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Well...at least ready to update my blog again, as a useful method of procrastination! Being back has been a relaxing change of pace, and I'm enjoying it at the moment. Still, the "travel high" hasn't quite worn off yet. I did realize, coming back into the country, that Britain has become a second home to me now. What seemed so exotic and strange at first has become reassuringly familiar, especially compared to the Continent. Now, I'm not saying that I've gone native or anything like that, just that it took some traveling for me to realize how comfortable Britain has become for me.
Of course, there's still a lot of Britain that I haven't seen---but over break I did get to go to Scotland. In fact, a remote Scottish island. I went to a holy place: the Isle of Iona with Christian Focus for Students' Week, where we stayed in the old abbey and met lots of other uni students from Bath, Kings in London, and Cologne, Germany. It was a week that I really needed, a chance to reflect, pray more, and of course experience the beautiful nature on the island. I spent one week there, and I want to go back so badly! It was such an idyllic place, with wonderful people (in the Iona Community and the local residents) and a sense of being removed from the chaotic outside world. For instance, there aren't any streetlights on Iona. That means we needed to use a torch everywhere we went, but it also meant we were able to see the stars.
The abbey and cloisters:
One of the days we went on a pilgrimage to see the sacred sites of the island, like the beach where St. Columba landed in the 500's to establish his monastery. I went on the off road pilgrimage, which on Iona means that I waded through boggy swamps and moors, trying unsuccessfully to keep my jeans from getting muddy and wet. I failed on all accounts---I not only got mud up to my knees, but I also went too close to the shoreline on the beach and got my shoes soaked by a giant wave! It was worth it, though. The next day we took a boat trip to the island of Staffa, which is similar to the Giant's Causeway in Ireland. I got to sing in the famous Fingal's Cave, which has the acoustics of an opera house. We even passed seals sunbathing on the rocks on our way there.
Staffa:
The rest of my time was taken up with daily life in the Iona Community. Having a daily schedule, a routine and rhythm to the day was a respite from what had become my usual vagabond existence. Here's an example of a typical day:
7:30 AM: Wake up to the sounds of the Rising Bell (or, once, singing!)
8:15: Breakfast (cereal, toast, tea, or coffee--I even tried marmalade, but I'm afraid I don't care for it as much as Paddington Bear does)
9:00: Morning worship in the Abbey (an ecumenical service)
10:00: Chores. Yes, we had chores. I was in the Puffin group, which meant that I helped set the table for lunch and wash up afterwards. It also meant that we got bathroom duty...luckily, my task was mopping the floor so it wasn't too bad.
10:00-12:30: Sessions
12:30 Lunch, which included delicious homemade soup, homemade bread, and fruit
12:30-6:30: Free time, mainly spent exploring the island or hanging out in the Common Room
6:30: Dinner (mostly vegetarian meals but we did get a wonderful Sunday roast)
7:30: Sometimes a presentation, or music rehearsal
9:00: Night service (we had a variety of them, like a silent service and healing service)
10:00: Nighttime fun! Monday night we went to a ceilidh, which is traditional Scottish folk dancing, similar to New England contra dancing. We even heard a member of the community play bagpipes! Or we would go to a "prayer meeting" (in quotes). I think that one is self explanatory.
Midnight: Bed!
All in all, it was a busy and yet rejuvenating time. I loved hanging out with everyone, meeting people from other universities, learning a new way to play Mafia (Werewolves), and coming closer to God during Lent. Especially since I was in Amsterdam for Easter! ;)
Port Ban, the most beautiful of all the beaches:
Things I learned from this trip:
-Iona is "a very thin place...with a thin boundary between Heaven and Earth" (apologies to George McLeod!)
-Black pudding is NOT pudding! Well, no British pudding is pudding in the American sense. "Pudding" refers not to the delicious treat that comes in a plastic cup, but to desserts of any kind. Technically, chocolate cake is pudding. So wrong. Black pudding is worse though...it's filled with disgusting things and...bleh. I didn't even bother trying haggis.
-I don't like Scottish whiskey. Enough said.
-A "cream tea" does not refer, as common sense would make people (ok, me) think, to creamy tea. It means tea with cream (not whipped cream, far more buttery) and scones (rhymes with "on" instead of "own"). I also learned that the cream is meant to be spread on the scones like buttered toast. I saw what the scones looked like---fruity American biscuits--and immediately
dumped a dollop of cream on top of the scone as if it was biscuits and gravy! And, well, the end result was not pretty. And the cause of much amusement to the Brits. And neverending teasing. It was still delicious, though. I still feel like a barbarian because I drink my tea black, without milk.
-Don't let the Caribbean-like blue waters fool you...Scotland is COLD! I spent many happy hours sitting by the Common Room fire. ;)
It was a special time, a special place, and I'll never forget it.Today is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
We will not offer to God offerings that cost us nothing.
Next up: I'll eventually be getting to Italy and the Germanic countries!
