Cooking for 70

This week, our group had the privilege of cooking dinner for the Discss group. The week before, at our group social, we made a Mexican fiesta meal of tacos and beans and rice and because it was so successful, we decided to repeat the meal, just multiplied by 10. The adventure started the night before when Becky, Liz and I took Becky's car up to Kidlington Sainsbury's to to the shopping. We bought almost £100 worth of groceries- 14 packages of tortillas, 14 bags of tortilla chips, three basg of shredded cheese, 5 jars of salsa, 8 heads of lettuce, 8 packages of tomatoes, 8 package sof taco meat, 4 packages of biscuits for dessert, three tubs of sour cream, etc. I, meanwhile, had bought 20 avocados and four lemons to make the guacamole.

Thursday night, we all met around 5:00 to start the preparations. Rob was making the beans, Becky and Chloe worked on the meat, I got covered in avocado, Ed and I also chopped up the tomatos, Liz shredded the lettuce, Gareth did all of the setting up of the tables and chairs and some of the washing, and we all scrambled around to find more bowls. We were extremely short on containers and were using pots and pans to hold our salads and tortilla chips.

Ed taking care of the tomatoes...
Chloe, Becky and Rob were manning the stove-tops.

Me, post guacamole making.The lovely spread- we later added bowls of sour cream and chips to the tables, along with the bowls of guacamole and salsa. Everything was a huge hit! Everyone loved the food, we had enough left over for homeless, so many people came back for seconds and we got the washing up done pretty quickly. I loved how we all worked together as a team and I feel like the experience brought our group closer together. There was a lot of laughter and light teasing in the kitchen and everybody was participating. So much fun- although I wouldn't want to do it each week.

Success! The group- me, Chloe, Ed, Liz, Rob, Ailsa, Gareth and Becky.

10 Things That Make a Good Day Even Better

10. Thanking the bus driver when you leave the bus after a incredibly fast ride down to City Centre.
9. Seeing your favorite busker singing and playing his heart out on the street.
8. Buying lemons at the Covered Market
7. Buying four lemons for a pound at said Covered Market and only paying a pound.
6. Throat drops that make a sore throat feel so much better.
5. Being made to feel like regular on the museum team even though you've worked there two weeks.
4. Working as a team with seven other people to pull off a dinner for 60 people.
3. Listening to a sweet man who survived being hit head on by a speeding taxi share his story.
2. Bright red boots to ease walking home in the rain.
1. A nice warm house, a cup of Nutcracker tea with honey and an even warmer bed on a rainy night.

Doctor Foster and Flat Jessica

On Monday, Michal was packing for her day in Gloucester when she suddenly heard yelling. She looked around confused and then opened the drawer which made the shouting get louder.

"Listen here, lady," Flat Jessica said angrily. "I did not come all the way to England to just hang out in your room. I have only been to one place and I've had enough!"

"Well, I'm going to Gloucester tomorrow." Michal replied apologetically. "I'll take you with me. I just didn't want to earlier because I was concerned about the weather."

"I don't mind a little rain." Flat Jessica said. "Besides, it's Gloucester. It won't rain."

"You do realize the poem goes: Doctor Foster went to GLoucester in a shower of rain. He stepped in a puddle right up to his middle and never went there again." Michal said.

"I'll cross my fingers." Jessica assured me.

"You're flat, how can you cross your fingers?"

"Just finish packing."
Flat Jessica was thrilled to be taken on another trip. She and Michal made it the train station without any problems and were ready for start their adventure. However, things weren't meant to be. The train out of Oxford was delayed and by the time they got to Didcot Parkway, they had msised the train by one minute. Flat Jessica was excited to enjoy Didcot Parkway for the next hour but Michal wasn't, seeing as there is nothing in Didcot Parkway. So they sat in the station, frustrated and annoyed, waiting for the direct train to Gloucester.


There were some beautiful, snow-covered mountains to look at out the window while on the train. As well as some darling little villages built on the small British hills.


