Update on the Family

Many of my blog entries have revolved around my personal reflections regarding our experiences. Here, I will offer an update on the entire family.

Rachel is doing great! The month in Florida was perfect to aid in her recovery. Having a break from the busy schedule allowed her the rest she needed initially. Later, the warm weather provided her the opportunity to get out walking and running again (Cheryl, be ready). She is also doing quite well here in England. She is able to spend leisure time catching up on some reading. Her love for old British literature has made her bilingual, speaking English in addition to her fluent American. In fact, Rachel is trilingual as she actually spoke Polish before English (oops, I mean “before American”). Responding to her initial impressions of Oxford, Rachel said in English, and I quote, “Brilliant! The spires left me utterly gob smacked straight away.”

Natalie is having a great time also. The weekend before flying to England, we heard Natalie excitedly run out of her bedroom, fly down the stairs, stand in front of us, and give a large grin exposing a small gap in her smile and a hint of blood on her chin as she proudly displayed her first lost tooth. She was thrilled! After arriving in Oxford, we rode a tour bus of the city complete with headsets narrating the history and sites. Upon Natalie’s request, we stayed on for two and a half tours through the city in order for her to take in all the information and listen to the woman’s intriguing British accent. Fortunately, the passes were good for twenty-four hours. She loves learning and enjoys hearing about history and this city has a lot of history! Oxford was home to the real Alice whom Lewis Carroll wrote about in what we know as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Natalie was fascinated as we walked in the store where the real Alice once frequented for penny candy, now converted into an Alice souvenir shop. We have been reading the book before bedtime together. After church yesterday, Natalie had a chance to play with the daughter of one of the professors. The young fourth grader was pleased to set down her school homework, a thick novel written in Latin (school is quite rigorous in Oxford, even for a fourth grader), to go play in the courtyard. Natalie too had a great time and talked about Dorothy, her new British friend, all afternoon.

Alana had difficulty adjusting to the time change at first, consequently, so did the rest of us. She is now adjusted and having a great time. She too is intrigued by the interesting sounding people. Natalie and Alana both purchased an Alice doll from the Alice shop. Alana calls hers “Elvis” instead of Alice. Alana is nearly as amazed at the architecture as the rest of us as she keeps saying “look at that building” as we walk through the city. We walked through a market last week. Alana’s eyes were drawn to the dead pheasants and rabbits displayed in the window. She responded, “People eat the bunnies? EEOOOOH!” as she plugged her nose.

You have heard many of my reflections, but let me give a few things I am particularly enjoying. The history and architecture are incredible! Across the street from where we are staying, Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four minute mile. We saw the pub where C. S. Lewis and Tolkien frequented to discuss with each other their recent books. Many buildings date back to the 16th century or earlier. Tomorrow I intend to spend a large portion of time in the Bodleian Library. One of the professors here was kind enough to write a recommendation allowing me access into the special collections which contain a number of old manuscripts, including (if I am not mistaken) some handwritten manuscripts from John Wesley and countless others. Well, you will see more jottings as time goes on.