ok guys, this is probably my last post on my oxford travels. we leave in a little more than twenty four hours for the airport to get on a plane that will take us home to america! its so sad and yet so exciting. one minute im laughing and the next im crying. its crazy!! but its mostly been laughing : ) so lets see what have i done in the past week? well saturday night we went out to celebrate my birthday!! it was me sarah lisa bethann and kelly. it was SO much fun!! first we went to angels and i had a margarita and an amaretto sour. then we met a bunch of the group outside g&d's and talked to them for a little bit. then we went to the turf tavern where i had a smirnoff ice AND a bacardi breezer. the most ive ever had at one time is two... so yeah then we went back to the house and hung out. it was fun. then i crashed in my bed, clothes, contacts and all.... then sunday sarah and i went out and shopped and i took pictures for my photo essay. we were gone for four hours! then we went to our last nine at nine. it was great! we got to write little encouraging notes for eveyone on sheep!!! it was so cute!! except that dr morgan wasnt paying attention to the directions and wrote on the entire front side of my sheep so there was no room for anyone to write anything! lol but they wrote around it and through it and on the back side. lets see.. basically everyone likes my laugh and my smile lol. so then after that we took communion and the professors prayed over us individually. i got the morgans and janine prayed which totally made me bawl! shes so sweet!!! plus i knew it was our last worship in house nine!! sadness! then we sang and prayed together. of course i couldnt help but laugh a few times, its what i do!! lol then monday we had to be pretty much packed up so thats what i did mostly. then we all went to the trout for dinner. it was so good! and then kristin jordan and i celebrated our birthdays during dessert! everyone sang to us and we had sparkler candles : ) then after that we came back to the house and had a talent show-it was pretty funny! and then a bunch of us played what if. that game is hilarious!!! more good laughs! and then i packed some more and now here i am at 4 in the morning blogging. tomorrow sarah and i are going fo the last time to help jules cook and then we are eating at eagle and child for the last time and then i think some of us are going to some pub called porters. so yeah.... thats it everybody! this semester has been amazing and i cant imagine where i would be right now if i hadnt come on this trip. i have grown so much and i love that!! God is so wonderful! im going to miss this house and these people and leaving the country every few weeks and hearing british accents every day and seeing the pound sign and eating some good food thats only over here and cooking with jules and boyd and having nine at nine and laughing so hard in the computer lab and going to g&d's and so so so so many other things!!!!! but i sure am looking forward to so many things at home!! love you all!!! cant wait to hug your necks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ~jen

ok so im finally blogging about our italy trip! i hope i can remember everything!! here we go... saturday night we left the house at 1am, thats right, no sleep! and took a bus from here to stansted airport. we got there about 4:30am. our plane took off at 6:30 and we landed in venice at 9am. we took a bus into the city and then a water bus(which is a "subway" on the canal) to our bed and breakfast!!! it was SO wonderful!! it was only 25 dollars a night and the lady was so nice and our room was AMAZING!!! we had two bedrooms and our own bathroom for the four of us, oh it was me sarah denyce and lisa. anyways and we shared a kitchen with some other people. so we went out for a little while to get some lunch. we ended up eating pizza(go figure!) and drinking coke on some steps by the grand canal. it was SO beautiful!!! then we walked around the shops that were close by and i did well-i didnt buy ANYTHING!!! we also ate some gelato, i was actually disappointed. g&d's is so much better! so then we went back to our room and took a three hour nap! it was much needed!!! so then sarah woke us up(she is always the bearer of bad news!) and we went back out. it was really dark already and we walked around a lot more. we went to saint marks square which was totally deserted and then we walked along the canal. we ate at this little sandwich shop on the way adn then ended up at this random church and stayed there for awhile. some people were making a pilgrimage there because it was jesus christ day or something so they "security guards" and ropes up and candles. it was interesting. then we left there and headed back to our room. sarah and lisa ended up going to a vivaldi concert and denyce and i stopped by a store and got some things for later. i read my shopaholic book and then we had a party when sarah and lisa got back : ) it was a great first day in venice!!! then the next morning we got up kinda late and walked to the train station to buy our tickets to florence we ate pizza again and all three of them had gelato. the gelato guy was SO hot!!! but anyways we went on a gondola ride and it was so much fun! our gondola man was really nice. we passed alot of other gondolas and all the gondola guys know each other and say hi to one another and he told us that they all commented on the "beautiful girls" in his boat. it was SO funny! one guy actually told him in italian that he hated the fact that he had a bunch of old japanese people in his boat. lol after that we shopped a little and then went back to saint marks square to see it at day time. there were pigeons EVERYWHERE!!! we went into saint marks basilica which was cool, the whole ceiling is done in mosaics and most of it is gold mosaic!! way cool! so then after that we walked around a bit down by the water and saw some cool things like the sun kinda setting and the bridge of sighs and some pretty paintings(that were way over priced!). then after that we stopped into three churches which was rather dull but we didnt have much else to do. then we headed back to the hostel around 5:30. lisa and i ate peanut butter sandwiches! lol its SO good!!! anyways then i got to call home because the people at our bed and breakfast were SO nice!! so i talked on the phone for a few minutes and then we went back upstairs. sarah made us all look up different rome and florence and what we could do there. we had a good time with baileys and a lot of laughing! the next morning we packed up, left our luggage at the hostel, and went shopping! i bought a real italian leather purse and a necklace : ) i really limited myself, shockingly!!! lol then we grabbed some lunch, got our luggage from the bed and breakfast and went to the train station. we waited about an hour and then rode the train to florence for about three hours. we were in a room with six seats all by ourselves the whole way. BUT there were two australians in the room next to us and one of them was SO SO SO hot!!!!!!!!! so we ended up talking to him for a bit when we got on the train and then we asked him a few questions just for the heck of it... well because he was hot! but they were both really nice. so then we got to florence and went ahead and bought our tickets to pisa and rome while we were at the station. then we went to where we staying, it was about twenty minutes outside the city center. we stayed at the bible school for harding. we finally were around all americans! and ones who spoke southern american!!!! it was SO great! the students are there for two years at a time! i could never do that!!!! we shared a room with a girl and her grandma, they were both really nice. we decided to eat at a pizza place for dinner-go figure. it was pretty good but definitely didnt fill me up! lol so then we stopped so sarah and lisa could get gelato and then we went back to the bible school. we went to bed at like 9pm because we were getting up really early the next morning!! so yeah we were up at 6:30am so we would not have to wait to see the david at the academia. there was nobody there the entire time we were there! but the david is so gorgeous!!!! i really didnt think it was going to be as big as it is! i would try to estimate how big it is but im a terrible estimator lol. so we saw that and a few other pieces of art... i only care for things that i recognize and even then sometimes i dont really care, but my appreciation of art has grown since being in art : ) so then after that we went to the duomo. we had to wait about ten minutes because it wasnt open yet(a sign no one gets up as early as we do!!! lol) it was so cold!!!!!! but it was worth the wait-its gorgeous and so huge!!! we were going to climb the top but you had to pay some crazy amount of euros so we decided not to do it. plus im not much for exercise : ) then we got mcdonalds for lunch and got on our train to pisa! we were so pumped!! but then... well this JERK(for lack of a nonoffensive word!) came to check our tickets which we had, but he was going to charge us 40, thats right, 40 euros EACH because we hadnt stamped them!!!!! NO ONE ever told us we had to have them stamped and we have rode on trains all over europe and never had to have them stamped!!!!!!!!!! but he kept saying that just because we were not in america anymore did not mean we could get away with not stamping our tickets. then he tells denyce that she has to pay 7.60 euros for having her feet on the seat! then when sarah told him that we didnt have cash, only cards, he said he was calling the police!!!!! can you believe that?!?!?!?!? well he dialed but never spoke to anyone and then says well i cant believe you... and kinda walked away. the train was about to stop at the pisa station so we hopped off that train as fast as we could!!! lol that guy was such a ....... JERK!!!!!!!!!! so yeah... then we took the bus out to pisa(and made sure we got our tickets stamped!!!!). we had a great time at pisa taking silly pictures : ) theres not much else to do there lol. so then we went back to florence about 2:30. we were back at our hostel around 5:30pm and didnt do much other than talk, read, eat and shower. then we got up the next morning(MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!) at the crack of dawn again and went to the uffizi gallery, it was alright, we saw boticellis birth of venus and primavera. lisa and i are experts at hitting the "highlights" which usually end up being about one or two things in the entire musuem/gallery lol then after that brief time of awe and inspiration we got our luggage, some mcdonalds and took the train to rome. it was a four hour ride that we were told was only one and a half! lol it was fun... we saw some pretty tuscan landscapes : ) once we were in rome we found our hostel-the freestyle hostel lol. we were a little nervous but it turned out to be my favorite hostel ever!!!! : ) there were a ton of canadians and australians-they were fun! and the guy at the desk was from new york and he was pretty awesome! so after we got into our room and left our luggage we went out. we saw the colosseum all lit up at night and then we went to trevi fountain!!!! it was SO SO SO fabulous!!! i got to make a wish in trevi fountain in rome on my 20th birthday!! it was awesome!!!! on our way back to the hostel(we wanted to be there around 7:30 for free pasta and wine!!!) we saw a lot of rome things such as piazza venizia and old roman ruins. i LOVE rome!!!!!!!!! so we got back to our hostel and ate pasta and talked to other people staying there. they are all so crazy! then the next morning we got up early to go to colosseum. it was so amazing-we didnt have to wait in line at all!!!!!! so we walked around there for about two hours and then we went to palatine hill. it was kinda cool but a definite let down. so after that we ate lunch and then it was back to trevi fountain to see it during the day. its definitely more gorgeous at night! so after that we went to the pantheon and i got mcdonalds(lunch was NOT enough!!) and then we walked down the spanish steps and it started raining, so we sat inside a covered street for a little bit til it stopped raining so hard. then we got some gelato and went into piazza venizia. its really pretty too and gives you a great view of all of rome. it started raining really hard again so we went to saint peters in chains church and saw the chains that were on paul while he was in prison and that were broken by angels. we also saw michelagelos sculpture of moses with horns. then i bought a shirt that says ciao bella(good bye/hello beautiful). they are "the tourist" shirt : ) then we went back to our hostel for more free dinner!! and we hung out with the people there again. after that we went to a pub with a lot of the people from the hostel, it was so random and sounds weird but it was so much fun! lisa and i ended up talking to andrew from australia for most of the time. hes pretty funny. then we headed back to the hostel because we were getting up early(again!) to go to the vatican the next day. well we didnt end up leaving the hostel til 9:30am but we didnt have to wait to get into the vatican museum for long. so in there we saw the sistine chapel(awesome!!!!) and the school of athens. again, me and lisa are good at hitting the highlights... lol so after that we got some lunch and headed for saint peters. basically we waited two hours and ended up getting to see the pope because he was doing prayer for the first vespers of the liturgical year... yeah. so anyways after that we went back to our hostel and got our luggage and went to mcdonalds in the train station. i ordered three cheeseburgers and the lady told me that they were buy one get one free so i figured she would charge me for two adn i would get two free. no. i got SIX cheeseburgers!!! plus fries and a coke!!! and you better believe i ate ALL of it!!!! so yeah we took a bus to the rome ciampino airport and spent the night there... our flight was at 6:30am and lisas budget didnt really allow for us to pay for another hostel night. it was an experience... so yeah then we flew back to london, bus from stansted airport to oxford and then rolled our suitcases for the last time down woodstock back to house ten. so yeah..... that was italy! our last trip as study abroaders!!! gtg, gotta live up my last days here!!! ~jen