Gloucester was a pretty well-signed area which was good because neither Michal nor Flat Jessica had brought a map with them. Passing by the World of Beatrix Potter, they made it to Gloucester Cathedral which, along with being a gorgeous cathedral is also where several Harry Potter scenes were filmed. Also, the most recent Doctor Who Christmas special (The Other Doctor) was filmed here. It is also the home to some gorgeous ceilings, incredible stained-glass windows.



Flat Jessica enjoyed seeing the tombs of Edward II.


And also the tomb of Osric, King of Mercia.




The Cloisters were where most of the Harry Potter scenes were filmed and even though we didn't run into any Harry Potter characters, Flat Jessica and Michal were able to wander about the Cloisters and take pictures

Flat Jessica pointed out that the red door below was the same door where the flood in the girls' lavatory in the Harry Potter takes place. She was right, although this time there was no water spilling out from underneath, nor was there any Moaning Myrtle.


After leaving Gloucester Cathedral, Michal and Flat Jessica headed out into the rain and walked down to the Gloucester Docks. There were at least twenty large buildings that back in the 17th and 18th century, houses various merchandise like sugar, corn, paper, etc. Now most of these buildings are shops, community centres, museums, restaurants, etc. They still absolutely dominate the historical docks area.




Because Michal loves antique stores, she and Flat Jessica stopped at a little one tucked behind one of the dock warehouses. Michal made Flat Jessica take a picture with the creepy warlock/ogre/troll/orc? that was in front of the store. Flat Jessica was not happy with Michal and didn't speak with her for a little while.


Because it was pretty wet and Michal didn't want to pay $5 for the Waterways Museum, they headed back towards City Centre and after a short jaunt through the indoor market, went to the Gloucester Musuem. It was partly under repair but still a lot of great things to see, including a beautiful Roman mosaic.

Then Michal had to save Flat Jessica from an attacking dinosaur. They both emerged unscathed. Michal then sat down to watch a Jeff-Goldblum narrated video about dinosaurs and palentologists while Flat Jessica, still a little shaken from her near-miss with the dinosaur remained safely ensconced in Michal's bag.


The Gloucester Museum was a combination of art, historical pieces and natural history pieces. Michal enjoyed the old door knocker and the Celtic relics.


After the girls went upstairs, disaster struck. All of a sudden, Michal noticed that Flat Jessica was not with her. She walked all away around the museum twice, even checking the bathroom and the trash can in an effort to find Flat Jessica. She even returned to the scene of the dinosaur crime but she didn't see any scraps of paper so concluded that there wasn't another dinosaur encounter. Finally, Michal had to assume that Flat Jessica had ventured out on her own and went back upstairs. But there, lying on the floor was Flat Jessica! They had a happy reunion and Flat Jessica didn't leave Michal's side for the rest of the day.

They enjoyed the museum for the rest of the afternoon, spent an uneventful train ride back to Oxford and Michal enjoyed her first choir rehearsal, singing Vaughn Williams' Mystical Songs and Durufle's Requiem. The two had a wonderful time together (except for when they were momentarily separated) and Michal agreed to take Flat Jessica on more trips.

And they barely got wet :)

Steampunk and Antiques

I suggested that Roni and I go see the Steampunk Exhibit at the Museum of the History of Science this afternoon because it was the last day and since we had passed the Steampunk sign numerous times over the last month, we might as well check it out. We really had no idea hat Steampunk was, other than a really cool name, so I did a little investigation.

According to Wikipedia, which is always good for quick defition, Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, frequently featuring elements of fantasy. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steampower is still widely used- usually the Victorian era in England- but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasty, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of HG Wells of Jules Verne.

The Museum of the History of Science hold two floor of fascinating scientific artifacts. Divided into sections like cameras, microscopes, calculators, globes, astrolabes, flasks, anything that a scientist could want and dream of using in any century. There wasn't too much explanation and there wasn't really a flow of the history but it was more a collection of various scientific artifacts and even for a non-science person, I was really interested.

At the Steampunk exhibit, wewere to imagine the technology of today with the aesthetic of Victorian science. The exhibit showcased work of eighteen Steampunk artists from across that globe that redesigned practical items to fantastical contraptions and we were supposed to expect "steam powered" computer mice, clockwork hearts, brass goggles and more.



