Language Lesson #1

I've decided to share a little about what I've learned here when it comes to language. So, if anyone happens to visit, just practice these phrases and translations....and don't be surprised if I masacre the spelling.
bathroom = loo or toilet (no one says restroom either)
sour cream = creme frache
that's awesome! = brilliant!
right away = straight away
six thirty = half six (can be applied to other times as well)
would you like a pop? = fancy a cup of tea?
chips = crips
fries = chips
crisps = ?
unreliable, strange, kooky = dodgey
TJ Maxx = TK Maxx
Starbucks = Starbucks
Just keep practicing, there will be more to come in Lesson #2.
-Mandy (:

Work, life, and related things...

Here's a picture of some of my friends here in London. The picture below of the fountain was also taken in the same area: Trafalgar Square. It's this great place in Central London where there are several museums and monuments all together. The night the three of us went out, we visited the National Portrait Gallery. Many of the museums here are free, which is great for people like us who are trying to live off the American Dollar (which doesn't have much worth here, unfortunately).
The good news is that we're finally earning pounds. And pence (that's the UK version of cents). I've been at my job about three weeks now and it continues to go well. My co-workers are nice and all the customers are nice as well. I am only there temporarily, but still they have all welcomed me and been so helpful in teaching me the ropes. I think it's a perfect transition to my permanent location because now I can see how one of the best salons in London is run and I can learn how they do it. Most days I switch between retail and massage therpy. I'm learning a lot about myself and that my true gifts are best used in massage therapy, but it is good to learn about retail and appreciate that I don't have to do it forever. One pro: I work in Central London and I'm close to lots of cool shops, cafes, etc. One con: with the hour commute each day, it makes for an 11 hour day and I'm completely wiped out at the end. Another pro: I have an ipod to get me through the bus ride/tube ride.
As we approach the Christmas season, Andy and I have been thinking about our winter routines that we have done over the past few years. Most of them revolved around our jobs with young people, concerts, events, etc. There are days when I really miss our life in Minnesota because I feel so distant from all of our friends there. Something about 3,000 miles and an ocean has really made me appreciate the friendships and support that I had back home.
We're so excited for Christmas because part of my family is coming to visit. There's just two weeks to go before they're here and I'm counting down each day!
Oh, and I almost forgot - I got to see Prince Charles and Camilla! Andy and I worked at the Royal Variety show which is a big charity event with different entertainment acts. I also got to see some bands like "Sugababes," :Take That, and James Morrison. In the back stage areas I'm sure that I passed lots of famous people, but I don't know any of the British stars so I was completely ignorant. All in all, it was an adventurous night and it was the first time in my life that I've ever had a back stage pass for anything (even if it was for the purpose of serving drinks).
More pictures and stories to come....Hope all of you are well and blessed.
Peace,
Mandy

PS The dog is my sister's. He's not here in London, but he's cute, so he deserves to be seen and adored. And I miss him. So there.

Good morning world,

It is hard to believe that it is December already, but it certainly is. Two more weeks of class and I will be all done for the term. School has been great!!!! I really feel that this is exactly where I am supposed to be in the world right now. I have been having a blast making friends from around the world. Mandy and I are starting to get invitations for summer vacations in France, Italy, Denmark, and many more. Right now in school we are working on “The Neutral Mask” (if you scroll down to an earlier post there is a picture of it). It has been a real challenge for all of us to work with this mask because it is so neutral that all your bad habits and little acting tricks show up immediately and they don’t work at all. So we are in the process of forgetting the way we used to approach things and trying to find a completely honest and engaged way of moving forward.

But enough about that mombo jumbo. Mandy has started her job (see above picture) and it seems to be going pretty well. The commute makes for a long day, but I think that once we get into the routine of it all it will be manageable. We found a church that we really connect to which is really exciting. They are called St. Barnabus, and the best part is they have Sunday night services.

Mandy and I went to the V&A museum for their Hanukka celebration. It was pretty cool we saw a shadow puppet show that needed a little work on the script but was all together interesting to watch. On the way back home we walked past the natural history museum, they are having a holiday village where there are shops, and food. We had roast chestnut (which are quite tasty) and one of the best sausages I have had in my life. They also have an ice-skating rink which I found to be rather comical. It has been in the mid 50’s the past couple of weeks so they cool the ice from underneath. Whenever someone would fall, which was pretty regularly, his or her pants would get soaked from the layer of water on top of the ice. For an out side ice rink in the middle of a city they sure couldn’t have found a more beautiful place to put it though.