ok so i just took a twenty five minute personality quiz and this is what i got : )

SOCIAL
Synopsis
Values human relationships above all.
Motivated to help people be the best they can be.
Giving of time, resources, talent and energy.
Your score = 89

What do your results mean?

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. -Albert Schweitzer

You seem to be motivated by social values. This means that you value being helpful, kind and agreeable. You think it important to try to find the good in everyone, and you have faith that if you dig deep enough, you will find it. You wish to eliminate or at least reduce hate and conflict in the world. You give of yourself, whether on a small scale- for instance, by spending time with a friend in need, or on a global scale, by volunteering for a human-rights organization. In helping others overcome obstacles, you hope to assist them in becoming the best they can be. You are a giving, compassionate individual. You are most likely liberal politically, and you tend to become passionately angry at signs of social injustice. It is imperative to you that you have contact with people both during your free time and at work. You really enjoy and benefit from being with other people, and as a result you seek out activities where this is possible. You put family and friends over work and other responsibilities, and, consequently, you are a trusted friend and cherished family member. In times of crisis and change, you are both a source of comfort for your family and friends, and able to be comforted by them as well.

Individuals with social values tend to be good communicators. They relate well to others, and best use these skills in the helping professions, such as doctors, teachers, nurses, social workers, counselors, and other careers with extensive contact with the community. Not all individuals with social values hold these types of positions, but if not, their values probably surface in other aspects of their lives, at home or in the community.

Individuals with social values are sometimes so focused on helping people that they have trouble with organizational tasks or finding ways to cut expenses in today's budget- conscious world. They may have conflicts with other individuals who wish to perform those unpleasant tasks- even those that are just trying to be realistic. In addition, they may take on too much and become weighed down or burned out by the injustices rampant in the world. They tend to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, and may become overwhelmed or depressed if their perceive themselves to be powerless against the world's injustices. Their faith in people may backfire if they trust the wrong person before they really know them.

so we leave for italy in six and a half hours... yay!!! but i still have lots to do! i didnt go to stonehenge this morning, i slept til noon instead. and its a good thing too because lisa and the other girls just got back! so i really should go cook my dinner and have caryn french braid my hair-its getting way too long! but i probably wont actually do that til much later. i have been so tired and we are getting no sleep til tomorrow night. yuck! love ya! ~jen

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
-Audrey Hepburn

Your Hair Should Be White

Classy, stylish, and eloquent. You've got a way about you that floors everyone you meet.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Blind Assassin. Where You Lived: Ukraine. How You Died: Typhoid fever.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

You Should Get a MD (Doctor of Medicine)

You're both compassionate and brilliant - a rare combination. You were born to be a doctor.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Your Kissing Purity Score: 71% Pure

For you, kissing isn't a casual thing Lip to lip action makes your heart sing

Kissing Purity Test

How You Life Your Life

You have a good sense of self control and hate to show weakness. You're laid back and chill, but sometimes you care too much about what others think. You tend to have one best friend you hang with, as opposed to many aquaintences. You tend to dream big, but you worry that your dreams aren't attainable.

How Do You Live Your Life?

Your Ideal Relationship is Serious Dating

You're not ready to go walking down the aisle. But you may be ready in a couple of years. You prefer to date one on one, with a commitment. And while chemistry is important, so is compatibility.

What's Your Ideal Relationship?

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Valiant Hurricane Your Superpower is Extra-terrestrial Your Weakness is Salt Your Weapon is Your Ice Saber Your Mode of Transportation is Love Van

What's your Superhero Name?

What Your Sleeping Position Says

You are secretly sensitive, but you often put up a front. Shy and private, you yearn for security. You take relationships slowly. You need lots of reassurances before you can trust.

What Does Your Sleeping Position Say About You?

What Your Underwear Says About You

You like your underwear to make you feel girlish and pretty. Let's hope you're a chick. You're a closet exhibitionist who gets a thrill from being secretly naughty.

The Underwear Oracle

Your Seduction Style: Prized Object

The seduction game you play is tried, true, and still effective: hard to get. You know that the best seducers turn the tables - and get their crush to seduce them. The one running has the power, and you're a challenge that is worth the chase. You are a master of enticing and pulling back. Giving a little and taking some away. You are controlled enough to know rewards come after a long seduction dance. Even though you want to call, email, or say "I love you" first - you don't! You're style is the perfect mix of hot and cold - so much so that you have many suitors. Think Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's ... or any of those creepy guys from the Bachelor. You're skilled at inspiring a chase. The real test is picking the person to slow down for.

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

hi!!!! we just got back from seeing harry potter!!!!!!! it was SO good!!! my favorite by far!!!!!! but it was also my favorite book! : ) so yeah... me and sarah and hannah went to starbucks before and they have lights up above the street on cornmarket! : ) it looks so christmas-y!! oh and we had our thanksgiving feast last night! it was fun but made me miss my family SO much more! and my mom and grandmas cooking SO SO SO much!!!!!!!! im spoiled with good cooks all around! : ) so yeah then afterwards a bunch of people watched the cowboys game from monday night, i read my book in the commons room where the game was on. it made me feel at home : ) then after the game we had a dance party!!! me and sarah werent going to stay because we were so tired but then brent convinced us to stay for just one song, ha! just one song!! lol i knew there was no way that if i stayed i would leave after just one song, and i didnt. i stayed for an hour!! lol but it was fun : ) jenna even came!! that girl has some beat : ) AND she told sarah that she preferred rap music because it had a better beat lol i have taught her well! : ) then today we had our tutorial meetings. it went pretty good, kristin told me she liked the way i write. and she is an english major!! that made me feel pretty good, especially considering i didnt think my paper was that great. but i did have some things to fix. and now all i have to do is make a title page and im done!! yay for me!!!!!!! and tomorrow im going with lisa, courtney, jacque and rachel to stonehenge. everyone has told us its totally not fun but we have to go since we are in england. we plan on going, taking a few pictures and then leaving. so yeah.... then tomorrow night we leave for italy!!!!!! ahhhhhhh!!!!! its going to be SO awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok so i have some pasta to eat! : ) love ya!! ~jen

There is no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard
And no song that I could sing but I can try for your heart
And our dreams and they are made out of real things
Like a shoebox of photographs with sepia-toned loving
Love is the answer at least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why are we here? And where do we go? And how come it’s so hard?
It’s not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving
I’ll tell you one thing, it’s always better when we’re together

It’s always better when we’re together
We’ll look at the stars when we’re together
It’s always better when we’re together
It’s always better when we’re together

And all of these moments just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they’ll be gone when the morning light sings
Or brings new things for tomorrow night you see
That they’ll be gone too, too many things I have to do
But if all of these dreams might find their way into my day to day scene
I’d be under the impression I was somewhere in between
With only two, just me and you, not so many things we got to do
Or places we got to be we’ll sit beneath the mango tree now

It’s always better when we’re together
We’re somewhere in between together
Well it’s always better when we’re together
It’s always better when we’re together

I believe in memories they look so pretty when I sleep
And when I wake up you look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time
And there is no song I could sing
And there is no combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing
We’re better together