The exhibit was absolutely fascinating. Some of the stuff was really bizarre and some was absolutely fascinating and absolutely unique. Here are some of the creme de la creme of what was saw.






The weirdest part of the exhibit were the people at the exhibit. Apparently there is a Steampunk Society (well, this is what Icalled them). Wandering around through the exhibit were these people in full, yet slightly funky, Victorian dress, with some od additional of Jules Verne/Phinneas Fogg goggles or intersting pocket watches. Roni and I were baffled and then confused but at the same time intrigued by their costumes and their clear dedication to this Steampunk genre.


After the museum, I wanted to show Roni the sheet music to "Ching-A-Ring Chaw" that I had found at the High Street Antique store (a song that we had sung in choir like a million years ago) so we headed down High Street. I absolutely love, love, love antique stores and this one is no different. It's just chock full of stuff and if I had money, most of it would go into antique stores. Usually I don't buy anything because it'se xpensive but I found two great purchases today for less than 20 pounds.

The first was a metal sign that I want to hang in my classroom and point to when kids swear. How funny is this sign? Especially because he was swearing in the presence of the Good Lady Ballsworth?

The second purchase was a book called Cap and Bell: Punch's chronicle of English history in the making, 1841-61. Basically it's a collection of all of Punch's articles and cartoons and poems that trace England's history from 1841-61, so Victorian times, various wars like the Anglo-Afghan War and the Anglo-Sikh War, Robert Peel and John Russell as Prime Minister, issues with Australia, etc. I've so far only flipped through it so far but I can't wait to read into it more and and enjoy Punch's take on the history of a place that I know and love.


What a lovely Sunday afternoon!

Varsity Match

I left my house for work on Saturday morning, dressed in jeans, boots and a sweater, loaded up with my wellies, a sweatshirt and long-sleeved shirt, coat, hat, scarf, and a strapon hot water bottle (OK, that last one was a lie- I don't think they made those and if they do, I'd feel weird sloshing around town). I was heading for Roni's Varsity Match, with an expected forecast of sleet and light snows, and was really prepared for the worst. However, if you look at the picture below, the blue boys (no, this was not hypothermia, this was body paint), the weather clearly was nice and sunny (except for one big cloud that lasted about 45 minutes).

The lovely gentlemen pictured are Ian aka Ionidas (or Leonidas William Gibson) and Neal "Is this appropriate" Wendt. They had promised Roni a show in the stands for the game and they certainly exceeded all expectations. Not only were they decked out in blue and white body paint, sprayed hair and wigs, they stood the entire game without shirts and rarely stopped cheering. Roni did a great job out on the field and playing for all the of second half down one goal certainly was difficult but naturally, the cheers helped ease the pain of a 1-nil loss for the Blues.


Here are some of the best of the best cheers:

"Lets go, Ox-FORD" yelled in a very fake British accent

"Safety school!" and its partner cheer "Back-up School!" and of course the loving "You still go to Cambridge!"

"You're just a poorly marketed soft drink from the 80's that not even Reagenomics could save!" (The Cambridge team's nickname is the Tabs)

"The M-11 is a poorly constructed street!" (M-11 is the major highway to Cambridge)

"Is there a way for us to immediately suck less?" This was not a cheer but a question from Ian during the second half.

"Stretch that groin!" This was Neal's first comment to Roni.

"Rice-a!" "Roni!" "Rice-a!" "Roni!" (call and response)



Despite losing, it was great to be there supporting Roni and watching the girls play. Unfortunately, the team didn't play too well- hence the "can we suck less" comment from Ian, but those of us in the stands had a great time cheering, listening to Neal and Ian's running commentary, watching this poor little girl freak out at the giant blue men in the stands, jeering the other team, etc. And it was nice for Roni to have her own personal little cheering section that was clearly the hit of the entire Iffly Stadium.


