bevinUSA

The guy from the Sonic Commercials!

2008-05-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, claim to fame time. When walking down the street in New Orleans on a visit recently I walked past one of the guys from the Sonic commercials. His deadpan face looked really familiar. Of course this will only impress a small amount of you as the rest of you either a)don't live in America or b) don't watch any TV! Sadly everyone I was with in New Orleans fell into both of these categories so I had to keep my celebrity sighting to myself until finding someone who could really appreciate it!
For all of you who have no idea what I'm talking about - Sonic is a fastfood burger restaurant. The current commercial has 2 guys in a car talking about the food. The one I saw was the guy on the left in the photo below!

Woohoo!! Graduation!

2008-05-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

Well, the culmination of much sweat and tears (fortunately no literal blood!) came to bear on Friday 16th May, 2008. I got to take part in the Graduation ceremony. This means that I got to dress up in cap and gown and get presented with a diploma envelope (sadly empty..) My degree isn't finished until I complete the 500 counseling hours, so they let us 'walk' in May if you're done with the academic stuff.

(pic above, Suz my roommate and Taneil Barbor who was in Dundee for 2 years as an OT)

We get our actual diploma when we're finished the clinical hours. It was a lot of fun and my parents and sister Jenny were able to join in the occasion. Terry and the Rahaims and Cliff and Suzette Leverette were also there for the occasion.

It was a really nice celebration. Bit tough going back to the clinic on Monday though, it's definately a mental battle to get through the rest of the hours, like the end part of a marathon (so I imagine, never having done such a thing... :))

The Storm

2008-04-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

Friday lunchtime several tornados came through Jackson and surrounding areas. Some sites are saying as many as 5 confirmed. Thankfully, no reported loss of life, but a lot of trees down, power lines damaged and disruption around these areas. We were really fortunate that our campus was not directly affected. We did have severe weather pass over us, but it seems that this was just a severe thunder storm, rather than a tornado.

I was in an internal classroom with no windows, so our first alert was the fact that the lights were flickering. Then there was sound of wind whistling through the ceiling. We went out to the lobby and the sight outside was horizontal rain, almost as if you were under water! The hail was about the size of large peas! The tornado siren was going off, which was a bit freaky, but we just moved to the inner part of the building (according to the drill) and thankfully it moved over without touching down.

Later on a friend called me to ask if I was alright. She reported that parts of Jackson were devasted, with large oak trees uprooted and houses damaged by trees falling on them. She said she saw many roads blocked by trees, not rotten trees mind, but healthy huge oak trees with huge root systems! Many homes are still without power 2 days after the storm.

Many are reporting that the damage done from this storm is worse than that inflicted by Hurricane Katrina in Jackson in 2005.

links to news sites with more photos/reports:

http://www.wlbt.com/
www.clarionledger.com

A thing of great beauty (thanks to my Mum!)

2008-04-06T13:29:00.001-07:00

This may look like a pretty ordinary bacon sandwich to you, but believe me this represents so much more!!
American bacon is a lot different to British bacon - it tends to be more like our streaky bacon - less meat, more crispy. Our bacon is probably one of the foods I've missed the most while living out here. So my fantastically thoughtful mother took it upon herself to research on the web to see if it were possible to get some homestyle bacon delivered to the US. Well, good old Galtee does deliveries at special times of the year - Christmas and St Patrick's Day! Mum was able to send me some bacon and sausage and other good stuff in time for St Patrick's Day - Yay for her! and Yay for some amazing bacon sandwiches and a taste from home!!
It's the little things....

That's more like it!

2008-04-06T13:26:00.001-07:00

Ok, so after the fog cleared the beautiful sunniness came back, the beach I've come to know and love!!!

Like Top Gun, but with Fog

2008-04-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, bet you're all wondering what in the world this post is about?!?!?

Well on a recent visit to the beach in Florida, I walked past a group of pilots from the local airforce base playing v. ball on the beach... Pretty cool, huh?! Only problem was that on the day in question, there was a thick fog over the beach. You could hardly see the water! Check out the photos below to give you an idea of this.

Pretty eerie - huh?!? I thought it was always sunny in Florida! But apparently they even have different weather here... ah well, makes for variety!

Some great sermons

2008-03-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

The guest speaker at our church on Sunday was a guy called Joe Novenson from Lookout Mtn, Tn. He is a really gifted speaker and the 2 sermons he preached that day were so refreshing. I highly recommend you download them, especially if your sould is thirsty. He has a really unique style of being able to teach truths that may be familiar, but in a fresh way which really makes God real. They're not heavy exegetically, but just good. Anyhow, I'm done trying to explain it, just go listen!

here's the link.

http://www.redeemerchurchms.org/sermons.htm

(They're under Living with a Gap Parts 2 and 3)
If they're not here, go to sermon archive link and search for Sunday Mar 9, 2008. Rev Joe Novenson.

Winter weather terms

2008-03-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

Just so you know (should you ever be in Mississippi over wintertime) what we Britishers call 'hail' is referred to as 'sleet' (unless it's the size of a small orange (!) then it's hail.)

Oh and what we would call 'sleet' or even thick rain is referred to as 'snow' here! We were under 'heavy snow' advisory recently, but apart from a very disappointingly wet fall of the white stuff, nothing to report...

There was a slightly more impressive snow fall in January this year, the first since 2000! Much excitement as you can gather, shown by the photos below.

Campus group

Me and Suz

He restores my soul

2008-03-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

After a particularly stressful week with exams, long days and just continuous 'doing', my brain felt ready to burst! It was so great to go for a wee drive along the Natchez Trace (nearby National park). The area near me isn't what you'd call traditionally pretty - there are no majestic mountain ranges or stunning coastlines, but beauty is there if you look hard enough.
The Trace is great because it's not overwhelmed with traffic, there are no big lorries allowed and there are sweeping fields and forest on either side of the road. A whole lot of nothingness, in sharp contrast to the busy fullness within me.
Driving along listening to Handel's Messiah, drinking in the clear blue sky and the constrasting stark, almost bleached trees was just so beautiful. It was one of those cool 'no words' moments when you just feel.
Good for the soul.

Tis the season to be jolly!!

2007-12-07T19:27:00.001-08:00

I'm very excited about coming back to N. Ireland for Christmas - only a week to go! In our campus appartment we've been getting in the Christmas spirit as you can tell from the picture below:

It's going to be strange being back in the UK after 12 months in the US. I know I'll probably spend the time looking for light switches in the wrong places, not turning on plugs and a host of other small, but confusing differences! Not to mention the adjustment to rain and cold! Today's temperature in Mississippi was a high of 26 degrees C!

I'm so looking forward to seeing my family again - I have really missed seeing them - talking on the phone just isn't the same.

Lost in Translation!