-Better Together, Jack Johnson

hello hello! its freezing here!!!! me and lisa just went to town for a career fair for our tutorial papers. we have to have an interview and i got mine done. the guy was really nice, but there wasnt anyone really there for lisa to interview. but it was so fun!! we got to act like we were postgraduates and pick up pretty books about colleges all over england and we got free pens and higlighters and stuff : ) i felt very collegiate and english! despite the fact that i had on my neon green acu hat with my hair in a ponytail. i was obviously american lol but a cute one! : ) so i just checked my email and express wants me on their customer panel!!! how exciting is that??? It said: "we are rounding up our most valued cuustomer advisors(im a valued customer!!!) to give us their opinions and ideas(they want my opinions and ideas!!!!!) on trends, shopping and the express experience to help shape and improve our stores. joing the express customer panel to take surveys, vote on clothing styles, and tell designers what you want, need and have to have. in exchange we will send you exclusive offers, freebies, and express gift cards(read this sentence again!!!! : ) its that good!!!)." yay for me!!!! so now im going to go make some pasta and sort through my free stuff from the career fair : ) love ya! ~jen

hi guys! i just got back from cooking with jules and boyd. it was so much fun as usual : ) but now i smell like garlic... ewww! so yeah... ummmm... the past few days have been alright. nothing too extreme. had a worship paper due at midnight last night but surprisingly i wasnt ever stressed about it and actually enjoyed writing it. weird! so we only have 22 days left til i come home! its really sad actually but im pretty much ready to be home. and me and lisa are seriously thinking about going to dallas over christmas break to visit people, im SO excited!!! we dont have any details whatsoever lol but we are set in coming! so what else... oh brents grandpa passed away last night so he is flying home friday for the funeral and to be with his family. my heart just breaks for him, the same happened to me last fall but i was just in abilene and that was really hard so i cant imagine being on the other side of the world when that happens. but we are planning a surprise for him that i cant post here, its so sweet and i hope it all works out!! oh and we are having thanksgiving dinner here this thursday. we are all bringing something and i signed up for peanut butter cookies! : ) i have a ton of peanut butter that my family sent me so i figured i need to use it up before i leave! i just wish i could find hershey kisses to put in the middle because that makes them SO much better! but i might improvise and use some other chocolate. maybe some from belgium would be really good! : ) anyways i think im going to go change my garlic smelling clothes and make some pasta! yum yum! love ya!! ~jen

so we just got back from london : ) we had a pretty good time! first we went to the british library where we saw some cool stuff... nothing that really excited me... i felt kinda bad. i mean theres all this amazing stuff like the first bible printed in england and the actual magna carta and handels messiah and millions of other things of the same importance... and all i wanted to do was get a chocolate muffin and a caffe mocha in the cafe!!!!!! im such a terrible person! so anyways then me and lisa and sarah went to harrods!!!! it was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was in heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!! seven floors of shopping!!!!!! it smelled so good... like a place with purses and shoes and clothes! : ) valentino, maxmara, dolce & gabana, fendi, gucci, louis vuitton, chanel, burberry, ralph lauren. oh it was wonderful!!!!! we spent two hours there instead of eating lunch! lol my new aspiration is to get a job there!!!!!!!!!! seriously! you just have to have retail experience! and you get a discount!!!!!!! so anyways then we were twenty minutes late meeting our group at trafalgar square... and they left us. but we were smart and decided to find our way to the cabinet war rooms where our group was going to next. so we started walking in the direction we thought it was and then about half way down the road we saw our group! so we sneaked our way into the back of the group without most people noticing. we are SO good! so yeah then we went through the war rooms which i liked better than the library bc i really like history alot, especially world war two. so then we left there and went back to harrods!!! and saw it all lit up at night, it was GORGEOUS!!!!! so we were in there for like two more hours : ) so at harrods i bought a mug thats green and gold just like the bags there and a box of the CUTEST christmas cards ever!! and a childrens book called katie in london(or something like that). its so cute! it talks about all the famous places in london and i figured i could use it when i teach : ) its adorable! so then we left there and were planning on eating at the hard rock cafe but it was going to be a two hour wait. we ended up taking the thing that flashes when your table is ready and going down to the bar and then deciding like five minutes later that we didnt want to wait that long. so we left lol. and we went to kings cross and took pictures at the harry potter platform 9 & 3/4. then we came back to oxford, i was SO tired! and now im just in the lab talking to carino and my mom and matt w. and everyone in the lab here in oxford is in a chat room together, its great! but i really need to go to bed... i have to go to church tomorrow and i just want to sleep in! i havent had a day to do nothing in FOREVER!!!!!!! and i really need it! guess i will have to wait three weeks til i go home! oh well. love you all!!!!!!! ~jen

ok so i just made a few decisions... and i am very proud of myself! what i actually did/am going to do doesnt seem that big but what they say about me is huge! i told my mom and she said she was going to cry. i am glad i am growing up and am happy with where i am in life. mostly. i mean i am no where near perfect but i am at least on the right path. i am so glad God sent me here, i have matured 200% over the past few months. i just hope that i dont go back to how things used to be when i go home. i am so looking forward to being in san antonio and later on abilene. i miss you all more than you will ever know!!!! gtg get ready for dinner at the willis'!!! yum yum! stuffed baked potatoes and dump cake!!! : ) heaven!!!!!!! love you all!!!! ~jen

ok so heres what i did this weekend:
on thursday morning sarah and i left oxford at 7:30am, went to london by bus, and then took the eurostar(the train that goes underneath the english channel) to brussels! : ) we got there mid-afternoon and it took us forever to find our hostel. then we ate at this little restaurant by our hostel -it was pretty good. i had a waffle with chocolate syrup for dessert! yummy!!! then sarah and i walked around brussels-we couldnt do much because almost everything closes in europe at like 5pm!! which i absolutely hate! sarah and i got asked if we wanted a boyfriend just for the night by a guy who worked at a restaurant on a street we were walking down. SCARY!!! plus everyone kept staring at us!!! it was the most awkward thing ever! so we went to the "grand place" which just has a bunch of old pretty buildings and took pictures. then we went back to our hostel and took showers and went to bed : ) then we got up friday morning and saw the statue of the peeing boy, which is a really famous thing in brussels... so we took a picture.... lol oh and bought some chocolate because thats what you do in belgium!!! : ) then we went to see the fabrege eggs!!! how exciting is that?!?!? they are SO gorgeous!!!!!!! then we had lunch and i had an AMAZING turkey and cheese sandwich!!! it was seriously really good!!!! oh and a waffle with chocolate of course! : ) then we got on eurostar and went to brugge! i love brugge!!! its a much quieter city with no dirty men etc : ) so we went to our hostel, checked in and everything and they told us we had to wait 45 min before our room would be ready. so we left our luggage there and went into the city. we walked around and went shopping(i got a pair of black gloves with black beads on the top of the wrists : ) and a teal sweater). then we went back to the hostel and slept for about an hour because theres a gap everywhere in europe where all the shops close and the restaurants arent open yet. so we slept and then we went out and ate dinner in one of the squares, then we walked around the canals and got some hot chocolate. then we went back to the hostel and went to sleep. the next morning we got up and got breakfast at this little place-i got hot chocolate and THE best waffle in ALL of belgium!!!!! with chocolate syrup of course! : ) and while walking with our breakfast to the square we ran into amanda, rachel, shelbi, nathan and brian. they had just signed up for a bike tour and they talked me and sarah into going with them!! nevermind that i hadnt riden a bike since like eighth grade! ok so there were 11 of us total plus our tour guide. we biked a bit through the city and then we biked up along the canal that leads to holland. then we stopped at a little town just north of brugge and had some lunch-i had a really good toasted ham and cheese sandwich, a waffle with....surprise!... chocolate! : ) and sarah and i tasted krick this belgian beer. it was alright. then we biked back. it was alot easier than i thought it was going to be and it gave me a bit of a workout : ) then sarah and i went on a boat ride down the canals which was really really pretty, plus our tour guide/boat driver was funny. then we went back to our hostel, got our luggage and went back to brussels. we found our hostel and then we ate at this little quiet swanky restaurant. we had some good chicken with riceand two glasses of baileys each! : ) yum yum! then we went back to our hostel, showered and went to bed. then we got up the next morning at 6am and went back to london to meet lisa and lara at leceister square for the harry potter premiere!!!!!!!! ok so we got there at 9:30am, went to starbucks and then to mcdonalds to meet them, but they never showed up. so me and sarah went to leceister square and met caryn who was there from ireland by herself. we tried to find the best place but we had no idea where that would be since none of us had ever been to a premiere before. so to make this story short... we moved around a few times, found lara and lisa whos train had been delayed, and then ended up in the spot we were at to begin with. so we stood there til 5:30pm waiting. actually we were standing there longer than that but thats what time the premiere began. anyways it was kinda drizzling all day and the people were so rude! there was s stupid french girl who kept pushing up against me and i just stood there. then she started pinching me!!! on my side!!!!!!!! and i got pretty mad! then she had the nerve to tell me to stop pushing her! so i turned around and told her that i was not pushing her and that i would prefer it if she would stop pinching me!!! lol she pretty much stopped but her body was pushing up against mine THE entire time! but we managed to slowly move up to where we were only one person back from the gate! we started out about three or four people back. the gates were set up in a double circle in the square and the actors/actresses walked in between the two gates. so outside looking in there was the edge of the square, us, a gate, where the stars walked, a gate, the press, a statue thats in the middle of the square. we were at the "front" of the circle with the theatre and the interviewer lady to the left. we saw all the actors/actresses and the director. and i got four autographs which was cool : ) it was alot of fun and i am glad that i went but i dont think i will ever go to another premiere again! but after the permiere was over lara and lisa went and talked to one of the security guards to see if we would have a chance at seeing the actors/actresses after the movie was over. and he said probably, that there were usually a lot less people that waited around for the movie to end. so we went and ate dinner and then me and sarah went back to the eurostar station to get our luggage and then met everyone at starbucks. then we went and waited by the theatre, a few yards back, near the cars that were picking up the celebs. we waited about an hour playing scrabble and talking to some really funny drunk guys. so then the people started coming out of the theatre and we saw madonna!!!!!!! thats right... madonna!!!!!!!!!!!!! she was the first person to walk out and no one made a fuss or anything so no one was really paying attention. just a few people were kinda whispering theres madonna!! and so we looked over and sure enough it was her! i dont care much for madonna but it was still really cool : ) and i know you are all jealous of me : ) so then we took the train back which took forever so we got back to oxford just before 1am. we took a taxi home and then i crashed! : ) so yeah... that was my weekend : ) it was a blast!!!! gtg love ya! ~jen

