Keys

These are the keys

that they gave to this guy


that go to this house


that we signed a lease on today!!

(For those keeping track, that makes the guy officially Hero Adam)

My husband rocks!

I’d really hoped that my next blog update was entitled “We have a house!!” But we don’t. Yet. We’re close. We have found one that we like and we’re working through the paperwork. I think there were less forms when we purchased our home in Texas. Seriously.

But that is not the point of today.

Today we are celebrating something different.

Today we are celebrating Adam.

Hmm. That didn’t come out the way I meant.

Today we’re excited because

Adam has been accepted to the University of the West of England International MBA program!

Woo Hoo!

Here’s a little excerpt of the email he sent me after his interview:

“Well the interview went really well. After [a few questions] she informed me that she would press the accept button on her computer and that the Admissions Administrator would be sending out an official offer letter. Exciting!

I am the only American in the program and that there are only 2 from the UK. The remaining 27 students are from seven different countries. She also told me to make sure and apply for the scholarships after I received my offer letter stating that she is the one who approves of all scholarships and felt certain I would be able to land one.

So really it was a pretty decent call I suppose."

I love his modesty. “pretty decent” how about “freaking amazing!”

Way to go, Adam! I’m so proud to be your wife.

Its not all sunshine

I’ve started this about a billion different ways in my head. I’ve even written a draft and scratched most of it. I don't like to talk about how hard my life is, especially as ACU is running a blog series on the Joplin tornados and I see how much pain there is, and will continue to be, in that region. And I think about the regions of Japan that may continue to be in upheaval for years. Then I think about some of our dear friends who are struggling with their own problems to grow their families. My struggles seem much lighter. Much more trivial. Much less painful.

But, I’ve been crying. Almost daily. Not in a pretty way. In a way that would scare away any normal human companion. Thank God Adam is stronger than I am.

Let me tell you the story.

I hate (and I don’t use that word lightly) feeling out of control, out of routine, out of sorts. I don’t handle it well. I forget to be polite to others. I cannot focus on anything except that my world is out of sorts. That is exactly where I am right now. I knew there would be an adjustment period with this whole moving to a foreign country thing, but I never imagined that I would feel so anxious about it.

We are having a major struggle finding a home. Very early on in our marriage, Adam and I were overly blessed by our house in Texas. It was bigger than we ever imagined we could afford, it was in a location that we loved, and it had a yard that was more that we could even dream about. While we were going through the negotiation process, we prayed one night that we wanted a home to bless others with. That night we heard, in one of those very clear, can only be God moments, that any house we’re given we will use to bless others with.

Isn’t that amazing.

The next morning we found out our offer was accepted. I knew at that moment that we would always have a place to live that we could share with family, friends, and those who needed it.

So, fast forward almost 6 years. Apparently the rental market in Bristol is one of the “hottest” rental markets in the UK. So much so that landlords are having their choice of 8-10 applicants per property rather than tenants viewing multiple properties. Throw in the unknown factor of renting to an American and two dogs and you have yourself a nearly impossible housing conundrum.

We have a letting agent through my relocation package with PwC. I know they are as frustrated with the situation as I am. I know they want the best for us. I know this stuff. My heart is trying to catch up to my brain.

We have looked at 7 properties now. Seven. That is how many we can find out of the approximately 420 properties meeting the 2-4 bedroom, £800-£1,200 per month in the Bristol area criteria that will rent to foreigners with pets. One of the seven was actually let before we saw it, so realistically we’re down to six out of 419. None are “the house”. Hence the start of the tears. None of them are close to meeting all our ideal criteria. Hence the start of the sobbing. None of them I can imagine us spending a year or two living in; a Christmas, a set of birthdays, an anniversary, and a host of new experiences. Hence the wailing. And none will offer a short term (3-6 months) lease. Hence the blubbering.

Then this morning, I read Lamentations. If there is a book in the Bible that understands pain, that understands crying, that understands ache, this is the one. As I read, trying to understand how painful it is to lose an entire city, to have no hope, I came to chapter 3:

21-32
(NIV)

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I
have hope:

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his
compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks
him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a
man to bear the yoke while he is young.

Let him sit alone in silence,
for the LORD has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust—there may yet
be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be
filled with disgrace.

For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though
he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing
love.

Woah! As bad as I may think things are now, it is owing to the mercy of God that they are not worse. We have a temporary apartment (which the gracious partners in my office have agreed to pay for an additional two weeks than stated in my relocation contract), I have terrific friends and family back home that I can email at 2 in the afternoon and they have arranged for a local to call me with advice by 7:30 (Thanks again, Matt!!), and we have support network to keep us going.