2007-12-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

2 recent visits to drive thru fast food restaurants taught me that in spite of having been in the USA for over a year, I still haven't gone native!!
At the first I wanted some 'Tater tots' - or Pototo croquettes to us Britishers... So driving up to the ordering bit the scene unfolded something like this:

Britisher (with cheery enthusiasm): "I'd like some Tater tots please"
Disembodied voice: "Waaaat?!"
Britisher (clears voice, speaks slower): "some tots please"
Disembodied voice: "Maaaam?"
Britisher (frustrated): "TOTS, T-O-T-S - TOTS!!!"

The second time I went to order some frozen custard - my favorite, chocolate with banana.
I've ordered this several times before, but this girl obviously had not crossed the state line, let alone left the country and she was having a bit of trouble with my 'ahccent'...
Apparantly she was unable to comprehend my pronounciation of 'bananas' - I felt somewhat stuck how else do you say bananas?! It's not like you've got another word for it! - short of saying "I'd like some of that yellow curved fruit that's particuarly popular with monkeys, if it's not too much trouble?"

Well, you'll be happy to know my stories had a happy ending, I got my tots and my chocolate frozen custard with banana eventually, but fast food it ain't when you have to ask for it so many times!
sigh...

Joy in community

2007-09-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

This is my class (minus 1 who couldn't be there) at the Launch party for the year above us who graduated this May. Launch is like the graduation party for MFT students, but it's a smaller and more pesonal affair. Traditionally the year below (in this case, us) plans, caters and serves the year above, guests and staff for an evening of food and reminscing. The pinacle of this night is the "presentation of towels". This is where staff give a personal memory of each student and then present each one with a monogrammed linen towel. This is to reflect how Jesus washed His disciples' feet before going to the Cross. The Master serving the servants to remind them that discipleship is a life of service. This is to remind and commission us counselors for a life of serving others.

The preparation work for the evening was a cool example of service in action. All the class worked together preparing food, serving, keeping our tempers in check (!) and genuinely working together to create something really nice for the Seniors. Memorable moments are one of the guys volunteering to iron the tablecloths and sticking at this task, without complaining even when he was still ironing 2 hours later! People putting aside personal preferences for the sake of getting the job done. Being on our feet for 7 hours, finding moments to laugh together in the midst of stress. And lastly, 2 of the guys rolling up their good black trousers so that they could go take tables back across a muddy field to the gym.

Really great to be a part of something which genuinely stretched and challenged and still come out with good feelings and memories about each other! Nothing short of a miracle- God was at work among us...

(And don't we look good in the photo? It was taken at the end of the night!!)

"Maybe you should just get a hazmat suit!"

2007-09-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

These were the words spoken to me by my good friend Susannah's mother at the beach after the latest 'creature attack'! (the day before I managed to get 4 ant bites in the 2 minutes it took me to take a picture outside!)

Anyway, back to the latest 'attack' - there I was innocently swimming in the sea when a ferocious sea creature viciously attacked me (well ok, it was a small jelly fish about 1 inch in diameter which I carelessly got in the way of!) but what did I know?! I'm not in Scotland anymore, for all I knew it could have been some deadly poisonous critter! I mean supposedly harmless sting rays finished off the poor Crocodile Hunter...

Given my allergic reaction to mosquito bites, we thought it better to get it checked out so we waved down the beach patrol man who was just passing on his quad-bike. He was a local police man drafted in for the summer, I guess, to make sure the holiday makers didn't get into trouble or helping out with minor injuries etc.

In an instant he had called in my plight "jelly fish sting at 20th Street" and a police medic guy turned up, closely followed by another squad car - I guess crime is kindof slow in this area and they really didn't have a lot to do! Maybe they hoped for more drama than a slightly red area on my wrist!
(Me hanging out with the Mexico Beach police officers)

Mr police medic guy (in picture on left) rubbed on some vinegar and then sprayed on some foam from a can with a hand printed label 'sting spray' (turned out this was nothing more than shaving foam which was supposed to draw out any poison (?) from the sting). I'm happy to report that my arm is still firmly attached to my body and I suffered no ill effects from the sting!

I do love the outdoors, but going outside here in the US should be designated an extreme support! There are so many things here that can really finish you off! I mean on an average trip outdoors in Scotland the worst that can happen to you is you get wet when it rains or the midges get you! Here there are bears, sharks, poisonous fish, snakes, spiders and on lesser scale poison ivy/oak/whatever, coakroaches (which could easily scare you to death!) and of course mosquitoes! Wow, it's amazing that I've made it this far! I might just check out the hazmat situation, I wonder if they have it in different colors...

The Call of the Wild - Part 3

2007-08-21T13:38:00.001-07:00

Just a couple more pictures to prove that I did some trekking (in the 106 o heat, I'll have you know! That's EXTREME trekking!)

Some pictures of some cool rocks and trees...

and one last one of me to prove that I was really there!

The Call of the Wild - Part 2

2007-08-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

We saw all sorts of weird and wonderful beasties while camping, a couple of examples are below. Also had a scary experience in the middle of the 2nd night. We broke the cardinal rule of camping - don't leave any food outdoors. Well, we hadn't left food, but we hadn't completly washed some dishes which were on a table near our tent. Suz and I were woken by the sound of pots and pans being knocked over! Needless to say there was much anxiety! We yelled for the 2 guys in their tent and they kindly went and checked it out. Whatever it was had run off, but I spent the next few minutes just expecting a bear paw to swipe through our tent! Thankfully no more excitement that night (not a lot of sleep either...)

(L - Queen Ant (?) Huge furry red thing, looked kindof cute, not sure if it's threating or not, often the smaller they are the more deadly!

(L) Don't know it's real name, but

it looks just like a leaf with legs!

(L) This really freaked me out! Apparantly it's made by worms not spiders, but it was big and looked like something out of a Sci-fi show. I gave it a wide berth...

Dang, there goes my elbow

2007-08-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

Got a lovely letter from my US bank today offering me "$1000 of Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance coverage." I'm a little puzzled and a lot perplexed by this! Can you accidentally dismember yourself, or accidentally suffer dismemberment?! Why the precise qualification? Can you be dismembered and not be dead!? Actually, let's not go there, too gruesome!

Gosh, I never thought about getting accidentally dismembered, now that's another thing to think about!

(maybe I should have taken this out before my recent camping trip, plenty of opportunities for dismemberment in the wild...)

The Call of the Wild - Part 1

2007-08-18T17:14:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to take a couple of days break before starting 'the worst semester of the degree' and where did I decide to spend this?

a) in a lovely hotel with pool and airconditioning

b)at the beach with airconditioning

or c) in a tent in 106 o F (41 o C) with no airconditioning?

yes, you guessed it - c)!

Call it affects of continuous heat exposure, delusional belief that the outdoors would be cooler, total lack of understanding of the meaning of camping in the South, or a sign of how desperate I was to get away from Jackson, the campus and clinic!! Whatever the reason, I spent 2 nights in Tishomingo State Park about 4 hours drive from Jackson with 3 friends from the college.