today has been SO crazy!!! we had class from 9am-6pm with only two one hour breaks... it was rough. but i ended up getting alot done. now i just have to finish up my laundry and pack for belgium because me and sarah are leaving tomorrow morning!!!!! yay!!!!!! i got an invitation on facebook for jonathans party and i am SO sad i cant come!!! im missing my grandmas birthday too and i already missed matts... and everyone will miss mine! such a tragedy!!! anyways me and sarah and beth ann and rachel are sitting in the computer lab. and rachel is reading her conversation with her boyfriend to us. hes a sweetheart : ) this is going to be short because i have lots to do... love you all!!! ~jen

ok kids, i put a link to my pictures on snapfish but i think to see my pictures you have to register with snapfish or something... sorry!! i think its just your email address and a password or something. and i finally added some new pictures to snapfish. the ones from our halloween party! yay!!! so me and sarah just got back from helping jules in the kitchen at st aldates. it is SO much fun!!! he and boyd(the scottish guy that helps out too) are SO SO SO hilarious!!! and me and sarah just chop vegetables and grate cheese and clean some dishes. plus we stop and have tea and eclairs about half way through : ) i wish we could go every week but we are on a "rotation"... kind of. so we go about every other week or so. i think thats all for today... im pretty tired and REALLY hungry!!!!! and i kinda have alot to do before me and sarah leave for belgium thursday morning! : ) love ya! ~jen

yay! i finally figured out how to put a link to lisas blog on my blog!!! shes far behind because she blogs about everything!!!! so i think right now she is only half way through september : ) lol but she has lots of details and she knows how to put pictures in her blog! so read hers if you want to know more about whats going over here in oxford! oh!!!!!!!!!! i am SO SO SO happy because we just got an email saying we dont have to do the stage for our tutorial that is due wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!! : ] so now i can just listen to music and do nothing and not feel guilty about it! love ya!!! ~jen

ps-i think some of the pictures from our halloween party are on my website!!! aka the ones where me and lisa and sarah were "bobbies"/police officers : )

I thought about calling you when I got off the plane
Everytime I see this city through the clouds I get that way
Call me crazy for missing you like this but I do
By now I figured you had all your numbers changed
It's been at least a year since I called you up to say
We need to talk I got this job and I think I'm gonna take it
Cause I've been waiting all my life for a break like this
It's my chance of a lifetime I just know it is
I gotta go and find these dreams was the last thing that I said
And then I did
I can see clear to the mountains as I head up our old street
I remember how we'd call in sick on days like these
And turn the music up, roll the windows down and just drive
You talked me out of giving up on myself so many times
Convinced me to get it in while I could
Regrets hang heavy on my mind but you never doubted me
You kept pushing me
Saying you've been waiting all your life for a break like this
It's your chance of a lifetime you just know it is
You gotta go and find your dreams was the last thing that you said
And then I did
But you were wrong
Love was what I wanted all along
-Then I Did, Rascal Flatts

sigh. well tonight was wonderful!! God is so faithful!!! nine at nine turned out to be amazing despite the fact that we only met once. we sang songs from psalms and we put 100 tealight candles on the center table in the shape of the cross and turned out the lights : ) its was so fabulous!!! ...i cried... that means it was good : ) so i really should be studying for oxford through the ages... but of course im not... i think im going to go call mi familia. i have been promising to call for the past week... yikes!!!!! love ya! ~jen

so our halloween party is officially over. it was quite fun! and let me say me and lisa and sarah were looking SO hot in our police officer costumes! : ) well technically we were "bobbies" lol. but nevertheless we were WAY cute! i wish i knew how to put pictures on here... guess you will just have to ask me to see them! so we ate candy and colored pumpkins and had a halloween parade down north parade. it was fun : ) then we watched sleepy hollow and i was very disappointed because i didnt get scared... i was actually looking forward to it! but it was pretty much just dumb. then we watched some snl and then i decided i should probably eat something since i havent actually had a meal all day(a first for me in a LONG time!) but i ended up in here on the computer... and i am thinking that the most i will eat tonight is some digestives(cookies with chocolate on one side)... so bad but im so tired! and i have lots to do tomorrow that i really dont want to do! like get up and go to church and study for my oxford through the ages test and plan nine at nine worship for tomorrow night(all of which i must do tomorrow and would want to do if only i didnt have to do them tomorrow). i think i have finally reached my limit of being social 24/7. everywhere i go there are people and normally i prefer that but after two months.... well one can only take so much. its not bad, im just starting to cherish moments by myself a lot more than usual. anyways i almost thought i had ruined my night but then i talked to carino and she saved the day! ....errr night!! sigh. dont you just hate it when you are talking to someone on aim and you really wish you werent but it would be rude if you didnt, and on top of that you really wish you were talking to someone else on aim but they arent actually there? well i certainly do. so i think i will go eat something... or maybe just crawl into bed... love ya!!! ~jen

hey kids! so our halloween party is tonight and im pretty excited! i tried on my costume last night while sarah read old testament to me : ) lol nice huh? so in a few minutes me and lisa and lael and caryn are going to the covered market to get some pumpkins for carving! and maybe some candy : ) oh and i need to buy some birthday cards, like five!!! im so sad i am missing so many birthdays!!!!!! so i have nothing else to write about... went to class, ate some plums and kiwis that were so so good and slept for about an hour and a half. gtg! ~jen

hey! so we went to london today. i was so depressed! it was all so boring and it was such a long day! all we did was go to the british museum and then to parliament(where our tour guide almost fainted! she was an old lady, it was a little sad and a little scary and a little funny...) but then we went to the texas embassy after dinner and that made the whole day MUCH better! me and sarah and lisa were planning on watching moulin rouge but a group already claimed the tv to watch anne of avonlea... so now im really bored and think i might join sarah in doing homework! yuck!! on a friday night!!! double yuck! sorry i havent blogged much of anything interesting lately... not much has been going on really... oh but me and lisa and sarah bought something for our costumes for the halloween party tomorrow night!! i cant tell you what it is bc people here read this and our costumes are supposed to be a surprise! but we sure are going to be cute!! : ) so i guess i will go eat something, thats usually what i do when i get bored... bad habit!!! love ya! ~jen

hey! so me and lisa are about to go running!! i am actually exercising! yay for me!! hopefully this will not be a one time thing lol. so i finished my third book last night! it was SO good! i only have the last book to read now but i have decided that im going to be responsible and read my book for oxford through the ages... even though i really dont want to... but i am! so me and lisa must leave now! : ) love ya! ~jen

hi everybody! me and sarah and lisa just got back from our "night out" : ) it was quite fun!! we went to eat at the mitre(a pub) and then we got ice cream at g&d's. we were laughing the whole time!!! oh geez. i wish we could have nights like tonight every night!! it was just so much fun! and we didnt have to worry about homework or about anything else we should have been doing, because there was nothing we had to do! : ) so anyways tomorrow we are having an "alice in wonderland" walk outside oxford and then we get free dessert and coffee at the trout(a restaurant). then on friday we are going to london! one of my favorite places in the world! we are going to see parliament and westminster abbey and then we get the afternoon to ourselves. so sarah has to go to the american embassy because of her social security card and then we are having dinner in london... and me and lisa think we should go to the texas embassy... again! lol its SO yummy!!! but sarah insists we go to a different place... we will have to see about that. lets see... i got a letter in the mail yesterday from my grandma!! she is SO sweet!! i miss seeing her every sunday! and eating her delicious cooking!!!!!!!! oh i have to start making a list of what i want for my birthday and christmas! i started thinking about a few things the other day, a new blowdryer and some new perfume are at the top of my list right now lol thats so boring... i will have to think harder : ) well i think im going to go read my amazing book(the third shopaholic book--shopaholic ties the knot) and listen to music, probably nat king cole or tj mccloud or celine dion : ) love ya! ~jen

oh man!! i just found out that one of my good friends from high school is engaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and i cant even talk to her til i get back bc all i have is her cell phone number! its just so crazy!!!!!!!!!!!! gosh it feels like everyone around me is getting engaged or married or having kids!!!! and all that is making me realize how much i really do want to get married and everything but also how much i am SO not ready for all that right now!!! i mean i just got over my dislike of doing dishes... lol but that is good news to share--i dont mind doing dishes anymore, they used to gross me out. anyways so yeah... my friend is engaged. and i think this is the first half way serious entry i have written since being here. so there you have it, finally something personal from the mind of jennifer. gtg do homework! love ya!! ~jen

