learning how to read churches and picking out my new house in the cotswolds (i wish)

last friday our little class of four went for a field trip

with our professor to gloucestershire (the cotswolds)

to see with our own eyes much of what we've been

discussing in class: the reformation.

it was incredible to see these churches, some dating

from the 13th century, fascinating to see how iconoclasts

destroyed roman catholic images, and how roman catholics

tried very hard to keep their altars and images safe,

often hidden and buried under ground for centuries.

we drove through the most beautiful countryside.

i wish i could have taken more photos as we drove

of the charmingly beautiful homes (which are supposedly

owned by rich londoners as second homes...hmmm).

there were some wonderful gardens along the way

that made me want to go knock at the door

and ask if i could have a cup of tea and just sit

out in the garden with a book.

it was amazing to drive near the castle where

elizabeth (i) spent much of her adolescent years. incredible.

we had thirty minutes to wander around one little

town at the end of our whirlwind scholarly tour.

my fave was the ice cream, the flower shop, the baskets

for sale, and the cute little post office.

wishing i had time to go back.

wishing i had courage to try driving through

this countryside...which i will have to do at some

point once ceej gets here in a few weeks.

loving this place. so so so much.

the calm has finally settled in

in an email, my sister wisely reminded me that i'm here

to learn, not to win a prize. oh ya.

this program is filled with the best of professors and the brightest of students,

and so it is easy to feel i have to prove myself: that i am brilliant, and insightful, and articulate, and knowledgeable, and, and, and...

it's easy to get anxious and push myself beyond enjoyment.

lucky for me my brain caught itself, and looked itself straight in the eyes and said:

you, my dear, are having an experience of a lifetime; don't ruin it with stress.

so i continue to spend much time in the library studying and writing

for most of my waking hours. but i no longer feel the urge to prove anything.

i pick topics i get giddy about, and i am writing about them in the way that

i want to write...not worrying about what others will think.

i am here in a beautiful city at a wonderful university

and i get to meet lots of incredible people.

i'm taking lots of deep breaths, and taking time to look around me now.

so glad the first weeks of anxiety are over.

however, i miss ceej terribly. i knew six weeks apart would be hard...but i had no idea

how a person can ache for someone almost constantly. can't wait for august 9th

when ceej makes his way over the atlantic to travel the countryside with me.

{photos from our trip to the cotswolds...more photos later!}