Final Thoughts

I realize it has been a few too many weeks since I have last posted, but don't worry I haven't completely forgotten about this blog.  I have felt the urge to wrap up this blog the last few weeks I have just been incredibly busy, but now I'm sitting at home in Columbia with nothing to do so I have no excuse. My last post was about my time in Scotland, and since then I have experienced a lot. My family finally arrived in Bath on Wednesday November 23rd, and got there just in time for our Thanksgiving meal. It was an incredible feeling to see them for the first time.  My eyes almost didn't believe it was actually them, but it became a reality after I gave all four of them hugs.  The rest of the day I had the great pleasure of showing them around my second home, Bath, and all that it had to offer. We then went to London for a few days and had a great time at all the normal sights plus Harry Potter and a soccer match of course. After London, we went to Italy for a week.  We went to Florence for the first few days, then Pompeii, and finally Rome.  That week and a half with my family was all I could of asked for and more. I finally didn't have to stay in hostels anymore, pay for all of my meals, and no more McDonald's for my meals. We also had great tour guides in each city we were in that taught us all about the art and history of the city.  I learned more than I could've ever imagined in Italy which made me really appreciate the hard work my dad did to find all the great tour guides. Italy was a life changing experience and I can't wait to go back one day.
Now, it is time to wrap up my entire semester abroad experience in as few of sentences as possible. I absolutely loved my time over there.  I of course LOVED the soccer aspect of it, but the entire experience was beneficial to me because I got to live in a completely different atmosphere for three months in which I got to find more out about myself than ever before. I gained a new sense of confidence over there that I didn't have before, and I now truly believe I can do anything and live anywhere my heart desires. I am also more care free (if that's even possible) and realize everything is going to work out for the best.  I haven't had any difficulties with the transition back to my old routines and lifestyle, and honestly I feel like it has been very easy. The only thing I truly miss is the soccer first atmosphere that England had, but I know one day I will be back and that puts my mind at ease. I'm thankful that I had this experience and I hope many other people get a chance to experience some time abroad.  I made some incredible memories over there, and I can't wait to get back. I appreciate everyone following my blog and I hope you all enjoyed it!
Cheers.

Glasgow/Lake District

Last Thursday night I got into Glasgow around 5. I went to Glasgow a night earlier than the rest of the group because I was going to play in a fan friendly between the American fans and the Scottish fans. I'm still unsure how this was exactly organized, but basically I saw a post about it on the internet and I decided to sign up. I got to the soccer complex around 7 and the match was set to start at 8. While I was waiting, I met an American couple from Charlotte, NC, who were there to play in the friendly (well the husband was). We immediately connected over our passion for the USA team and soccer in general. It was so nice to finally talk to an American again who shared my passion for soccer. We shared all of our experiences and compared stories. It just proved to me how small the world really is. It was finally time for the match to start and for me to play in my first full field match since the summer except this one was a bit more official because they even had a ref. We ended up tying the match 2-2, but regardless of the score, it felt incredible to get back out on the field again. I met another guy from NYC who was just as friendly as the couple from Charlotte and it was another reminder to me how much soccer brings strangers together. All four of us talked for awhile after the match and they told me where to meet before the match starts on the next day. I didn't do too much Friday morning besides walk out to see Celtic Park, the local team in Glasgow's stadium. I met up with the rest of the group that afternoon and then we checked into our hostel and set off for the stadium. We ran into the people I met the night before and we all walked into the stadium with a bunch of other Americans. In total, there were probably around 50 Americans give or take but it was an awesome experience to cheer on our country in a foreign country. The USA national team ended up tying as well but we still had a blast. It had been so long since any of us on this trip were allowed to show our American pride, so when we were finally in a setting where we could, we made sure everyone knew who we were and where we came from. Saturday, some of us stopped in Windermere (the Lake District) on the way back to Bath. I was glad I was able to see the Lake District because it showed a side of England I haven't seen yet with all of the highlands and the beautiful lake. We took a long boat ride on the lake during our time there which was fun but cold. After a few hours there, we decided to head back to Bath. The only unusual thing that happened to us on the way back was our train got delayed because another train hit a sheep, but supposedly that's a pretty common thing over here. We made it back safe and sound in Bath that night. I had a great time in Scotland and I'm thankful for the new friendships I made plus the strengthening of old friendships during my time there. I hope all is well back home. Don't worry, I'll be back soon! Good luck to the CA bulldogs in tonight's game. Until next time. 

We made it on the USA soccer's official Instagram. 

