Mountain View

Sunrise this morning in front of our lodge:

Yeah, I'm a happy girl. :) Link to more pics at the end.

Getting here yesterday was quite an adventure in itself. MSgt B and I used every form of transportation except a boat, I believe. We drove to the London airport, flew to a little town near Munich called Memmingen, took a taxi to the train station, rode the train to Garmisch, then took another taxi to the lodge. Add in getting separated in the airport, four train changes, a cabbie and a train conductor who did not speak English, and German federal police stopping us in the train station, and I would say we did very well to arrive at Edelweiss together and with all of our stuff. :) At least it was memorable, right?

We pretty much crashed after dinner thanks to our exhausting trip, then met for breakfast before the conference started this morning. I was early for meeting MSgt B in the lobby, and was drawn like a magnet outside to the sunrise. I think the most beautiful sunrise I have seen was from the top of a peak in Colorado Springs, but watching this one from the base of the Alps ranks pretty high up there. Views like this make me wish I was a better photographer. Of course, I had to pull MSgt B outside to see it when he came down, but he did not look quite as thrilled as I was to be awake for sunrise, hehe.

Today's conference agenda was listening to most of the big wigs in AF Wx talk, so we did a good deal of that, with lunch somewhere in the middle. This evening was the "ice breaker", which I enjoyed catching up with some old 26 OWSers and meeting a whole bunch more people. Tomorrow evening's activity is ultimate frisbee, which I forecast to be crazy with somewhere around 40 people on each team. Perhaps we will rotate in and out. Unfortunately, they have packed our schedule so full that it's not looking good for a Neuschwanstein visit, but I think I can handle it... just being here is a gift, and I will definitely be back. :)

Link to pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=307949&id=701905001&l=684e4f6a56

Let's Go State!!!

WE ARE PENN STATE!!!!! I am thrilled to be writing this while watching my Lions smash Akron on AFN in the base coffee shop. It's halftime and we're up 31-0... WOOHOO!!! I need to buy a TV so I can watch at home, but this works for now. So much to do at my house... need to arrange phone, TV, internet, buy more furniture, get some adapters and transformers for my appliances, and unpack the ridiculous number of boxes piled everywhere. However, I am not sure when this will all occur. I leave tomorrow for Germany(!!!), then I am back for 3 days before I leave for my cousin Amy's wedding in Ohio. Maybe I'll get my house set up by October.

I am so excited about Germany I'm not sure I will be able to sleep tonight. I think I have decided to take the laptop, since I will have internet access there. Plus, I can upload pics from my camera every day so I don't have to worry about running out of room on the memory card. :) Ooh, my game is back. Nuts, I think Akron just crossed the 50 for the first time in the game. Haha, we just stopped them at the 1... love it!!! I hope we can keep this a shutout. Okay, I will try to finish this without a running commentary on the game, but it will not be easy. ;-)

BAH, turnover!!! >:-/ Oops, sorry. I did say "try"... and they scored. Bummer. Oh well, we will still win. Back to the Germany trip... MSgt Bianchi and I are leaving at 8am for the London-Stansted airport (thank goodness it's way closer than Heathrow) to fly out at 12:20pm. This time tomorrow, I will be in Germany!!! Seriously can't believe I will actually be in the Alps. The fact I am being paid to go on this trip is somewhat surreal. Oh, that reminds me of something I forgot to mention in the last blog. I found out this past week that I will be spending the month of January at Hill AFB in Utah supporting our F-15s at Red Flag. For those unfamiliar with Hill's location, I will inform you that it is right next to Park City, one of the most famous ski areas in the US. I plan to take full advantage of that coincidence. :-D

I really need to pack. Hopefully it won't take long. We'll be in uniform during the day, so I just have to bring stuff to wear in the evenings, the computer, camera, phone, and all the appropriate charging devices. Aww, I miss Beaver Stadium. They just showed people painted blue and white. I think I'll try to make my packing list now that the 4th quarter has started. Talk to you next from Germany!!! :D

Busy busy busy

I apologize for the gap in blogging... I'll blame it mostly on not having internet in my house yet, and also because I have been running around like crazy with everything I have had to do this week. Sunday morning, I chickened out on going to the parish church in Downham Market, because when I went to check the sign for service times, I didn't even know what the names of their services meant. Must be more Catholic-based than I had thought. So I decided to try the local Methodist church. I was raised United Methodist, so it should be fairly familiar, right? Yes and no... service structure was normal, but I was the youngest person in the congregation by at least 30 years, probably more. Out of the 80-100 people in attendance, I was one of only a handful without white hair. Everyone I met was nice, but the cute little old lady greeter looked at me like she didn't know what to do with me when I walked in. I have nothing against older people, and I am happy that they have such a good-sized congregation, but I will continue looking for a church where I fit in a little better.

