not sure what happened to the pics

The humorous thing about my car is that it's a Ford Ka and the English pronounce the word car as kah, so I drive a Ford Ka kah! I thought it was funny... I think the Ford people did it on purpose!

On My Own

So Sunday i got up a little early before church to take the ol' coche for a spin around the neighborhood before too many people got out and about. This was my first solo trip and wasn't too bad. Number of stalls- i forgot to count or lost count. Sunday evening i made a trip to another youth worship event and this was on my own and out of town! i did great until i pulled into the church driveway and stalled! Just as an old man walks out, go figure. But on the trip home, I even managed to turn on the radio, that's how calm i was... although i have to say my prayer life has been greatly improved by taking on this challenge. This morning i decided i would sleep in a bit so that i would miss the morning traffic out of town (this is how i manage to do so well with my lack of stalling, i wait till there's no one on the road so i don't have to ever stop!) and i did. Made it to work uneventfully. And i almost made it home the same way, but i left early so as to miss trafic again, but this time my plan didn't work out so well...let's just say i got to practice my clutch control, a lot! But i did really well, no stalling on the A66. In fact, i got all the way to the mini round-about at the corner of my street without stalling and then stalled... several times. The lady behind me was looking quite annoyed, so i waved her around and then finally got home with a bit of a red face! But i figure that if stalling is the worst thing that happens, then that's pretty good! So off i'll be tomorrow again to work. Untill the next great adventure here's a few pics. The wee bonnie blue car is mine! He's a little guy, but a great car. And the wee bonnie dog is Maizie. She lives with me and is absolutely adorable, despite the fact that she likes to chew on your hands more than her chew toys. But she doesn't drool or chew hard so it's not bad... kinda funny really. And the great head shot pic is of me and Jenny, she's one of the girls in a discipleship group that i do! Laters!

Driving Update!

To date I've had 3 driving lessons and stalled the car innumerable times! But all in all I think I'm really coming along quite well. I drove with a friend to a church youth event tonight and stalled 3 times I think, maybe 4. The hardest part is getting going, which is why I stalled only 3 times. Because we're out in a farely rural area, I don't actually have to come to a full stop too often, if I did it would be a whole other story!! I haven't actually attempted to go out on my own just yet. I'm a bit worried about stalling on a hill and not being able to get going again!! Hill starts are really hard and Cumbria is ALL hills. Course if you've ever driven a manual you already know all this, so feel free to laugh as I'm sure you can relate. Well for those up for a laugh I think I'm going to keep a running tab on my stalls...so until next time, if you're in northern England, stay off the road!

International Calling Cards

OK, for those interested in obtaining an international calling card, i've found a website that seems to be a good one. http://www.idphonecard.com/ and they have a free trial offer and you don't give them your credit card info or anything for the free trial. they have really good rates to the UK as long as you call a land line, so if you want it, i'll email you the number of the family that i'm staying with. because anyone can come onto this cite, i'm not going to post it here! and i don't think there are any connections fees or weekly fees or anything like that. but you might want to double check that for yourself just to be doubly sure! hope this helps and if you find anything better please let me know! Laters!

One Week Down

Whew! I just have time to catch my breath, send a little update, and then I'm off again! I got my new mobile yesterday and my new car today! It's a blue Ford Ka. A very cute and small British looking car! Here's a picture of the inside from my (the driver's) perspective and that's right, I'm on the right side of the car! I worked on clutch control today and actually feel like I've made a good bit of progress...yea for up hill starts! though i spent over an hour practicing in the parking lot, I certainly didn't hit the motorway! A few days yet. I'll have to keep you posted on my stalling count...today was too high to count or remember!

If anyone's interested or has a tri-band in their cell phone, my number is 07976970692. You'll have to look up the country code as I don't know it off the top of my head. If I figure it out I'll post it. I will also be looking up international calling card info, so if you're interested let me know. Hope you had a great week and have an even better weekend!

i almost forgot!

what's a trip to Scotland without a little Haggis?! i figured i couldn't leave without at least trying it...and it's actually not too bad! also a cool shot of one of my new favorite cities-Edinburgh! Definitely check it out if you get the chance.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. This is all new to me, but should help keep you updated on what I'm doing here in England! My greatest recent accomplishment is having completely unpacked as of yesterday! It feels very nice to begin to get settled. My goals for the near future are getting a mobile phone set up and finding a permanent place to live. I would love your prayers in regards to these issues! I also just completed my whirl-wind tour of Scotland and had a lovely time. A lot of rain, but some great cities and sights. If you get the chance, I recommend visiting! Especially Edinburgh, a very cool city. Here are some pictures of the trip.

The school year begins for the kids on Monday and I'll update you sometime next week when i actually know more of what I'll be doing! As of right now my coworker is still on holiday with his family in Scotland. So next week we'll have LOTS of planning to do! Until then, take care!