Food, accents and conveience

Ok, so I hit the post honeymoon wall this week. It's when the excitement of being in a new place wears thin and the reality of, "hey, this is harder than at home..." comes into more of a fullness. I continue to thank God for a soft transition to Uganda!

I had a couple of unexpected encounters with my accent--many people just go with it--not really saying much. I think Liverpool is pretty international and there is such a broad variety of English accents, not to mention the very common possibility of Irish, Welsh and Scottish. I was talking to one of the grandparents picking up at school. I mentioned we had just moved from Texas. He exclaimed, "Oh! I thought you were Scottish!" ha! I have never had that happen before!

Then, the week-end before last, we took a day trip to Wales. I stopped to ask directions to a restaurant. It was a gas station and the attendant was of Indian descent. I noticed he would say to each customer, "Thanking you." as they left. I love language. It was my turn and he just looked at me blankly and said, "Excuse me, but are you speaking English?" I said yes and repeated my request. Then he spoke very slowly and made a lot of hand gestures to me like I was deaf and mute--ha! I thanked him after he repeated the options 3 times, to which he replied, "Thanking you." I like that.

So, I was explaining to Micah and Emma Shae yesterday that Mommy was a bit sad. I wanted them to pray for me and also to help them process any sadness they might have and not be aware of. I told them I was excited about being overseas and glad that daddy is getting important training, but I was mourning the loss of our family, friends and the known. They were so compassionate and Micah, esp. was asking good questions and listening well. He would get tickled when I said it was like becoming a child again (i.e. my Indian friend from Wales) and just the weariness of day after day being inefficient and a bit lost. I cried and prayed with Mallory yesterday--she was asking what day it was and what did we do that day? I thought, "you tell me!" ha! Aaron had his first day yesterday, so we are back to a new routine and discovery of time spent. Also, I found myself a bit jealous and insecure of his purpose. Even though I absolutely adore living overseas as a foreigner and having a successful market day and meal as my greatest accomplishment (so simple in this post modern world), when I get around other people, I get a little insecure. We keep meeting doctor couples and my pride is a little rubbed. Missionary work is humbling on every level! It's so good--you just can't buy this stuff!

On a brighter spot, we found our church Sunday http://www.stlukecrosby.org.uk/. It is a bit of a walk, but it is a neat community. They are Anglican, but very relaxed and have such a neat perspective. We are finding that the English are passionate about conservation--it's really inspiring, even for us who consider ourselves avid recyclers. Next week is car free week-end. Good for us :). There are lots of families and we were immediately invited to lunch by Dr. B who is former faculty at the School of Tropical Medicine and just got back from Malawi. His wife is in Cape Town presenting her research (see what I mean?), but they have 4 kids from 8 to 15 who just scooped us up and poured out their very natural hospitality. It was like being in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe listening to the kids and seeing them in action--they were so fun. We spent the whole day with them and left them digging in the sand looking for Emma Shae's shoe that we lost as they buried each other in the dunes. I don't think they found it :). Persevering lot.

We were grateful and humbled at their immediate welcome and time spent with us and offering so much help.

On the subject of food-- we are enjoying making our way through the British menu of sorts. I have resolved not to feel bad about cooking like an American. It's hard enough to adjust. So, we are getting used to shopping each day and the menu that goes along with that. We have these college dorm sized fridge and freezer and things are pretty fresh here, that you have to cook them right away. The kids all eat at school, which is nice. I had a hard time finding measuring spoons (Natalie, God used you to prepare us :)) It turns out they weigh their flour, sugar, butter, etc! Missed that one in the little reading I did coming here. I have a scale and put it back at the last minute thinking it would be extravagant. Shoot. So, got a scale yesterday and looking forward to baking proper--I tried to make some Welsh cakes and I think I probably had put in 10 x's too much butter--oops. There are several stores around that we don't understand what they are about (ex. at home, we know grocery stores, Wal Greens or Target), BUT there is one store that we went into thinking it was a grocery store. It is called Iceland and sure enough, their specialty is frozen foods. At first we were like, wow, they like frozen foods here, but as we have discovered the grocery stores, we were tickled about Iceland. That was day one when we had jet lag anyway, but hey, we did find they had great peanut butter in the midst of the fish and chips!

