Updaaaaate:
I FINALLY GOT TO GO TO MASS!!! Not making excuses because it really is inexcusable that I haven't made it to mass the past two Sundays. There is Sunday mass on campus but last week I had the Leeds Castle trip and then the Sunday before was move-in... there I go making bad excuses. I have something very exciting going on tomorrow (which you will find out what in the next blog ;) ) so I would miss mass again. I decided I simply could not go three weeks without church so I tracked down when the vigil mass in town was. It worked out very well too because this morning I went down with a group of girls to see the inside of the Canterbury Cathedral so I just stayed in town after. What a beautiful cathedral it was too. Again, my perception of beautiful churches is a bit skewed after Rome but every church has it's own character and beauty (: I want to go back and get an actual official tour I think because the little pamphlets they give you I'm sure only scratch the surface of everything there is to know about this place. Plus I think that would be much more insightful than reading Wikipedia...
Speaking of reading insightful things... One thing I have to share is in the gift shop there was the strangest but most amazingly incredible book. "Cathedral Cats". Yupp. "Cathedral Cats offers a unique way of discovering more about some of Britain's most beautiful cathedrals, with plenty of feline interest along the way." Hilarious.
Anyways, after the cathedral, Ellie and I went to a little coffee shop, watched the rain, and did some reading for our classes (see, I am doing school work too ;) ).
Oh! Classes! I have three more to fill you in on. I don't know how much I am going to like my "Medieval History" to be honest... My teacher (another non-Brit) is kind of hard to understand because he speaks very fast with a very thick Slavic accent. We covered a lot in our first class so it's definitely gonna be a lot to keep track of. The good thing is we don't have tests at all! (One of the perks to this UK class stuff) We just have two essays during the term and then our final is actually a take-home essay so not really too stressed about it.
My other class on Thursday is my "Social Problems: Youth Policy and the State" which is in a room that reminds me of Simp 101 (: only about twice it's size... I am kinda bummed cuz this is gonna be such an interesting class with a lot of good discussion topics but there is no seminar for it! Usually, a class has one hour of lecture where you get all the information, and one hour of seminar where you get to talk about that information. Our teacher (who is actually a Brit!!) said he may try to set some seminars up on weeks that we are going over bigger issues. I hope we do get groups... Not that I'm opposed to sharing my opinion on some of these very controversial topics with the 200 some other kids in my class... But I feel like you'd get a better discussion going with less people. But yeah, think this class will be very interesting and helpful with teaching (:
My last class is "Mental Health". Like Social Policy, there is also no seminar for this one. This class is about 100 kids smaller so I guess it will be a little easier to speak up in class. Our first class was kind of disturbing because we went over the history of mental illness and the history of how people with mental illness were treated... I know I may have some potentially young readers so I won't go into detail but yeah just not pleasant stuff. I like my teacher a lot (another Brit ;) ). She is very passionate about this subject and it is very apparent when she lectures which makes for a much more engaging class. My friends from Finland are in my class and I sat by another girl from Dubai who was wearing a "I <3 Rome" sweatshirt so I think we will get a long pretty well too (:
Okay finishing where I started-- back to mass! It was a really awesome old church and it just felt sooo good to be in a Catholic Church again. Got there a bit early (because as excited as I was about finallly seeing the rain, didn't really feel like showing up to mass lookin like a water rat (Bob Dylannnn ((: ). Found the church, which wasn't very full yet, so had some good, much needed prayer time. "Well God, look at us all the way across the world. Stoked for this adventure and what you have planed for me. Help me meet who I need to meet and go where I need to go. Here I am...Lead me, Lord." Pretty ironic how things happen sometimes... Any guesses what the "preparation of the gifts" song was? "Here I am, Lord". Lucky it was raining outside so I could blame my sniffly nose on the cold weather. Thank you, mother for the emotional genes. Oh and this was right after the priest's homily was about going out and sharing the light of Christ with the world that, especially in England, is so full of non-believers. Couldn't have been a better song.
I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin
My hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people's pain.
I have wept for love of them.
They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
Give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my Word to them.
Whom shall I send?
I the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them.
My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide
Till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give my life to them.
Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.
Bahhhhhh just perfect. So yes, great mass. I also had this family sit by me with extremely adorable children. I shared my hymnal with them and the mom thanked me afterwards and told me I was good with kids (: guess I'm goin into the right field ;) they made me miss Izaak and Rosie a lot... Love you guys!
After mass, I stopped to introduce myself to the visiting priest. He said he was there studying for three months too! We had a good talk about the importance of traveling away from home and making new relationships and growing and such. I really liked him too because he had a great analogy (for those of you who don't know, I'm a sucker for good analogies. Love em. Ask the girls who were on my floor ;P ). He talked about life as a river. "There are going to be obstacles that come up and whirlpools that happen, but you will carry on and keep flowing. Trust that He will get you to where you need to be."
Such a solid day.
Keep Calm and Carry On.
We'll all float on okayyyayyyy.
<3
Cheers,
E