"do the creep, ah!"

i don't feel much like writing out full paragraphs right now. i'm going with bullets.

• school is going really great. i like it a lot.
• my roomies & i are really getting to know each other. they're great. i started crying earlier & they all ran over & we talked it out.
• i am meeting some of THE best people. of course not as close to my heart as you are, but there's room.
• yesterday, courtney {roomie} & i went to the top of the tower & took creeper photos of everyone outside. she creeps like me. we're good friends. :) we told someone at dinner what we had been up to & her response was, "wow, you guys are really creepy." we converted some non-believers. our friend david thought it was weird until he tried it. people were soon posing for us in the library. it was good fun. i don't want to post them all because that would be weird...
• we have a coffeeeeeee break in the middle of morning lectures so i'm fully caffeinated all day!
• today was cleaning day. LOTS OF CLEANING. castle- spotless. my arms- sore. 
• it's hot here. like HOT. everyone's eating it up but i'm not a big fan. not that i mind a little sweat... wait. i really hate sweat. yeah. it's that hot. i didn't pack for this... toast-alicious.
• the other day at dinner, we were sitting with some guys who were telling us about how their friend made some disgusting concoction of food. they ate it & the friend had to clear the table for them. we thought that sounded great. so, they made a combination of bread {soaked in water} & mustard & jam & salt & pepper & marinara sauce & courtney ate it. they had to clean up our dishes the whole next day. we enjoyed that very much so we went for a second round. this time it was caitlyn & me. tomato soup with bread chunks & chicken & mustard & jam & i don't remember what else. apparently we didn't clarify the terms of the agreement, so they only cleaned up our dishes for that meal. it was still worth it. that was a long bullet point...
• there are 120 girls & 50 guys here. literally. lucky guys? poor guys? you can decide for yourself.
• i got to skype my family yesterday! i burst into tears when i heard my sweet daddy's voice. & then when i heard my momma's. it was so good to talk to them. :)
• our room is under the conference hall. we use our window as a door. 
• the roommates are going to start doing push-ups & sit-ups & taking walks together. every girl here is afraid of gaining a ton of weight. we've heard horror stories...
• i'm still accepting mail. & will be for the remainder of my time here. i don't think you know how exciting mail is.
• tonight was family group time. we just have a group of people that we meet with every week & hang out & play games. we had waffles.
• we're going to the lake district tomorrow. more creeping to follow.
• i need to go read my bible.

our home, the conference hall

creeping courtney

justin was looking at my pictures & exclaimed, "hey, it's me!"

david totally posed for this.

the duck face.

caitlyn :)

david & court :)

the end.

"what's your name & where are you from?"

that's still happening. we all had a chance to introduce ourselves to everyone the other night but we all forgot... we'll get this down eventually.

lectures started yesterday & they're really great. we're learning about prayer & the transforming friendship with Jesus. we have five 45 minute lectures a day. i sit in the back. which was cool. until i realized they leave the doors open for fresh air & i am barraged with a constant flow of cold. it keeps me awake.

so, yeah. making friends. talking to people. it's nice having roommates because we go to meals together & all that. built-in friends. you know. there are some really great people here. 

the internet is only on here & there & it's really slow when it is. i get really impatient so blog posts may be few & far between. sorry. just know that i'm doing well. & i love you all very, very much. if anyone can scrape the money together, i'd welcome any visitors. i won't hold my breath, but know that you're always welcome. :) & i'm still in need of your prayers. seven months is quite daunting from where i stand. something that one of the staff said today was that we are all in the center of God's will. God would not have provided the funds or allowed us to be accepted if He didn't want us here. that was comforting to hear. we were asked to share with the people around us what we want God to do in our lives whilst we're here. i said i want to gain a passion & direction for my life. but also to be patient & wait on His timing. so, there's that. have a wonderful tuesday, dearests. 

the end.