i just got back from austria!!! well actually i just got back from nine at nine, and we got back from austria right before nine at nine. tonight we just shared stories about our travels over the past two weeks and prayed and sang songs. so our austria trip was... fun and relaxing and i liked it alot!! it was also way crazy on so many different levels! to start, we missed our train thursday morning out of oxford. we thought we were going to have to buy new tickets and that we were going to miss our flight out of stansted. but we didnt! it was amazing!!! a man at the train station told us which train to get on and when we got off that train, we stepped right onto the next train that took us to london paddington, and then from that we took the subway to the other side of london(and our train tickets worked for the subway!) and then we got off the subway and took another train to stansted(which we barely caught), where we went to our gate, with like twenty minutes to spare. then we had a two hour flight to austria where i completely finished the book(shopaholic abroad, the sequel to the last book i read) that was supposed to last me til the train back to oxford... you would think i know that i read fast and that i would bring another book with me... whatever. so we got to austria and went through passport control and then we got our luggage. then the airport took us to the train station for free and it was absolutely deserted. so we took the train to salzburg which was about an hour and a half. on the train sarah and courtney talked to a nice older lady and a nice older man and the man said he would take us to the bus station. and when we got off the train the lady said we had to meet her husband bc he was the assistant director for the sound of music!! so we definitely got a picture! then the man took us to the bus stop and said he would meet us when we got off the bus so he could take us to our hostel. so while we were on the bus a guy came over and asked if we needed a hostel and we told him where we were staying and he said he was staying there too and that he would take us to it. so we met the old man at our stop and told him this other guy would take us. so then we got to our hostel and checked in and then we went to dinner. and it was SO SO good!!! i had chicken cordon blue and then for dessert i had chocolate cake! yum yum! then we went back to the hostel and me and courtney grabbed some snacks and we went downstairs and talked and laughed. then the next day sarah travis caryn and brent went on the sound of music tour while me coutrney and bethann slept and got ready. then we ate lunch at the hostel which was really good. then we went on the sound of music tour which was cool. oh but heres the beginning of our crazy story: the tour company picked us up from the hostel and then the guy said we had to pick up some other people as well. so we did. it was a family of four, mom dad and seven year old twin girls. so we went on the tour and the family sat behind us. and we talked to them kind of alot. then after the tour we met the others and went to dinner. and it was SO SO SO good!!!!!!!! i got grilled chicken with fresh vegetables and rice and me and courtney split potato and bacon soup. i have never had a meal so wonderful!!!!!!! then me and courtney split a chocolate cake that had lots of chocolate syrup and fruit!!!!!! and then brent bethann travis me and courtney got a raspberry souffle to split and it almost made me puke!!! i had half a bite and that was it, its so wet.... yuck! bethann called it calf slobber... DISGUSTING!!!!! then we went back to the hostel and me and courtney stayed downstairs again and laughed and laughed. so heres a funny story: we went to the bar to order hot chocolate and i thought i would see if i could get something close to a mocha frappucino. so i asked the guy if i could get coffee with something mocha and he goes "mocha?" and i was like "yeah mocha" so he was like "no we dont have mocha coffee... umm i dont really know what youre talking about..." and so i was like "no no its ok" and he turns around and picks up a chocolate bar that says "milka" on it and asks me if that is what i want. lol me and courtney started cracking up!!! and i could hardly squeak out a no. so we had our late night chat and then we went to bed. then the next morning sarah travis brent and caryn went on some cable car ride up a mountain. me courtney and beth ann again slept later and got ready and then we went into town to get some lunch and go shopping : ) well heres more of the crazy story: we ran into the family from the tour again! they were having cappucinos and muffins at a little cafe on the side of the street. so we went over and said hi and the dad invited us to sit with them and have coffee and muffins also. we politely refused but he insisted so we sat. and talked. and learned they are loaded! they were talking about their trips to spain and kenya and how they stayed at the plaza when they went to new york... as if all this was ordinary! but they are so nice and generous! then after we had ice cream and hot chocolate, we were going to go eat lunch when they invited us to have lunch with them!!!! we again said it was quite alright but they insisted! so we had a free lunch! it was the best pizza ive had since in europe! and they ordered garlic bread for all of us to share, which was made with real garlic! and when it came out hannah, one of the twins, reached for a piece and her dad told her that "her friends" should go first. and of course we said it was completely fine for her to take a piece(i mean shes only seven!) but he told us that they teach their children that guests always get the first and the best. he said that you treat your best friends like family and if you dont treat them like family then they are only acquaintances. isnt that so sweet?!?! i mean its true, but its also really sweet!! so yeah we had a great lunch and they told us all about themselves. the mom is from egypt and teaches the girls arabic and the dad is from england and they live in london. and they have two sons, one is 32 and the other is 29. the dad hunts pheasants and they have traveled all over the world and eaten millions of types of meats(like giraffe and crocodile and frog and camel!--the girls told us camel was good, that it tasted like lamb but that giraffe was quite chewy(all in a cute little british accent!!) oh and they say horrid! lol) but then a little bit after we were finished eating bethann started feeling sick so we had to leave and they asked if we would like them to call a taxi and said we would be fine. and then the dad gave us his business card and told us to call if we needed anything for the rest of our trip in salzburg and to call them if we were ever in london!! courtney swears they said we could stay at their house! so yeah that was really cool! so we went back to the hostel and made sure bethann was ok staying there by herself and then me and courtney went out again. we walked around a little bit then had dessert at this little cafe. then we went to a candy store and bought real austrian chocolate. oh and we also went into hermes... oh how i wish i could have bought something! then here is the rest of our crazy story: we ran into hannah and her dad!!!!! insane! they were out shopping for boots : ) so we talked for a few minutes and told them bethann was ok and joked that we might run into each other yet again before our flight out the next day. so then we went to the mirabell gardens and to this terrace that is from the sound of music. it was all really pretty! but a funny story: we had to take an elevator up to the terrace. so we get on the elevator from one side and then when we got to the top we got out on the opposite side. ok so all is cool. well on the way back down we got on and i walked straight to the opposite side and leaned against the "wall." well the doors/my wall opened and i almost fell flat on my face!!! lol it was really funny, me and courtney were laughing so hard after that! : ) so then we went back to the hostel to meet everyone for dinner and to check on bethann. we ended up eating at a pizza and pasta place. i had penne with pasta sauce, cream of broccoli soup and breadsticks with garlic! oh and chocolate mousse for dessert!!!!!!! it was so good!!! then when we got back bethann joined me and courtney in our late night chat in the lobby of the hostel. we had a good time telling stories and laughing. then sunday we pretty much traveled the whole day... yuck! me and courtney had some amazing chinese food. i hate chinese food by the way. lol but i had beef and broccoli and white rice. and i finished off courtneys cashew beef : ) then we had nine at nine and thats about it. oh, so while we were in the airport, me and courtney listened to courtneys ipod. here are a few of the songs that got stuck in my head because of that : )

take my hand, take my whole life too
for i cant help falling in love with you -elvis

there will never be a minute of the day
i wont think of you
my feelings are so strong inside
i feel it through and through
there will never be a night thats so dark
that we wont shine
or a dream that we lost that we cant find
youll always be the one for me
i think of you from time to time and in between -rascal flatts

tell me that you live for love
that forever is never enough
that youve waited all your life to see
that you want so badly to believe
tell me that its not just me -rascal flatts

when i saw my reflection in her eyes
thats when i knew that it was time
and i leaned over and kissed her cheek
and softly whispered my goodbyes
against the glass i heaved a sigh
followed the fading of its lights
watched the plane begin its flight
with my eyes into the night
and with miles between us
how could love have seen us
and given us this chance
and i hear it whisper
could you not have kissed her
and shown her youre man
who wants nothing more in life
than for her to be your wife
and i know that im a coward
who couldnt even tell her
as she begged me with those eyes
give her a reason not to fly
and it haunts me on the highway
heading back to my place
singing why why oh why
and with miles between us
how could love have seen us
and given us this chance
and i hear it whisper
could you not have kissed her
and shown her youre man
who wants nothing more in life
than for her to be your wife -tj mccloud

i just got back from spain!!!!! : ) it was a really fun trip, except for a few rough parts. it was just me, sarah, kristin and denyce(who was a life saver because she is fluent in spanish!) so im in oxford tonight and tomorrow and then im leaving for austria early thursday morning : ) some people say im crazy for traveling again so soon but i figure im in europe and i might as well do as much as i can! : ) supposedly we are going on the sound of music tour and on a salt mine tour, where you get to slide down in a rubber suit lol the sound of music tour i couldnt care less about but im sure it will be fun. well i need to figure out my schedule and get my laundry... i will have to write about spain later... love ya! ~jen

alright so we went to eat dinner at eagle and child because lisas sister is here, they are going to scotland tomorrow. it was really good! and then we went to g&d's which was AMAZING as always! and then we went to borders and i bought a magazine for when we are traveling in spain this week. we leave wednesday morning at 5am!!!! ahhhhhh!!!! so early!!! but we are going to SPAIN!!!!! i think it will be a blast! we are going to barcelona first and then to granada and then to jerez, and its all near the coast!!!!! so im going to be swimming in the mediterranean sea this week!!!!!!!!!! how cool is that!?!?!? so tomorrow i dont have any classes and all i have to do is pack and buy some bottled water for the trip. so i think im going to go read my magazine and maybe my new book too! : ) next time i update will be after spain!!! : ) ~jen