Church Experience

Throughout my time here I have been blessed with several different religious opportunities. The places I've attended and the services I have been part of have been something completely different from my childhood, and for that I am blessed purely because it has given me an opportunity to broaden my experiences plus find out what I truly want in life religiously. I have been to four churches since I've been here, Bath City Church (Right across the street), Westminster Abbey (In London), Bath Abbey, and Manvers Street Baptist (in Bath as well). Bath Abbey and Westminster were very similar.  They both have a very strict way of doing things full of traditions. I have never experienced a worship service anything like it before. The whole time I was just sitting back a bit confused and trying to understand what I was watching. I don't think I could ever call a church like that my home purely because of the lack of worship I felt like I was doing.  I felt like it was almost a show, with the people in the audience just admiring the beauty of the building and the quality of the choir. That being said, I enjoyed both their services just because I feel like I got a taste of true European religion and how the majority of them worship. Bath City Church on the other hand was more of a comfortable experience for me. It reminds me of Ethos back in Nashville but maybe a bit more charismatic. They meet in an old theater and the crowd is primarily young people.  The one thing I noticed is people at Bath City are definitely not afraid to express themselves spiritually. While I enjoy being around people who clearly love the Lord, I also found some of the worship distracting.  Maybe this is the inner Church of Christ coming out of me but I found it hard to concentrate on the Lord when some people are convulsing or basically speaking in tongues. I haven't ever been around anything like that before and I don't think that it's wrong of them to worship with that much energy, I just find it hard to judge what's real and what's a show. Then again it isn't my place to judge. Bath City church and the two abbey's were completely different purely because of the overall atmosphere in each worship service. People at Bath City Church expressed themselves in anyway imaginable while they were worshiping, but at the Abbey's it seemed like if someone would've been loud while they worshiped or did anything unusual they would've been asked to leave because it might be considered disrespectful. The Baptist church I attended seemed very similar to any Baptist church back in America. I never felt uncomfortable and it felt like any normal Sunday morning service. Granted this was the first time I went to church on an actual Sunday morning because all of the other services were either in the afternoon or night time. I felt like I wasn't able to experience the church fully because they had a guest military speaker who spoke about his time in the military (which I found interesting) so I was unable to see a normal Sunday routine. Overall, the amount of religious exposure I have had this trip has encouraged me to really dive into what I believe in when I get back to Nashville. I'm excited about the opportunity to go to new churches back home so I can continue to develop what I truly want out of a church. Until next time.

York/Edinburgh

Last Wednesday I went to York for the afternoon on my way to Edinburgh. York is in northern England and is comparable to Bath as in the buildings and the overall atmosphere of the town. I only spent around three hours there in total but during that time I walked around almost the whole town.  My favorite part of York was either the wall that surrounded the city or the massive cathedral in the middle of the town.  The wall was interesting because like most things in England it was incredibly old and has been standing ever since it was built with little damage. After my brief time in York I continued further north getting into Edinburgh, Scotland that night. I got up early Thursday to try to see as much of Edinburgh I could in my time there.  I first went on about a 3 mile walk to Arthurs Seat, which is an area where you can see all of Edinburgh. After that for the next five hours or so I just walked around Edinburgh enjoying the town for what it is. I heard bagpipes playing on all most every street which confirmed I was truly in Scotland.  I walked down the famous street called the Royal Mile and enjoyed the history of the area. I wish I would have had more time there and more of a plan before I went but I still enjoyed the city. Scotland overall reminded me a lot of England. Obviously they are going to be very similar due to the people who live there and how close they are, but the locals will make it clear that there is a distinct difference between the two countries. I also found myself imagining William Wallace along with the whole movie of Braveheart during my time in York and Edinburgh, and if I go back to Scotland one day I will go out of my way to visit the town of Stirling which has a big memorial for William Wallace. After my day in Edinburgh, I got on the train around four to head to Glasgow, and little did I know how much fun was awaiting me in Glasgow. Until next time.