"just a closer walk with thee"

whoa, buddy. yesterday was insane. i wasn't too nervous... until we drove up. but i just sucked it up & marched in there. with audrey at my side. i found my room & met a roommate right away. we aren’t in the castle. we’re in the conference hall. yeah. it’s… livable. we unpacked then went for a wander & one of the staff was giving a tour. we just met people along the way. everyone was so friendly {aka desperate for friendship}. everyone was showing up at different times & i just kept meeting people. i don’t remember half of their names. if i had a nickel for every time i said or heard, “what’s your name & where are you from?” i could pay for the tuition myself. canada is kind of dominating right now. there are so many from saskatchewan. i've met one person from washington. the day was mostly just getting to know people. my roommates are nice. it’s really nice that pretty much everyone is in need of friends. & no one seems to be put off by my sense of humour. so that’s good. i got back to my room at 10:20ish & had a few minutes of facebook time then the internet connection was turned off… bummer. isn't nighttime best for facebooking? we’ve all done our socializing & such. don’t we deserve some internet time? it's now two & the internet is on. went for a walk after lunch then rushed back. we're all sitting around facebooking together & friending each other. youtube is blocked on this network. no more songs to go with the posts. & the connection is slow. better than nothing? sure... being here just feels like a youth retreat or summer camp. the coffee is drinkable. i'm really excited to get started with classes & learn more about my Jesus. it'll be grand. :)

so, that's mostly it. i'm alive & well. i've made friends. i'm quite proud. 

address is- 

Capernwray Hall
Carnforth
Lancashire
LA6 1AG
UK

& don't forget to put my name on it.

send me things. especially pictures. my cork board is empty. :(

the end.

no time to put thought into this post title.

it's today! it's today! it's today!
school starts today. i managed to get everything into my three suitcases. i should get a medal.

yesterday, audrey was at the hospital with her dad so i went with & hung out in town. garstang is a lovely town & has multiple thrift stores. i bought a shirt. for 1.50. pounds that is. but i also took a walk by the canal & down a trail, which fortunately led back into town. thinking back, it was a little sketch... but it was lovely. after that, i sat down by the river & read. it was a surprisingly nice day. when audrey was done at the hospital, we went out to dinner at th'owd tithebarn. it's literally a barn from the 1700s that is now a restaurant. so great. i had fish & chips. no, i don't really like seafood, but this is an exception. & heavily coated in tartar sauce. yum. i did more packing when we got home. it was so nice to live here but i'm off to a new adventure. in approximately forty-five minutes. they said to arrive sometime after two. i didn't want to get there too late to find that everyone had already made friends, you know? i know i'm a dork for over-thinking this, but that's just how i am.

oh, yeah. pictures from yesterday...

time for school now. the end.

"all i do is dream of you"

i wasn't going to do a post but i felt like sharing some random things...

now, when i get hungry, i crave foods that are not readily available to me. the worst is mexican food. they don't really have it here. & teriyaki. snohomish teriyaki, specifically. but right now, i could really go for a hotdog. being that it is the middle of the night, i'll just wait 'til breakfast. audrey's sister said that she'll bring me froyo somehow when that place opens up in her town, so i have that to look forward to. this household isn't full of snacky-snacks, which is good. when i'd usually eat chips & salsa, my best option here is an apple or something. my lack of activity helps balance out any healthy eating i accomplish though... this evening, we had delicious chinese take-away for dinner. which, brings me to my next point. here, dinner is lunch & tea is dinner. you get me? audrey called our evening meal 'dinner' for my sake all this time, but i eventually caught on. i understand not why it is this way. our meal does not include tea. at all. we had pizza for tea last night? that doesn't even sound right...

{insert segue here}

school starts on saturday. i'm getting pumped. i packed most of my clothes tonight. like, really. i pity the poor sucker who has to carry that thing. oh, i do? that's rough... i'm actually obsessing over my first-day-of-school outfit. jeans? cardigan? blouse? dress? boots? oxfords? toms?  should i advertise my love for vintage dresses up front even though i'll end up feeling awkward & over-dressed? yeah. now that i think of it, i'll go with jeans... maybe i'll have audrey take first day of school pictures. black jeans in case i wet myself? i think, yes. i'm also {over}thinking how to introduce myself. "hi, i'm julia. sorry if my lack of social skills makes you uncomfortable but i need friends." first impressions are so important... can we just skip the awkwardness? let's all wear poster boards that spell out our basic information then i can pass on asking you about it so we can talk about boys & my love of folk music & we'll become bffs for life. yeah? no? awkwardness is mandatory? oh, okay... i guess that'll work too... 

