Are we getting old?

We have been asking ourselves this question for a number of reasons recently, but the top three are:

1 - While I have been finding (and plucking!) gray hairs for a couple of years, I noticed a significant increase in gray hairs while we were in Peru. And now Tony is joining me with a handful of silvery hairs showing through his dark head of hair.

2 - I've noticed a downturn in my capacity to remember details, which is unsettling for someone who is known for having a good memory! Experiences have always stuck in my mind better than facts, but I now seem to retain even less factual information than before. Upon sharing this with some friends who are, if only slightly, younger than us, it was affirmed that I'm not the only one realizing this. The suggested culprit? The internet. Our friend is doing mind games to help him stay sharp and I'm setting out to do the same.

3 - We talk about the weather - all the time. I'm still convinced that this is natural given our move to a new climate and the amount of joy we get from warm bursts of sunshine. But still, we do talk about the weather more than we ever have before. Hmmm...

But we're quite comfortable with all of these signs that we are in fact seeing the signs of growing older at the young age of 28. : ) The real reason for sharing this is to justify our reasoning for devoting a post to the changes in weather that we've enjoyed this past week!

Over the winter months I learned that no matter how mild it looked outside, it was bound to be freezing when I walked outside. So after two days of being pleasantly surprised by the mild weather earlier this week, I finally trusted the view from the window and brought out my spring coat. It was the first day since late October that I've left without my scarf and mittens. It was wonderful!

This weekend I noticed several shops have planted flowers in their pots and I'm wondering if a) we're all so eager for warmer weather that they've planted flower prematurely or b) it is a sign from the locals that warmer weather is indeed coming. Let's hope for the latter!

I never heard the outcome on Groundhog Day this year, but it's looking up for Edinburgh!

Learning to Be Brief

I have recently become aware of the difficulty I have in being brief when it comes to writing. I recently gave into peer pressure and participated in the Facebook chain letter activity and posted 25 random things about myself. Only one entry was less than 2 lines long. I have recently heard several people expressing their distaste for writing long emails, but have to confess I prefer writing thorough emails to brief ones. This probably explains why my email inbox is currently loaded with messages awaiting responses - I don't have the energy to write good responses after a long day at work, so they remain unanswered rather than receiving brief responses. I think this is also the reason my blogging activity has been so low - I can't bring myself to write brief entries when there is so much to say since a previous entry, and I just don't have the energy to write thoroughly at the end of a day. I have trouble with being brief - just look at the length of this explanation about the issue of brevity!!

I recently read a challenge for people who utilize email at work to keep replies at 2 sentences. I interpret 2 sentence emails to be cold and unengaged, so I'm challenging myself to keep work emails to 5 sentences this week. Maybe one paragraph would be a good start for personal emails? And to break my cycle of waiting until I have time to write a good update on here, I'm going to post a list of brief updates from recent weeks here and then try to post more regular, brief updates. Being brief doesn't come naturally, so no promises on the length of future posts, but we'll see how it goes.

For now, here is a random list of recent happenings that seem worthy of mentioning to those of you who kindly follow along with us via this blog:

1 - We just got home from a weekend trip to Inverness with our friends Christopher and Jackie (previously featured here as 2 of our Thanksgiving guests). We had a wonderful time and enjoyed many hours of great conversation, an uneventful but exciting experience for Tony driving on the "wrong" side of the road, and hours of soaking up the beauty of open space (something we've missed while living in the heart of the city). We've come home feeling so thankful for our friendship with C & J and refreshed by the beauty of God's creation.

2. There was no sighting of Nessie while we were gazing out on Loch Ness, for the record.

3. We have had 2 occasions of snow in the past month that were significant enough to collect on the ground. This has been a welcomed surprise and genuinely brightened my spirits for the entire day on both occasions.

(The snow coming down in front of my office building)

4. Tony is studying diligently and excelling in his work as a philosophy student. He received the highest mark in his class last semester and I am so proud of him. He is becoming more and more involved with the department and is enjoying the work with his adviser. Studying here has been a very fulfilling experience for him and I couldn't be more satisfied by hearing that from him every week.

