It's A Small World After All

First off, let me apologize for taking so long to post, 12 days...but who's counting (*cough* John Evans *cough*). In all honesty, it always seemed like there just wasn't a whole lot going on that you might find interesting. (Something like, "Well, today we had class, chilled in the flat with the guys when we got back, wasted a bunch of time watching TV and on the Internet, and then went to bed. Keep us in your prayers!" See what I mean?) All that's not to say we aren't making the most of our time here or going on frequent adventures in our new world, it's just that since school started, they've been a little more spaced out.

So to make it up to you, I've compiled a list of 12 things (one for each of those missed days) that have been going on in the land of the Scots. Sorry there aren't any pictures here. Check Facebook.

1) Aaron's last entry was 100% correct. Scottish is not English. It's like saying dogs and cats can talk to each other: they're both pets, they both make noise, so they should be able to understand what each other is saying, right? No. Barring the obvious differences in dialect, there are also a few little quirks that have been stumbling blocks in our communication. It took me a few days to pick up that they use the word "wee" for any time we would say "little" in American English. Example: I went to the wee shop around the corner to pick up my wee brother from school. I'm from the South and everything, but they sure do say "folk" a lot over here. It's they're word for "people". Examples: A lot of folk don't understand me; maybe more folk should buy hearing aides. You might think we're whining, but if the most serious Scottish accent you've ever heard came from Mel Gibson, you got another thing coming.

2) We have been trying out various churches over here. A few weeks ago we were invited by a couple of teenagers in a sports shop to their local baptist church the coming Sunday, so we decided we'd give it a shot, especially since it was a 15 minute walk from our flat. It was also just a huge blessing/surprise to be invited to a church around here. So much so, that we had to get them to repeat the invitation for us (half because of the surprise and half because, well, look back at #1). We had a great time at the service worshiping and meeting people, including the American pastor and his wife, but there were still a couple of other churches we wanted to visit before we settled on an adopted house of worship.

3) This past week we decided we'd check out a little hole-in-the-wall church that we pass on our way to campus every day called New Life Gospel Church that originally caught our eye because of the bright yellow signage out front. It's a very small (25 members, tops), very tight-knit church with members who obviously have their hearts set on Christ. The most contemporary out of all of our church visits (maybe despite the average age of the congregation), the service still had a very old-school revival feel to it, which was a nice change for us.

4) Class is going well for Aaron and I. Classes here are bigger than we're used to at Mercer, but it's been good for us to see how higher education works at a larger university. Aaron and I are both taking Business Research Methods on Tuesday morning and Operations Management on Wednesdays. I have e-Marketing on Monday afternoons while Aaron has Personal and Interpersonal Skills (which he definitely needed a class to help improve) at the dreaded Monday morning spot. Business Research Methods is by far the largest class. So large, in fact, that they had to split the course up, and since Aaron and I are on opposite ends of the alphabet spectrum, that means we're in different locations.

5) He's in the state-of-the-art auditorium, while I'm in a church basement. Yeah, a church basement. "But Matt, I bet it's probably some really old, cool-looking church with some nice stained glass and buttresses and stuff." Yeah, it's like that on the outside. But in the basement, it's not that spectacular. And it's freezing cold all the time. A minority of people take off their jackets once they get inside and even fewer take off their scarves or head wear. And the class is pretty boring. Before you call the waaahmbulance on me, I just had to vent on that for a second because Aaron surely isn't sympathizing for me.

6) During the tutorial session after BRM the other day, my class was split into groups of four where we had to discuss an assignment and then have a spokesperson talk for our group. Well, I was the only one not shaking my head when it was my group's turn, so I was it. It was pretty funny because I could notice people making an effort around the room to turn and look at me while I was talking. Must've been my irresistible Southern accent. Anyway, during a break a little later, an Indian guy walks up to me and goes, "Matt!?" And I just kinda nodded my head and said, "Yeah?..." And he said, "It's Sam!" Instantly, I recognized/remembered who this guy was. His name is Sam Arora, and he was an exchange student at Mercer last Spring. Aaron and I had met him during his time there, and we were able to get to know him pretty well and get kinda personal. We had totally forgotten he was in Paisley and he didn't realize we were here, either. It's been great to see him and hang out again. And the same day that we met him, it just so happened he was heading over to our dorm to cook Indian food for some friends, so we partook as well. It was great. And yes, Aaron sweated.

