Mon Feb 23

We left Capernwray at 8 this morning in a mini-bus driven by two SWYM students. Six hours and two rest stops later, our van full of 13 arrived at the conference center in Exeter. (Isn’t it amazing that we can drive all the way from the top of the country to the Southwest corner in 6 hours?) We brought in our luggage and went to a lecture about schools work right away. There are four different levels of lectures going on at the conference, for the BTh students and the Foundation program. I met lots of international students at dinner, from Germany, the UK, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Egypt, etc. I love being in a multicultural environment. It sounds cheesy, but I learn so much, and it’s really fun.

Tomorrow morning we have breakfast at 7:30, a meeting with Paul about the schedule and everything, and then a day of lectures. I met some of the admin from SWYM, and will be getting the chance to talk more about my application and the degree program this week. The rooms are so much nicer than Capernwray; I’m sharing a room with Nicolette, right next to the bathroom. (The bathrooms are a lot nicer than Capernwray too.) Then again, this campus is a lot newer than Capernwray. It’s not quite a castle. It is gorgeous though, up on a hill, overlooking the water.

Today made me realize how much I want to live and work in another country or culture. I love England, and the English people, but what I really love is being in an international environment. We’ll see where next year takes me. =]