Happy St. David's Day!

March 1.... I spent the day today traveling home from London. It was one of those journeys where, in order to get the best deal, you take the slow train that makes a couple extra stops, then opt for a little longer lay-over to take a little later train that costs a little extra because its "super off-peak" instead of just an "off-peak" time. It was alright though because I was able to get a spot by the window, the sun was shining, I had a good book, and no one seated around me brought stinky tuna sandwiches for their afternoon snack!

In addition to premium reading time, the journey gave me time to reflect a little.

First of all, I had a great weekend in London. That is one city I could visit a zillion times and always discover something new and exciting! Highlights from this last weekend include time spent in Hampstead, a borough in the north that reminds me of what I always imagined London being like... hilly, red-brick flats lining the streets, boutiques and coffee shops along the narrow streets with giant trees down the edges-- moss growing on the walls to give it that warm, earthy feel in the midst of the city. We also got to go to the musical Mama Mia- a new favorite of mine now.. and took the audio tour of the National Gallery. I will admit that I always tend to bypass the option for an audio tour because I've always thought it looked a bit "geeky"... but I am a recent convert-- I got SO much more out of the art displayed because of the pre-recorded tour and geeky headphones than if I would have tried to walk around and read the signs and do it myself. My favorite colletion they had was probably the several paintings by Monet... beautiful!

Further reflections... I cannot believe that I've been living in the United Kingdom for 6 months now! I feel SO blessed to have this opportunity. Rotary-- THANK YOU. Mom and Dad-- THANK YOU. I am learning so much and getting so many amazing opportunities I can't help but feel like I'm living in a dream.

I gave a presentation at the Swansea Bay Rotary club last Wednesday (which was awesome.. this particular club in small enough that they eat dinner around a big round table and can all have conversation together... It was really cool. They were so kind and inviting too!) and I spent time sharing about what I have been learning from this experience... I will share one of the main points: This is my first time over the ocean and I was definitely scared before coming. I was scared of the hurdles of meeting new people and learning a new "system" and culture and of navigating a foreign country... But I did it! And every day I feel like I am faced with a new challenge-- some big and some smaller-- that I have to overcome. And I am! And with each of those accomplishments I feel myself growing as an individual, becoming empowered to believe in myself and my abilities and my mind that much more. Because of that, I can feel myself setting my goals higher. I can feel myself believing in dreams that are bigger. This experience is teaching me that I am capable of more than I imagined.

And all of that with a newfound international perspective. I have met people from all over the globe and because of those connections, the way I see the world and issues and conflict is "wider".

Thank you to all of you who encourage and support this adventure that I'm on. :)

Lastly, just a note that today is St. David's day. St. David is the patron saint of Wales and therefore today is a sort of "Celebrate Welsh Nationality" day. It's not a bank holiday but the schools and churches often have plays or kids choir programs. This whole last week there have been community events-- music or plays celebrating Welsh heritage... And of course, there have been lots of Welsh cakes around!