One final silly story. It's a good idea to wait and observe on the various customs when you first move to a dif. culture. After carrying our bags of groceries around the first week, I almost bought this little wheeled bag--Aaron said, "let's shop around and see if we can get it cheaper." I started noticing that it is only the very old pulling these things around :). So, a very minor cultural faux pas :) avoided. hee, hee! The moms my age tend to have strollers and load up their bags on the strollers. Yesterday, I carried Mallory on my back to the store (it's maybe a mile round trip?--plus or minus?) She's so strong now that she walked the whole way back and even carried a bag--I'm so proud of her!

English Kindness - thoughts from Aaron

One of the more pleasant observations thus far has been the amount of kindness that seems to permeate society here. We’ve seen it both first and second hand. Kindness at the kid’s school from the head teacher to the cooks. At restaurants, on the street, public transportation, the same. Even taxi drivers have been so in a bit more brusque manner.

Back home, try to signal you want to change lanes on a busy highway, and chances are a car will speed up to prevent you from getting in front of them (I admit unfortunately I’ve been on both sides of this). While my time on the highways here has been limited, I’m amazed at how considerate and yielding the drivers are (at least for other cars).

Even if someone does something less than kind, they seem so quick to apologize such as when bumping into each other or getting in each other’s way. And, as others have pointed out, where else can you find signs warning you which way to look when crossing the street.

I wonder from where this comes. Is it cultural remnants of past Victorian days or values still in place from Christian influences? Regardless, it certainly is an area that reveals to me the presence of God in their culture, and an opportunity to receive a gift of God from them. And, in so doing, as Henri Nouwen elaborated, in turn can point them to the presence of God at work among them as well. May it be so.

Pictures of our neighborhood

Our front door--it leads to 2 doors--I think one that goes upstairs and our flat is on the first floor.

A look from the train stop where we can go to the city centre. This road leads to a beach area and lake.

On the way to Mallory's school is a church for sale. A common site in England. Not sure about the historical registers?
Mallory playing around with Micah's swim cap and goggles--swimming is part of Micah's curriculum! Wow!
This is our local library--right across from the Micah and Emma Shae's school. We can walk there in 5 minutes. It's small and interesting. They have story hours and singing hours that I take Mallory to -- she likes it!

Here's our street!
A shot from our living room window. Our neighbor takes good care of his garden. We just hav rocks--less to mow :).

The skies are these amazing sea intense skies. This was one evening--I took several throughout the night--just beautiful!
A new ritual with Emma Shae being a school girl now. She stays up 15 minutes later--Micah reads to her while we put Mallory to bed and then we all read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Emma Shae commented, "hey, we're in England, too, like Lucy!" She had a very pleased and satisfied look on her face with that connection made. Thanks to Chik Fil A, she had already been introduced to The Chronicles of Narnia on a more simple level with more pictures. She's not sure if she likes reading a chapter book, yet!

Emma Shae with her teacher, Miss McCall. Her teacher has spent time in Namibia, so she can sympathize with Emma Shae being new.

The first day of school. They wear uniforms, although it is a public school. They look smart, eh?

Mallory finally go into her own school, a nursery called The Carosel. We had just been turned down by the one connected to Waterloo, where Micah and Emma Shae go--they were full. They recommended several and we accidentially ran into it on our way to the beach--we walked in and they had a space for Mallory. She has 4 little girl friends and after some anxiety the first day, has settled right in.

Mallory on the first day of her school. I took the picture of her outside, but didn't take any inside because they would have been of her head as she grabbed onto my knees! Thankfully, she warmed up! The pictures below are all of the beach and park near our house. It takes about 10-15 minutes to walk. The kids are so adaptable and getting stronger everyday in their ability to walk. We are stronger too, as sometimes we have to carry the girls :). There is a lake called Marine Lake and with that a park and playground. Then there are some dunes and a beach and the Irish Sea. We are still trying to figure out if we can see Wales or Ireland in the distance--maybe just Wales b/c we found out Ireland is a 7 hour ferry ride--it's pretty windy here at times, not so sure I would like to venture--but, hard to pass up going to Ireland if we are so close. We'll see--not sure what Aaron's program will yield as far as free time or even if we could pay for it. Fun to dream...