5. We officially have plans to be back in Denver for 2 weeks at the end of June. We'll be there to dote on Baby Hodges when he or she arrives, celebrate my brother Mike and niece Nora's birthday on June 30 and soak up every minute of being with family and friends during those 14 days. We are THRILLED.

6. I get the standard 6 weeks of paid time off every year as part of my work contract - 6 weeks! The Scots are horrified to hear that Americans do not receive this same benefit and simply cannot imagine what it would be like to work under such conditions.

7. I have been shocked to hear several people say how much they love my American accent. I couldn't believe it when my coworker told me she could listen to me talk all day!

8. I have recently started knitting again after a friend back home encouraged me to wander into a knit shop and get a refresher session on what to do. It's taken 2 months to finish a scarf, but it is nice to have something tactile to do at the end of the day. I'm hoping to try a simple hat pattern next...should be interesting.

9. We hosted a small Super Bowl party since it was broadcast on a local channel. Our guests arrived at 10pm, the game started at 11pm and most of us felt our beds calling us at about 2am. I stayed up through most of the 3rd quarter but Tony was the faithful fan and stayed up until 3:3oam to finish the game. It was our only viewing of NFL football for the year, so I suppose it's understandable.

10. This "brief" post is quite long so I'd better cut it here. More frequent posts will be coming as I set out to embrace brevity when possible.

Burns Day

January 25 marked the 250th birthday of Robert (Rabbie) Burns - a.k.a. Scotland's favorite son or The Bard. Burns was a poet and lyricist and is now the most celebrated literary figure in Scotland, though in Edinburgh it seems Sir Walter Scott is a close second. Much of Burns' writing is in Scots which requires an interesting attempt at deciphering on our part. The most likely piece of work that you Americans out there may know of Burns' writing is Auld Lang Syne, the song most classically sung on New Year's Eve. Here's a little taste of Scots for you, the first couple of verses from Auldt Lang Syne:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
And surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

The traditional way of celebrating of Burns Night (the anniversary of Burns' birthday) is attending a Burns Supper, which we did on Friday night. It was the most cultural Scottish experience we've had yet! The format of traditional Burns suppers has not changed since his death in 1796. It traditionally includes a Ceilidh (pronounced: kay-lee), which is a traditional social dance (for you Colorado folk, think square dancing to Scottish folk music!) and a tribute to The Bard through several readings of his poetry and closing with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

Haggis is the most famous traditional Scottish dish; why, however, we do not understand. It is made of minced sheep "plucks" (heart, liver, and lungs) and is prepared by boiling it in a sheep's stomach - think of it as a sausage. Thank goodness they served vegetarian haggis as well!

Despite these questionable ingredients, haggis is indeed a well loved dish here in Scotland and is served in nearly every pub around. Rabbie Burns loved haggis so much he composed a poem titled Address to a Haggis, which is now the most famous poem recited at a Burns Supper, just after the presentation of the haggis.

The Burns supper we went to was hosted by the L'arch Community here in Edinburgh. We were introduced to L'arsh through a friend of ours who works in the community here. We were really impressed with their vision of living in community with adults with learning disabilities, giving dignity and value to every member. Simply by 'doing life together' the assistants are able to offer the members with learning disabilities the opportunity to do things that they would rarely have a chance to do if living in a formal care facility.

The highlight of the night, perhaps the month, for me was watching the gentleman in the photo below respond to the tune of Amazing Grace when it was played by the string band. He slowly walked up to the stage and sought help to position the microphone in the right spot. The band started the tune over again and he sang, truly from the depths of his heart, as the room fell quiet and listened. I caught a glimpse of the beauty of pure worship in the room that night and it humbled me more than I can say. All evening this man had caught my attention because he reminded me so much of David, my dad's cousin who passed away not too long ago after a full and long life. He brought so much joy to so many people's lives and it was a treat to be caught up in many memories of him throughout our evening.

