Apologies and Cookies

I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to update once again. Now that I'm fully set up with internet, I just put off updates because I can do them whenever! So I just realized how long I've put them off. I'll try to be better in future.

Tonight I tried baking. Im not sure how well it went. I mixed up the recipe, attempting to make up my own--which is never a good plan in baking. The cookies are a little iffy looking, but fabulously yummy. Nutella Chocolate chip from a Hazelnut Chocolate chip recipe. The measuring here is entirely different--no cups! And I only have a pyrex liquid measuring cup in ounces...as well as a very ghetto oven, with no actual numbers on it anywhere...But I was inspired. Too many Jamie Oliver cookbooks floating around my life! I now totally have a mini-crush on him, and I'm watching Jamie Oliver's American Roadtrip as I type.

The cookies are indeed for a purpose, as well. Tomorrow night begins the hopes of a sixth form (11th and 12th grade) youth group event. We invited a bunch of sixth formers to my house for a night to hang out and eat cookies. Therefore, I am making the cookies.

Friday starts the younger group-- the year 7s (6th grade) plus some others. We're doing an American dinner night! Philly Cheesesteaks and Apple Blueberry pie (out of Jamie Oliver's American Roadtrip cookbook, in fact...). I've met some of the year 7s at school, so we'll see how friday goes!

In response to Kristen's question on the last post, the Rome trip doesn't mean I'll only be talking in terms of Catholicism, but faith in general. The kids here know very very little about Christianity at all. I got told on Friday that Jesus was most definitely a pimp--by kids who were not at all joking. The first week of GCSE (kind of like AP, but not at all) classes, we asked the kids to stand around the room depending on what they believed about God-- Believe, Not Sure, and Don't Believe. We run about 6 classes, ranging from 6- 15 kids. The total number of kids who claimed a belief in some god was less than 10 among all of the classes. Since they don't believe in God, they figure there's no point in learning anything about any religion. It poses a challenge to teaching them about everything.

Today Mr. Laffan told me that our goal in the community is simply to try to get the kids to not hate those with beliefs. Currently, there is a sense of hostility towards those who do believe, and we're hoping to foster a more open environment simply through knowledge and time spent together. Most of the time, people consider the purpose of a youth worker as conversion--we're here to convert the kids to Christianity. Not at all. We're simply here to make them not hate believers and show them the love that we have for everyone.

This is quote long, so I'll end here, but promise promise promise to update more often from now on!

Frustration and Rome

BT didn't hurry. At all. In fact, they're being so ridiculously slow that Sheila called and filed a complaint. As such, I should have internet by tomorrow. But who knows. I'll be excited to finally not have to have one half hour on the library computer each day. But it means I'm really frustrated with it all.

I got together a bank card, but now i don't know who actually pays me, so I still haven't been actually paid. Lame. Apparently the church pays YFC, who in turn pays me. But Fiona hasn't mentioned any of that to me. So we'll see.

But, working in Stokesley school has been quite fun. I like the job, although I am getting slightly overwhelmed with all Mr. Laffan hopes for me to do. I've become the "Social Justice Representive", or something along those lines. It's not an official title or anything, but I'm apparently starting a social justice lunch club. Keep in mind that I've only been there 4 days...

I've also been offered a trip to Rome. So I'm going. It's at this half term, so the end of October, for 4 days. There are 26 kids going, along with the RE teacher and his wife. The church here is paying my way, so it's amazing to not need to worry about any of the money side. I'll be there as a chaperone, but I've technically been invited because Mr. Laffan and his wife can't talk to the children about actual faith, only about the history of the places we're going. Since I'm a youth worker instead of a teacher, I can talk to them about questions about the actual Christian faith so present in these places. I'm very excited about it-- I've always wanted to go to Rome and the Vatican, and what better way than for free as a school trip chaperone?

I will try to update more later, but I'm out of time on the computer here. I also need to get home so that Claire (my roommate) and I can go shopping in Middlesborough. I really need warm boots and a hat with ear flaps. It is crazy cold here!

Much love to all,
Tabitha

Dependency

I'm learning that I truly am dependent on my technology.

I only have 5 minutes left on the library computer, so this needs to be short.

I still don't have internet or a phone. Hopefully, we'll have both sorted by the end of the week. Then I'll be able to communicate with British and American friends.

Oh, BT, please hurry.

Stokesley

I'm here. Currently, most of the furniture just arrived at my cottage, so I'm staying with John and Sheila until everything is delivered and set. We should be ready for me tomorrow. Then I move down the street into my very own cute little 'cottage'. I'll post pictures, but as of now, I still haven't even seen it! They wanted to surprise me with it furnished.

Travels went well. I met a girl on my flight from Philly to Boston who knows Nick Deere, a friend from Baylor-- totally odd! Then, I made friends with the girl next to me on the long flight from Boston to Dublin and is tudying abroad in Spain. So now I have someone to visit in Spain! I did struggle a bit with the whole getting all of my silly luggage down to the train. But I didn't go through customs! I went through immigration in Ireland, but not in the UK. Kind of made me wonder why I bothered worrying about and getting the visa...

Now we're off for sheila to show me around Stokesley--I'm pumped to see the library! Apparently it's very close to my house :)