Our first month in the UK...

Our first evening in London was wonderful. We stayed with our friend Jennie at her flat, 5 stories above the streets of beautiful of Kensington, a very lovely borough of London. We took a stroll the following morning, wide-eyed and taking in the new sights and interesting smells of Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Notting Hill and the surrounding area. It's strange - everything smells older here. A few weekends later, we would return to London for an all-day jaunt along the River Thames with family from NC and Belgium.

On to Oxford...

Oxford has the excitement of a multi-cultural hub, while retaining the quaintness of a hobbit hole. It truly is an international crossroads. We are living in North Oxford, home to all of the professors and 'Dons' of the 39 Universities that make up Oxford University as well as our professors at Brookes. We are virtually the only couple that live at the North Oxford Overseas Centre (international & affordable long-term hostel for postgraduates) that are going to 'that other college in Oxford.' Oxford is the most studious place we've ever been. We see people everyday, literally walking to their classes with their noses in their books. Monica and I, naturally having the upper-hand on our bicycles, must watch out for many of these intellectual pedestrians, for they are not watching out for us!

Other than walking, the preferred mode of transit in Oxford is the bicycle (thank God for the wheel - we couldn't wait to stop walking and start riding). So, everyone, from the toddler strapped to the back carrier of her mother's bicycle, to the business man, tie trailing behind him as the tails of his frock coat blow in the crisp, Oxford breeze, - EVERYONE ride's their bicycle.

We are in our 3rd week of classes at Oxford Brookes. Our program is surprisingly well respected, even rivaling Oxford University's Development program. The classes we are currently enrolled in are as follows:
World of Refugees, Human Rights, Development (Theory of Practice), Armed Conflict, and Group Project Solutions to Problems of Urban Planning in Developing Nations - quite a mouth full! There are 35 of us in the Development & Emergency Practice Program, and our colleagues are just as experienced as our tutors and professors. We feel a strong connection with many of our fellow classmates, despite the fact that we all come from very diverse backgrounds. We have a wonderful connection with a couple from Norway whom we have dinner with regularly and play my new favorite board game 'Carcassonne.' We also have developed relationships with some locals who have encouraged us deeply. We are involved in a prayer community right across the street from our flat at a local church.

There is so much more to share, but we've got to get to our studies:)

We miss you all so much and can't wait to update again soon.
Blessings,