so last night we watched the importance of being earnest, it was great! and then we had a dance party!!! for TWO hours!! it was so much fun!!! : ) then today i did alot of stuff on my "to do" list which made me feel alot better. and then me and lisa and sarah baked a huge cake because we had to bring the dessert for the dinner party we were having with brent, kelly, josh, susan and kathryn in house 10. kelly cooked minestrone soup and pizza--IT WAS SO SO SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!! and our cake was so fabulous!!!!!!!!!! i had four and a half pieces!!!!!!!!!!!!! hence hannah calls me the "garbage disposal" : ) so after dinner me and sarah went to borders because they are having a sale. i LOVE going to bookstores!! and i LOVE to read!!!!!!! so i wanted to buy every book that i picked up! but i ended up with only one-the secret dreamworld of a shopaholic : ) so i got twenty percent off because im a student and on top of that i got a free bar of chocolate!!! : ) yay for me! and when we got back we watched ten things i hate about you, its so cute!! and now im in the lab talking to kristin and stuff : ) i promise i wasnt distracted matt (hoffman)!!! well i should go to sleep... but me and kristin are "bonding" but im thinking all this will have to wait til our trip to spain(yay!) : ) ~jen

well me and sarah are going to belgium the first weekend in november and i am SO excited!! and the day after we get back from spain i am going to austria with sarah i, travis, beth ann, caryn and courtney. so all this traveling and planning is getting so old... my bank account is draining ever faster!! but im going to go to as many places as i can while im here : ) so i think i need to go read a book and get a cup of tea. i have had too much stress over the past few days, like the most ive had since the end of last semester. and i dont think im handling it extremely well. and there are so many things that are stressing me out right now that i cant do anything about, like my schedule... im STILL waiting for my advisor and stephanie from the honors office to email me back, and i cant do anything about my schedule til they do. plus im waiting to book the hostel for austria until the hostel lady emails beth ann back. so thats on hold too. theres so much more i have to do, that i cant do yet for various reasons, that i cant and dont want to think of right now.... ugghhh. i think im going to go watch the importance of being earnest with some of the girls. so yeah... me and lisa are talking about the stuff thats going on with pledging. yikes. well guess ill go... love ya! ~jen

so today i did just about nothing... old testament, oxford through the ages, sainsburys for groceries, ate some lunch, and then i took a four hour nap : ) then i woke up and ate dinner and now i am here on the computer. me and sarah are trying to figure out where we are going for the next long weekend, which is right after we get back from spain. we get back from spain, have two days of class and then its a long weekend for travel. i really want to go to belgium but we are also looking at going to greece... so anyways im feeling really disconnected from the world... its a sucky feeling. like everything is going on back home and im totally missing it. it makes me sad. and i have nine more weeks(tomorrow!!) of this feeling... ok i will stop whining. especially because i really am having a blast here! its going to be so weird going back home and not walking everywhere and not just going downstairs for class and not feeling like im wearing the same clothes all the time and not doubling the prices of everything and not leaving the country every week. sigh. so i guess i will go since i have nothing else to say... ~jen

hi guys! well lets see... what have i not blogged about... friday night me and beth ann watched fever pitch on my laptop in the laundry room while our clothes were in the washer and dryer. it was really cute! then saturday morning we all went to london and then took a boat down the thames to greenwich where the prime meridian is. me and sarah and lisa went to eat at this tex mex place and it was pretty good, of course they didnt know what the heck bean and cheese tacos were... this is getting REALLY old!!! plus we got a pitcher of margarita and it was WAY strong and i totally almost puked! then we went to the maritime museum with the whole group. after me and lisa went through the entire maritime museum listening to beth anns ipod AND the audio guide(a little portable "radio" that tells you about all the stuff in the museum) we got back on the boat and went to london. we got off near tower bridge and bought stuff at the gift shop. then we ate at subway, where i ate a footlong meatball sub, a bag of chips, six cookies and a bottle of water!!!!! im telling you, i have been SO hungry the past few days!!! so then we took the underground to covent garden which is WAY cute!! and we watched the lion king on broadway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was SO SO SO cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! then we got back home at like 2am. then on sunday i just did some homework and then went to nine at nine, which was really good. it was about God renewing your motivation and helping you persevere. it was cool. then today i had old testament and oxford through the ages. then i ate my burnt pizza... then i did some more homework and went to worship, which has been extended to a full three hours now. i thought i was going to die having to sit there for three hours but it actually went by even faster than usual. so now i need to study for my test tomorrow in wisdom and devotional lit. and eat dinner. and clean off my desk. but instead i am here in the computer lab... go figure. hmmmm probably should go... ttyl ~jen

well i dont know that theres much to update about... : ) lets see... i watched schindlers list last night for the first time, it was really good. i cried at the end. but i must say i like life is beautiful a lot more. so anyways i have been eating nonstop all day... anything and everything. good thing me and sarah bought about 100 dollars worth of food at the grocery store the other day. so right now we are just cracking up in the computer lab. good times : ) gtg, talking to too many people at once. love ya! ~jen

