chefs and concerns

A couple of things to address. I'll start with today.

Walking to class at St. Andrews today was face-numbing. Cold days like this are best enjoyed inside, next to a fire with some coffee and a book. But it's not all about me, so life continued as usual. Today marked my first day of service hours, and a slight change in personnel left Ben and I as the 'lone rangers' for food prep for Alpha Courses. The building we were headed for isn't exactly connected to the main St Aldate's sanctuary, so finding the parish center was a little adventure. Probably should've figured that out ahead of time, but no one cared if we were a teensy bit late.

And then.. we met Jules. He's the chef in charge of all the catering events that take place, and so witty! We noticed right away how quick the people really are- so clever, the jokes thrown out took a minute to sink in. At one point, Jules was doing his own rendition of Lord of the Rings. Times three. Hilarious. Ben and I are also working with a French guy named Etienne (legit french name, for sure) and a wonderful woman who we can't remember the name of. I feel terrible. She is so sweet and made us take a tea break, but I really couldn't understand her when she introduced herself. I really need to work on my accent interp. Two and a half hours flew by with plenty of chatting, good smells, and the company of various church workers who stopped by. Ben and I did a lot of dish washing and drying, and towards the end, we were separating cooked couscous and stirring the chicken dishes. My only regret is that we didn't get to taste it- it was Indian and smelled unbelieveable. The next however many sessions are going to be awesome!

The rest of my evening has been pretty chill, thinking about doing some P90X soon. I'm a big fan.

On a more serious note. The terrorist threat level here in Britain has been raised from 'substantial' to 'severe'. A primary reason for this decision is because of an Afghanistan conference in London on Thursday, and although no solid threats have been made, the government is erring on the side of caution. Honestly, I would normally read this and just continue with life, but our Study Abroad group is taking a trip to London on Friday, and I am staying overnight with a substantial portion of the group. I realize that now my concern seems selfish since it now involves ME, so I apologize. Quite frankly, I don't closely follow any sort of political/governmental goings-on, ever. Just not my cup of tea. When you read this, please don't go bananas, either. We're all safe, nothing has happened. But I would love for you to pray about it. Not just for our own safety, but for that of people whose lives have been colored by the terror threats. It breaks my heart. I know, it probably sounds like I'm the next recruit for Peace Corps.

I really need a hug today.