Leaving--Aaron's thoughts

Leaving is a mixed bag. There is sadness in saying good-bye to friends and family. Good-bye to the familiar and routine. Good-bye to many comforts and securities. Also comes a sense of adventure, exploration, purpose, a fresh start. The part that comes more unexpected is in the deconstruction. Is there a blessing in the pain of uprooting from the known? I am not, personally, very fond of disruptions. However, leaving has a way of revealing where I find security and significance, where I obtain identity. I want to find these in God. Who or what else is better qualified? But, how much do I actually seek such in my circumstances and the secular? I fear more than I would like to admit. More than I am typically aware of. How easily I follow the calls of the world, to quote Malcolm Muggeridge, “buy this in remembrance of me... spend this in remembrance of me.” So, leaving gives a new opportunity to say that it is on Christ alone that I stand. It is here that I’ve experienced blessing and gratefulness in the disruption and uprooting.

a few pictures from the travels

Micah's first castle! His trusty esquire, Jessie, is with him, as always.

Mallory loves grass and hiking! This is Snowdon mountain in northern Wales.

On the way to Snowdon mountain, we are hiking with sheep and a beautiful background!
A view of Conwy castle in northern Wales. This is one hour from our apartment!

Emma Shae, Micah and Mallory on a wall surrounding Chester, a medieval town near Liverpool. This wall is built on Roman ruins and saw many battles over the years.

Running through their first English garden in Oxford. We stopped their briefly on our way from the airport. This was their favorite part of Oxford--the buildings were "boring" :)

Last blog without pictures?

I just wanted to get one more "boring" blog in before we get Internet in our home. Yes, we have 242 unanswered emails, no pictures downloaded and have not emailed many family and friends! This is tribute to that precious, uncomfortable time of settling in overseas (and in the home culture, for that matter!)

I just want to brag on the family---they are doing so well!! Thankfully, Aaron and I have not hit walls at the same time--besides being messy, it just is not good for both parental units to be out of commission when you have 3 little baby birds in the nest! So, on to bragging. Weighing in as the champ of the Morrows is Emma Shae. Micah and Mallory, don't be mad when you read this. Emma Shae is a classic middle child in every since of the word and definition, so she gets bragging rights for shining. She has just come in so bright here--showing leadership and able to play with both Micah and Mallory with no favoritism--seems to have her own little rhythm of grace going. Micah has been amazing with the Lego creations and Emma Shae is right there, appropriately oohing and ahhing and then coming up with her own mini versions of what Micah is doing--mostly air crafts right now--of course she gets all the girl Lego figures. She then can shift and go play tea party, make up and other games with Mallory. She is the most encouraging one to be flexible, to share, to try new things, to persevere in friendships and being understood at school! Recently, we were on a hike and I was giving up with a big mud puddle (this was after we had already been walking for 45 min.) and she found the grass trail that went around the mud! I was amazed. She started kindergarten, which is year One here in England. She already got an award for handwriting and starting off school so well. Way to go, Emma Shae!

On this past Friday, I realized I am missing friends. Not just my own from back home, but the need for friends here. It has been such a rich family time and with Aaron that I hadn't really noticed it, but it just kind of came out. I tried to meet a mum while waiting to pick the kids up. I said, "Hi, I'm Wendy" She just kind of smiled and blew me off--yeah, yeah. Then I realized she thought I was talking about the weather--it's very windy here--even more so than Waco! Right at that time, my heart must have been tender because the maintenance man came around the corner to open the gate and I got teary eyed b/c he is one of the few people here that we have had a long conversation with last week! Apparently, I have a soft spot for people who are kind to us in our time of need :). At least I didn't hug him like I did leaving Greensboro when the grocery man opened the door for me!! Whew!

I told Aaron he needs to post blogs so this is not heavy on the stream of consciousness!

This is his last week before his program starts on Sept. 14th. We are taking advantage of the time by traveling a little, reading a lot and just enjoying the extended time together.

This Saturday, we hired a car and went to Northern Wales--unbelievable. Of course, we over did it and went to a castle and a mountain. The kids loved it and did so well with it all. We can't lie--the castle was AWESOME! I can't believe they are still standing and just like you think. We played prince and princess and enjoyed local kids who came dressed in their knights outfit and swords--good to see they enjoy it too. We went on to the Snowdon mountain, where it is believed King Arthur lived and where the lake is that he threw Excalibur. We didn't make it to the top, because we got there at 5pm :), BUT we hike a great hike with some lovely sheep and enjoyed some of the most beautiful scenery we have ever seen. Unbelievable beauty. Every town was so gorgeous and quaint. Just incredible.