God is compassionate. Afflictions do and will work for good. If tribulation begets patience, that patience will bring experience, and that experience will create hope. Happy shall we be, if we learn to receive affliction as laid upon us by the hand of God. Happy? Maybe, content. I’m still working on that one.

So, I think I should summarize. You may have either fallen asleep or think that we’re having a miserable time here (which we’re NOT!!! Read Adam’s posts for the warmer side – he’s the glass half full guy). We haven’t found a house yet. We’re working on it. It’s a much bigger hurdle than we expected. We have each other (and I haven’t scared Adam off yet). We have some possibilities. We will not be homeless. There is more cheerful news to come.

Final note... I just asked Adam to proof read my post before I made it ‘live’. I asked him if it was too strong. His response? (This is why I love him so) “It’s a bit heavy, but that is where your heart is right now. This blog is supposed to share what we’re doing with our loved ones. It’s not meant to only show the fun parts. Nobody believes that you only have great times when embarking on a trip like this. Someday we’ll need to remember this struggle.” He’s right...he usually is, just don’t tell him I said that.

Photo Update!!!

So, I was going to do a review of everything we had seen during our time in Bristol so far but decided that it would probably be far too long of an entry. Therefore, since a picture is worth a thousand words here is a 12,000+ word post for everyone to consume.  Hope you enjoy the photos and start planning what things you would like to see when you come to visit!

Queen's Square between the apartment and Amanda's office. Seems to be a great place for an afternoon picnic on a sunny summer day (assuming we ever find one of those!).

This statute of William III is in the center of Queen's Square. It was cast in 1733 to signify the cities loyalty to the King.

The base of the hill we walk up on the way to Amanda's office.It's quite a bit steeper in real life!!

Near the top of Brandon hill looking west. Can't quite see the states from up here.

Perhaps if I were to climb Cabot Tower (above) I could see the states. Maybe another day. I'll try to have the scaffolding down in time for visitors.

Near the top of Brandon Hill looking south.

View of the floating harbor off to the West.

Brunel's S.S. Great Britain from across the Harbor. Built in the local shipyards and launched in 1843 she served as the worlds first iron hulled, steam powered transatlantic ship. Throughout her history she has served as luxury passenger liner, troop ship and coal hulk among others. Scuttled and abandoned in 1937 near the Falkland Islands she remained there until 1970 when a massive salvage effort patched her holes and brought her back to Britain where the conservation and restoration effort took more than thirty years to complete. Can't wait to actually visit this museum.

View of the Floating Harbor towards the East.

Above is The Hole in the Wall tavern which claims to be location of the Spyglass from Treasure Island.

A side shot of St. Mary Redcliffe which is about two hundred yards from our apartment.

The spire of St. Mary Redcliffe. Still haven't been inside yet but the exterior is rather impressive.

I hope you enjoyed a brief view of Bristol. We will continue to post pictures in hopes that it will motivate all of our friends and family to come visit us soon and often.

Cheers!

It's Saturday, must be time for a Bath

After the last week and a half of attempting to get settled and not being able to find a house (more on this adventure later), we decided to take a day to be tourists and visit the city of Bath. Bath is situated about 15 miles east of Bristol and is one of the stops between Bristol and London on the high speed train.  Amanda insisted on taking a picture of the train.  Maybe someday the mode of transportation won’t be as exciting for her…

We arrived at 9:45 in the morning and ambled about for a bit until we came upon The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath or as you & I know it, Bath Abbey.

The Abbey is quite amazing as you can probably imagine and the inside is absolutely beautiful, however before we went in we had to find the free walking tour that I had read about in one of Rick Steve’s travel guides. Volunteers lead the two hour walking tour around the city weekday mornings and afternoons and at 10:30 on Saturdays. The tour began just outside the Abbey were the guide spoke briefly about the history of the area and explained the significance of the hot springs that well up from beneath the earth only a few hundred meters away. After the brief introductory of the area and the Abbey the tour began in earnest and we started walking. Much of Bath’s appeal is generated by its Georgian architecture which dominates both the city and the tour. If you like symmetrically constructed stone buildings with columns, then Bath is the place for you! As we progressed through the tour, we got to see The Circus, Royal Crescent (my favorite) and Queens Square which were all designed by John Wood the elder and his son John Wood the younger (Sr. and Jr. need not apply).  Amanda and I found the tour very entertaining and would definitely recommend it anyone who visits Bath.