Well that is about all I know these days. I am so thankful to be living out this dream. We come across little challenges, but Mandy and I are a pretty tough team. I miss you all, and deeply wish you were here with us.

Have a great December.


Peace.

Andy

Giving Thanks

We have so much to be thankful for. We went to a great Thanksgiving party at a friend's flat on Thursday night. About 15 of us piled into her small flat and shared a pot-luck style buffet of yummy food. Some faithful Amercians provided turkey, while some of the international students brought dishes from their respective countries. As a joke (and because they're all theater students), all the Americans did a short improvised play about the history of Thankgiving. We strayed pretty far from the true story by the end of it.
On Friday, we had just a few friends to our house for turkey. The best thing about hosting a turkey dinner is that you get to keep all the leftovers, so we knew we just had to have our own gathering. Good food and good company, who could ask for more? Although, we both missed our families on Thursday, it just didn't feel like Thanksgiving without them.
I started my new job this week and it went very well. There is a lot to learn, but they are pacing me so that I'm not overwhelmed. This week was mostly retail, but I start doing massage therapy next week. In the first few days I got very pampered because I had to learn all of the services by receiving them. So, I've had a couple chair massages, a make-over, a hand massage, and some aromatherapy. I love this job!
Peace,
Mandy

One Day at a Time

Hi Everyone!
Well, each day is a gift here. Andy's class schedule allows him to have differrent classes/instructors each day, so there's tons of variety in his life. Wednesdays seem to be the hardest on his body as they do acrobatics for several hours on that day. Mondays are somewhat exciting and difficult because it is the day that each small group presents the projects they worked on the previous week. He also has a "Space Lab" class on Saturdays which so far have involved a field trip around Centra London and on another day they used charcoal to draw different spacial concepts. Every once and a while he'll come home and teach me an exercise or game that they learned that day.
Just recently I had some spare time (as I am still waiting to start my new job) so I wandered around the city. I spent some time in St. Margaret's Church which is near Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. I also walked around the Picadilly and Covent Garden areas which are known for all their shops. My new favorite place in that area is a small bakery in China Town where you can get the most wonderful sweet red bean or lotus pastries. I'm hooked. I also found a great restaurant near my house with my friend Xan. We tried looking for a pub to hang out in, but they were all busy and noisy. We came across this great little cafe called "Babes and Burgers." The name is somewhat decieving. It was small and full of candlelight and we were seated in a booth right next to a classical guitarist who was just playing acoustically in a corner for the 6 or so customers there that night. They do have burgers, but they also have a lot of great healthy gourmet food that we proceeded to split as we are both on tight budgets.
Hmmm...other adventures...we both have seen a few interesting plays lately, we've been taking advantage of all the student discounts. Most of them are put on by smaller theater companies, the one we went to last night was in a pub and reminded me a lot of the Acadia cafe in Minneapolis.
I'm really surprising myself lately with my ability to stay up late. For the past three Saturday nights, we haven't gotten to bed until 3:00 or sometimes later. There have been some fun parties with Andy's classmates and we keep finding ourselves with guitars in hand and singing late into the night. We're excited to maybe have some friends over for a Thankgiving meal sometime this week. I really love hosting, especially for a small group of friends that like good food and laughter.
Andy is at a friends house today having "tea." Which does involve tea, but it also could include sandwiches, cakes, biscuits, and chocolate, along with much conversation. I love some of these British traditions!
I've included some pictures of the sights around town. One of them is of crosses with poppies on them. Here in London, they celebrated their Memorial Day two weekends ago and the lawn in front of Westminster Abbey was covered with these crosses with names or prayers written on them. There were thousands and thousands, it was amazing.
Hope all is well with each of you. Happy Thanksgiving this Thursday, we'll be missing you all.
Peace, Mandy

Internet, Yeah!