One final story--we did visit a church yesterday, not sure if we will go there because it was an elderly congregation and no kids besides ours and a girl named Katie who is 15--she took good care of the kids during the service! It is a United Free congregation and apparently a blended denomination of Baptist and Reformed. They honored Jesus Christ there and it was so nice to share worship with people so loving! There were two interesting things--one was a presentation by a local ministry--we might contact them about local churches with family programs and also a Pentecostal church requested to rent the main chapel (this church meets in their fellowship hall--there were about 25 of us--so, very small) They were taking a vote on it and said the new congregation is international and has many people coming in from other towns. For whatever reason, it is mostly made up of nurses and medical personnel. I was very excited about it--Aaron wondered what does Pentecostal mean in Britain? hee, hee--typical.

Cheers!

September 1st

Well, we made it. Kudos to British Air for the easiest check in and flight we have ever had! Aaron did an amazing job driving on the left hand side. We rented a car from London to Liverpool--stopped at Oxford just in case we never made it back to visit the place that inspired C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkein. The adults were in heaven, the kids were not that impressed :). Partly, we couldn't go inside many of the grounds or building b/c you had to pay--oh, well.

One funny story on Emma Shae. We go through security at the Houston airport and up the escalator. She looks around and says, "I LOVE England! Can we stay here? Can we buy something?!" Classic. 2 days ago we were at a park around the corner from our apartment and she went right up to a mom (or mum as they say) and introduced herself and told her all about us! Nice. It really touched Aaron--just seeing her boldness and freedom.

So, we live in Waterloo, basically a suburb of Liverpool. It is north of the city and parallels Lake Marine, which is right next to the Irish Sea. It is freezing cold already! At times very windy. The sky is amazing--this sea worthy, cloudy, intense sky with brilliant colors at sunset, although we can't see the sun set--just the reflection in the clouds. It is a quiet residential area and we are sandwiched between 2 shopping streets, with restaurants, pubs, butchers, bakers, green grocers and Home and Bargain a tiny version of Target! Wal Mart is apparently here, incognito called Asda (with the give away moniker Always! We know who you are, Wal Mart!) The description on the Internet is mostly food items. Back to our neighborhood--it's very quaint and postcard like--I did not expect that at all!

We can walk anywhere we need to--which is a blessing considering we don't have a car. The kids school is a 5 minute walk, with the public library right across the street from that! It looks like they have a spot for Micah and Emma Shae. They do have a preschool (or nursery), but it is private and opens next week, so we'll see if Mallory will go, depending on cost. It looks wonderful, and the area seems full of families and lots of kids are bike or walk around in pairs--a good sight for us as we were wondering about the safety. Micah and Emma Shae start school tomorrow and will wear uniforms--red and grey. It's a public school called Waterloo Primary.

So, we have toured around a bit, bought mobile phones that only work in Europe, successfully washed clothes (although we don't have a dryer and it is very damp here--even after 3 days of hanging up, the clothes were wet!) working on getting a dryer from the landlord and Internet access in the home. We'll get pictures up soon. We haven't eaten anything very nasty yet (despite the British infamy of bad food) and Aaron admitted last night he would be willing to try Chinese and Indian food here. We heard it rocks! He would not have done that in Waco--so, go Aaron on the flexibility.

Yesterday was a Bank Holiday, not sure what they were celebrating, but we tried to go to a castle. The kids are doing a great job with all the walking, so much so, that we accidentally walked 5 miles yesterday! We went to Chester and tried unsuccessfully to go to a near by castle. Chester turned out to be great as it is a medieval town with a wall--so, we charged on to the wall and learned all kinds of things about the former Roman garrison, the defeat of King Charles during the civil war of the 1600's and accidentally walked 5 miles in the process! The kids were up to it, although we have had to carry the girls quite a bit at times. It's good for us, because we do not have the YMCA anymore :). Micah was really stoked about the Roman ruins because he has studied Rome at school.

So, that's a little peak of the start of our short stay in Liverpool! More later!