(sorry, Mom, if you read this one)

Last night was the first time I didn't want to be a free spirit since this trip began.

Our flight to Dublin was scheduled to land around 10pm Monday night from which we would bus to the city center and then locate our hostel. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed about 2 hours and we did not arrive until midnight at which point the bus we were supposed to take was no longer running. They say everyone in Ireland is friendly and we found this to be true as we were able to easily figure out an alternative to get us where we needed to go. We waited another half hour and then got on a bus which landed us a few streets from our hostel. At this point it was 1am, a steady drizzle was falling and the temperature was easily in the 50s.
I was cold, wet, tired and had just been dropped off on the streets of a city I didn't know with a 30lb pack on my back and my only thoughts were "if we are even able to locate our hostel at this point, it's probably closed for the night" and "I bet we couldn't even find an unlocked church to sleep in" and "why is there a street fight starting over there?"
This is a bad idea, I don't recommend showing up in a strange place in the middle of the night. For the first time ever, I realized I didnt exactly have a safety net and it was taking a lot of energy just to mentally engage enough to read the map correctly.
In retrospect, there are plenty of things we could have done if that situation had gotten really bad but in the moment I was so unfamiliar with the feeling, I almost didnt think past the next step in front of me.
We did make it to our hostel and it was open. The next morning as I was drying off with a bed sheet for lack of a towel, I thought back over the last 24hours and now all I could think about (beside how non-absorbent sheets are) was how grateful I am for my family, for what my parents have provided me with, for a house to go home to and knowing I'll most likely never have to spend the night in the rain. Ultimately, I was reminded of how God was been faithful to meet my every need and I never have to wonder if He will look after me.
After spending a history-filled day in Dublin, we made it to our first farm, deep in the Irish countryside, and here is beauty beyond words. I am definitely inspired to be a free spirit again :)

Life (in London)

Hi from rainy and cold London!
So, they say you learn the most from making mistakes and it's true cause I've figured out a lot of things this way in the past few days. The following is a list of things which I've learned thus far some by making mistakes and some just in passing:

List of Things I've learned Thus Far

1. Do not go to an evening prayer service at Westminster Abbey when jet lagged and then close your eyes during prayer.
2. The Rosetta Stone is on display in the British Museum but it's not in the gift shop, it's in room 41.
3. Julia and I move at least 67% slower than all Londoners, and they have their own way of letting you know it.
4. You can see lots of London without spending a ton of money and you won't even realize how much you've walked until you finally sit down.
5. Check the destination of the tube you get on, do not blindly run onto one just because it's about to pull away.
6. There seems to be a 10p "American discount" at most places we've had drinks or coffee

The first morning we arrived in London felt a bit surreal to me not because everything was new or different but because the first people I saw (and especially all police men) reminded me of either a scene from Love Actually or all of Hot Fuzz (btw, why is that movie called that??) and I could not stop laughing every 2 minutes. If you haven't seen either, go watch them!
My favorite day was yesterday as we met up with Emma Clark and Alex Turtle to explore the British Museum. There is just something about seeing familiar faces in a strange place. The museum was my favorite activity so far, I was overwhelmed by how much history it holds and things that I had only learned about in textbooks until then. It made me both thankful for the teachers who insisted I learn these things and also regretful that I hadn't retained more. Thanks, Prof. Leinbaugh for stressing how monumental the discovery of the Sutton Hoo treasure was to Anglo Saxon history. On Thursday we went to an evensong service at Westminster Abbey, sung by a boys choir. It was amazing. It was incredible to be worshipping in the same place that people had been worshipping for hundreds of years and to witness the dedication, skill and incredible work had been put into the abbey as an honoring to the Lord.

I am finding that living out of a pack for 7 weeks may be more challenging than i had expected and now i am really excited about getting rid
of books and clothes along the way.

The next couple days we will spend at Julia's friend's house who lives alongside the Thames. We had to Ireland on Monday and on to the yoga farm on Tuesday!

Setting Out

Baby Lucy helped me pack for Europe!

Julia and I are taking no checked luggage so our entire 7 weeks of clothes etc. must fit in a backpack. That in the picture is pretty much all I'll be taking. Its been the most difficult part of the process so far but I think will be a good discipline to learn as I normally overpack instead over underpack. Hey, I like having options!

We leave tomorrow taking a night flight from RDU to London and will be there Wednesday morning!

As a side note, I've been totally blown away be the generosity of many people that have made this trip possible for us. All but two weeks of accommodations will be taken care of by the farms or various family and friends that have offered to put us up and show us around on different parts of our trip. I am so grateful for these people!

Wish us safe travels!

Life (unsettled)

The highest compliment ever paid to me was when my 10th grade English teacher, after I had undoubtedly done something which wasn't quite within the rules, took me by the shoulders, shook me in exasperation and said "You are a free radical, Catherine." Today, when choosing a font for my post I almost chose one simply because it was called "unkempt." The second greatest night of my life (I'm not sure what the first greatest night was but I'm sure something better than the following has to have happened in my life time) was when three separate people called me a "free spirit". In one night!! The reason this is so exciting is because I feel like that title sums up well the inner turmoil I feel at mediocrity and the mundane but that I do well to hide on a daily basis. Here is a list of some of my greatest fears pertaining to the subject:

List of Greatest Fears Pertaining to the Subject

1. 9am-5pm
2. cubicles
3. No windows
4. Too much air conditioning

For these reasons, in 5 days, myself and a dear friend- Julia, are leaving the country for the adventure of our lives. The plan is to spend a week in London and then fly to Dublin where we will spend 4 weeks working on 2 different organic farms. Through an international organization, WWOOF which connects volunteers with host farms, we'll be participating in various forms of organic farming in exchange for our room and board. We'll spend our first two weeks at Sunrise Farm doing daily yoga and gardening. The farm is located in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland in the Slieve Aughty mountains overlooking the 2nd largest lake in the country, Lough Derg.



The next two weeks will be at a farm which specializes in sheep and biodynamic practices. I know nothing of either but I'm excited to be learning and participating in things completely new to me. I'm predicting that sheep won't be my career choice but at least I'll be able to carry on an intelligent conversation about them to anyone that cares to discuss it with me upon my return.
In the middle of July, we'll leave Ireland for Paris and pick up the Eurail there to travel through France and Italy for a week or so in each country. This leg of our trip is pretty open-ended and unstructured, we'll be staying in hostels and doing whatever strikes our fancy (and fits our budget). First week of August we will (hopefully) be catching a flight out of Rome to come home. If I come home.

I chose the picture background for my blog because it reminds me of how misty and gray and melancholy I've always pictured that place in Ireland where the cliffs meet the sea. Holy cow! The following is my life's bucket list of things to do before I die:

Bucket List of Things to Do Before I Die

1. Make a music video like Kate Bush
2. See someone not look awkward while Happy Birthday is being sung at them.
3. Go to Ireland and see where the cliffs meet the sea.

Since I'm saving number 1 and 2 of my list for later in life, number 3 is literally the thing I am looking forward to the most about our trip.


Cliffs of Moher


Also, Julia and I will be keeping another blog, which is yet to be created, that will be food and people themed. Stay tuned!