The tour ended just outside the new Bath Spa which we decided we would try on another trip when we were actually prepared to spend a day lounging by the pool and soaking up the naturally heated mineral waters that the spa pumps into its facilities.

Being a little peckish after walking around for more than two hours we found a Cornish Bakery were Amanda had a pasty filled with English bacon, potato and cheese and I satiated my hunger with a Panini consisting of English bacon, tomato and mozzarella. Both were very satisfying.  

We then entered the Abbey and marveled at the amazingly detailed ceilings...

... and many of the centuries old monuments to past parishioners.

Amanda grabbed a leaflet for a self guided tour and we slowly wandered the hallowed aisles for nearly an hour as we took in everything around us, like the stunning stained glass windows that a photograph simply can’t do justice and the huge pipe organ that is still played during service despite being damaged during WWII (it was rebuilt in 1997).

The city of Bath provided a great day of entertainment and enlightenment and we look forward to returning to learn more about this fascinating British city. Perhaps next time we'll learn take a closer look at the ancient Roman Bath’s for which the city is named.   

Call me Sir Francis Drake

As Amanda has told you, we made it to BRISTOL!  We’ve now had three days of wondering the city to try to get our bearings.  We’ve generally left the temporary apartment around 10in the morning and walked towards City Center and Harborside / residential areas. The River Avon wraps around the center of the city to the south and provides several nice walks around town.  The girls are going to love it when they get here.  We’ve already noted many areas that we think their noses will really enjoy exploring.

A few blocks from our current apartment is the Old City and Queen’s Square. (As a side note, you can’t go more than a few blocks without coming across something named “Queen” “King” or “Princess”).  Queen’s Square was particularly nice with a large open park gravel paths that emanate from the center of the park out towards a square path that constitutes the outer border of the park. As we meandered through the park, we watched the seagulls search for picnic scraps and observed the locals relaxing on a bright warm (for this part of the world) spring mornings.

Just outside of Queen’s Square is Pero’s Bridge which spans a small harbor where some of the local ferry’s dock to unload their passengers and take on new fairs as well as a housing a few dining barges which seem to be rather popular around town. It’s on our list to try one, but Amanda wanted to wait until she was over the jetlag, because as she has stated, jetlag and seasickness are not a good combination when trying to eat. Several times through our meandering, we have been walking on a road only to find out we’re not at all on the street we thought we were on.  It seems Bristol, and possible the entire UK, don’t find the use of street signs necessary. Instead, they post the street name on buildings throughout town however since the buildings are different throughout the city the location of the street name is not the same place on all the buildings. It has taken  us several wrong turns along the way to figure this out and there several times when we were unable to locate a street name anywhere. Driving will be difficult.

However, this little misstep has led us to some fabulous photo ops. Just outside the Bristol Choir Church is a row of trees and in the first of those trees you can find pairs of shoes hanging from the limbs. We weren’t able to determine which local custom this harkens back to but we decided to keep our shoes with us. The Cathedral Choir Church is also quite impressive although we were so confused by the shoes that we almost neglected to get a photo of the church.  In addition, I have located my hamburger competition.  Once we eat at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen, I’ll provide a full report.

Also as Amanda mentioned, something we never heard about before coming we discovered quickly on day one: Bristol has hills! For awhile the first morning, we were reasonably happy with the walk. It wasn’t very strenuous and the weather was absolutely amazing with the temperature in the Low 70’s. Boy, did that change!  We wanted to look at some of the flats we’d seen online. So we decided to walk to one, then down to Amanda’s office then to the other.  We turned north when we reached the western end of Brandon Hill Park looking for Constitution Hill Rd which would take us to the first property on York Place. The closer we got to Constitution the steeper the walk began to get. After hiking about a half mile up the hill we found a post man walking his route and asked how to get to York Place since we hadn’t seen Constitution Hill. He pointed a little further up the road and told us that was Constitution Hill and that it was a “killer” to walk up.  We thanked the postman for his assistance and walked towards Constitution Hill. When we got to the street we looked up! This is about the time we realized that walking Bristol on a daily basis might be a little more difficult than we initially thought…especially in the rain…and snow…and ice.  We made it up the hill and were able to see the outside of the property.  I think we could like it, if only we could see the inside of it.

