Twins

Okay, so I know this has nothing to do with Vienna, but I thought it would be cool to share anyway. Here's an article that Chloe and I appeared in a couple of years ago for the Liberty Champion, written by my very own friend Amanda Thomason :)

http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=10609&CAID=704

You can probably find some of my articles if you search around too, but I wouldn't recommend it. In the words of Dudley Dursley, "they're bowring."

I'm Still Here!

Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't posted in almost a week! I don't have internet at my apartment and I've been so busy moving in and looking for jobs that I haven't had a chance to give an update in a while. At any rate, I'm still here and I'm still planning on using this blog for a while.

I considered shutting it down when I got back, but it has so much emotional meaning to me that I finally decided to keep it going (and maybe ... just maybe, it will be used to blog about my journey back to Wien!).

So once I get internet, I will try to post more regularly. Mind you, it won't be everyday like this summer because there's really not too much to talk about now, but if I remember a story or if I feel like I want to remember someone through writing, I'll be sure to share ;)

In other news, my interview with Judy was posted on Monday. Here's the link if you want to read it:

http://www.twr.org/judyblog/?p=1600

I hope you like it! Well, it's about time I get back to work. Every minute is precious nowadays as I'm spending most of them on campus mooching off the internet access here.  Will you please pray that I find a job soon. I have an apartment to pay for and my loan repayments start very soon. I'm very tempted to feel overwhelmed but I know deep in my heart that the Lord has something special for me and that He's especially close in this time. As a side note, counting your blessings really works to remind you of how great God is! Try it!

Ciao friends!

Mind the Gap

I'm about to tell you something very sad.

The day before I left Austria, I was making my last commute into the city to say goodbye. While I was waiting for a train, I noticed two girls standing close to me, one in very high heels. They were rattling away in German and I didn't really pay them much attention.

The train came. About 15 people proceeded to board in a mad rush. The girl in high heels and I both got on at the same time. Well ... kind of. I managed to get on successfully, but as I reached the last step I saw her drop into the gap between the platform and the train. She had stumbled on the step and one of her legs slipped, sending her into a split-like position. She was now stuck with one leg in the train and one leg in the gap. It all happened within a milisecond, but she managed a scream and immediately everyone rushed to her rescue. I didn't even have time to move before she was being helped out by her friend.

Now friends, the distance between the actual track and the top of the platform is about four feet. This girl had one leg in the four foot drop and the other in the train, which is about a foot higher than the platform. I can't describe to you the terror of her position. It was impossible for her to get out by herself. Usually there isn't a big gap between the train and platform, but it depends on the type of train. Luckily there is a conductor on every train who checks the platform before departure. Nothing would have happened to her because there were so many people around, but the thought of getting caught in the gap terrified me so much that I had trouble getting off at my stop. Silly.

The girl cried the whole time I was on the train and understandably so. She fell so hard and she was probably embarrassed beyond reason. As you can see, this experience tramatized me so much that I had to blog about it. By now you're probably regretting that you decided to read this. This is one of the rare occasions where I'm diverting from my newsy style of blogging to reflect on a personal experience.

But really, isn't that sad?

Oopsy

Did I say I'd be getting back on Tuesday night? Because somehow I managed to add a whole day in there. Anyway, I'm baaaaack! I gave my mum the surprise of her life when I called her from Philadelphia and told her that I'd be flying into Pittsburgh soon. She was so good to me and dropped everything to come get me. I love her :)

It's 6 a.m. and I've been up for about and hour. Naps will ensue today, I'm sure.

I have some stories to tell about the trip, but I'm going to save them for another post. Thank you to all who prayed for me! Oh my word, you don't know how much I appreciate it! God bless you!

Okay, I'll check back in later. Have a great day today, friends :)

England in Review / Back in Vienna / Counting Down the Hours

Friends! Friends! Friends! I'm back in Vienna with time for proper blogging! I kind of fell off the grid in England. I was enjoying myself too much eating scones and tea, visiting castles and petting sheep in the beautiful English countryside. I'm not joking when I say it was one of the best experiences of my life! Vienna is a wonderful place and I love it, but it's just not the same seeing these wonderful things by yourself. Getting to experience England with people I love was the best thing ever. I had so much fun with Chelsey and Jon that I started scheming about my next trip :)

Thank you to those of you who prayed for my travels. They went very smoothly. I was a little nervous with all of the connections (30 minute train ride to bus station, 2 hour bus ride to airport, 2.5 hour plane ride), but everything was fine and I made each connection with time to spare. After all of that anxiety, seeing Chels and Jon standing there waiting for me at the airport overwhelmed me with joy and relief. I couldn't help but cry when I finally squeezed them tight.

I think my favorite part of England was the castles and manor homes that we visited. I felt like such a child in my excitement, but really, I was finally fulfilling my childhood dreams, so I think I was justified. It was completely amazing to go into the houses and see what life was like hundreds of years ago. Disney World ain't got nothing on these places! One major highlight of the trip was getting to have creamed tea and scones with Chels at one of the manor homes. It's funny because Vienna has such a strong cafe culture that drinking tea (even though we have tea every afternoon in PA) seemed so new to me.