so we just got back from france and it was fabulous!!! so let me try to remember everything from the beginning... we left wednesday morning at 6am and took a private coach to london, where we caught the chunnel to paris. the ride wasnt too bad, about three hours. then we arrived in paris and waited a long time while everyone exchanged their pounds for euros(which is a much better rate for us americans!). then we took the metro(subway) to our hotel, which was on a canal. but it was on the "bad" part of town... after we dropped our luggage at the hotel, we went to see sacre coeur which is a huge white cathedral, it was cool. then we decided to eat at this little place across the street and unfortunately got ripped off, everything was extra cost but our waiter decided to not tell us that... then we walked down to the moulin rouge.... YIKES!!! that was just about the most uncomfortable i think i have ever been! pictures of naked women everywhere and sex shops galore. we took some pictures and then decided to go get dessert somewhere near our hotel. well we got lost. we walked around for about two hours, asking millions of people for directions, none of which were right... but we finally got back and completely crashed. then on thursday morning we were out of paris, on a bus to caen, at 7am. at caen we visited the WW II museum which was really neat. it was all about d-day, but we were all so exhausted from the day before and from not getting much sleep. so after spending about three hours there we got back on the bus to go to bayeaux which is on the north coast of france and where our hostel was for the next two nights. after we left our luggage there, we all went to see the bayeaux tapestry which is 70 meters long and depicts the story of how william the conqueror took over the throne of england. it was cool to see because we have been talking about it in my oxford thru the ages class. then after that we went to see the bayeaux cathderal which was ok. once you see a few cathedrals, youve just about seen them all... then we went to dinner at this little cafe/bar and had some pizza... it was interesting. i have definitely become a lot less picky when it comes to eating : ) after that we went back to the hostel and played mafia(a game where people get "killed" and you try to figure out whos in the mafia) with a big group of us. this is where the night gets interesting... and somewhat scary. so we were playing mafia in this stone room below ground thats sort of a commons room for all the guests. then about half way through a bunch of sixteen year old drunk high french guys come down... well one thing you have to know is that just making eye contact with frenchmen is considered major flirting... so we didnt look at them and kept playing the game. well they came over and tried talking to us, acting crazy and so dustin told everyone we should go. so as we are getting up to leave, sorta jogging towards the stairs, someone grabbed my arm. well i thought it was a girl in our group but when i turned around there was a french boys face. so i sorta got scared but told myself it was just someone in our group bc dustin and someone else were behind me. i grabbed kellys arm as we sprinted up the stairs. we were all kind of laughing, i think bc we were nervous. well kelly had a little accident. so the rest of the girls were on the opposite side of the hostel as me and kelly. so i was making sure i stayed with kelly so i didnt get caught by myself. she ran into the bathroom on the opposite side of our room and i screamed at her not to leave me so she told me to come in. well we heard the boys coming as i ducked into the bathroom and the other six or so girls decided the bathroom was a closer and therefore safer place so they ran in too. now this bathroom is really really tiny, enough room for a sink and a toilet. so kelly decides to go to the bathroom so it doesnt get worse even though we are all in there. well lara was trying to lock the door when we hear someone outside the door and then the door flings open and a french boy shoves his head in. all girls scream and smush themselves into the farthest corner which happens to be where kelly and the toilet are. i was scared out of my mind!! so the boys finally leave but a minute later we hear a knock on the door and our reaction was to scream. but it was only dustin and nathan, there to take us to our rooms. well me and kelly went with the rest of the girls up to their side of the hostel along with the guys as our protectors. kelly went into the other girls room but i was the last one and i didnt know where to go bc i couldnt see where they had gone. so i went with dustin and nathan into their room bc it was close. then brent came down with kelly and all three guys walked me and kelly back to our room-such sweethearts. then later they walked denyce over so she could shower in our shower(otherwise she would have had to shower far away, possbly by the french boys). thats when me and kelly heard what had gone on while we were in our room. well first i found out that some french guy had grabbed my arm and dustin got mad and told him to stop and the guy asked if he wanted to fight and dustin just said no and went to find us. that freaked me out!! but i definitely thanked God for dustin a million times that night!!!!! then after me and kelly were in our room, the french boys went up to jordan and jennas room, which was not locked. they said "the pretty french boys are here" and opened the door. jordan ran and slammed the door shut and told jenna who had ear plugs in to scream. so jenna screams bloody murder and dr morgan who was in the room right next door comes out and talks to them and tells them to leave them alone. well then they they went down and knocked on dustin, brent and nathans room wanting to know where the girl was(me!). dustin decided to just talk to them so they would calm down, they kept asking for beer and weed and wanted to go dancing with american girls. so after they taught dustin some french words all was well. so then the next morning we got up and went on a guided tour of d-day all over normandy. it was probably one of my favorite things on the trip. i love history but our guide was really awesome. he was a good storyteller and he not only told us about what happened in the big picture, he also shared personal stories which made it much more meaningful. so we did that for about seven hours. we went to utah, omaha and gold beach, plus a few small towns. then we ended the tour at the american cemetary. the whole experience was just amazing! then after we got back to our hostel me and sarah and denyce went shopping in bayeux. i bought a few things and then we went back to the hostel to eat a free three course meal. it was pretty good, some weird stuff but i actually liked it! like i said im much less picky!! : ) then after dinner a big group of us went to a bar and had drinks(i didnt get anything) and hung out there for about an hour. on our way out we somehow started talking to some american army guys(it wasnt me, i dont talk to strangers!) they seemed pretty nice. well after we left one of the guys noticed that the army guys were following us... so the guys were walking behind us girls and they hatched a secret plan that was supposed to be unknown to us girls, but i knew bc i was at the back of the clump of girls and right in front of the guys, they were so funny. its nice to see the warrior come out in guys when they know they have to protect girls : ) well all that planning was for nothing bc the army guys turned down some road right before we turned down the street to go to our hostel. but some of the guys still stayed behind on the corner to "make sure" : ) so thus concluded our friday night in bayeaux. saturday morning me and sarah and denyce and beth ann and erin got up and went to the market a few blocks down. it was cool, we got some really good fruit. then i bought the two yummiest croissants in a nearby bakery. they were heavenly!! then we loaded up our luggage onto the private coach and traveled about twenty minutes to arromanche which is on gold beach(d-day british beach) and spent about three hours there. its so pretty! but it didnt smell so great... we walked on the beach for awhile and then we shopped in the little stores and ate some lunch. then we hiked up to a cliff that overlooked both gold and juno beaches and it was so pretty!! i got pictures but who knows when i will actually find time and effort to put them on here... sorry! so then we got back on the private coach and headed back to paris. but this time we stayed in a much much nicer part of town. once we got there we left our luggage and went to free dinner at a "sister" hostel. it was pretty bad... i ate barley with alot of salt and some spinach and cheese quiche... then me and sarah and beth ann and denyce and lisa went to the eiffel tower!!!!! it was so awesome!!!! we met two au pairs that were about our age, one was from australia and the other one was from austria and they had been in paris for about four weeks. we didnt know which metro to take and they were going to the eiffel tower too so we just followed them. it was about 9:30pm when we got there and the lights lit up on the tower every hour for about twenty minutes. we went all the way up to the top and got to see the entire city, it was so cool. then it took forever to get back to our hostel because we went to the wrong metro station and had to do all kinds of crazy stuff to get back. we ended up hopping over a few ticket turn stiles... we were so tired!! then sunday morning we got up at 7am(having only five hours of sleep.... on top of not getting sleep in general the entire trip) and went to mass at notre dame. it was pretty cool. of course it was catholic and in french. then after that we went to a market that was sorta far away but totally worth it. we had some really good potatoes and bought some fabulous chocolate thats from brussels(i want to go to belgium just so i can get some chocolate!). then about noon me and sarah and kristin and hannah and rachel and amanda and shelbi and brian and todd went out to versailles. it is HUGE!!!!!!!!! and the gardens are even BIGGER!!!!!! we split up once we got there-me and sarah and rachel went to the royal bedrooms, the state rooms, the hall of mirrors(only part of it though because they are working on it) and some other rooms in the house. (everyone but us three went back earlier to meet people for dinner) on the train back though we met some girls from the design school in ft lauderdale, they were really nice. then rachel made friends with a little four year old girl that was sitting across from us. she was so cute! then we went back to our hostel and me and sarah decided to go out to champs de elysee(a ritzy street with ritzy stores that has the arc de triumphe at the end). almost all the stores were closed even though it was only eight oclock. we bought some stuff at sephora and then we went to mcdonalds to get something to eat really fast. we were planning on going on a boat ride down the seine river before we met lisa and beth ann and denyce to go get some drinks. well we ended up talking to a french man named louie. he was very sweet, about 22, studying to be a lawyer. he ended up sitting at a table with us bc the only table left for me and sarah to sit at had six chairs so when he got his food after us, the only open seats were at our table. so we talked to him for a good thirty minutes. it was really cool. then we got on the metro and met the girls at the hostel to go out. we decided to go to a bar with salsa dancing that was over by notre dame that the girls had seen before they had gone back to the hostel and on our way there we ran into brent, kyle, lara, kathryn, susan and lael and they decided to come with us. so the place was pretty small and we had to squeeze into this small corner booth. but it was SO much fun! they actually had margaritas and i tried sarahs sex on the beach and it was really good too! and our waiter was awesome! denyce taught me how to salsa and we just had a good time shaking it on the dance floor : ) but it was scary bc there were a few old creepy men... we ended up saving each other more than once! ; ) after about an hour there we went back to the hostel so we wouldnt be locked out and bc we were SO exhausted!! then monday morning me and lisa and sarah got up to go to the louvre(im not much of an art person but i figured it would be cool to see the mona lisa and stuff). on the way i got two crepes with butter and sugar in them-they were SO good!!! then we stopped at a little store and we all bought a cute purse : ) mines a little clutch with a brown sequin background and varied colors of purple sequined flowers-so so cute! then we finally got to the louvre-it is SO huge!!!!!!!! we saw the mona lisa(you arent allowed to take pictures but sarah snapped a shot without getting caught) and the statue of nike and the statue of venus de milo and alot of other famous paintings that i actaully recognized. we just hit some major points and only stayed for an hour and a half but i really enjoyed it. i definitely appreciate all those pieces after seeing the real thing, it was really amazing!! then we walked down the street and went shopping! oh but before that we stopped at mcdonalds and grabbed something to eat real fast. so we went to h&m and zara. i didnt get anything a zara although i saw a ton of cute things. but at h&m i got a thing of ten eyeshadows for only 6 euros which is still about 6 dollars and a pair of huge earrings that are grayish purple and gold and a matching hair thing. im just not sure what to wear them with... probably black shirt, jeans and black heels-the old stand by : ) anyways then we went back to the hostel to get our luggage so we could leave for the metro. then after taking the metro a little bit we got off to get on the chunnel. the chunnel ride was fine, slept a little, talked to dr and mrs morgan a bit. then we got to london and took a private coach to oxford-that was pretty relaxing, i sat by myself and just listened to music. then once we got home i got online.. and thats about it. now me and sarah and kristin and denyce have to plan our trip to spain which is in about two weeks. and this weekend we are all going to greenwich and i think most of us are staying there for the evening too-texas embassy and good margaritas here we come!! : ) and i think some people are talking about going salsa dancing!!!!!!!!! im so excited!!! i love it here! we are always doing something fun and exciting! and i have really grown in so many ways!! for one thing i eat alot more stuff than i used to, which everyone will be happy about : ) i cant wait to go back a different person-traveled and experienced. well i better go... so much to do! love you all!! ~jen

alright so i shouldnt be here blogging right now... i should be praying for 45 minutes or reading a long article about power and writing a paper on it or doing my wash... oh well. theres always later or tomorrow. so last night a bunch of us went to see pride and prejudice(i love that book!!) and it was SO good!! it was so cute, the guys that went with us got all dressed up in suits and stuff : ) lisa took a picture, i will have to get it from her later and put it on here. anyways then after that we stopped by g&d's so kyle could get ice cream, and me and lisa were planning on getting some too but we only had our debit cards. so we all went back to the house and me and lisa and lael decided that we wanted to do something bc it was only 11:50. so we found out that g&d's does take cards and decided that we were going to run there to get ice cream before they closed at midnight... so we ran and got there in five minutes. (i have become more "athletic" since i have been here, feel my calf muscles and you will know lol). so lael goes to pull the door open and it wont budge. we were so mad! we were knocking on the door and all kinds of stuff(but not being obnoxious lol) but they wouldnt pay any attention to us. so we were about to walk back when lael leaned on the door and it flew open! the door said "push" and she had pulled lol so yeah we got ice cream and it was so good! i had belgian chocolate with belgian chocolate shavings-yummy!!! after we got back me and sarah read our old testament assignment, that was fun let me tell ya... epsecially at like one in the morning. then today we went to iffley church for our oxford through the ages class. it was alright. then we were supposed to go to christ church(where alot of harry potter was filmed) but it was about to close because they were having a wedding there. so me and lisa and sarah and beth ann went to eat at this little restuarant on the river called the river head. it was actually really good. then we walked back here and i have just been on the computer and talking to people. probably gonna get ice cream sometime later. should go do something productive... but im so so tired... love ya! ~jennifer

hey everybody! well today was alright... i was so exhausted from this weekend! i took a two hour nap and was still tired this afternoon. christian worhsip class was good, we get tea in there everyday so i like it even better : ) i have plans to go buy a mug at starbucks that says england on it. lisa got one and its so cute! plus we always have to byoc(bring your own cup) to worship class and all the ones in the kitchen are kinda sketchy... so im going to get my own. plus when i get back to the states it will be a good mug to put ice cream it : ) lol so today i wore my glasses(which rarely happens) and threw on my light tan shirt from gap(that i bought here that cost me less than six bucks!) and my black cardigan and my new cute jeans and my little sequined black shoes. i felt like crap and was totally not concerned with my appearance. but guess what? lol dustin and brent said my glasses looked good and both kelly and lisa told me i looked like a model... what the flip?!?! guess i should look like that more often lol oh gtg dustins here to kick us out of the lab.... love ya! ~jen