WOW! 3 words - Hot, Mosquitoes & beautiful scenery!! (ok, that's more than 3, but whatever...)

And here is Suz with our luxury home - note the 2 bottles of mosquito repellant by the door, we were taking no chances!

(I'm the person in the background with blue top on)

Country vibes...

2007-07-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

I realized I was more than a little assimilated into the Southern culture when I downloaded this Country song by Billy Currington. It's called Good Directions and the first verse goes like this:

"I was sittin' there sellin' turnips on a flatbed truck
Crunchin' on a pork rind when she pulled up
She had to be thinkin' "This is where the rednecks come from"
She had Hollywood written on her license plate
She was lost and lookin' for the interstate
Needin' directions and I was the man for the job"

(profound, eh?!)

I have resisted country for a long time, but after spending 8 hours in the car with my good friend Laura travelling back from Tennessee, listening to her Country stations I had to concede they weren't all bad and in fact there were some fun songs in there!

Good things about Country:
1. It doesn't take itself too seriously - so it's a bit of escapism listening to these songs
2. They do good story songs (like the above)
3. You kindof know where the song is going which can be comforting! Lots of stereotypes - guys losing/gaining girls/dogs/etc, sweet tea, grits & lots of other Southern references

So, back to the guy selling turnip on a flat bed truck.. now I know you're all curious wondering does he get the girl in the end!??!

(If you should be so inclined...you can check out the rest of the lyrics on http://www.dapslyrics.com/display.php?sid=17633 )

A Mountain of Frustration!

2007-07-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it seems like life is just going from one frustration to another:
- disapointments when plans don't turn out as you had wanted
- car/computer/other equipment break downs, often at the most inconvenient times
- people not meeting your expectations/needs
- clients not turning up when scheduled, often without any phonecall to cancel

In general, life not being what you want/expect can be frustrating as anything!
We can absorb one or two infrequent frustrations fairly easily, but when several come together, it can be easy to think the whole world is conspiring against you and your happiness/comfort/sanity!!

Trying to see the good things (which are always there) can be like trying to see a kernel of corn at the foot of Mount Everest. All you can see is the mountain, the corn is still there, but it is so hard to see compared with the stonkin' great piece of rock in front of you!!

The challenge in life is to see the kernels of corn - joy in friendships, a kind word of encouragement, missing a downpour by minutes, hearing your favourite tune on the radio, etc etc - in the sometimes overwhelming mountain of frustrations and stressors.
My desire is for eyes to see more of the corn and less of the mountain.

Disconnected from the power source!

2007-07-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an interesting day. Talk about a day of 2 halves! The first half was great, I was feeling encouraged and all was right with the world.
This all changed around lunchtime when I was driving back to campus. I was on the exit road leaving the Interstate, when without warning my car died - radio, power steering, hazards, everything (well not brakes, thankfully!)!! I rolled to a stop at the first set of traffic lights. Car wouldn't start, completely dead! Long story short, I got a tow to the nearby garage and they were able to figure out that a cable had disconnected from the battery (well that would do it...). Slightly alarming, I didn't know that could happen!
As frustrating as this was, there were so many things that happened that showed God's Grace and timing even in the midst of this frustrating event.
1. I didn't lose power at 70mph on the Interstate - that could have been nasty
2. A police car turned up and parked behind me, so people knew I was broken down
3. The heavy rain and thunder didn't start until I got in the tow truck, so I avoided a soaking
4. The problem was easily solved and they only charged me for the tow.
It's so easy to focus on the negative (big issue for me), so cool to be able to see lots of positives in the midst of a frustrating time!

Flags, grill outs, and star spangled banners -4th of July ponderings

2007-07-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

I decided a little Nationalism of my own was due on this most American of American days (and perhaps a little mourning as we did lose the war...!) - so I put on some green clothes (to celebrate my Irishness) and went for a drive with Runrig's Proterra cd blaring (scottish part)! It felt good to have my own little mini celebration of what nationalities have contribted to me Bev Wallace. For at the moment I am a nation of One! (there being no other Northern Irish/Scottishers on campus at the moment.

Now I can go and take part in all the best of American traditions that the 4th of July brings - grill out (BBQ), baseball game and fireworks!

Just so you don't feel left out, here's the first verse of the National Anthem, so you can all singalong!

"Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

When you go down to the woods today...

2007-06-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Through friends I got the opportunity to spend a few days in a cabin in the lovely mountains of East Tennesee, Maryville to be precise. My friend Laura and I got to experience lots of cool things including a Momma bear and 4 cute wee bear cubs really close up. Don't worry not that close! but close enough without any fences or anything. It was so cool. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but you get the idea.

The bears were in the Smokey Mountains National Park in a place called Cade's Cove.

East Tennesee was really beautiful and a lot more like the Scottish/Irish scenery I've grown up around.

The day I nearly became an unknowing getaway driver!

2007-03-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

So I’m driving back from my favorite fast food haunt Chik Fil A and am stopped at lights when 4 police cars go past blue lights flashing. I thought something must be happening further on down the road to warrant such a police presence. As I’m waiting for the lights to change I look around and see a Walmart (American Asda) security guard standing by at the side of the road. It looked like he was just watching the action going past. Then one of the police cars doubled back and started talking to the security guard. At this point the lights changed so I continued on my way back to campus. I had only gone a few minutes when I noticed a woman in the road waving for me to stop. In the split second I had to make a decision, I decided to stop, mostly because she was a woman and didn’t look threatening, maybe her car had broken down? I rolled down the window a bit and she started talking, “can you give me a ride to Jackson?” My first response as a foreigner with no directional sense was confusion – “You’re in Jackson!” (As I said this I remembered this wasn’t technically true – we were in Clinton, a small area outside of the capital city of Jackson.) Anyway, back to the story… At this point she was probably regretting waving me down for help! She pressed on with her story, “I need to go to downtown Jackson, my baby is really sick and I need to get there”. She tried to get in the car, but I wasn’t having it. Her story seemed less and less believable, but there was just a little shred of doubt, maybe it was true. Eventually I decided to offer her the use of my phone (she wasn’t carrying anything except a shirt/jacket in her hand). She reluctantly eventually agreed and started to dial. The next second, my car was surrounded by the 4 police cars (they had totally snuck up on us) and they were arresting the woman!!
She dropped the shirt she was carrying in my car (and she did give me my phone back) and so when a police man appeared at my window I thrust this at him and said she had dropped it. The police man wants to know what I’m doing with her, where I’m coming from. I tell him I was just coming from chik fil a and am returning to Seminary (hoping this will testify to my law-abiding character!). They go off to deal with the woman (6-8 police men and 1 security guard for 1 woman…) and leave me feeling somewhat confused and abandoned and unsure if it was ok for me to go! Eventually after talking to a couple of them, I figured it was ok to leave and drove quickly back, desperate to share the story with someone.
My first thought was it was funny, then I realized I was shaking. Talking to my friend and one of my teachers (the advantage of studying in the counseling department), I was able to process it and feel much better. It was only as I was retelling it that I figured out more of what had probably happened. Most likely she was a shop lifter who had run from the store and she was looking for a ride to getaway! I could have been unwittingly an accessory to her! Yikes! She also tried to dump the goods on me which was charming of her! Never mind the fact that the police treated me like I was part of the crime!
I’m just so thankful that I came out of the whole weird experience with nothing more than a good story to tell. God’s gracious protection was definitely at work.
And by the way, I reckon Walmart owes me a gift voucher for my help in apprehending this shoplifter!