7) We play football (soccer, that is) pretty much every other day out here on the fieldturf pitches next to our dorm. We've met a lot of guys who like to play (of course), so we've usually got some good games going. As far as how we stack up, Aaron is actually among the best players out here (that's not really a surprise to some of you). And I am not. While I don't look like a three-legged giraffe out there or anything, I just don't have the footwork on the ball like these dudes. We have both discovered that we are getting older, so the aches that we get playing out in this cold weather linger a little longer than they might've in the past. As our French friends might say, C'est la vie.

8) Man, there sure are a lot of French people out here. If you hung out with the right people, you could fool yourself into thinking that you were studying in Marseilles or Lyon instead of Scotland. It's been cool, though. They like talking to us because they can understand us better than the locals, and we enjoy meeting more European people, so it works out well.

9) I'm gong to fulfill my dream of playing college football. After meeting some of the guys on the university's team, I'm going to start practicing with them next week and hopefully get some playing time soon. They recruited me pretty hard, and they were all really nice guys, so I couldn't pass up on the chance to put the pads on and hit somebody again. Check back here for injury reports.

10) We love cereal. A lot. If we don't eat at least two bowls a day, we're hungry. It's cheap, it's delicious, and the milk mixed in with the sugary bits of cereal tastes like angel dust.

11) As far as watching soccer, we've been to the pub to watch England get outclassed by Spain 2-0, Celtic and Rangers fight out a 0-0 draw in an exciting edition of the Old Firm derby (this rivalry is HUGE over here...WIKIPEDIA it...the pub was packed), and Manchester United outclass Derby County in the FA Cup 4-1. We're going to watch the local team, St. Mirren, play in a Scottish Cup match in a few hours in the first night match at their new stadium.

12) Our tickets to the Manchester United game on Saturday came in yesterday. We'll just say I was excited and leave it at that. Check back early next week for Aaron's analysis of my spontaneous combustion at Old Trafford.

13) (BONUS!) Some people have asked for our mailing addresses over here, so here they are.

Matthew Suits (or) Aaron Gray
Villa 15A2 (or) 15A5
Thornly Park Campus
Caplethill Road
Paisley, Scotland, UK
PA2 7TR

Pray that we will eventually settle on a church home over here. While we have enjoyed all of the services and simply being with fellow believers, we still want a consistent church body we can worship with every week. Pray for safety as we do a little traveling this weekend. Most of all, pray for the people we come in contact with, like Sam and our flatmates. Pray that we can make an impact on them in some way to help them see Christ and his desires for their lives more clearly.

Thanks for sticking through this extensive list. I'm sure by now you've had a full dose of your Matt-and-Aaron fix. We love and miss you all. Thanks for your support, and check back soon for more updates.

I Swear It's Not English!

We have been here a little over a week, and there are still instances when people talk to us and we walk away saying to each other, “Dude, there is no way that's English. I promise it's something else.” We just have to take those moments and laugh! Sometimes the laughter is a confused form as we laugh along side some Scot that just said something that apparently deserved a chuckle. Other times it is when we are walking away in complete confusion as to what just happened. One specific instance occurred as we waited for the bus to arrive. A man walked up and was looking at the time charts with a confused/concerned expression across his face. He then asked Matt and I about a specific number bus and then pointed down the street. I looked at him as he awaited my response and then I said, “I'm sorry, what did you say?” I tried the “please repeat that method” as if I had spaced out and just not heard him, when in all honesty I heard every sound he made. I tried to buy another chance to make something of the mix of syllables that exited his mouth. He then repeated some form of elvish and pointed down the street again.

That was my second try, so I had better make the best of it. I looked down the street as if I had understood anything he just said and then replied, “Yeah maybe, but I'm not sure.” He said that he didn't know either, but he'd give it a try. We wished him good luck and waived to him as he sat down inside the bus and rode away... I still can't tell you exactly what he was asking. Maybe it was something dealing with the bus turning the next corner. Maybe he asked if the bus went to a specific place. I'm not sure, but I hope that he made it wherever he was going. I could go on about a time when Matt and I were in a store and we began a conversation with someone, or the time I rode in an elevator with a man at the train station and he said something about my clothing and smiled. I just smiled back. It makes me wonder if this will improve or if we will have moments like this throughout our stay in Scotland. I wonder if there will be at least on time each day when Matt and I agree that they're speaking Swedish or if we'll begin to pick up on their quickness of speech.