But can I just say that scones with clotted cream and jam are one of the most delicious things I've ever experienced. I think God said one day, "I love these humans so much that I'm going to give them yet another piece of my love in the form of scones with clotted cream and jam." I thought about them all week after that.

So of course, saying goodbye to my big sis was extremely hard. She dropped me off at the airport and when I caught a last glimpse of her as I entered security, I was completely overwhelmed and couldn't hold back my emotions. I bet it was pathetic to see, but I was completely unaware of anything else besides my aching heart. I don't know how to describe how special spending time with Chels was for me. All good things come from God and He really went over and above this time. I was so sad to leave her, but I couldn't stop praising God and thanking Him for that precious week together. Imagine if the Lord came to you one day and handed you a box with a bright red ribbon tied around it and said, "here's a gift from your own Almighty Father." That's what this week was like for me - a personal gift from God.

Here's a link to my photos if you'd like to check them out:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3210333&id=9387230&l=c5fad4cb77.

So now I'm back in Vienna for the weekend with some down time. I spent the whole day writing my internship paper that's due on Monday. I forgot that I'll be traveling home then, so I've had to scurry and get it done before I leave. I'm headed out at 6:45 on Monday morning to start my long journey home. I have a layover in Venice and Philadelphia then finally to Pittsburgh if all goes well. Will you please pray for me? I'm getting a little nervous. I keep thinking about what happened last time. *Shudder* I never want to miss a flight again. But I know that whatever happens, my beloved friend Jesus is by my side the whole time.

I can't believe this summer is almost over. I'm actually trying not to think about leaving. Today when I was talking to the Lord, all I could say was "thank you so much for everything, Father," over and over again. I'll need weeks to process all of this!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to post again before I leave, but I'll try. In case I don't, thank you sincerely for your prayers - you don't know how much they mean to me! And I'm excited to get back and see a lot of you soon! You've been my abiding happy thought this summer and I thank God for you :) Love you guys!

God Save the Queen

Hey guys! Greetings from Englaaaaaaand! I'm so sorry that it's been over a week since I last posted. Between packing, moving out of my flat, arranging traveling details and just finishing things up at the office, my life has been full to the max. Sadly, blogging slipped to the bottom of my priority list (I know, you're reading this thinking "does she seriously think we care?").

Anywho, my last post felt like so long ago and there is so much that's happened since then but I could never fit it into a blog post so I'll fill you in on the most important things and you'll just have to wonder about the rest.

Okay, last Thursday was my last day at the office. It was terribly bittersweet because I didn't want to go, but I really had a great day with my colleagues. We had a TWR staff meeting and a cookout and I really cherished the day of fellowship. Great memories to leave with.

So on Friday I caught a train to the bus station in Vienna, took a bus to Bratislava in Slovakia, then flew into Bristol, England. Honestly, I was so nervous about all of the transfers and making everything on time that I hardly slept on Thursday night. I really despise traveling alone (especially when they don't speak English), but I was really sure of Jesus' presence with me the whole time. Everything went smoothly and besides not being able to find the Ryanair check-in at the Bratislava airport, everything was perfect!

Okay, well ... there was some turbulence on the flight coming in Bristol. By the end I was thinking, "where did this stupid pilot learn how to fly?!!!" It seemed like we kept free falling after every bump which freaked most everyone out. One lady behind me kept screaming which, I'm sure, didn't help anyone. As I felt a wave of something moving in my stomach (not physical sickness, just the sick feeling that comes with not knowing) I cried out to the Lord and immediately I felt like He was standing in the isle right next to me. What a wonderful Savior we have :)

So when I finally touched down in Bristol, Chels and Jon were there to meet me and, of course, I cried because I was just so happy to see someone that I knew and I had been waiting all summer to be with them! It was a great reunion :)

Right off, they made me feel so comfortable and we've just been having the loveliest time. We spent Saturday in London and yesterday they gave me the tour around Gloucester and we hiked in the English countryside. Chels and Jon know their way around London quite well, so I couldn't have asked for better tour guides. We went to Buckingham Palace and their stables, Camden market, Covent Gardens, Soho, Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral, the South Bank, Westminster Abbey, Chinatown, the Tower of London, London Bridge, Big Ben and so many more places I can't remember! It was AWESOME!

And yesterday they took me to all of the most beautiful little English towns. Ohhhh, they are so cute! And then we hiked a public foot path and saw lots of cows and mountains and little houses and pubs and churches and horses and fields. I feel baptized into the English experience now. I'll have some pictures up on Facebook pretty soon ;)

So, England in review: awesome.

Thanks for reading, friends! I hope you're all doing well. Seek hard after the Lord this week and count His many blessings in your life! I'm thankful for you all :) Ciao!

Claire's Attempt at a Video Blog