hi everybody!! well i have so much to tell you! so we went to snowdonia and it was a fun trip. we left after class on thursday around 3:45pm to go to the bus station and it was such a far walk, especially since we had to carry our luggage. but it was definitely preparation for this weekend... so we were on the train from 4:30 til 11pm. but we had fun singing and playing cards and talking on the way. then when we finally got to the last station carl(the guy who runs the hostel we were staying at) was there with his land rover to pick us and our luggage up and take us to the hostel. very nice of him but kinda scary. so then we got to the hostel and it was way cool! it was better than the houses we are staying at here. free breakfast every morning til 9:30 and a movie room and movies to rent for a pound and a bar room(that we never used) and hot showers! the room we stayed in had eight beds in one room and a sink and there were six of us. and we were by ourselves for the first two nights. ok so thursday night we went straight to sleep(well after talking for quite awhile). then on friday morning we got up early, ate breakfast and got on a bus to climb mount snowdon. yeah i know, you all think im lying lol i thought kelly was joking when she said we were going to climb a mountain. i thought yeah climb a mountain lol thats cool. but i knew it was serious when we got to the hostel and started talking about what we were going to do the next day... but i had a positive attitude, thought it would be cool to say that i had climbed a mountain. so we rode the bus up to the base of the mountain. that was an adventure in itself! the guy was going at least 70mph and at most points the two lane two way rode turned into only one lane so if two cars happened to be going opposite directions and met each other on the one lane one car/bus would have to back up until it was two lanes again and let the other car pass. plus there were parts where the rode was on the side of the mountain with only a small rail to keep you "safe". so we reached the base of the mountain and it started to lightly drizzle. after the warden gave us advice on what paths to take to the top we were on our way. i was totally pumped! so i had thought this mountain would have alot of trees and dirt paths... yeah so not the case... it had sheep in the grass and all the paths were rocky. and if you know anything about climbing rocks and wetness is NOT GOOD!! but we are college kids and decided to go for it anway. the hike up took us two and a half hours and was really hard on my lower body seeing as how i dont exercise ever. i was so exhausted by the time we reached the summit. the top of the moutain was cold and since we were "walking in the clouds" we were picking up all the precipitation so our clothes and hair began to get wet. we ate our peanut butter sandwiches and digestives(these yummy cookies that are essentially a round graham cracker with chocolate on top) and rested for about thirty minutes before beginning our climb down. me and sarah really wanted to take the train down but it left before we could get on. so the climb down was easier and harder than the climb down... going up really wears you out, we had to keep taking breaks. but the climb down is easier on your body(although it works different muscles) but its more dangerous because its easier to slip and fall. i fell on my butt a few times, but nothing bad. kelly slipped and fell on the way up when we stopped by this little stream. she went to touch the water and slipped and busted her chin and scraped her knee. it was so bad, but she claimed she was fine. so on the way down we got completely soaked because it started raining. i mean to the bone. i HATE being wet, well i take showers whatever lol but i dont like getting caught in the rain and whatnot. i freak out. but i was totally fine with being wet on the way down. of course i was probably the most uncomfortable i have ever been in my life and i was not too happy to have to remain wet til we got back to our hostel which was about three hours after we were done climbing the mountain. and i said i did not want to see another rock for the rest of my life!! lol so the bus we had to take back to our hostel wasnt coming for another two and a half hours. so we decided to take another bus that was coming in thirty minutes but was going in the direction opposite of our hostel. the plan was to then take another bus to our hostel. we would be getting there about the same time as the other bus that was leaving much later. but we preferred to be doing something instead of just sitting at the base of the mountain in the cold rain. so we took the bus soaking wet and got off at the stop and ate at this little cafe. i got a bacon, avocado, mozarella cheese toasted sandwich. sounds kinda good right? well it was sorta weird... i took off the "bacon" because it was really slabs of ham, gross! but i was so hungry i ate the rest of it. plus i had chocolate fudge coffee-it was really good after i added a large amount of sugar : ) then we caught our other bus that took us back to our hostel. when we got back we all showered(which was WONDERFUL!!!!!) and then we decided to put our soaked clothes and shoes in the "drying" room. sounds smart right?? NO! BAD IDEA!!!!!!! we figured out the hard way that the drying room is really the keep wet room. it was so humid in there that everything just retained its moisture... stupid! so anyways we watched good will hunting in the cool lounge room, i had never seen that movie. it was SO good!!! well it kinda helped that both matt damon and ben affleck were in it ; ) so i discovered the next morning that both my shoes and my only pair of jeans were still half way soaked. sucky! brent had the same problem so we ended up sitting on the floor of our hostel room using the blow dryer to get our pants to a wearable state. it was SO ridiculous!! so then once we were ready we went down to the tourist information center to get directions on how to get to black rock sands beach and the castle in criccieth. once we had them we set out on the longest journey of my life! the first part of it was okay except for the fact that the directions werent very clear and we walked an unnecessary amount of time. but once we reached the beach it was so wonderful! the sun was shining and there was a bit of a breeze. we sat on the rocks and ate the sandwiches we had bought at this little cafe. me being plain jane got turkey, lettuce and cheese on a baguette and i ended up splitting it with brent because he ordered some nasty sandwich. it was mexican chicken and he asked for pickles on it which turned out to be not pickles at all, but rather a purple looking jam. needless to say it was disgusting! not even josh would eat it which says alot! so then we decided to go on a trail up over the rocks to another part of the beach. and there we got to walk out on a sand bar-the water was SO cold but felt good once we got used to it : ) it was so beautiful! then we followed lisa and kelly up over some rocks to another part of the beach where we could see the castle we were planning on seeing. so from there we decided to walk to the town of criccieth to see the castle because it SEEMED close... thus begins the journey of hell... no joke! so we walked along the beach, towards the castle, for about a mile. it was alright except that my hip began hurting(it has started to do that lately when we walk alot... oh well). so because of my hip and the fact that i was so sick of walking, i remained about twenty or thirty yards behind everyone else. i felt so bad because they kept stopping for me to catch up. so then once we had reached the end of that part of the beach it was time for us to begin walking towards the land so we could go over the cliff that was blocking our walk along on the beach. but not before stopping to check out some caves near the cliff. they werent anything to talk about, in fact they smelled pretty bad. so then we walked through a campsite and had to jump a barb wire fence to get to the road that would supposedly take us to the castle. well we obviously got lost because we ended up at a dead end near a bunch of farm houses. so josh stopped and asked a welsh farm boy how to get to the castle. after he nicely told us where to go we began the worst part of the journey. the boys directions took us down a steep and rocky trail that was covered in mud. once we had made our way through that we reached the beach on the other side of the cliff that had previously thwarted our beach walk. well this beach was hell! it was covered, and i mean COVERED! there was no sand in sight, in mulitcolored rocks about the size of my fist. and this stretch of beach that we had to walk down was probably two miles long(of course im a bad estimator AND an exaggerator... lol). and on top of that the castle still seemed as far away as ever. i was seriously on the verge of tears. my hip was hurting so bad and we had been walking a total of about three hours. like i said... the journey of hell! i cant even put into words my feelings of despair at that time... i had said i never wanted to see another rock in my life and i made sure to remind God that this was not a funny joke... so anyways we finally reached the edge of the town of criccieth and found out when the buses back to our hostel were coming because there was no way we were walking back! so then we were on our way to the castle but all of us were famished so we decided to stop at this little tea room that was close by. it was exaclty what i needed! i got a small pot of tea, a piece of chocolate cake and a scone with butter. plus i ate the peanut butter sandwich sarah had made for me that morning. i was feeling much better after that. plus brent retold our journey in a humurous way so that we could laugh about it-it was the only healthy way of dealing with it. when we left the tea room it was about 5:30pm. so we headed for the castle and when we got there the lady told us that we only had thirty minutes to go around the castle which wasnt enough time and we still would have to pay full price. so we bought some things in the gift shop and left... so then we hopped on the bus back to our hostel and were so thankful to be "home." we took showers and then me and sarah and kelly went just down the street to this fish and chips place to get some dinner. i got a chicken and vegetable pie and chips. the lady asked me if i wanted gravy and i told her on the side and do you know what she did? she poured it on the chips which were to the side of my pie lol ...on the side... anyways i was kinda nervous about this pie bc i am such a picky eater but it was just about the best thing i have ever eaten!! i was very surprised and so happy to eat a good meal. then after dinner we all watched the green mile. that movie is so good but it scares me SO bad!!!! lol and ive seen it like three times. plus i cried at the end, its so sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! me and josh were the only ones in the group that had seen it before. kelly was bawling! she started when percy kills mr jingles and i dont think she ever really stopped. so then we went to bed and the next morning we got up and walked around the shops and bought some lunch at tesco which is like wal mart. my lunch consisted of a bag of potato chips, strawberries, raspberries and a bottle of water. lol needless to say i was HUNGRY by the time we got off the train in oxford at 5:30pm. i was so glad to be "home!" so i took a shower and got ready for nine at nine(our sunday night worship time at nine oclock in house nine) and unpacked my bags. then me and sarah made some dinner and went to house nine. it was so good tonight! i was crying the whole time!! brent was part of the group that was leading it and he talked about how abraham had prayed for so long for isaac and then God asked him to sacrifice isaac but that God had provided an offering. and how that story related to his relationships back home, that he had finally found friends that he really trusted and then he had to leave for oxford which is where he knew God was leading him but that bc of that he had to "sacrifice" those relationships to God but that he knew God would provide. and i started bawling! thats exactly where im at right now! i know im supposed to be here and i love being here. but there are people back in the states that i have left behind, people that i finally found that i had been waiting for and now i have to leave them. and i know that its all Gods plan and timing and im cool with that but brent put all of that into words and it really hit me hard. and then we stayed an extra hour and just prayed and i started crying again when we were taking praying requests because there are so many people here that are going through some hard times and it just tugged at my heart... hard. but it was good : ) so i think thats about it for this weekend... love ya! ~jen