Sunday afternoon, Cassie (my friend from OCF) and I went to Ely to see the famous cathedral. I was not disappointed. The pure size of it is just staggering, and there is artistic detailing on almost every inch. The ceiling inside is painted with a line of pictures showing the story of the world from creation to Jesus's life and death. An Evensong service was beginning just after we entered, so unfortunately we could not explore the front part of the cathedral, but the sound of the organ and choir echoing through the cavernous building added to the ambiance. I took a short video of the central part of the church with the voices in the background (you may have to turn up your speakers): http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=279752065001 And here is the photo album of all my pictures from the cathedral: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=305530&id=701905001&l=53ff7c84b4

Monday was a training day for the OG since it was a UK bank holiday and flying was not allowed. OG/CC led the group on a 3.5 mile run around the flight line, at a rather brisk pace... only about 1/3 of the group finished with him, Jose and I were the only ones from the wx flight that kept up. (My legs were sore for two days afterwards...) The rest of the day was spent in various CC calls and training events. Tuesday, my household goods were delivered to my house! This included all my furniture and so many boxes I don't understand how this all came out of a 1-bedroom apartment. So, I bet you're wondering if the bed fit up the stairs. Drumroll, please... ... ... ... no. But I was pretty much expecting that, so I wasn't really upset. Plus, Cassie and I happened to be discussing furniture on Sunday, and when I told her about my fear of the bed not fitting, she said she was actually going to buy a queen bed and would take mine off my hands if it didn't fit. So that is good, I already have a place for it to go and can start bed-shopping for an "English queen" size, which is what the landlords had. Until then, I am sleeping on the twin mattress that will eventually go on the loft after I build it again.

The only casualty of the move that I have discovered so far is a crushed lampshade from my living room table lamp, but that should be easy enough to replace. I took "empty" pictures of the house on Friday night, and then "box explosion" pictures this morning after my second shipment arrived. Didn't take time to caption them, but they are fairly self-explanatory and can be found here if you are interested: http://community.webshots.com/album/574473672MBEwaX

Wednesday, I was the escort for six of the top-ranking people in Air Force Weather as they stopped to visit on their way to Germany for the conference next week. I went with a TSgt from the Mildenhall wx flight to pick them up at London Heathrow (thank goodness he was driving, London traffic terrifies me), and then brought them back to Mildenhall for a day of meet-and-greets with base leaders and dinner that night with a bunch of wx folks at a nice pub. They were a very interesting group... a retired Brig Gen now holding Senior Executive Service position (Brig Gen equivalent civilian), 3 Cols, and 2 Command Chiefs. I enjoyed hearing their behind-the-scenes discussions and jokes, and of course they had a ton of stories and experiences to share. I also got to meet the Mildenhall wing commander, a female Col who is a Brig Gen-select... cool! Dr. Lewis, the AF Director of Wx, coined me at the end of the day and bought me a drink at dinner, so I suppose everything went pretty well.

Tomorrow I am training on day shift in the wx station, OCF dinner and meeting, trip to somewhere cool on Saturday with Cassie (destination not finalized yet)... then Sunday I leave for Germany!!! I still don't believe it is so close. I don't think I will believe I am going until I get on the plane. Eeeek!

In the house

I am now living in my beautiful new house. :) It is empty except for my luggage, the boxes I mailed to myself, and a borrowed air mattress, but I am living in it. My household goods (furniture and stuff) will be delivered on Tuesday and Thursday this coming week. It's kind of nice to have some time to decide where I am going to put things, because there are a lot of options when you expand from a 1-bedroom apt to a 3-bedroom house.

