfect that I was never hungry.

I can tell you what I saw. I can tell you of a quiet winding road, of sheep guarding newborn lambs, of water so clear it reflected the clouds as they passed and so blue it might take your breath away, of buildings that echo with ancient stories of monastic rhythms and whisper a new story of community and justice, of the smiles and the tears of the four young children whose presence grounded the sea of adults gathered for the week, and of fresh baked scones at tea time every morning at 11.

Beyond sight though and beyond words, there was something pulsing underneath, something that caught me in the stillness of the island, something untellable, risky, incredible, and beautiful. 

I've made it to Glasgow for the day, and tonight I'll be in London! I took nearly 300 photos last week. Even as sight is limiting, I am grateful for the photo memories as the already untellable beauty of the week slips further out of reach in the noise of city life. 

Here are just a few pictures of the trip - 

Easter Break: Edinburgh

It was still snowing when I left Aberdeen this morning.

The important part of that sentence was I left Aberdeen.

That's right. I have left behind the perpetually grey, cold, snowy city limits and have embarked on my two week journey/vacation.

First stop: Edinburgh! It turns out that traveling from Aberdeen to Iona via public transport is impossible to do in one day, so I've stopped to see Sarah again, to breathe, make sure all of my train tickets are in order, and enjoy this beautiful city for one night. Bright and early tomorrow morning, I'll be on a train to Glasgow, a second train to Oban, a ferry to the Isle of Mull, a bus across Mull, and another ferry to the Isle of Iona.

What is the magical place that I am so determined to travel to? When my thoughts of spending a semester in Turkey began to seem less and less likely, I settled on Scotland almost exclusively because I would be close to Iona. That is how cool these people are. Check back in after Easter when I have pictures, stories, etc. For now, the simple explanation is that there is an Abbey, an absolutely amazing community of people, and a lot of jealous Presbyterians involved in this trip.

For those of you who have spent any time with me at all (which is hopefully all of you), you know that I'm not the world's greatest traveler, but I'm not the worst. I don't mind connections in airports. Well-planned road trips are delightful. Train trips through the countryside are among my favorite things in the world.

But two days, three trains, two ferries and a bus? That is straight up insane.

Journeying across a country I've lived in for two months? Crazier.

Traveling long distances to stay in monasteries is becoming a common occurrence in my life.

Stay tuned!

Until then, may all of you have a blessed Holy Week journey, and a joyful Easter morning!

Snow and Southern Sun

It's been a cold, dreary, wintery week. 

The snow that started last Sunday hasn't really stopped. Now though, instead of sticking like it was at the beginning of the week, it's falling, melting and freezing. Or just falling and melting. I will not lie to you. The weather lead to some serious reconsideration of where I want to do my M.Div. I also know that I will never live in or near Canada. Seattle would be my single exception. 

I haven't fallen once on the icy paths or wet cobblestones. Impressed? I consider it to be my greatest accomplishment of the semester so far. 

The tiny flowers that braved late-February temperatures to peek at the sunshine are frozen, the sparrows have stopped singing (though the enormous seagulls haven't), and there are snowflakes falling...again... Aberdeen is a nice city. But most of the buildings are some variety of grey. In the winter months, when all of the trees (most of which are grey as well) are without leaves and the ground is covered in ice or snow, grey buildings are a little depressing to look at. 

I've taken a couple pictures, looked at them and thought, "I didn't know my camera had a black and white filter..." Incidentally, it doesn't. It was just grey in real life. 

This week is our last week of classes before our 3 week Easter break, and the promise of trains through the Scottish and English countryside, warm Southern sun (upper 40s now falls in my description of warmth), and long days hiking around an island with no internet access, is keeping me going through this nasty second week of March snow.

I bought my train tickets last week, and stopped by the little natural foods store downtown for some organic peanut butter and some expensive, but awesome granola for the trip. 

Now, I just have a book review on Martin Luther due Tuesday and a 500 word "paper" on the Trinity due Friday. 

And then I'm out of here. 

21

I'm 21!

And not much has changed. I'm still sitting in crazy classes, learning, mumbling, and writing.

I decided last month that the best way to celebrate my birthday would be a quiet train ride down the east coast of Scotland and time with a sweet friend...I hadn't done any traveling yet and I was needing to see a familiar face.

The train ride was beautiful - way less chaotic than train travel in the states. All of the trains were fast and on time. Here are a couple pictures from the ride there:

And the ride back:

It was a sweet, sweet weekend spent wandering through museum and art gallery exhibits, eating good food, catching up on each other's lives, and dreaming of sweet tea, Mexican food, and Huey's cheese fries.

The snow all day on Sunday and the ice that welcomed me back to the already grey city of Aberdeen were redeemed throughout the day today with a high mark on a doctrine paper, a successful trip to the grocery store (making cilantro-lime rice this week!), and the long-anticipated return of John Stewart to my daily routine thanks to a birthday iTunes card from Mom.

All in all, even though it was snowing, it was the perfect birthday, and with Edinburgh just two and a half hours away, I will definitely be back soon!

A few more photo highlights...

Edinburgh Castle from the roof of the National Museum

Church!

Birthday cake in Waverley Station