It may not be exciting news to all of you, but we're so happy to announce that we now have internet access at our home. We just got it tonight, and it's after 1:00 AM, so I'm hooked already. Hopefully this means we can keep in touch a little better and add more updates. We're on skype, so anyone and everyone is welcome to call or video-chat.
See you soon (on the internet, that is)!
-Mandy

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

“Remember, remember the fifth of November.” That is a phrase sometimes used here to describe the day that Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the parliament building but his plan was thwarted and he was executed. It is a very patriotic holiday here and resembled the 4th of July back home, except it was a lot colder (although I have some moral objections to the effigies they burn of Guy Fawkes and sometimes of the pope because it dates back to a time when the conflict was between Protestants and Catholics). We joined some of our friends at Ravenscourt Park on Saturday for the festivities and witnessed #1 the largest bonfire I have ever seen in my life (the tops of the flames reached about 100 feet (no joke), and #2 the most impressive fireworks display I have ever seen in my life (although it was a close second to Eveleth). They really love fireworks here, but nobody has a yard, so teenagers set them off in the streets (kind of scary). In fact, we hear fireworks on most weekends, not just this special occasion. London is a huge city, but we never worry about the loud bangs being gunshots, nobody carries guns here. So, along with the noise of all the buses and cars, we’re learning to tune out the sound of random fireworks.
Later that night we went to a house warming party. It was great and after most of the guests left, we pulled out the guitar and ukelele and sang songs until 4:00 AM! It was amazing because one of our new friends from India was singing these beautiful Hindi chants along with us.
We continue our spiritual quest here in London. On Sunday we tried out the Hillsong Church that meets in the Dominion Theatre. It was a lot like The Upper Room in Minneapolis. Then on Monday, we went to a meditation class. I think I’ve been tainted by church work because now I’m hyper-aware to all that goes into a worship service and it is more of a formula than an experience. But, I know that we will find a community somewhere.
Good news – I have a job offer for full-time massage starting in January. Still thinking about what to do and how to do it, but at least I’m moving forward on finding employment. In the meantime, we still like our jobs at the opera and I had a second interview tomorrow for a really great company that does homeopathic/organic products and services.
We are enjoying the company of a houseguest right now. One of the students from LISPA is still looking for a flat, so she’s crashing on our couch for a little while. Kat is from Denmark and we’ve had some great talks with her and we’re glad for the chance to get to know her well.
We pray that all of you are well and blessed.
-Mandy

Good News All Around

We've had a great few days here. This weekend we hung out with some friends from school that have a 3-year-old son. We went to the Diwali celebration at the V&A Museum. Diwali is a Hindu religious holiday, so at the museum we enjoyed some great Indian music, workshops, and storytelling. Then, we spent the beautiful autumn afternoon at Hyde Park where they have a children's playground that is build like a pirate ship.
Yesterday we had a great time at a social gathering for all the LISPA students. One of our good friends who is a second-year student has set us both up with a part time job serving beverages during intermission at the opera. It will help a lot since my job hunt has proven to be a slower process than anyone could ever imagine. Plus, we'll be working side by side with our friends and hopefully getting some sneak peaks at the opera!
Andy had his first day of school today and it went very well. He really connects with his instructors and fellow students. It's going to be a great 2+ years.
Well that's the good news, hope you are all doing well back home.
-Mandy

Welcome to our Flat!

Yes, that’s right, we call it a flat. Ironically, the building is very old and most of the floors are not actually flat.
We’ve been here a few weeks now and are beginning to feel settled in. I continue to have job interviews, and Andy starts school on Friday. We’ve been anxious to get into a routine. Luckily, we’ve connected with some other students and have had opportunities to be social and enjoy what London has got to offer.
So back to our flat. Every week we add a little bit to it. It is “furnished,” but there are very few items in the kitchen, at least not enough for me to do any kind of serious cooking. It is a one bedroom apartment on the third floor. The living room/kitchen/dining room overlooks a busy street, but the bedroom is in the back and tends to be nice and quiet at night. We’re waiting to get some income before we purchase any decorations, but we have been slowly buying little things to make it more of a home. It has really made me aware of how dependent I am on material items. Tomorrow I’m meeting with a friend to go to the “Pound Stretcher” store to see if I can find a few more kitchen tools I’m looking for.
We were very excited last weekend to have some friends over for a small party. It forced us to clean all the things we were procrastinating on.
We’re excited to have people come visit and stay with us (the invite is open, just let us know if you’d like to come). We have enough room for some air mattresses and we have a short, but very comfortable couch. One catch, the water temperature is very temperamental, so be prepared for baths.