This last shot is just a moment of the weirdest part of the afternoon- this event was going on inside the Iffley Complex. I think it's Kendo. It just looks like a combination between wooden fencing and the Salem Witch Trials (because of their headdresses). There was just a lot of shouting and whacking each other with sticks and referees on skirts with flags. It was bizarre. Enjoy the confusion.

Let's go, Ox-FORD!

Two Enjoyable Nights

Wednesday night and tonight were two really enjoyable nights of fellowship- first with the Pathfinders team at Andy and Steph's house, and tonight at my house with my Discuss group.

Wednesday morning, I made some cookies and that night, I wrapped them in some tin foil, stuck them in my purse, put on my new coat and my bright red wellies and set off for Andy, the leader of Pathfinder's house for a team dinner. I was about 99% sure where I was going so I headed down Marston Ferry Road hoping that I would find the footpath that would take me to a shortcut to get to his house. After passing the Cherwell School, I found a sign for a footpath and headed down it. It was dark. Like really dark. And after about five minutes of walking, the path ended and I reached a padlocked fence. Not good. I thought for about thirty seconds about jumping the fence and then decided not to because I really wasn't keen on being shot. So I tramped through a few bushes, well off the beaten track to get back to the main street. Where I was nearly immediatly almost hit by a bus. It whizzed by me and I thought I was going to be knocked over by the force of the air passing by. It was scary. Especially since my back was to oncoming traffic. Oy.

Finally, I found another path, past the river and headed down that. It was even darker. And even muddier. And all I had was my ipod for some light, which I ended up turning off because whenever it was lit up, it just made my world that much darker. Oh the irony. I saw a few lights up ahead of me and just prayed that I wouldn't get knocked upside the head beofre I reached the light. I finally made it to the Victoria Arms pub, turned right and headed down the street. Which you think would have been lite but it wasn't. At one point, because of the light behind me, it felt like I was walking into a wall of black. Really, it could have been a wall because I couldn't see a thing. I finally made it out to an actual road and very easily found Andy's house. And I made it right on the dot of 6:30, which would have been great if the dinner actually started at 6:30. Which is didn't. Awesome. However, they were cool about it-Andy and Dave popped out for a drink and to get some rice and Steph, Andy's wife, and I chatted and it was fine. Still felt like a moron but it was fine.

Eventually, Heather, Jared, Pete and Jonathan arrived (Heather, Dave, Andy and I are the Sunday and Friday team, Jared, Pete and Jonathan are the Friday night only members) and we all sat down to chili and rice and cheese- absolutely delicious! We all squeezed around the table, we talked, we laughed, we had dessert, we talked and laughed some more, we had some deeper discussions, we got to know each other, it was wonderful. I am so, so, so, so excited about being able to work on this team and not only get to know the kids better but to hopefully make friends out of the other team members. Jared, Pete, Jonathan and I had a long, long conversation after dinner that felt totally natural. I loved it! And it's so interesting being one of two girls on a team of seven. It's rare in youth groups that the girl staff members are the minority but Heather and I are the only two. Still, it's better than when it was just Heather, right? Oh, and I got a ride home so I didn't have to walk through dark scary footpaths again. That was lovely.

Then tonight, my Discuss group had their social and so everyone gathered at my house for a Mexican meal. I spent the afternoon cleaning up the place and making some guacamole (maybe the best batch I've made in a long time- AND I got to use the potato masher to mix up the mixture, that was fun.... it's the little things, folks!). Minor fiasco when I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to thaw the meat. Oy ve. Luckily, some hot water in a pot came to teh rescue and it thawed out and I cooked the meat in no time. By the time everyone had arrived, we had a lovely spread of tortillas, taco meat, two types of beans, Mexican rice, lettuce, tomatos, cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream and some great drinks. Some people needed a lesson on taco making so Rob, the other American, and I led the way. It was so dang delicious- I miss my Mexican food! Luckily, I saved the rest of the meat and took some of the lettuce and tomato for dinner tomorrow night!