{segue}

i'm dying right now. the civil wars have been playing shows all over the uk this past week or so. they were all sold out & i really had no way to get there. but still. oh, did i mention they're playing with adele? because they are. heaven in the form of a concert? yes. comparable to the avett brothers show? possibly. 

{segue}

we went shopping yesterday. well, i did while audrey was at an appointment. i resisted buying anything at next... then i went to topshop... how could i go to topshop & not buy anything? i mean really. it was practical though. i bought a gray hoodie. my green sweatshirt recently acquired a large bleach stain so i needed one i could wear in public. justified. rationalized. vindicated. but then, when audrey & i were eating lunch {dinner?} in a cafe, i kept seeing people with h&m bags. i was intrigued. we went to h&m. i only bought a black cardigan{&abrowndressbuti'sversatile&cheap&don'tjudgeme}. suffice it to say, it was a good day. {rhyme}

{need i say it?}

lately, i've been having a lot of dreams in which i'm with my friends. when i wake up, i kind of feel like i was just with them. even if what happened in my dream was outlandish & weird, it makes me happy. then sad because i wasn't actually with them & they're really far away. but mostly happy. last night, i dreamt that i was married & i think i had a child. cool. i should really lay off the midnight snacks. heh-heh... maybe God is telling me that my fears of actually being a crazy, old cat lady are silly. i haven't attained old maid status juuust yet.

i considered sharing the fact that i've been watching 16 & pregnant & each time, i'm reminded why abstinence is such a valid option, but i didn't know if that was a weird thing to talk about, so... i've been enjoying extreme makeover lately...

audrey & i had girl talk last night. which basically consisted of, "audreyyyyy, why are boys so stuuuupid? they just don't know anythiiiiing at all." {sorry, boys} "it's okay. phil was the same way." she always knows what to say.

yeahhhhh. so.... that's about it. i really enjoy talking about myself. is that bad? {no way!} keep on prayin', loves. i'm almost there. now, it's only seven months 'til i'm home! can you believe it? wow, that sounds like an insanely long amount of time. but i can do it. this'll be great. {these are the things i tell myself in the mirror every morning... but not really. i should.} 

i forgot to put my memory card back in my camera when we went out yesterday. just imagine me gaping, wide-eyed, at a lot of clothes i can't afford. then sipping coffee & eating a panini. then marveling at how gorgeous every church is here. got that? i'm cute, yeah? i should hope you have a good mental image of me... 

i did manage to catch the sunset a few days ago.

it's okay if you don't get it.
it's just the funniest thing i've ever seen.

the end.

"bind my wandering heart to thee"

i'm sitting here wearing my granny sweater {& pants, of course}, watching titanic & singing {well, rapping} the fresh prince theme song. now that you've been reminded just how cool i am, i'll tell you about my cool life... my... life.  & i keep going on facebook, checking words with friends in hopes that one of my opponents has taken their turn. i get distracted easily... what was i saying? oh, yeah. my day.  so, last night, the dog chewed up audrey's phone. like a lot. this morning she had to go get a new one. whilst she was doing her thing, i went into next {my new favourite store} & tested my ability to resist temptation. i successfully didn't buy a pair of brown cords & a pair of black oxfords. i almost justified both of these. i mean really. pants are always practical. & i don't have any black shoes. but alas, no. it's amazing what not having an income does to you. i left that store in a hurry. then we got starbucks & drove to knutsford to visit audrey's sister, linda. she was babysitting her little grandson, harry. we all took a stroll into town. it is a lovely town. i'll show you.

  

so, that happened. linda's other grandson asked me why i didn't take any pictures of a toy store. maybe next time. & there will be a next time. i saw a frozen yogurt place that will be opening soon. oh, & there's tatton park. one of the uk's most complete historic estates. but we didn't have time to go today. 

i have a lot of time on my hands so i've been doing a lot of braiding lately.
here we have the fishtail braid & whatever those braids up top are called.

i'm doing a little bit of this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! right now. that means nerves & excitement. school begins on saturday. where has the time gone? i seriously CANNOT believe it's nearly a month that i've been here. i'm excited. about what i will learn & who i will meet & what God will do in my life. then, i'm nervous. about now knowing anyone & not being liked & feeling alone. prayer would be cool. 'kay thanks, guys.

i will now watch the titanic go down. i'll put money on there being copious amounts of tears. from me. of course... here i go. the music from 'my heart will go on'... i was this close to naming this post after a lyric from that song....

the end.

