Update

In Paris and Italy through Thursday. I probably will not update again until I am home. I will be back in INDY at 11:00 on Saturday. Look forward to seeing you at Church on Sunday. Adios

Grammer

Sorry about any grammer issues in the recent posts. I typed them quickly so that I would finally get them up. Enjoy.

Only 17 Days Left

It is scary how fast time has flown by. I have absolutely loved my time here and will certainly miss people when I get ready to leave. However, I am also really excited at this point to see friends and family back home. I think I have timed it all right though. I mean all I have missed is one semester of school, the early NBA season, the beginning of NCAA basketball, and a lousy NCAA football (from what I understand) (Of course Division III is a whole different issue. Go Wabash). Now I get to see the bowl games and the best basketball in the world. It will be a great Christmas break. However, before that time comes I have a good deal of writing and reading to do. I have three papers left to write and my first exam next Wednesday.

Anonymous Posts

Quit posting anonymously. It drives me nuts when I do not know who wrote something on my blog. That is it.

Politics and Government

I was asked the question of what the perception of Americans was from the Scottish. The reality is that I encounter people from everywhere here at Aberdeen. I probably spend more time talking to other Europeans than I do Scottish People. However, I get the impression that our life style and country in general is either admired or at least respected by most. They do not completely understand our political process or political agendas, but neither do I understand theirs. There is a general consensus that Bush is not the brightest guy in the world. In fact, I am not sure I have run into anyone that particularly likes him. So, I guess the British and Europeans in general think a lot like Americans do. They love the country and would love to spend time in it. However, they are not that impressed with the current government and are looking to see what changes will happen in the next 12 months.

Ice Cream

A while back I posted a blog that contained a challenge to guess what kind of ice cream cone I ate. I said it was my two favorite flavors together. It was a Blueberry and Chocolate ice cream cone. Somewhere in my pictures from Stone Haven are a few pictures of the wonderful treat.

Dublin

Dublin was a great trip, although not the most impressive city. The city itself was somewhat dirty; however, there were some amazing things to see while I was there. Trinity College is absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth taking the time to see if you are in Dublin. They have an old library that really impressed me. We (I and three other guys from the program) also got to go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral. Both buildings were somewhat interesting architecturally from the outside and appeared nice in the inside. However, I must admit we did not spend much time in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. This was because they actually charged to get into the church. Every other church I had been to in other cities, had a donation plate if one wanted to contribute to the church, its preservation, or just as a thank you for being able to take pictures. These churches were charging over ten dollars just to get into the building. In addition St. Patrick’s was running a high end gift shop in the church building. Christ surely would have turned those tables and told the devil to get out of his house. Let’s just say I was not that impressed. We did go into Christ Church Cathedral. This was because they do not charge to come to the service. So we went and enjoyed the service. Both of these churches were Anglican. I had a good time, although was disappointed in the preacher, who implied the word of God is fallible. We then got to go under the church for tea and biscuits (cookies). It was a good time. The highlight of the trip to Dublin was most certainly the Guinness Store House. This was a magnificent tour of how Guinness Beer is made. In the end you get to sample a free pint while sitting in a room that resembles the design of the Eagle’s Nest in Indianapolis. The view of the city was spectacular. The only real downside to the whole trip was that it was rainy the entire time we were there. However, now that I reflect it occurs to me that the one time we decided to have a picnic lunch it did stop raining for about two hours on Sunday afternoon. Well, that is Dublin. I actually will elaborate if you have any additional questions.

Thanksgiving

My thanksgiving was fabulous, well at least my pre-thanksgiving. The Aberdeen Christian Union hosted a thanksgiving dinner for the Americans who attend weekly Bible Study. Then as an outreach, we were encouraged to invite our flat mates to come along. It was absolutely fantastic. There were probably about 10-20 Americans in attendance, yet a total of over 90 people. The food and fellowship was amazing. Then while dessert was being set out a couple of students shared their testimonies. It was an amazing time to just listen to God do his work. I do not know if anyone has come to Christ as a direct result of that night, but I do know many people heard the good news of Christ and learned what an American Thanksgiving is all about. I personally was invited to be one of about five people in the kitchen before the meal. I peeled lots of potatoes and then I made two sweet potatoes casseroles. I was told they were amazing and I enjoyed them myself. So, my pre-Thanksgiving was amazing. On Thanksgiving Day itself, I was invited to attend a dinner with the Scotland Program (the program I am with). I am told it was fabulous. However, I spaced it and to be honest forgot it was thanksgiving until later that evening. I spent the night playing basketball. I had a wonderful time. We did not win, but we played great and irritated a referee to no end. Well, that is my thanksgiving.

Pictures and Referees

Okay, I said that I spent my Thanksgiving playing basketball. This was a fun and exciting game. However, the referee was the worse referee in the entire world. I am not exaggeration. Anyhow, we promised him we would put his picture on the internet as the worst ever, so here it is. Also all of my pictures from all of my trips and anything else I have taken can be accessed by the link at the bottom of this post or the one on the right hand side of the page that says my pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12609321@N03/