Fishermen on the pier at night

2007-03-16T15:13:00.001-07:00

The first night we arrived at the beach, we went for a walk and went towards the nearby pier. There was a crowd of people on the pier, on first look it looked like a crowed just hanging out on a Friday night. We decided to go up on the pier to have a look. It turned out to be a group of fishermen, some of whom were dropping nets on a rope with weights in an attempt to catch crabs and other fish for bait to catch bigger fish. There was some talk of fishing for sharks, but that may just have been fishermen talk!

I’m not a big fan of fishing, perhaps hypocritically, I prefer my fish to come ready prepared, so I don’t have to do the killing myself. In one of the nets, they pulled up a pair of horseshoe crabs, which looked like some sort of mutant cross between a coconut and a crab! I certainly have never seen anything like this! After checking those out I think they got chucked back in the sea. Then another net yielded a stingray. Apparently they’re good for bait. The guy proceeded to cut off his tail (I didn’t look at this point) and show us the barb – “that’ll go through any pair of shoes you have!” he said.. The Crocodile Hunter would have not been pleased with the treatment of that poor stingray (even if a relative of this stingray did finish the CH off…)

Reflecting on the fishermen a bit more later on, made me think of Jesus’ disciples, many of whom were fishermen. I realized that often I think of these fishermen as middle/upper class lawyers or Doctors on a weekend fishing trip. They were probably much more similar to these guys on the pier in Florida, noisy, a bit rough around the edges, used to life and death and not getting all sentimental over fish.

Lost in Translation!

2007-03-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

I was doing some studying in the beach house one morning, when Bo, the pest control man came by to spray inside. A bearded man in his 60s or so, he looked a bit like a beach comber. In the course of his spraying he said something to me. Not yet accustomed to the Floridian accent, I had no idea what he said. I asked him to repeat it, but still had not a clue what he said!

This was one of these humbling moments where I’m trying desperately to make myself understood in my native tongue, apparently to others who are speaking my native tongue also! In an attempt to not be thought of as completely rude or slow–witted, I mumbled something about “I’m just visiting the family.” In the desperate hope that he would realize I wasn’t local and didn’t understand him! Turns out he was commenting on the car registration plates and was interested to see that there were people here from Georgia and Mississippi. When I told him the family was from Georgia, he mentioned he had been stationed in Atlanta. Of course, I have no idea what sort of military/air force/navy base is in Atlanta, so I’m still pretty clueless, but listening hard. He told me he had been a helicopter pilot for years. A Medi-evac pilot – “oh that must have been exciting”, I said, thinking this was some type of helicopter, realized a split-second later what he had said and that was totally the wrong thing to say – I quickly backtracked “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to be insensitive, I heard you wrong. That must have been hard, you must have seen some horrible injuries.”

Bo went on to talk about injuries to people training to jump out of helicopters. His final sentence to me was a classic:
“I’ve seen knees just completely tore out because they didn’t land right” (no pause) “well you all have a good one!”

And that was Bo the Floridian pest control man!

The Beach

2007-03-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

I’ve just spent the most glorious 5 days at my friend Susannah’s family’s beach house in Mexico Beach, Florida. It’s hard to put into words how beautiful the beach is, so I’ve included some pictures. (That's me in the pic in the middle)

I just love the beach, all over the world it is one of my most favorite landscapes. Where I live in Jackson is 3 hours drive from the nearest beach, so I don’t get to go very often. This was my first visit to an American beach.

I wish I could bottle the sights and sounds of the beach, it’s so therapeutic! The sound of the crashing waves, the sight of the bleached white sand and blue sky, the feel of the warm sun on my face and the soft sand under feet, the smell of the salty waves, the taste of freshly caught shrimp gently steamed with subtle spices and garlic. God is so good to create this sensory feast.

Another thing I love about this beach is the amazing shells, each one perfectly unique and hand crafted by God the designer for his pleasure and ours.

First practice time in the counseling centre

2007-02-08T17:51:00.000-08:00

This week we started what they call "behavior rehearsals" which is when we get to take on the role of the counselor or client for extended periods of time. I can honestly say that Tuesday was one of the most stressful days I've had so far on this course! Our teacher explained what we had to do and it was only as it sank in that we realized the enormity of the task! We had to schedule Five 45 minute sessions with another class mate who we were assigned. We had to play the role of the client for 5 sessions and then play the role of the counselor for another 5 sessions with a different person and also arrange 5 meetings with our assigned second year student who would review our tapes of the sessions and give us (hopefully) constructive feedback on our technique. This basically means we have to add 3 hours a week for 5 weeks on top of our normal class load...
Oh, yeah did I mention tapes?!?! We basically have to start behaving like we're actually seeing clients in the counseling clinic, so we meet in the clinic counseling rooms as if we were seeing an actual client. There's a lot to think about and we're all so new to this, it's kindof overwhelming - When I play the counselor role I have to book the room, remember to turn on the video recording equipment in the control room, go back to the room to listen to the 'client' for 45 minutes, during which time I'm only allowed to ask 3 questions and have to use certain phrases and techniques to help them to speak more (no bright lights are allowed...). Then I have to somehow discreetly keep an eye on the time so I don't go over, while not letting them think I'm not listening and keep a jist of what they're saying! Then I have to stop the video, take out the tape, put it in a locked cabinet and only then can I relax. PHEW!! If that sounds exhausting, then good, I'm doing a good job of describing what it's like!
I'm sure this will all become very second nature, but it's been a massive learning curve this week.
However, in spite of the nerves, I actually enjoyed the experience and realized I'm glad we're really getting to practice what I love doing, listening to people.

Culture shock revisited!