But enough with that... I'm going to use the next couple of paragraphs to tell you guys about whats been going on the past couple of days. After all I feel like thats the reason for this written endeavor. This past Wednesday Matt and I were able to go to our first European football match!! You can only imagine our reactions. If you haven't already looked Matt has put some pictures of the game on his facebook page, so you might want to take a gander. Anyway, I would say that our reactions were a little different. Of course we were both excited about everything that we were seeing. The crowds, the jerseys, the new city. We were having a great time! We had not been into Glasgow before this game, so everything around us was new! We took a train into Glasgow and then basically found our way around the town. It was really fun to see how we navigated around an unfamiliar place, but I feel like we did really well. If nothing else can be said, we found some dinner...a few interesting shops... and thankfully the stadium. The game was incredible! We got to the stadium about an hour early so we went down to the wall bordering the field to watch the players warm up. This next part probably wont matter to many of you, but I will tell you that it was crazy watching players like Ronaldhino, Kaka, Beckham, and our own Demarkus Beasley (an American player) kick around before the game!

It ended in a 2-2 draw, but it was nothing short of exciting! Hearing the crowd react when the Glasgow Rangers (the home team) scored was very cool. And then being able to join in because the first goal was scored by the American player I named earlier, Beasley! Matt and I were jumping and yelling and high-fiving! Basically any way you might see a person act if they had just won the lottery.... we were screaming like idiots, but the great thing about this story is that we were in the midst of thousands of other lottery winners! I must add one more detail. After the crowds had subsided, and the cheers had simmered down, Matt begins yelling out “BEASLEY!...BEASLEY!...BEASLEY!” Naturally I began to follow along.. ha ha. But what completes the chant that Matt started is the amount of people that joined in! I don't know exactly how many people actually joined in at the end, but I know that a majority of our side and definitely our section was cheering right along the chant that my fellow American began. When it died out after about 20 seconds Matt turns to me with the biggest smile on his face. If I didn't know what had just happened I might have thought he'd just won the Cleverest Man Alive Award (which if you didn't know, Matt is in the running for)...but the truth is that I had just witnessed this amazing/hilarious act. Matt turns to me with his smile full and said, “I started that.” I'm telling you, there have not been that many other moments when I knew a person was completely satisfied with a previous action, but I was able to chalk another one on that night after Matt's chant. Our journey home was interesting as well. I will only say a few things. First, we exit the stadium into a herd of people and basically try and fight our way through the crowd that was walking the opposite direction. You ask, “why didn't you find a way around them?” We tried... but let me ask you something in return. Have you ever watched a cyclist ride against the flow of traffic on a one way road? Neither have I, but I imagine something similar to our situation. I am exaggerating a little, but it was definitely a task to walk through the throng of people that we found going to opposite direction.

So we made it through that mess and continued walking towards the road that the subway station was on. As we got a little closer we noticed a line full of people coming from around the corner we were approaching. Matt asked if I thought that line was coming from the subway, and I responded with a hopeful “No.. there's no way.. at least I hope not.” We kinda chuckled and walked a little faster, first to see if this was in fact originating from the station, and second to be able to get back to the line before more people joined it. Well it turned out to be from the station entrance. We quickly turned around and made our way back to the end of the line with a pace something short of jogging. When we took our place in line we guessed it would take at least an hour just to get back to the subway... but with that hour we still had enough time to catch the last train from Glasgow to Paisley. I am so thankful for this line because it gave Matt and I another chance to just talk. We ended up trying to quote the verses that we have been memorizing, as well as the verses that each of us had previously memorized in our S-group with Benjamin. This time was just great to be able to talk about God's Word and some challenges that each of us have been facing. God knows what we need and I am without a doubt that He sent Matt and I together for a reason! We are both very encouraging to one another and I don't think two days go by without one of us telling the other that we're glad the other is here. But now that I got that out of the way I will talk about some other stuff :).
Before we left on Wednesday we were finally able to get our student cards for the university. We went through the whole process of paperwork, talking to some people, and then the infamous picture... Matt got done with everything first and then I made it to the picture portion of the show. Matt says that she will count and tell you to smile on 3. The next sentence I hear is “You should totally make a face at the last second..” To make the story shorter you can see my picture ID on the side there... I had been wearing a hat all day so I have a form of hat hair, but in all honesty it really doesn't matter considering everything else that I have going on around the face/head area right now! Ha ha


Thursday and Friday gave Matt and I chances to just relax. We slept in and then got some stuff done that we needed to get done. Thursday we were able to play soccer for the first time, and I was so ready! I think we were both tired of getting adjusted and wanted to just run around and be crazy! So we did. We had a great time. We went out there with two of our flatmates, Julian and Julian (one from France the other from Spain), our friend Stefan, and a couple other guys from Scotland and Spain. It was great getting out there and kicking around in what felt like (with windchill) low 20's. It was cold! But it was equally fun!