St Andrews

Over the New Year holiday we took a train up to St Andrews, a charming town about an hour north of us. Many know it as the birthplace of golf, which also means it is home to the world's first golf course. While we knew that Edinburgh was a large city (500,000 people call it home), we realized that we were somehow expecting it to feel more like a small town, much like St Andrews. It was great to get out of the big city and into the open expanses of the Scottish countryside, and then spend the day exploring the castle, cathedral and little shops of St Andrews. Here is a brief slide show of our adventure:

Liberti Group in Peru

Last Wednesday a short-term team from Liberti Church in Philadelphia took off for a second annual trip to Arequipa, Peru. Their return is almost exactly one year from their original visit, which we still hold so fondly in our memories. We were fortunate to have a number of visitors during our time in Peru last year, but Liberti was our only large team and it was such a great experience to have them there. There were many aspects of the trip that made it meaningful, but from our perspective one of the most significant things was watching the team love the kids, workers and community members so selflessly and enthusiastically. The resounding conclusion at the end of the trip was the the team members felt they had gained far more from their experiences than they had given, but our vantage point in the weeks and months after the team left confirmed that the love they had given to all at New Hope made a remarkable impact on everyone. I can only imagine the levels of excitement that were bubbling over among the kids and the returning group members when they were reunited last week.

After the group trip to Arequipa last year, several of the group members had expressed an interest in returning to New Hope to volunteer or serve as interns in various capacities. As the year went on, plans came together and we were able to make plans for their return in the fall. When our decision to leave for Tony's schooling was made, we were continually comforted by the knowledge that these interns would be arriving shortly after our departure to help guide and coordinate things at the home. It has indeed turned out to be a tremendous blessing to have them there, and we are continually singing the praises of Lydia, Julia, Jess, Seth, Brad and Andrew who have given of their time and resources to be there in our absence. Tony's parents have been able to be in Peru for several months at a time since we left for Scotland, and I know they are so thankful for the support of the Liberti 6 who have been there.

I don't think it is possible to describe what the transition from Peru to Scotland has been like for us, and I have therefore kept a bit quiet about it here on the blog. Our hearts were fully engaged in the work we were doing at New Hope and while I am not surprised that large portions of hearts have been left in the hands of the children, friends and church members there, I have been surprised by the pain of leaving those portions of our hearts behind. Our minds are continuosly filled with thoughts of the home, which makes it understandable that a good number of my dreams are set at New Hope. We've been thankful for the ways that we have been able to stay involve and connected with the home while living in Scotland, and we are anxious for the day we'll be able to return for a face-to-face visit.

One of the ways that has helped us to feel connected to the home is the work of Seth Shimkonis, one of the Liberti 6 who is currently at the home. Seth is a professional photographer who is using his skills to capture the reality, the beauty, and the hope of children in Peru. He is investing time in the kids by teaching them photography skills, but has also taken on a load of responsibility that is probably far outside his comfort zone by helping to care for the older boys at New Hope. Seth has started posting a Photo of the Day on his website, and I highly recommend reading through the recent entries and following along with his blog.

We are so thankful for the team that is down at New Hope this week and are sad that we cannot be there with them. If you think of it this week, please pray that their time will be safe, healthy, meaningful for all who are involved and filled with the love of Jesus Christ in every way.

The Bolos Christmas Card

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hello, friend!

There are certain experiences and feelings that somehow help me to measure my rate of adaptation to a new place. I can clearly remember the first time I referred to our house in Peru, and now our flat in Scotland, as "home." The first time I woke up in the night and was not confused (though still in that mid-night daze) about where I was signified an encouraging level of adaption to my surroundings. Though these internal adaptations do no happen quickly, they do happen more quickly than the social adaptations that go along with settling in to a new place. But that makes it all the more enjoyable when the social markers come along.

This morning I was walking to work, just one of many people "kitted up" in my pea coat, scarf, and mittens, walking briskly in hopes of out-walking the cold wind. Looking ahead, I thought I recognized one of the people walking toward me. I often think I see people I know here (as in people I know from back home), so generally my realization that they only look like someone I know is a sad reminder that we're so far from home. Again, this only made today's experience all the better when I realized that I did indeed know the guy walking toward me. I gladly waved and stopped to talk and smiled when this acquaintance, Andy, introduced me to his coworker as a friend from church.

On the scale of settling in, meeting someone you know on the street is a GREAT sign that you're getting to know people. With 500,000 people living here in Edinburgh, running into someone who doesn't just look like an old friend from home but actually IS your friend feels like a miracle.

Slowly but surely, it is happening.