2007-02-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked the 6 month mark for my coming to America. I thought I had worked through all the stages of culture shock and was fairly well assimilated. I no longer feel like I'm going to die when I go out on the roads, I don't have to think about which side of the road to drive on or which side of the car to get into. I've also noticed when I'm watching TV shows like CSI, I notice more minutae that are familiar to me. For example, random things like the road signs, the brands of coffee they use in programmes. It's the little things like these that I guess you only get to notice when you're living in as opposed to just visiting a new country.
But then I had this weird experience. We decided to live a little and go to a different Walmart than the usual one we went to. When I went into this new one, I felt totally disorientated and tired, like I was taking in a lot of stimulus and all I wanted to do was get my shopping and get out! It was only as I was talking about the transition process of moving to another country with my friend that I put the whole experience together. Apparantly going to this new Walmart triggered this whole new experience of culture shock and I was overcome by the total Americanness of it!
I'd been in and out of my nearby Walmart loads of times and had stopped noticing the appearance of the people and the American flags and foods and everything that makes it America. But it seems that I'm still new enough to the culture that I only feel comfortable when I'm in my own little part of America. Take me to another part (even another grocery store a few miles away from my usual one) and apparantly I still think I'm entering a new country! Bizzaro! I guess the longer I'm here the less I'll notice the differences. Time will tell...

"In the event of an emergency..."

2007-01-14T19:01:00.000-08:00

"...your seat will detach to make a floatation device. This seat will not be equipped with a light or a whistle and cannot be inflated any further once you're outside the aircraft."

Having traveled on many flights I've had to listen to a lot of the safety information announcements all giving the awfully helpful information about what to do in the event of a landing on water – so useful! Especially in a 747 which frankly is about as likely to make a useable landing on water as it is on land…I wonder why they don’t put more money into researching alternative ways of surviving – like parachutes – crash helmets – detachable escape pods?!? I’d be all in favor of bailing into a escape pod – maybe that will be the airline safety feature of the 22nd Century.

Apologies to any who may be reading this who have a fear of flying - just remember statistically you're much more likely to be injured doing much more mundane things like getting out of bed. (According to Bill Bryson's Notes from a Big Country every year 400 000 Americans suffer injuries involving beds, mattresses or pillows!)

Phew, well that's ok then...

In between The Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits – or the Strange world of airport traveling

2007-01-14T18:48:00.001-08:00

A combination of early check in, jet lag and 4 airports in one day has left me reflecting (some what disorientatedly) on the strange thing that is Trans-Atlantic travel. Considering I’ve spent about 23 out of 24 hours today just sitting – on planes, in departure lounges etc I’m not really sure why I feel so exhausted! I suppose the brain keeps ticking over and it is receiving a lot of stimuli (stimulus...?) of a random, mostly meaningless sort. Inane plane announcements that you’ve heard many times before, snatches of the inflight movies etc

Part of the disorientation comes from the fact that all airports are basically the same - structures a bit like shopping malls with lots of glass and space. The same touristy last-minute-buy shops with the same stock, but different names on the t-shirts. Crowds of milling people with purposeful airs about them as they strike out for their gates.

Traveling within Newark airport, one of the airport staff asked me where I was going and I told him Mississippi, he commiserated with me – nasty! Of course, I would never dream of making disparaging remarks about Northerners, but….

Redeemer Presbyterian Church - my new church

2006-11-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

After visiting a couple of places I decided to commit to Redeemer Presybterian Church in Jackson. www.redeemerchurchms.org For those of you familiar with Jackson, Redeemer is on the site of the old Trinity church and has been operating as a new multi-racial church for about 2 years. Mike Campbell is the preacher and he is really great. He is a really good mix of contemporary preacher, visionary and pastoral worker. He has a real heart and vision for the church. One of the reasons I joined was the warmth of the people and a very tangible sense of the love and Grace of God in the service. I became an Associate member of the church last week which means I have joint membership with my home church in Scotland.
Redeemer is a really cool church and is very unusual in the South which sadly is still living with the legacy of its past with a practial but not legal segregation still affecting the demographics of most churches. Redeemer is an intentionally multi-racial church which is reaching out to the racially diverse neighbourhood in which it is based. It exists to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to all who live around it irrespective of race. It does not seek to be a social experiment or racial project, but is merely purposefully working to redress the imbalance that exists in many churches of different denominations in the South.
Oh and I joined the choir recently which means I get to wear a red robe (yikes, photos may follow depending on how brave I'm feeling). The style of music in church is a mix of older hymns, contemporary choruses and gospel music. I've been told swaying and clapping are optional...

October

2006-11-19T13:25:00.000-08:00

So the rest of October flew by almost like a hurricane or tornado (many tornado warnings nearby during this month but thankfully none landed near me!)
Lovely visit from Anne Bain all the way from Northern Keith to Southern Jackson. I think she enjoyed her first visit to the South having previously only visited those Northerners in New York. Among other thigns, we ate fried chicken and had a road trip along the Natchez trace (beautiful National Park area where deer roam free and if you're really lucky they don't hit your car) to visit Step and Jess in the Camp of the Rising Son. This was a great visit - good to see the Morgans and their amazing kids including new baby Sophia and also to see where Step is working. Great also to get out of the city and away from campus.
October saw my 31st birthday - celebrated in style with the Leverettes and Terry. Suzette made an amazing birthday cake which was truly heavenly. (warning this picture may cause spontaneous drooling)

Halloween/Reformation Day/Fall Festival depending on where you're standing

2006-11-19T13:11:00.000-08:00

Festivals in October are a big deal in the old US of A. From beginning of October, decorations start appearing in people's front gardens which range from little scarecrow men sitting on haybales with pumpkins to giant inflatable ghosts (very stylish..)
Reformed Theological Seminary goes for the Reformation day - commemoration of the day that old Luther made his stand against errors in the State church of the day. Fall festivals are big in the churches and my church Redeemer had a really great one as an outreach to the community with indoor games and stalls, truck loads of candy (sweeties to those Britishers who are reading this), hotdogs and other festivities.
This was some of us who went with a group of the youth group kids who come to the church posing for a family photo.

Oh and how could I forget the pumpkin carving?! Much easier than the turnips that I remember carving as a child (I still bear the scars..)

State Fair October 2006

2006-11-19T12:59:00.000-08:00

So to continue the story about Fall Break, one of the main events of that time of year is the State fair. These happen all over the states at this time of year and like it sounds are basically a fair with a few other attractions alongside.
The state fair in Mississippi is a great thing as it's one of the very few times where everyone comes together from all racial and economic backgrounds has fun, rides fairground rides in variously vomit-inducing forms and eats lots of fried food. (the food may have a lot to do with the latter statement about the rides....)
Much fun was had by our little group who attended (the lovely Taneil is in the middle of the group)

Just so you know I didn't wimp out I did go on a couple of rides and no I wasn't sick, though I was fairly convinced that I was going to die on one of them! Suz and I went on this pretty tame roller coaster with these cute 2 little boys who were about 8 yrs old. I'm not ashamed to tell you that there was much shrieking and tears and it was not from the little boys...
Here's a shot of one of the rides in action - not much danger here except if you count rib cage crushage!

