Day #18 of Potatoes!!!

Ever hear the rumor/stereotype that people in England eat a lot of potatoes? SO TRUE! I've eaten them every day since I've gotten to England! And I still think they're delicious. My host family is amazing, and they have literally adopted me as their third daughter, taking me on as many "cultural learning experiences" (as my host dad calls them) as possible. Some of the experiences this week included going to Freedom Festival (a live music and arts event which takes place in Hull to celebrate...well...freedom!), biking roughly 40 miles round trip to visit the ocean, wondering around York and touching (yes TOUCHING) the walls that William Wallace touched when he "conquered" England, grocery shopping at a local market, learning all the things I shouldn't say, and getting puked on by a baby (some things never change).

This past week was my first full week of work, and it was quite diverse, so I'll only focus on one part of it for today. One of my responsibilities this week was to help run a school assembly. The children were adorable, especially with their British accents! But other than their accents a few things really stood out to me: It's a law in England that all children must have indoor shoes and outdoor shoes for school. However, some of the children's families can only afford one pair of shoes, so these children are made to either wear their socks or go barefoot. My heart completely broke for them, and I instantly wanted to go out and buy a ton of shoes. But would that actually do anything? On a different note, since there is no separation of church and state, prayer is openly allowed and even encouraged in schools. At the end of the assembly we all gathered around and prayed. It was so powerful to see all of those children bowing their heads openly in prayer alongside their teachers.

Overall, England has already been an incredible learning and serving experience for me. I'm completely psyched for what the rest of this year has in store!

Peace!