Friday we were able to meet a lot more people when we went to a get together that some other students were having. The funny thing is we are the only Americans here, so everyone wants to meet us. It is really a weird to think that when you introduce yourself the other person says back to you (most of the time with a French accent) “You're the Americans!” It was actually a little overwhelming at times... we basically just talked about ourselves for several hours because everyone would ask questions when they met us... sadly they were a lot of the same questions. We've answered “So...why did you leave America for Scotland?” at least 73 times, and I don't think it will let up any time soon ha ha. Well, at least until we have told everyone the reasons for our choosing Scotland...where we're from and why we chose Scotland... how its different here than where we're from, and then why we chose Scotland.. ha ha! I guess they are confused because most all of the students that are here from Europe came to improve their English, and since we obviously speak it they don't know why would choose Scotland.

There is one more thing I want to cover, and I will cover it fairly quickly. The international students were given the opportunity to go to Edinburgh today, and Matt and I pounced on it for sure! After a 1 ½ hr bus ride, a small nap, and a new high score in Tetris on my phone (one that beat Matt's current high score!! We've been competing) we were finally in Edinburgh!! The journey began with a small plan that I came up with... to give you an idea of the organization of this trip. They gave us little guides to Edinburgh and the time when the bus would leave later that day... the rest was up to us! So yeah, we came up with a pretty sweet game plan and I think at the end of the day the four guys that made up my group were satisfied. We saw the castle, the cathedral, the old town walk, the Scottish Parliament, and then climbed the mountain pictured below! It was amazing! We were so blessed to see God's creation!! and the weather was beautiful! It was a little cold, very windy, and extremely pretty! God is good.

To the right is Edinburgh down below... It was amazing.

Stefan, Matt, myself, and Dennis

We spent the day with our friends Stefan and Dennis. They are from the Netherlands and Denmark respectively. We had a great adventure today! It included Matt and I buying kilts, and myself purchasing a set of mini bagpipes! Matt, Dennis, and Stefan laughed until they cried as they watched me attempt to fill the bag with air. The sad thing was that I could not muster out more than one very oddly sounding note with all the air that I forced into this little bag. What I discovered after a thorough search of my new instrument was a small flap that was taped over the hole entering the bag!!! I had been blowing with all of my might and lung power just to be blocked by this little leather flap that was there for whatever reason! After that discovery I found it much easier to fill the bag and was able to squeak out several notes that belonged to Amazing Grace.
Keep praying for our relationships with our friends and for mine and Matt's relationship with the Lord. We are meeting and praying a couple times a week in the morning and trying to challenge each other as often as we can. Thanks for the support and feel free to leave a comment at the bottom... it's always fun to read. Much love!

The Most Snowfall Britain's Seen For 6 Years

At least that's what the BBC are telling us anyway. Snow's coming down pretty intermittently right now, but it looks like it might get worse tomorrow. Needless to say, Aaron and I are pretty excited to see the most snow fall we've ever seen in our lives. The picture above is looking out the window from our flat. Pretty wild stuff. If you've seen a picture of Aaron lately, at least you know his face is in zero danger of getting cold anytime soon.

Alright, so I'll try to get you up to speed on what's been going on since Aaron finished his Encyclopedic entry on Friday. Saturday, we had great intentions of getting up around 11 and catching some football at the Wallace. (Our "favorite" pub so far...I put it in quotes because, as you may know, Scotland has its fair share of pubs, so to designate a favorite this early in the game would be somewhat of a false start. But it is pretty homey in there.) Well, after we woke up 40 minutes past eleven, we decided that we could at least throw a hat on and make it for the second half, which we did.

We watched the team from Paisley, St. Mirren, draw 1-1 at their brand new stadium after a late equaliser from the home side. (Sorry if there's a lot of soccer jargon thrown around in here.) It was a great experience for me (I can see your eyes rolling from here) because I got to be around other guys and grown men who made funny faces and weird noises at the TV (it's still not a telly) when someone came agonizingly close to scoring. And the cheer that went out when St. Mirren finally did was still an adrenaline rush even though this was the first match of theirs I'd watched. Sorry. I've been hooked for a while now. And I don't even have to tell you whether or not I have their jersey now or not.