Again, the dinner was so pleasant- lots of chatting, laughter, getting to know each other. We discussed the Olympics and how curling really is just a combination of bowling, ice staking, shuffleboard and sweeping. And seeing as I'm poor in all four areas, I assume I'd be a very poor curler. We had a delicious dessert of cookies and ice cream- of which I did not partake since I have given those things up for Lent- but luckily there was a still a little guacamole left for me to finish off, until I realized that I wanted the rest of the guacamole for tomorrow night's taco and that left me really dessert-less. Oh well.

For the rest of the night, we play Imagin-Iff which in a way gave us the opportunity to kind of get to know each other better. For example, we learned that I would be the movie "Around the World in 80 Days" because I like to travel (Although "The Ten Commandments", because I'm Jewish, was a close second), Liz would be Billy Joel, Gareth would be a Golden Retriever, Ed would go to a world-famous museum for his dream vacation (he admitted he had never been to the British Museum), Chloe has trouble remembering to move her piece forward when she gets the answer right, Becky would like Honesty and Sense of Humour in her future children and Rob's fashion faux-pas would be wearing socks with sandals, which he would do in his house. The questions were absolutely ridiculous but we laughed so much and had a great time.

It is so, so, so weird to think that I've yet to be in this country for a month and I'm already having great nights with people who I soon hope to call friends. It's amazing to think that I alreayd have three volunteer jobs lined up, I'm working with Junior highers in another country, I in a way have a life (not in the lame, wow, you don't have a life, sarcasm kind of way). If this is what happens in a month, what do you think will happen in two?!

Right now Oxford looks like this:


One day, it will look like this.



I can't wait.

Some random thoughts...

Just some things that have been on my mind lately. None too profound.

-Is it odd that out of the seven people I'm in contact with about various volunteering, two are named Wendy and two are named Vanessa?

-If a package leaves the Oxford Depot for delivery at 4:51 am, why does it not arrive at my house until 2:06 pm?

-Is it really necessary to take four hours to wash and dry a small load of laundry? I feel that there should be a quicker method. Or the dryer should just work better. Or the temperature should rise about fifty degrees so that I can just dry everything outside instead of on all the chairs in my house.

-Why do people assume that if you work at a museum, you are clearly deaf and therefore can't hear are the things that they snipe about right in front of you?

-Why can every single British person sound uber cute saying "cheers" and I just sound like a moron when I do?

-How is it possible that flying from London to Dublin is cheaper than a train from Oxford to London?

-It's not acceptable to badly dub British people talking over the Walt Disney World commercial and try and make it legitimate by just showing the computer screen the entire time the parents are talking.

-What's creepier? The Geico Gecko or the Compare the Market Meerkat? Answer: a tie. Both equally creepy.

-And even creepier? The terrible man who sings all these stupid little songs in adverts for some cell phone provider. He just needs to stop and go back to his day job. Or jump off a bridge or something.

-You might think that a black and white documentary about the Great Train Robbery is boring but in fact, is incredibly interesting. And I'm being totally serious here! Great way to spend thirty minutes while waiting for the aforementioned package (which was not even for me) to arrive.

-Pickle and cheese sandwiches. Enough said. Oh wait, ew. OK, now enough said.

-Why do footballers and their managers think we can't read their lips when they swear at each other? (Sir Alex, I'm talking to you- we all know what you said to Jonny Evans)

-It's nice that when you press the button to cross a street as a pedestrian, it immediately turns the light red for the cars. This is a nice city to be a pedestrian in.

-How come when you are traveling, you always see people that look exactly like your friends and acquaintances back home? Subconscious missing?

-Ben's cookies are incredible. But in small doses.

-I wish that I could make cakes like they do on all the competition shows on the Food Network. And who can watch Iron Chef American without laughing at the over-the-top Asian man? I sure can't.

-When I just sent a message over facebook, the "real person" verification words I had to type in were "over" and "redcoats". Ironic? Hmmmm

-British three-year old sound more intelligent than American three-year olds. And that's a fact.

-There is possibly no better feeling than to walk through puddles while wearing knee high orange, yellow, red and gray argyle socks covered by white polka-dotted red wellies.

-It would be nice if Michael Owen played football on the football pitch that is right outside my bedroom window. Then I could watch him from the warmth of my house.