Reading week A.k.A. Fall Break

2006-11-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

So just as we're all about to go crazy over Calvin and are convinced that we have several mental health disorders the kind staff at RTS relent and give us a reading week. Reading week happens the second week of October and is supposedly a time to catch up on and even for some genuises get ahead with all the reading and papers we have to complete before Christmas. But hey, after all that hard work some serious time off and R and R is also called for (hence the alternative name for the week 'Fall Break'). This is often a time for students to go home, take a road trip to New Orleans or Memphis or simply spend time getting reacquainted with their bed and if they're lucky the outside world as well.
I was fortuanate enough to spend a couple of days with the lovely Taneil Barbour who was an amazing Southern hostess and let me stay at her house with cable Tv and pool and we wiled away many an hour just chilling out, chatting, shopping, eating Mexican and catching up. by October the weather was just lovely, the humidity had dropped enough to where you could just enjoy the sunshine without feeling like you were going to melt into a pool of sweat. Good times...

1st Highschool Football Game

2006-11-19T12:34:00.001-08:00

In September I attended my first American Football game at a local high school. The Americans really love their sport and what is nice about it is that sport is very much a community event. So when we went to what was a low level (high school) game all the families turned out and people from the commuity of all ages and backgrounds. Like the baseball game I have to admit that I enjoyed being part of the crowd more than the actual game. I've never understood American football, seems to be a very stop and start kindof game and of course not having a clue about the rules probably didn't help! but the cool thing was watching the band and the cheerleaders and all that razmataz that goes along with the game.
One of my roomates Annie and I even got our picture taken with the mascot (and some random kids who all dived into the photo!)
Here's another picture of all of us who went to the game. The 2 girls are Annie and Suz who I live and study with. The 3 guys are all MDiv students (Trey, Jonathan & Daniel)

Finally something new on the blog!

2006-11-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hey apologies for the distinct lack of action on the blog. Has it really been 8 weeks since the last thrilling installment?!?
Well since then we've had a few photo-worthy events which should give you a wee update on how I'm doing over here. My brain is a bit fried with all that studying, so consider this a picture by picture update of the last couple of months.

It's been nice but...

2006-09-28T05:19:00.000-07:00

...I really want to come home now!
It's been about 8 weeks and America's great, the people are lovely and I've had a great time, but yeah, it feels time to come home!

I think I'm definately in what people call the second stage of culture shock. The honeymoon period has definately worn off and I still have to drive on the other side of the road and have every new person I meet gush 'I just love your accent'. This is really starting to get wearing now. I'm not on holiday, I do have responsibilities and hard stuff to do here and it's difficult and I have to do it all in a different environment.

As I don't have a significant 'people group' here, I feel like I'm entering some sort of limbo, culturally speaking. I felt this particuarly keenly when I went to the International Students Group last Friday. The South Koreans make up about 2/3 of the International community at RTS, then there are other Asians, some Africans, a handful of Europeans, and a couple of Mexicans. First of all it feels very strange to think of myself as an International student! I'm still very much thinking with a UK mindset where I'm at home and others are International! This idea of being an International isn't helped when the other Internationals think I'm American because I look like one of them and speak English! Great, now I don't have a group within the Internationals either!

It's been hard not to feel very separate and different from everyone else here. Like no one can really identify what's happening and what it's like to be me. People are kind, but I feel bad going on about my feelings in case a) I offend them by complaining too much about America and b) I feel that I'm just making a big deal of stuff anyway and just need to get on with it.

I feel very restricted by my new surroundings and frustrated that I can't get around as easily as I could at home. I'm a bit of a control freak (side affect of being an adminstator!)and I think a lot of the stress is coming from having so little control over what I do or how I do it. I have to make a lot of adaptions and that's hard going. It's like every little thing becomes epic! No wonder I feel stressed, I feel like I'm living in some sort of epic adventure, where everything is exagerated and more intense. Suddenly my former life feels quite restful!

I suppose the only good thing about culture shock is that you do eventually settle and can see the good and bad in the new culture more objectively. Role on that time!

Tour of my flat

2006-09-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

Just so you can picture a bit more of where I'm staying, here are a few pics for you.
This is my wee bedroom,

Here's my cool chair which I think looks like some sort of extra from Sesame Street or the Muppets -(in case you can't make it out, it's blue and furry) but hey it brightened up an otherwise boring room!

Here is the lovely Annie in our oh so elegant kitchen...

The Lounge

Help my brain hurts!

2006-09-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not writing more on the blog sooner, the reason will soon become clear...

In one of my classes (psychopathology) we have been studying the oh so long American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM for short) which documents every possible disorder and disfunction known to mankind! I think maybe I've got a touch of one of them myself...

'Brain Fag' is a term initially used in West Africa to refer to a condition experienced by school and university students in response to the challenges of schooling(!)Students stated that their brains were fatigued through too much thinking.

Just in case you're worrying that you might have it too, here's the symptoms:
Difficulty in concentrating, remembering and thinking"

wow, that sounds like most of the population of R.T.S! Help, I think we have an epidemic on our hands...

The Braves v Biscuits in action

2006-09-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

A bit like Rounders, but with more ceremony!

2006-09-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had my first baseball experience! Susannah and I went along with a few others to watch the Mississippi Braves play the Montgomery Biscuits (yes really! they're from Alabama)
This is me at the entrance gate:

This sign tickled me - the reference to flying objects!

I realised that Baseball is so much more than just the sport being played. It's about the family atmosphere, the hot dogs, the waving of foam cutouts, the audible commentary and musical interludes. I enjoyed it.
As for the game itself - well the poor Braves got massacred...

Meet the room mates!

2006-09-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

Left to right Annie, Susannah, Ariel and me

More on these lovely girls later!

Use this in case of insomnia...

2006-08-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Here's another bit from one of my counselling texts. It just makes me mad that someone who presumably cares about the subject of counselling could produce a text that is so unbelievably dry.

"Helpee involvement triggers helper respondingm thus facilitating exploring. In turn, helpee understanding activates helper initiating to facilitate helpee action." (If anyone knows where I can buy counselling theory for Dummies, I'm really interested!)

I was walking across campus this evening and just talking to the Lord saying "I really wanted to be here, but I'm not sure I want to be here anymore..." The academic load is really draining and it can feel totally overwhelming. I love to learn in discussion and in practical experience ways and there just isn't a lot of that at the moment. But I guess it's important for us to learn the theory and groundbase of psychology before we can practice it. I think it's a bit like learning a language or an instrument, at the start it is just a lot of hard repetative work and nothing you're doing resembles a language or a tune. But after this ground work is done, you can start conversing more easily or playing and start to really enjoy it.

This course (and the rest of the whole experience) has and continues to be a massive faith stretching exercise.

Mosquitoes don't like me....