We hopped back on the bus and decided to take a little stroll/hike on the path that's immediately across from our flat at Thornly Park. And what an adventure it was. From the slippery depths of the Muddy Hill (we're talking Nesquick muddy, here) to the mysterious Policeman's Jacket we found (promise) and even to Aaron's domination of the Thorny Bush (If you haven't seen the video yet, please, PLEASE go HERE), it was a mighty fine outing. It sufficiently wore us out.

So when we headed back down our little mountain, what time should it be but none other than that of the Manchester United v. Everton kickoff! (I can hear your groans from here.) So what else would two strapping two lads who just did their best I-wish-I-were-William-Wallace-but-I'm-slipping-down-the-chocolate-milk-muddy-Muddy-Trail do at a time like this? Yeah, go catch the match at the pub. But when we got there, turns out I was wrong about the start time (darn time difference), but we still made a pretty solid trip of looking around some shops before that Cinderella-esque hour of 6 o'clock when everything quite literally shuts down (except pubs, naturally). But just as we were waiting for our bus back to the flat, we saw the match coming on a big projection screen in no other pub than the Wallace (cue Aaron's description of my "toy fire truck" eyes). So we may or may not have gone in and watched the whole match. (Solid 1-0 win for United.) Again, lots of fun, but United has its fair share of haters ('cause I need something else for people to give me garbage about), so my celebration was somewhat subdued. Bottom line: Go tell your friends Matt and Aaron went to a pub twice in one day. See if they believe you.


Then we missed the bus. The almighty 1 Bus that is our only means of transportation on that cold night blew right by us, despite me waving it down as it just blew on past without so much as covering the brake. No matter. We'd just walk. And (let me check) yep, Aaron confirms that it was 0 degrees Celcius that night (that's freezing for you Communications majors out there). No matter, we used the 2.5 mileish walk back to burn off the ribs we had in the pub. Good thing our dumb jokes kept each other warm because not much else was.

Sunday morning we decided to check out Laigh Kirk, a local Church of Scotland we pass on our way into town. All in all, our visit to the church was labeled "pleasant" by concensus. It's still just crazy to hear hymns and a message and even pulpit jokes with a Scottish accent. It really was a solid message from the pulpit about putting your faith into practice. James 2:26 says, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead." Definitely a message that we are doing our best to take to heart as we continue to meet new people from (literally) all walks of life.

Other than the children who came in at the beginning of the service and the relatively young pastor and his wife, we were the youngest people in the sanctuary. That, paired along with our American accents, got us plenty of attention from the congregation who invited us to "a cup of coffee or tea and a biscuit" afterwards. The warm coffee and conversation went a long way in keeping us insulated on our walk to the supermarket before we went back to campus. By the way, it is a sad truth that they just don't sell peanut butter over here. Try to hold back the tears for us.

When we did arrive back, we saw the university's American football team, the Paisley Pyros, about to start their match. After we dropped our food off at the room, I went down and caught some of the live action on SuperBowl Sunday. It was really funny to see a sport very much American being played by guys who very much weren't. And in an interesting juxtaposition, the university Gaelic football team was having a match on the field adjacent to the Pyros. The connection that sport has with culture is one that continues to fascinate me, and it was neat to see my own paired with the one I'm currently in so seamlessly.



We chillaxed most of the rest of Sunday, getting things "done" around the flat and hanging out with our flatmates Julian and Paul, who Aaron mentioned earlier. It's been a lot of fun getting to hang out with them and share stories from our respective homelands. Everything from TV gameshows to weather to how sweet tea is nothing like English tea is discussed, and I think we all really enjoy that time. God has truly blessed us with some fun guys to hang out with, and we continue to ask you to pray for us as we try to influence them through how we live our lives: called to a different purpose.

Today was the first day of class, so a vast majority of our time was spent at the university as we dipped our feet into the waters of these "modules" as they're called over here instead of courses. I met a really nice Scot today named Ryan who i have class with. Believe it or not, his dad actually has friends in Macon! Talk about a small world moment. Anyway, pray that he would be another one of those people that the Lord has put in our sphere of influence.

And, of course, it's been snowing! It has been really mesmerizing to stare at the flakes outside. It's Julian's first time to ever see snow, so things have been pretty jovial around here. We love you all back home and we thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. They've really helped us get off to a good start, and we know we'll need them more and more and the semester progresses.

And now I feel like a hypocrite for calling Aaron's post long. Such is life.