Amsterdam/Brussels

Last Sunday, a group of us set off for Amsterdam in which we were going to stay from Sunday-Tuesday. We had to run in the airport to make our flight and we barely made it in time (we were literally the last people to get on the plane). The flight was only forty minutes long give or take so we got into Amsterdam with plenty of daylight left. We didn't do much during the day Sunday other than walk around through the city center. However, that night we did walk through the Red Light District. We had a general idea of what to expect but it was still an eye opening experience. I won't go into much graphic detail, but basically it was like we were in a shopping mall, and instead of there being clothes and mannequins in the windows there were prostitutes trying to get your attention.  The sickest part about it was people all around the area were either immune to it or enjoying it.  We didn't spend much time there and while it was an awful place to be, I'm thankful I got to walk through it just so I can be more aware and educated about what is allowed in certain parts of the world. Monday we got on a bus and went to Brussels, Belgium for the day. It was only a three hour bus ride so we thought why not go ahead and see another country? I liked Brussels more than Amsterdam within about an hour of being there and maybe it was because not every store was trying to sell me weed and sex products like Amsterdam. We all got one or two of their famous waffles, mine having Nutella and bananas on it, which was great. We also saw the famous Manneken Pis statue which was a lot smaller than I imagined. The only problem we had in Brussels was that none of the ATM's were working for us, and after about our sixth ATM we finally got one to work. After about eight hours in Brussels we got back on the bus and went back to Amsterdam where we were going to spend one more day before we were scheduled to fly back. On Tuesday, we went to the Anne Frank house. The Anne Frank house was by far my favorite thing in Amsterdam. Everything looked like I imagined it would in the hideout, granted it has been several years since I've read it. I still enjoyed being retold the story by walking through the house and seeing the hideout with my own eyes. Overall, I enjoyed both cities and glad I got to experience two new cultures. Until next time.

Liverpool

Last Saturday, Luke, Zach, and I set off for Liverpool bright and early in the morning from Bath. It's about a 4 hour train ride from Bath to Liverpool so we had to get up early in order to make the most of our day in Liverpool. We got there around 11:00 and our three goals for the day in no particular order were: See the Beatles attractions, try to go to the Liverpool match, and walk around Alberts dock. We decided to do the Beatles portion first, so we visited the Cavern Club where they first started off (for those of you who don't know, the Beatles are from Liverpool and grew up there). I'm not particularly a huge Beatles fan, but it was still cool to check out the small underground (literally) venue that they started out at. Since then, loads of big names have played there purely because of the history behind it. They had a wall outside the Cavern Club that had names of everyone who had performed there on the bricks of the building, so it was cool seeing all the big names who have been there as well. After that we walked to Alberts dock where there was a few things going on and I assume on a pretty summer day would be packed with people, but unfortunately it's November in England so the streets aren't always packed. We then started walking towards Anfield (the stadium where Liverpool play) in hopes of finding a ticket from someone outside the stadium. We walked around for a bit and we were about to give up when we found a guy selling but the price was too high. We didn't get to go to the match, but I still enjoyed seeing such a famous stadium with my own eyes. Overall, Liverpool was a cool city and I definetly suggest it if one has time to spare in 

England. Until next time. 

Midweek fun Pt. 2

Thursday, I set off to London again for the day, this time alone. I don't mind going alone, considering almost three fourths of the games I've been to I have been alone. I'm not going to force my friends to spend money to keep up with my addiction of soccer so it's all good. I left right after class purely because I wanted to go through the Natural History Museum. It was free and is known world-wide so why not go? I spent a few hours exploring the exhibits and trying to educate myself on various topics. My favorite exhibit was probably the human biology portion which I assume is a sign I'm a nerd and should continue being a biology major. They also had a very impressive dinosaur portion along with other animals. Overall, the museum was well worth my time and unfortunately I was only halfway satisfied with my time there because there was still so much more to explore but I didn't have time. After that, I set off for White Hart Lane one last time to watch Tottenham play. They were playing a team from Moldova so it was almost a guaranteed win. I chose to sit (well stand) in the main supporter section this time to try to get the full and complete experience. I got there early like usual enjoying the warm-ups and the night time atmosphere of the stadiums when I was approached by a man who was around 45. He first just said hello and when I responded he could tell I was not English, so he asked me where I was from. I then explain that I'm from America and how I've been a Tottenham fan since 2008. This really surprised him so he then asked me to give a brief history of each year from 2008-2013. I passed with flying colors and the look on his face was priceless. He ended it with a hug and said "welcome to White Hart Lane." We talked for another 20 minutes about various things and right before the match started he decided to switch seats with the other man who was beside me to sit by me instead. We enjoyed a 2-1 Tottenham win together and throughout the match we bonded on various conversations about the club and the supporter songs. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I was accepted by the English as a true supporter and that realization alone was something I've been wanting ever since I got here. I'm thankful for that encounter and can't wait to pass on that story in more detail to my brother back home who supports the same team. What a night is all I have to say. Until next time. 

"shoes up, if you love Tottenham."