"the world spins madly on"

audrey & i went to dinner at white bull this evening. it's within walking distance {as is everything in ribchester} of the house.  the food was delicious. my meal included chicken & bacon & barbecue sauce. what more could a girl want? we were sitting there conversing{she was actually telling me something serious & emotional} when a drunk man came & chatted us up. he was a charmer. he was going out for a fag. yeah, you heard me. that's what they call cigarettes. i just can't get over it... but british accent+slurred speech=maximum confusion on my part. apparently, he had been there for six & a half hours. i could tell... poor man. nothing beats the locals. 

we came home in time to watch the x factor. the judges were quite testy tonight. 

now i'm watching this masterpiece:

colin firth at his best? no, of course not. but it's still great.

what movie could be more appropriate? a young girl going to england in search of her father who is an english diplomat? okay, so only the part about the young girl going to england applies. but now i want to go to london & shock them all with my sassy quirkiness. audrey just asked me if i want a coming out party whilst i'm here. {joke, obvi} i think i would make a ravishing debutante, yeah?

so, it occurred to me today that as much as i miss home beyond words, i'll really miss it here when i go back. even if i just spent the next seven months hanging out here in ribchester, i think i'd still miss it. c'est la vie. {"la vie"}
c'est la fin.

enjoy this picture of marcus mumford & laura marling,

& this one. yeah. i google imaged them

"nothing is as it has been & i miss your face like [heck]"

sometimes {like this week} i don't post for a couple of days so i have more for one post. maybe that's a lie. i just haven't felt like it. but really, are you ready for this post? well, audrey's dad has been in the hospital for a few days, so i've been on my own a bit. i've become quite independent. i made myself dinner the night before last. nobody boils noodles like i do. proud? yes. i don't really remember what i did. i learned how to do a fishtail braid. i would post a picture but i didn't take one. today was a really gorgeous day & audrey had to be at the hospital again, so i took a wander around town. i told someone that i gave myself a  three hour tour of richester & he asked how i made it last that long. yes, it is a small village but it's so quaint & beautiful. i walked down by the river & sat for a while, basking in the sunlight.

there was a cat.

if you look to the side, you can see all the elderly folks enjoying the sun with me.

after that, i walked back up to that lovely church from before.

this time there was no wedding. it was silent. call me weird but i spent a significant amount of time walking around the cemetery, reading gravestones. the ones closest to the church date back to to the 1800s. the inscriptions were beautiful & detailed, listing who they were, when they passed & how old they were when they did. i saw far too many that had died before the age of six. i'm sure you've already made the assumption, but i cried. shocking, yeah? i didn't really take any pictures because it felt irreverent, you know? 

but i had to take this one. i love the inscription.
"farewell vain world, i've seen enough of thee.
i value not thy sentiments of me.
they smiles i did not count nor frowns did fear.
blessed hope i rest till Christ appear."

i was there for approximately an hour. then i made my way to yet another historical church. but of course, i stopped off at the catholic church & explored their cemetery.

this church is old. i don't know how old. just really old. there's no electricity.

it was so quiet & peaceful. i sat in stunned silence for a while.
then, i sang hymns. echo-y, old churches do wonders with rusty vocal chords.

so, that was my afternoon. this evening i went to a bible study for the youth in our church here. the leaders had asked me to share my testimony, so i was nervous about not knowing anyone & talking in front of people i don't know. it turned out to be a small group & they were quite nice. i shared, no problem & the lesson happened to be about trusting God, just like my testimony. crazy, no? well, God is good & i'm really glad i went. can i get a 'holla' for stepping out of my comfort zone? the worst part was that it was one of the guy's birthday & there was chocolate cake at the beginning but i was too nervous to eat. but now i'm fine & i want cake... better luck next time. 

so, there's my day{s} for you.  this post was slightly less substantial than i thought it would be. the only thing i didn't tell you is that i've been watching a lot of rom-coms. & jane austen movies. & romantic dramas {rom-drams?}. but that would be embarrassing so, that's about it. love lots. 

p.s. keep audrey's dad in your prayers. he's not doing great.

p.p.s. i really miss you all. i watched that adorable video that randall made me on facebook for the fiftieth time last night & bawled my eyes out. have you seen it? it's perfection. :)

the end.