-Is it considered stalking if you want to follow a weird person you see on the street just because you're curious as to what he's going to do next?

-Do people in England own mirrors? Sometimes I feel like they don't, which apparently justifies going on in unacceptable outfits.

-What do tigers dream of when they take a little tiger snooze?

-Going to the shops sounds much nicer than going to the grocery store or to a mall.

-Why can't fruit be cheaper over here?

And finally.... for now.... according to an advert here, drinking a couple of pints in a pub leaves you at greater risk for various diseases, among which include mouth cancer. Is that because you are more likely to smoke when you drink or can you really get mouth cancer from drinking? Thoughts? Just don't watch the scary commercial about it- it's creepy.

Thank you for listening.

A Heart Divided

Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that I absolutely love and adore my junior highers. I love being able to sub for them, I love their little hearts, their minds, their frequent lapses in judgment, their jokes that they think are sooooo hillarious but really aren't, their questions, the laughter, pretty much everything about them.



I love Sunday mornings and getting hugs and high-fives from the kids, listening to Nate speak, singing praises, hearing about how that soccer game or that water polo game or that sleepover went. It cracks me up to see them all squeezed into couches, all the boys on one side, all the girls on the other, with that one or two special girl and/or boy sitting in a non-gender designated area.


I love Wednesday nights- the game that always gets out of control, the small group time where Amanda and I have to remind them about giving us a personal prayer request before a prayer about someone else, passing out cell phones and making sure they get to the right kid, teasing them kindly about the silly thing that they just did.


I love Winter and Summer camps- the way that they just jump around and dance and love each other, the way that they learn so much and are so dedicated to changing for the better. I love their competitive spirit. I love watching them play kajabi-can-can, the Sumo game, steal the bacon, the insane games Forest Home comes up with, I love watching Nate go absolutely bonkers with competitiveness no matter what. I love cabin times and then the craziness that comes after cabin time. I love going to sleep to the whispered and giggles of the girls in my area.

I miss them a ton and I get sad every Wednesday night when I go to bed because I know that while I am slumbering away in my warm bed, they are getting ready for JAM. So it was with great trepidation and anxiety, plus a big of excitement that I headed out on a chilly but not frigid night for my first meeting with the Pathfinders- the Years 7-9 group at St. Andrews. Their usual routine is as follows: Friday nights are more relaxed, getting together for games and worship and some discussion and Sunday mornings are for breaking up into small groups and discussing questions about the particular study.

This Friday night was mainly a sports night. I arrived, was introduced to Heather and Dave, the two other regular staff members, Pete and Jonathan, two Friday night only volunteers and Aaron and Rachel, the Christians in Sport Academy volunteers. The kids slowly started to trickle in, I met a few of them and then it was off to the races! We played several rounds of team-handball, Halo (where you have to toss around a bouncy plastic ring and try and get it to fall onto the end of a hockey stick) and dodgeball (I opted out of this game because, due to playing with Nate and some of the other junior highers, I have been officially scarred by dodgeball- however I still managed to get beaned in the head... awesome). While my team wasn't playing, I got a chance to get to know some of the kids. Only four girls came that night, so I spent most of my time talking with them, but I was able to have some conversations with some of the guys as well.

All in all, it was really successful. When I first joined JAM staff three years ago, I really only made an effort to get to know my girls and maybe a couple other sevenths graders. The following year, I made it my job to get to know every single kid and that's what I've done for the last two years. That's definitely given me the encouragement to do the same out here- maybe in a couple of weeks, the boys will be giving me high-five and the girls will be tackling me with their hugs here too! I'm looking forward to my first small group meeting with seventh grade girls on Sunday morning- a void in my heart left by my sweet girls will hopefully not feel so empty.

As much as I hope to love these new kids, know that they will never replace my beloved JAMmers back at home. I do miss them so much and am excited day-in and day-out to get a little bit of news about them and their lives. However, while I'm here, I'm excited to use the gifts that I've been given to hopefully impact the kids here. It will make my heart a little lighter.