Mandy



Hey everyone. I feel it important that I explain the top two pictures. THis is what happens when you mix a computer that has cool camera effect, MULTIPLE pints... I mean MULTIPLE, and a group of narcasisticly creative theater folk. I hope you enjoy. I am more than willing to e-mail you the other 358 pictures, just let me know.

Andy

by the way, it feels really good to have found a group that I have so much in common with. Aren't we pretty!!!!!!!!!

Waiting for the interweb.

Hi everyone,

Mandy and I are waiting to get the entire interweb delivered to our new flat, this may take several weeks, so we are relying on the Internet store across the the road. Sorry if it takes us a little while to get back to you.

We are doing very well, but we have adopted a new life philosophy:

WE'POE.

to translate means, we are don't have much money, or "we are poor"

Mandy is still looking for work, but with our new We'poe way of living I know all will work out fine.

Hope you are all well.

Peace.

Andy

PS I am currently working on learning more fun songs on the guitar, so I can become a street performer to help us out of the We'poe lifestyle. Any suggestions you have for songs is greatly appreciated.

We Love Cornwall!

So we’re on the train back to London and it’s about 11:30 PM. We’ve just spent a wonderful weekend on the Lizard Peninsula, which is the most southern point in the UK. My cousin Jim started the whole thing by planning a trip to England and thus convincing our relatives in Cornwall to pull together a family gathering, We all met in the Constantine Social Hall on Sunday afternoon. It was great to meet everyone. Luckily, there was a basic outline of a family tree so that we all were able to understand how we are distantly related. Andy and I spent the weekend with one of the cousins that owns a B&B, Joan Hill. She was a wonderful host and took us all over the place on a tour of places related to the Bennett’s history. I can’t wait to go home and show my Grandma Annie all the pictures of the familiar faces and places.
Andy said Cornwall reminded him a lot of Ireland. The shore was beautiful and we spent most of the morning climbing around the rocks and taking pictures. We lucked out with great weather. What a refreshing break from the fast paced, crowded world of London.
We’re anxious to get “home” for the first time. Finally our flat is ready and we will get into it for the first time after midnight tonight. More details to come as we settle into it. We plan to spend most of tomorrow shopping for basic cleaning supplies and food. It will be so great to actually unpack our bags and begin to make it our own. We will also spend some time tomorrow with Cousin Jim before he flies out. We’re meeting some more relatives, Bruce and Marcia.
Cheers!

Planes, Trains, and Mini-Cabs

I have a feeling that many of our first blog entries will be all about the subtle cultural differences we are observing on a daily basis. Today’s theme: transportation.
The tubes are great in many ways. Mostly clean, mostly fast, not terribly expensive considering the other more expensive options here. There are a lot of buses available, too. But, in just the past day, I have spent over 8 hours on some form of public transportation and have traveled a minimal distance.
The first trip was across town to the South East part of London for a job interview. It went very well and luckily the actual job is very close to our flat. There’s 2.5 hours.
Andy and I have had plans to go to Cornwall for a family gathering of some distant cousins this weekend. We left the house at 4:15 and it is currently 9:00 PM. We are still in transport (heading back to London) because the train took 3 times as long as normal and we missed our flight. We get to do the route all over again tomorrow.
I don’t mean to sound pessimistic. We are just learning the ropes here and some days are more challenging than others in ways that we don’t expect. The British seem to be very polite, so we were graciously given a full refund for our train tickets and hope that this time tomorrow we will be in the Newquay airport meeting our hosts. They have made such an effort to make it possible for us to come; we are very excited to see them.
God has definitely blessed us. Our new Landlords have opened their home to us last night and now again tonight. They have two daughters near to our age and they have all been so kind and taught us so much about London life.
Live and learn, learn and live. The airline that we are using to get to Cornwall also offers flights all over Europe (usually to lesser known destinations, but hopefully close to the better known ones). If you book far enough in advance, you can get flights for only $4.00! They charge a $50 tax, but still. We are considering a trip to Rome, Andy has a cousin there.
Well, enough for now, our stop will be coming up soon.
Hope all is well.
Peace, Mandy

P.S. In Africa, I would find myself thinking and dreaming in French. It’s only been a week, but I’m really getting sucked into the accent here and all of their quirky phrases. It’s brilliant!

I'm sorry I only speak american.