"suddenly, i can see blue skies again"

yesterday was a lovely, long day. after church, i went to my friend abi's house for lunch. {it was her family that we had over for lunch the sunday i was here} then we went to her friend's house w & i met a group of her friends. then we & her friend lydia went to a place called the barn for coffee. we sat there talking & trying to speak like each other. my british accent is really improving... {i'm really tired of the word 'then'} so THEN, we went back to abi's house. it was good times.  it's nice to have at least a few friends to keep me busy here. her mom told me that i can call them if i ever need a weekend away from school. such kindness these people are showing me. :)

so, that whole day wiped me out. i feel shattered, jiggered, &/or knackered, i think? my vocabulary is ever-expanding. i've done all of nothing today. i watched a few movies & managed a shower. outside is crazy windy. like, CRAY-ZEE. i saw some blue skies! but the wind just brought a new batch of clouds. terrific. my toes are cold.

audrey told me today that there's a youth event at church on thursday & the leader people would like me to share my testimony. whoa-wahhh! i think i'll maybe do it maybe. i really hate speaking in front of people. i'll pray about it.

the sun came out for a second.

short post today. all of this sleeping late & doing nothing is making me sleepy.

love lots. :)

the end.

"life has given me obstacles. still i bite my tongue, say 'it's wonderful"

i hope you high schooler kiddos have had a wonderful start to the school year. i won't be starting for two more weeks but i'm a little anxious all ready. i hope they won't make us play get-to-know-you games like in high school,  why is it important that if a movie was made of my life, i'd want meryl streep to play me? yes. that was always my answer.

first of all, i realized that maybe i speak of people on this blog & a few of you don't know who they are. clarification time. 

i'm staying with audrey. her daughter is emma. her other daughter is sarah. sarah's husband is andy. their kids are ewan & aiden.

yesterday we went to sarah's house. audrey took ewan to football training {known to you as soccer practice} & i stayed to play with aiden while andy & sarah went out. those kids are seriously so cute. we watched the toothfairy. you know that ridiculous movie with dwayne "the rock" johnson? his career is really going places, you see. this morning, we went to aiden's football match. let's just say they didn't win. but it was good character building.

then this afternoon, audrey & i went to the town of clitheroe. 

home of clitheroe castle, built in 1186/ 

& now,  assorted pictures from the day, because i know you like pictures.

in the castle, they had this really eerie music playing. it was terrific. the view was absolutely amazing. from the castle, the whole town & surrounding countryside was visible. & audrey bought me a coffee. 

the end. 

actually not the end yet.

i must share with you some vocabulary.

trolley: shopping cart

brolly: umbrella

handbag: purse

fringe: bangs

car park: parking lot

bonnet: hood {of a car}

boot: trunk

that's  all i can think of now. i'm learning so much. i told audrey that my accent makes me feel like a black sheep & sometimes i get self-conscious when i'm talking to people. but apparently she loves it. american accents are a novelty over here because being american is cool & exotic. who knew? 

andy refers to me as 'america' or 'the yank'. yep, that's me. sometimes is think people can tell that i'm a foreigner. then i realize, they're only staring at me because i'm staring at them. speaking of which, camera straps are so helpful in taking creep photos. it just happens to be hanging around your neck & your finger happens to be on the shutter button...

that's how i got a picture of this ginger. this is really cropped.
he's not really looking at me. i was being really casual...

these guys looked like mormons. it made me miss my mormon friends.

now the end. 

no. not.

i didn't write any emotional stuff. & i know you like that even better than pictures. 

but really. one thing. i don't know where she got this but audrey read me something earlier that really got me thinking. it was something like, "praise instead of panic, & worship instead of worry & some other words..." whoa, buddy. it's not even a bad situation that i'm in, just a difficult one. i should thank God for the blessing of this adventure instead of allowing myself to continue to constantly question why i ever came here. okay, that wasn't so emotional. thanks for sticking with me. i'll go cry myself to sleep now... just kidding. maybe.
the end. for real.

except for this picture of me & my creeping camera.