2006-08-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

After several rather alarming reactions to mossie bites (big red circular swellings with purple centres), I decided perhaps a trip to the Drs was called for. This was more due to the fact that I was stressed out by everyone I showed it to that kept saying things like "oh that looks like a spider bite, or that looks infected! I was beginning to think that my leg would fall off, so I decided I'd better go check it out. My kind roomate Susannah took me along and we got a very nice Dr who told me it was just a bad allergic reaction and gave me some steriods and other antihistamines to shift it. She also told me to try and not get bitten! This is easier said than done in Mississippi which is one of the mosquito hotspots of the world and the blessed things hardly die out all year as it doesn't really get cold enough! Ah well, good insect repellant is the answer that and maybe wearing a mossie net...

A few mossie facts for you:
* Mossies are attracted to bananas (apparantly) so you should avoid eating them in mosquito season
* There is an American Mosquito Control Oranganisation (www.mosquito.org) although may I say, I don't think they're doing a very good job of controlling them!
*With mossies it's definately a case of the female is more deadly than the male.. The females suck blood whereas the males feed on plant nectar!

"Of making many books there is no end and much study wearies the body"...

2006-08-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

Yes I know - hardly an original title - one of the most quoted Bible verses by students, but oh so true...
Have survived the first few classes, but man I didn't ever think it was going to be this hard...

Just to give you a wee taster of what I have to deal with here's a couple of quotes:
The first is from a Systematic Theology textbook (it shall remain nameless)

"What has happened to classic neoorthodoxy? [you know I was just asking myself that this morning] After the radical Bultmannianisms of the 40s & 50s had carried neoorthodxy's epistemological implications to their logical conclusions by denying, through its program of "demythologizing" the Jesus of the NT, the very possibility of discovering any significant historical facts about him and by virtually transforming theology ito a Heideggerian existential anthropology, it has itself been displaced by the post-Bultmannian "new quest" of the 60s, 70s and 80s (and so on and so forth...)

No Scart leads?!?!?!?

2006-08-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Just discovered a blaring differnce between the two cultures - everyone I've spoken to (and the limited amount of equipment I've checked out) has never heard of Scart leads! I was given a TV to take to college by someone in America and I seem to have hallucinated some conversation where the American guy who gave me it told me it had a Scart lead on the back, so I have assumed from this (entirely fictional) memory that they existed. So when my flat mate bought a DVD player and wanted the guys to help her hook it up, I started talking about Scart leads and if it had one of those it would be very simple to get connected. Blank puzzled looks followed. I thought well maybe they're just very technically challenged, so I asked a guy who was pretty computer literate and he also looked at me as if I was speaking another language! I told them that Scart leads had revolutionised peoples entertainment needs and helped out those among the population who were more technically challenged! I just couldn't believe that the US which has a lot of very technically advanced stuff hasn't taken this one on board! Maybe it's something to do with their different electrical system, who knows. I know this all may seem a bit rambling and useless information to many of you, but this was just another example of how different our two cultures are.
By the way, if Mr (or Miss) Scart is reading this, you might want to consider opening up a new market Stateside - there's a killing to be made...

First night

2006-08-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

20 Aug 2006
So I survived the first night in the new dorm room! It felt really strange, lots of new sounds to get used to. We are in the downstairs appt (one up one down) and the guys upstairs seemed to be constantly moving around. Someone is also an early riser as I heard the shower at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning - pretty impressive! During the night I also heard a railway whistle, very evocative sound like being in one of those John Grisham movies set in the 1950s in the South. (Why they had to blow their whistle thing at 2:30 in the morning is anyone's guess! I guess it's one of those freight train driver things!)

After the train woke me up I just had a big wave of sadness come over me - I guess a mixture of culture shock, fear and anxiety about being here and settling in. Tried to meditate on some comforting Bible verses, but hard to shake the horrible feelings.

Good time with God in the morning. Focusing on Zephaniah 3 v 17
"The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save, He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
The idea of God being so intimately connected was a real encouragement and lifted my emotions somewhat. I know it's ok to hurt and it's only natural to feel so sad and anxious, but focusing on the character of God and his relationship with us is a comfort.

Driving on the 'right' side of the road

2006-08-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

After a couple of lessons from Cliff and Suzette, I went for my first solo drive yesterday. Destination? Walmart! (One of these days I may broaden my shopping experience outside of Walmart, but for now it's the one place I have visited for pretty much everything so far) and for all of you who have seen "Bowling for Columbine", yes I did see guns and no I didn't buy any!

As anyone who knows me well can testify, I have a pretty non-existant sense of direction! I can get lost trying to find the front door in a new house - it's pretty scary... I don't mind driving, but the fear of getting lost is pretty dominant especially as my brain doesn't seem able to take in directions. When people give me directions, my brain pretty much switches off and goes "la, la, la, I can't hear you"

The trip to Walmart went pretty well, only had to stop once to get my bearings. I eventually had to pry myself away from the air conditioned safety of the shop to start the journey home. All went well until I started seeing signs for Ridgelands and Natchez (two areas of Mississippi that weren't where I was supposed to be going...). I saw what looked like an Interstate (motorway) ahead so I pulled off and went into a shop to ask directions (well it's worth a try..). The guy told me I had gone South instead of North (apparantly these words mean something to do with navigating, never have quite got the hang of them myself...).

I just about worked out I had to go back the way I came, so I turned back onto the road. I had been driving for a couple of minutes when I clicked that I was actually driving on the construction lane (the big flurescent orange barrels should have been a clue I guess..) -then I panicked thinking how do I get back onto the real road?

Fortunately I didn't get stopped by the police and I did make it back home after that without any other hitches. I was never so glad to get out of a car. I think it's going to be a while before I can just get into my car and drive without thinking about it..

It's a jungle out there!

2006-08-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have learned (to my peril) that the average Mississippi garden is a lot more exciting than the average Scottish one!
So far I have seen exotic looking dragon flies, a gecko lizard thing, huge bees and ants.

Unfortunately I have been more bothered by what I didn't see - mosquitos. These bad boys are particularly effective against the weedy Scottish immune system and have made my first week here rather more drug dependent than I would have liked! The last week has been a haze of Anti-histamines, various anti-itch creams and gels, ice packs, cold showers and the most awful desire to scratch! My legs look like I have some horrible skin condition - big red blotches over them. When I show them to the locals they look horrified and start muttering things about antibiotics.. Think today I'm starting to turn the corner - what a relief!!

Note to self - when the thought pops into your head that you really should put insect repellant on before going outside, LISTEN TO IT!!!

I love it when a plan comes together!

2006-08-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

After being here a week, I am feeling really satisfied with what I've managed to get sorted out. I really couldn't have managed it without all the amazing help that Cliff and Suzette have given me. They've been good at gently pushing me to do things I need to do, but don't really want to as they're new and scary.