Hello friends,

Here are some pictures,
Parliament
Tower bridge (I was amazed at how big it really is)
And my new dream car (the mini copper looks like an SUV compared to some of their cars)

All is well we are moving right along with all we need to take care of.
I don't have an accent yet, but I have found myself saying, "Oh bugger"
I sometimes feel like I am loosing my hearing, having to ask people to repeat themselves all the time. We are amassed at just how international of a city London is; we have met people from just about all around the world.

We are excited to go to Cornwall this weekend for Mandy's family reunion. We have been in contact with a couple of her cousins and they seem like very nice, and really fun people.

The free Skype video conferencing as been very helpful in keeping the home sickness at bay, but for me it is really starting to sink in that I won't be home for quite a while.

I highly recommend you all sign up with skype. It's free to get, and free to call other computers with skype, and they have video conferencing for free too.

OOPpss sorry I turned into a skype commercial there for a second.

When we get back I am looking forward to getting settled in out apartment, and getting set on a consistent schedule, I am realizing more and more how much that is a need of mine.

Oh, last night we had a pint with MR. Jeremiah Fairbanks that was quit lovely, he seems to be doing really well, and he always has such a great energy and approach to life. I hoping we spend more time hanging out. (even though he is a hippie)

THE FOLLOWING PART IS TO BE READ WITH AN EXTREEME ENGLISH ACENT

Well that's about that then, I think I'll quit this note while I'm ahead, flick on the telle, and see if “Flog It” is on bbc2.
Cheers,
Lord Andrew


One quick translation:
Flog It, the show, is not what it sounds like. It is actualy a show like The Antique Road Show where people take and antiques and attempt to "Flog it" by selling it at auction to make money.


I miss you all.

Peace.

Temporary Tourists

Hello All!
Well, we are allowing ourselvesa little bit of tourism. We are eager to move into our new flat and become regular, run-og-the-mill Londoners But until then, we are soaking in some of the sights.
Today we spent the afternoon on a bus tour of the city. It was good to see where the museums, parks, shops, and monuments are. I recognized some of them from my trip with Karalyn back in 2002. We stopped to look around at Trafalger Square and later at Harrod's Department Store. Yesterday, we had a great time wandering around the Portabella Market (the one in the movie, "Notting Hill") which is just blocks away from our flat.
We are so happy to have finally found place to live. We will move in on Monday. It is being leased to us from a wonderful couple originally from Bangladesh. They told us to consider them to be our UK Indian parents while we're here.
Hope all is well back home (:
Love, Mandy

tally ho

So, we're alive and well in London. Our plane came in around 9:00 am Thursday morning. We were exhausted because we just couldn't seem to sleep on the plane no matter how hard we tried. Once we got to the train station, we had a bit of a scare as the train doors closed with Andy on the inside and me on the outside next to our 4 larges and heaviest bags. I guess the damsel in distress situation works here, too. Once I shared my story with the train workers, I was on the next train and two workers took my bags to the luggage rack. Some of the other patrons helped me get the bags off, then another worker helped me page Andy, loaded my luggage, and waited with me until we were reunited. It seemed a little more scary since we each had no phone, and only I had the address to our hotel.
So far, we've managed to stick together well. We've spent the past few days running all over the city and getting the hang of the of underground. Yesterday, we visited Andy's school and met some of the staff, they were very nice. We also found this great little flat that we might rent. Still looking, but none seem to compare. Today, we dropped off my resume (or CV as they call it here) at two salons.
We've walked more and slept more in the past few days than in the past month. Both feel great. We've been lost a total of 23 times. The streets here have no rhyme or reason. They often change names and none of them actually go east-west or north-south. It is a tangled mess, but between our maps and Andy's "homing-pigeon" instincts, we've always found our way eventually.
Hope everyone is well, you are all missed.(:
Love, Mandy

45 hours and counting

Our flight is coming up soon! The good-byes have been hard, so I've been pretending that they aren't real. Denial is working so far, but I have a feeling it will catch up to me soon. We have had a lot of late nights of packing and long days of tying up loose ends. Aparently, moving to another country causes some aspects of life to be more complicated than before.
Thanks to all of you who have wished us well on our journey. We have really enjoyed reconnecting with you (which is ironic since our plan is to geographically disconnect).
Peace,
Mandy

Hello world.

Hello world this is Mandy and Andy. We are here to take you on, and now all our friends and family will be here to witnes it. So get ready, your ass is ours.