The landlords left me a lot of nice things, like a washer and dryer, bathroom stuff like cleaning supplies and toilet paper, decorative light fixtures, some mirrors and paintings on the walls. I like having some things to base my decorating scheme on, because I am sort of clueless in that area, but I would like this house to look a little nicer than my previous apt's "dorm-room" look. (Never fear, Penn State fans, I think I am going to make my computer room all blue and white for a "Penn State room"!) I really like the landlords, they are both teachers and have two cute little boys, and they have been really helpful and nice to me in this process. The wife's name is Jo and she is a runner too, so she gave me a lot of great suggestions for running in the area. :)

I tried to explore Downham Market a little this morning, but I only made it as far as the market and the town information center before I was carrying so much in plastic bags that it was cutting off the circulation in my fingers and I decided to go home. The info center was a gold mine of free tour books and magazines! I can't wait to read them and plan more adventures. Tomorrow I am going to church at the one on my street, even though it is Church of England and I may not know exactly what is going on... I think they'll let me in, hehe. It is a beautiful church on the outside and it will be cool to go inside and see what the service is like. I'm curious. Then in the afternoon, I'm going to explore Ely with my friend Cassie from OCF, and I will finally see the cathedral everyone is talking about. Then I'll have some pictures to post!

Pictures, Car, and House

This will have to be fast, because I have to get to work for swing shift, but there is so much going on that I didn't want to skip a day. :)

First, I finally convinced Facebook to upload my pictures from Castle Acre Priory and Castle, which I visited on Sunday. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=299868&id=701905001&l=49101b3128

Second, my Cabrio is here!!! So happy, can't wait to get it legalized so I can enjoy some of this beautiful weather with the top down. I have the rental car until next Wednesday, so I think that should be enough time to get the light conversion, inspection, and registration done.

Third, I get my house tomorrow night! The lease starts on Friday, but the landlords wanted to meet me on Thursday night to hand over the keys and do inventory, which works wonderfully for me because we have Friday off and I am still considering a full-day adventure. Drove over to the agent's office today to turn in the deposit, and drove by the house on the way back since it is right around the corner. I am really excited to explore Downham Market once I am in the house, there is so much there right outside my door.

Must run for now, taking Cabrio to the Auto Craft center on the way to work to make an appointment for light conversion.

UNBELIEVABLE

I cannot believe that this is happening. I can't even sit here and type it because I don't believe it's happening and when I start to think about it I want to jump up and dance around the room or scream or go run 10 miles. Oh my goodness. Okay, breathe... on Sep 6th (12 days from now), I am going to the USAFE Weather Conference at Edelweiss Resort in the German Alps. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jose and MSgt Bianchi, as the flight commander and flight chief, were supposed to be going, but Jose just found out on Friday that the OSS/CC is giving him a high-level tasking that will take most of his time for the next few months. So I am going to the conference with MSgt Bianchi. I don't believe this. Just so you understand what this place looks like, check out the link: http://www.edelweisslodgeandresort.com/ Now, add to this that it is located less than an hour from Neuschwanstein castle, and if you know me at all you will understand why I am going through the roof about this. Neuschwanstein is THE fairy tale castle, what Disney based his castle on, and the central fixture in all my dreaming about Europe. Picture:


It's perfect, it's real, and in 12 days I will physically be less than an hour away from it when it has been nothing more than a dream or figment of my imagination for so long. MSgt Bianchi has pretty much agreed to go with me if we get out of the conference in time on Friday and can find a way there. If he helps me get to this castle, I think I will owe him for the rest of my life. I've already warned him that he might have to tie a string to me on this trip to keep me from floating away, but he doesn't seem too concerned. He is definitely getting his share of laughs from my excitement, which I am happy about because I am afraid he will get tired of me bouncing off the walls. I don't think my feet have touched the ground since yesterday. It's a good thing I was exhausted after a 16-hour busy work day or I don't think I would have slept.

Even without Neuschwanstein in the picture... I am getting paid to spend a week waking up to the German Alps outside my window. I cannot imagine why God has given me this opportunity, on top of everything else, but I guess that is the overwhelming beauty of grace. I think back to the day in my last semester of college when I found out I was going to Barksdale (last on my list) instead of Germany. I remember it like it was yesterday because I thought it was the worst day of my life. It felt like all my dreams had been ripped away from me. I cried for an entire weekend, and was angry at God for much longer. It's actually embarrassing to think about now, because it makes me sound selfish and shallow and ungrateful, which I suppose I am. Especially because I LOVE the people I met and the memories I made at Barksdale, and I wouldn't trade those relationships for anything.