After a bit of tooing and froing I've managed to acquire:
1. a new cell (mobile) phone. It feels great to have that again, reinforces how dependent we are on these bits of technology.
2. A water bottle which is essential for surviving the heat out here. According to the label it is virtually unbreakable and is made of the same kind of material as bullet-proof glass which I think is very important when choosing a new water bottle!
3. various bits and pieces to transform my new room on campus into a more homely place.

Hopefully in the next few days I'll have acquired a Mississippi drivers license which will drastically cut my car insurance rate and also mean I have a form of ID which is readily recognised. Hooray!

More photos of Cait

2006-08-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

That's Suzette in the picture with me and Cait. She and Cliff are Cait's owners and have been taking great care of me.

Cait

2006-08-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Cait (Kate) is a 20 week old border collie. She is very cute and likes to greet you with a mixture of getting you to tickle her tummy and jumping up at you. She is very excitable and always bounds over to you with such enthusiam. Every time she sees you is like a new start - I imagine many thoughts rush through Cait's young canine mind on having a person come into her house - "Woohoy, company! Tickle my tummy, tickle my tummy; here's my ball, here I am, what shall we do, come and play with me, tickle my tummy, woo are we having fun or what?!?!" It doesn't matter if your reaction is not on exactly the same level of excitment as hers, she starts all over again every time you walk into the room where she is.

Biting, scratching, chewing the floor tiles (yes, really) and barking are some of her less loveable qualities, but she's just learning right and wrong. In dog years she's kind of in her toddler terrible twos stage with all the fun that goes along with that! But she has such a cute face and sweet temprament, that you can't help but love her! (check out the photos). She starts obedience classes end of this month and I'm sure she'll soon settle into a wonderful dog and be a joy to her family and visitors.

What a wonderful world?

2006-08-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

When I went to read my email yesterday morning I saw the headline about the UK police arresting a whole lot of people suspected of intention to blow up planes over the Atlantic. What a horrific situation and thank God it didn't suceed. Made me very grateful I had made it over here when I did and also reminded me how trivial my personal frustrations were.

We are living in such a violent world at the moment. The news over here which runs 24 hours a day on certain channels was just horrendous last night jumping from the UK plane story to Lebanon/Israel to Iraq. Carnage and destruction everywhere. Sometimes you wonder how there is anyone left. Dealing with displaced people is going to become more and more the order of the day. It would be nice if governments would stop and think before engaging in yet more conflicts. It's such a fine line between defending and supporting an ally and joining in a fight that doesn't concern them which just makes the conflicts grow. Sometimes I wonder if anyone studies history anymore. It doesn't take a genius to work out that if you repeat actions there's a high chance that you'll get a similar outcome. Misplaced optimism and self belief can cause a lot of harm that and a belief that century old conflicts can be easily and quickly sorted out.

So is there any hope at all? Humanly speaking, not a lot. People wil keep on hating and killing each other, the future looks bleak. Yet as Christians we believe that God holds the times for the end of the world, human beings are not in control of killing off the human race. Yes, they have power and a massive responsibility and we will all be held accountable for our actions to one another, but we shouldn't fool ourselves to think that we are gods. The Bible says: "As for mankind his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone and its place remembers it no more...The Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all" Psalm 103 v15,16,19

Peace with God is the only ultimate way for peace in the world.

Highs and Lows

2006-08-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

11th August, 2006
Most of yesterday was so frustrating - Everywhere dead ends. I tried to get a new mobile phone because my old one isn't economical to use over here. Because I don't have a credit history I need to get Pay and Go. But when you go to the store there's 2 to choose from because they really don't want you to do Pay and Go. Both of which were 2 expensive and I didn't like them. Then I decided to buy it on line. But of course I have a British credit card so they don't want to accept that. What is the point of having a credit card if you can't use it to buy anything?!!

By the evening I was really despairing-, but one of the people I'm staying with kindly let me use her credit card and I gave her the cash - 10 minutes later one cell (mobile) phone purchased and one much happier Bev!

We then went driving again in the evening and I drove to Walmart and back! Only one scary moment when I was turning right at a junction and veered towards the wrong side of the road, but corrected before it got noticeable! I still haven't got a clue where I'm going, but the driving side of things is coming along nicely.

Steep learning curve is the order of the day which is very humbling. Coming to live in a new country is like going back in time, when you were young and didn't know anything or couldn't do anything! The guy in the lunch place could not understand me and I couldn't understand him and you could just see this puzzled look on his face as to why someone as obviously grown up as me didn't know how to order a fast food meal or where to get the drink!!

Before tea I took the dog (Cait, more on her later...) out to play in the garden. I did think of putting insect repellent on, but I was already outside and it was too complicated to gather the dog up and get inside again. Boy am I regretting that moment of insanity - twenty mosquito bites on my legs later...
You could play join the dots on my legs at the moment, it is just horrible! Of course it had been raining all day, this may have contributed to the high mossie count as they hadn't been able to feed properly all day! well they sure got a feast with me... I mean, what do I know?! You don't see a lot of mossies in Dundee or even midges most of the time.

When in Rome do as the Romans do...

2006-08-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

Come to think of it, just what is this saying all about?

Some of the more ancient traditions of Rome weren't all that hot. I don't think I'll be embracing too many of the following: hedonism, gladiator arenas, warring and conquering other nations and feeding Christians to the lions...
(Of course the roads were very good so that's a useful legacy of the Romans!)

But in modern terms Rome is a centre of history, art and shopping. I think I could happily embrace all of that.

Walking in Memphis (Airport)...

2006-08-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

I didn't really feel homesick until I reached Memphis Airport. It's always such a culture shock arriving in Memphis - the smell of hotdogs and BBQ just hits you in the face when you arrive in the airport! The pictures of Elvis are everywhere - men (and women) in cowboy boots, blues music . Also, there was a guy doing the airport announcements and he sounded just like Jonny Cash! Maybe they took recordings of his voice and reengineered it to make announcements!! Arriving in Memphis is like a condensed lesson in Southern American traditions -such a contrast from Schippol airport. It seems to be really strong there - I don't remember it being so obvious in other US airports. It's weird because generally I think people in the UK have a lot more in common culturally with the US than the rest of Europe - we're very exposed to the American way of life by the TV/movies media, we hear about the politics etc. But arriving in Memphis just made me realise how different I feel at the moment. Hearing all the US accents made me realise I'm far from home... I guess I'm going to have to get used to feeling different a lot.

But I also keep reminding myself that difference isn't bad it's just different. There's a balance to be struck between retaining my own cultural identity which is part of what makes me me and yet taking on aspects of the new culture in order to feel at home here. I'm a firm believer in the old addage "When in Rome do as the Romans do" and I think it's pretty insulting to your new country not to try to embrace the new ways of life eventually, but it does take time. I'm conscious of not wanting to let go of the old too soon before I've taken on the new or I could end up in culture-limbo land!!

Moving here is giving me a whole new level of understanding for people in Britain who have moved from another country and the challenges they face in integration yet retaining some of the old habits too. It's not easy...