Speaking of seeing the inside of houses, we’ve had a setback.  The relocation company who was supposed to take us around to view properties canceled on us late Thursday afternoon.  The agent said that several of the properties that she had set up for us to view had been let (rented) Wednesday and Thursday, so she was going to have reschedule. At this point we don’t have a date rescheduled yet and since Amanda’s first week at work starts Monday, we’re not exactly sure when we will get a chance to view properties, but hopefully soon.

After walking around looking at areas we might like to live, provided any properties come available, we strolled down to Amanda’s new office. After she took a photo of the exterior of her new office building (she says to point out that they have not updated to the new logo yet), we entered Brandon Hill Park which is directly across the street from her new office. It’s a nice hilly park with a medieval tower perched at the top and the views to the south are incredible.



One of our more interesting people watching spots was @Bristol. This is a large open area that has fountains and reflecting pools surrounded by café’s and shops. We took a break while we sat there watching the kids play in the reflecting pools we saw that most of the children, little girls included, were topless or completely nude. Now I don’t surprise at people’s activities very easily, mostly because of my time working in an extremely rough area of Ft. Worth known as Stop Six, but seeing this was quite a shock. If I had to guess the kids ranged in age from one to four and their parents certainly weren’t all that concerned.

As this is getting to be novel length, I’ll just tell you about one of the restaurants we have found so far. Just off of Queen’s Square is a small pub called Shakespeare’s Tavern. It’s in an old row building from the 1700’s and has retained much of the charm associated with the centuries gone by. The food was good, I had a dish called Hunters Chicken which is grilled chicken wrapped in English style bacon and topped with bar-b-que sauce and English cheddar cheese. Amanda had a jacket potato (baked potato) with cheese and we spent our evening playing tri-minoes and visiting with the waiter and bar keep who were wondering why two Americans had come to invade their cozy little establishment and were more than willing to dole out advice on were to live and what areas to avoid. It has been the best place to eat we have found so far.

Our trip across the pond

Adam (and a friend I made at the airport) mocked me a little for taking a picture of our airplane. But wanted to have an official picture of the start of our journey. And I do. After a 45 minute take off delay to replace something in the air conditioning system and a 9 hour plane ride in row 36 of the 777 below, we made it to London. We made it with all 8 (4 carry on & 4 checked) pieces of luggage also. Thanks American Airlines for not making this more difficult!

I also had to sneak in a picture of Adam at the airport. I almost got the cheesy smile with the eye roll – you know the one? Where he can’t believe that you’re embarrassing him by taking a picture in the airport. Yeah, that’s the one he gave me.

I slept on the plane, despite what Adam tells me was rough turbulence and three small children crying/screaming in round. Adam, due the previously mentioned reasons, did not. Therefore when we arrived in London around 11am local time (5am Texas Time—unless you're one of our many blog readers in El Paso, then you have to do your own time zone conversion) I was slightly refreshed and Adam was not. We cleared customs with no problems. I knew we were going to be alright when the immigration officer saw we would be here two years and jokingly asked if we were sure we wanted to do that. I'm sure it was a comment of British pride. After a smile and assurance to the officer that we really wanted to live here for two years, she stamped us through.


We found the Heathrow Express train on only the second attempt (I'd like to point out, mostly for my father, that there were four alternatives, so we did figure it out before we exhausted all the options). From the Heathrow Express, we took the train to Bristol. Adam & I had to take turns walking the length of the train to keep ourselves awake during the 1:45 it took to get from London to Bristol. Many times one of us would return to our seats only to find the other nodding off. We'd never make good watch dogs.


Somehow, getting off the train, finding a taxi, going to the apartment, getting out of the taxi and getting all the luggage up the stairs of the apartment gave us a second wind. We are on the 3^rd floor of the apartment complex, however as typical European multilevel buildings, there is a ground floor and then they number. So, by American standards, we are on the 4^th floor. Just think of that when you envision us carrying 200lbs of stuff. We showered and cleaned up a bit. I could write an entire page about the adventure in showering. You must first turn on the water heater, then wait 45 minutes for it to heat up (but if you wait an hour & the system doesn't sense any water use, the heater turns off again). Once you have hot water, the shower spurts in so many different directions that the quazi-half wall around the tub can't contain all the water thus soaking much of the bathroom floor (and front hall, if you happen to leave the bathroom door open…I wondered why the wood floor was warped when we first walked in, mystery solved).


We had dinner at a pub (Adam had the burger – anyone surprised?) then forced ourselves to stay awake until 8:30 so we could try to get on a normal-ish sleep schedule. Adam has more about our adventure around town today and the hills that nobody told us were in Bristol. All I'm saying is I'm going to have great calves by the time we come back to the US!