I think this is one of the hardest things about faith... when something bad happens, all you see is the pain and the last thing you want to hear is "it's part of God's plan", or "rejoice in suffering", because it feels mocking - like your pain doesn't matter. I don't think that's how God wants us to feel. I don't have all the answers and I never will, but I do believe that blessings can come through pain, that God takes bad things and brings good out of them... it just may take time for us to see that. Like I see now.

I am working swing shifts this week (3-11pm), and now I have to run and pick up my car (yippee!) before work, but I had to get a quick blog in with my news. Bye!

Living a dream

This weekend, I walked on castle walls, climbed towers with winding staircases, and explored the ruins of a majestic 12th century priory... I think I took off from Dallas last month and landed in a dream. There have been so many times in the last 3 weeks that I have wanted to pinch myself to make sure this was actually happening, but then I don't... because if this is a dream, I don't think I want to wake up.

I spent today in a town called Castle Acre, the site of an 11th century castle (now in ruins) and a 12th century priory (aka monastery, also in ruins). The castle part was not as impressive as Framlingham Castle, which I visited on Friday, but the priory blew me away. The site is managed by English Heritage, mentioned in my last post, and they offer audio tours at most of their sites. You get a little walkie-talkie thing to carry around with you, and it's totally self-paced; you just press certain numbers that correspond to parts of the site, and it talks about whatever part you are in front of. I love it because it tells you exactly what to look at and explains the background of everything you are seeing, like a personal tour guide.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day - sunny, bright blue sky, few clouds. As I began walking through the priory ruins, my friend the audio tour began the incredible story of the priory's rise in the early 1100s. The first part of the ruins that you walk through happens to be the church. I wince at the term "church" here, because it feels like it needs a much more majestic name to give you the best visual description, but after learning the technical definition of "cathedral" last week, I will use "church" as applicable here. The church was the largest part of the priory, and built in the shape of a cross, typical of the time period. The entrance wall is the most intact part, and is at the "bottom" of the cross shape. The wall is just incredible to look at - massive arches form holes where stained glass windows used to be, the top just seems to reach all the way to the sky when you stand next to it. Once inside the walls, the audio tour plays haunting music with voices of monks chanting, and paints a scene of what the inside of the church looked like hundreds of years ago.

In the middle of the cross shape, where the north and south transepts meet, there is an altar. It is made of stones, and sits alone in the expanse of bright green grass enclosed by the walls, where intricate painted tile used to cover the ground. Maybe it was the music from the audio tour, or the rays of sunlight shining through the ruined walls, but standing in front of that altar... I felt like I was on hallowed ground. I was all alone in the ruins at this point, and the gravity of everything I have seen here all rushed through my head at once... imagining a 12th century monk kneeling at this same altar, the forces of history that changed this church from the way he knew it to the ruins I stand in today, so many lives lived between his and mine... yet here the altar stands. It might be the most beautiful physical representation of the omnipresence of God that I have seen with my own eyes. The 12th century is almost unfathomably long ago for me, yet the same God I worship today was there, and was there before history even began. I knelt down at the altar and said a prayer, thanking God for allowing me to be here, to experience all the incredible moments that I could never hope to deserve, to kneel at this altar and somehow feel like a part of the hundreds of years of history it has witnessed.

I'm not sure I will ever get used to seeing things like the priory ruins. I mean, I feel like I walk and drive around in a constant state of awe at the things I see and what they represent. I don't want to lose that, I don't want to ever take things like castles and cathedrals for granted, to see them as commonplace just because there are so many over here. I've been warned that I'm in the "honeymoon phase", that once winter comes and it is dark and cloudy and rainy all the time, I won't be so in love with England. I really hate that thought. If I was to ever complain about being here, it would be like snubbing my nose at the unbelievable gift I have been given. I know some of you (maybe all of you) reading this may think this sounds ridiculous, may not believe it is possible to feel so connected to a place. And I can't really blame you, because I'm not even sure I can explain to myself why it means so much to me, much less someone else. All I can say is that I am thankful for every day I have here, and I don't ever want to forget that.

Pictures from Friday's trip to Framlingham Castle: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=299235&id=701905001&l=3f1995dad6

Pictures from Sunday's trip to Castle Acre Priory and Castle: Unfortunately Facebook is not cooperating with me tonight and I can't get them posted... will try again tomorrow, sorry!