My Winter at "Home"

This Christmas/Winter break I've had the opportunity to spend 9 weeks in the USA with family!  I wouldn't necessarily call it home though, because while I've been in England my family all moved to Saint George, Utah, a place that I have only visited briefly before.  Also, I've struggled to adjust in a lot of ways to the USA again.  As in, I would not mind living in Europe for the rest of my life (though I will always hold a very particular fondness for Oregon in my life.  If I have to live in the USA, I must live in Oregon!).  On the flight back to the USA, I was startled when people in the LA airport bathroom starting talking to me at the sinks, making friendly comments.  They were all cheerful and out-going, and I was staring at them like "Don't you know you're not supposed to talk to strangers???"  And the massive amounts of fast food places make me want to throw up just looking at them.  Also, can we talk about how EVERYONE in this city has a lot more than just one gun and are always talking about the next one they are going to buy and how much they love shooting and it is all really starting to freak me out beyond all reason.  Another hard adjustment to Saint George in particular is the dry weather.  My skin feels like a desert.  At first I thought all of the red rock was really pretty.  Now I just miss all of the green.  Mind, there is still a lot of pretty nature out here, and most definitely worth a visit, however I could not settle here for the rest of my life and not go insane.  I did however really appreciate the Natural Foods Grocery Store.  It was so big and had so many delightfully healthy options.  That is the sort of thing that is near impossible to find in England, and oh how I missed it.  It has also been so absolutely lovely having a temple so close!  I have been able to go so often and I have enjoyed it so much!!  For my last 6 weeks here, I've been doing an internship for my physical therapy degree.  I've been working with children with special needs, and I have really enjoyed it!!  This is definitely an area that I could see myself working in when I graduate.  I've definitely been learning a lot during this internship, and I'm really glad that I've been able to be here for it!

I've had a number of fun things happen to me over this break, and I probably should have been better at keeping up with my blog.  Firstly, in the week before Christmas, my friend Aya came to visit me from Japan!  We had so much fun making lots of delicious Japanese food and showing Aya different things in America.  I think she was most astonished by the cereal isle in the grocery store!  While she was here, we were able to do a bit of hiking in Zions and go up to Salt Lake City to see the lights at Temple Square.

Christmas was lovely, and I got some good movies, Harry Potter gear and Doctor Who things, so who could ask for more?

One of the best things of this break was my birthday party!  I had some friends travel down from the Provo area to help celebrate Harry Potter style!  We all went to the temple, then afterwards had a Harry Potter themed party, including making your own wand, a Hogwarts Feast, and lots of games to earn House Points!  Most of those pics are already on Facebook.  I think getting ready for the party and doing all of the decorating was almost as fun as the party itself!!

It has been so nice being with family for this time.  It's probably been around 12 years since we have all been together for anything longer than a week.  I love my family and I love being able to spend time with them!  My brother and I even busted out his old Star Wars Card Game and had a couple rounds of that.  To his great chagrin I still kicked his butt, our overall record since we were kids is now at about 123 wins for me, 4 wins for him.  What can I say, the Light Side always wins!

Parable of the Homeless Poodle

The other day while scrolling through Facebook, I noticed the following video clip that a friend had posted about a homeless poodle being rescued.  I don't know why I clicked on the link, I normally don't watch hardly any videos that my friends post, but for whatever reason I decided to watch this one.
The video starts out with the rescuers driving up to where they find the poodle, who in addition to being homeless had just been hit by a car.  The poodle was looking pretty worn, all dirty and scruffy, some blood, and shaking from either being cold, being scared, or both.  As I looked at that poodle, I thought that dog looked how I felt.  It has been a rough semester in many aspects, and while there were many good things that have happened this semester, there have been many things that have literally taken me to the brink of being able to handle life.  As the video continued, the rescuers went up to the dog and talked to it to calm it down, pet it, picked it up and hugged it, and as I watched, all I could think was how I wished I had a personal rescue service.  As I was in the midst of such pondering, the thought came to my mind:  I do have a personal rescue service.  The Savior is my personal rescue service.  As the video continued, the dog was taken to a clinic where he was cleaned up, healed, nourished and strengthened.  This is exactly what the Atonement of Jesus Christ does for us.  It cleanses us, it heals us, it nourished us, it strengthens us.
I am so grateful to the Savior that He is always there for me and is always rescuing me.  No matter how scruffy I look, or how broken I have become, He is there beside me getting me back on my feet again, enabling me to be happy and enjoy all the wonderful things that life can be.

Here's the actual clip of the homeless poodle, from a society that rescues homeless pets: