Tonight I have hitchhikers sleeping in my backyard.

When my housemate, Karen, got home at about 9:30 pm tonight, she walked in with a big smile on her face.

--"HANNAH, I picked up two Czech Republic hitchhikers tonight at the petrol station. They are really nice girls. Would you mind if they stay in our open bedroom tonight?"

I guess she could tell by my wide-eyed glare that I was not feeling too keen about this request.

--"They could stay in the back garden if you prefer? Or they can go up the hill to the field to sleep. I haven't told them I'm asking you if they could stay here."

After I asked her if she realized how crazy she sounded, I told her I wouldn't mind if they stayed in the backyard.

She told me not to worry, one of the them is a Christian. HA!

We let Anna and Petra inside to use the bathroom and brush their teeth. I got the opportunity to say hello to both normal looking girls.

Now, they are sleeping in my backyard. Karen said they have a tent, but when I looked outside, they are in their sleeping bags on the grass ... hmmm.....

I feel really guilty about not letting them stay inside the house. I mean, we currently have three open beds. But, there is just something a little scary about letting "hitchhikers" stay inside.

Later, Karen gave me a little more details. She said she saw them getting out of a lorry when she was at the gas station about an hour away from the house. She waved them over and asked where they were going. They said Dover and she said she was going to Canterbury. They got in! Apparently, they are two university students that are doing a bit of traveling for the next few weeks. ---- There is something a little creepy about hitchhiking rides in lorries if you ask me. Karen said they are going to try to hitchhike another lorry ride across the English Channel on a ferry. I guess you can't just walk on the ferry???

Tonight, my mom would be proud of my choices .... but, again, I feel a little bad.

On the bright side, there is a music festival, Lounge on the Farm, that is happening in Canterbury this weekend. I can hear it outside my window ... so at least they have some tunes to put them to sleep!

Goodnight, Anna and Petra - I hope you enjoy our grass ... :/

Adoption

Today I had a discussion with a coworker about adoption. It ended with me again feeling frustrated about the adoption culture in this country. It seems that adoption is basically an after thought - if it is a thought at all.

Some questions I'm pondering from our conversation ...

Why do people here only consider adoption after they tried ages to have a baby naturally or through IVF?

Why would it be better for a dually heritage child to be placed with a couple with one person who is dual heritage (even if they are not of the same heritage as he child and potentially different sides of the world) rather than a white couple?

Why is it looked down upon to have a child that it not the same color as you?

Why do people think you are strange or a "better person" if you would consider adopting as a first choice rather than a last resort?

Why would you put a Christian couple at the bottom of the stack because of your own bad experience with religion?


I am passionate about adoption. The adoption culture here is unexplainable and I struggle to articulate my thoughts about it clearly.

Rightfully so, there is a big push on matching a child's identity as closely as possible. But at the end of the day, the child is being given a new identity with new parents because there was something about their biological parent's identity that was not meeting the child's need (in the cases I deal with at least). Shouldn't we trust the new parents to shape the child's identity and provide them an understanding of their birth identity - even if the couple does not reflect that identity ....


This new guy was sent to sort out the adoption crisis in England.


Here is a link about the changing law for mixed race adoption that I found.

I do hope and pray there is change in the adoption mindset the future...

Organization

I would like to think of myself as a sensibly, organized individual. I like the fact that things have places and I like for the things to be in their designated places. I am one of those weird people that color codes my closet in length order (or wardrobe in England) and I even line things (like books, boxes, bottles) in height order.. I'm not too OCD about these desires, because on occasion, my life does look like it has been hit by a tornado and everything thrown everywhere. But on most days, I like things orderly.

Organization seems less than possible in my current job. I feel like at times I can't keep my head on straight. I am the Queen of To Do lists, but nothing ever seems to get marked off nor does the list ever seem to shorten.

I have over 1000 emails in my work inbox 60 of which haven't been read. I have many hand written notes that need to be typed and thoughts in my brain that need to go down on paper.

I have GREAT ideas about how to bring organization into my work life, but I lack time to implement this structure and feel like I would NEVER get caught up to make it work well. OH MAN....

Sadly, this does roll over into my personal life as well. I want to scream when I think about looking at my home email account. I have many emails that need responding, but well....I "just can't be bothered" (a frequently used English saying" to type anything else or think in general at the end of a long working day.

So, I apologize if you are awaiting an email response from me. I hope to one day respond to you, but please know that I have read your sweet message and am very thankful you have sent it! :)

I think I need a personal assistant. Any takers? Anyone want to move to England to help me stay organized!

"Good morning this is Hannah. Hi this is Hannah. How can I help you, this is Hannah."

Today was a duty day. :(

AYI YAI YIAYI was I busy.

I spent the entire day taking and making phone calls. I didn't even leave the office. How many calls did I take/make today?

FORTY ONE! That is 4 - 1 !!!! Holy Moly!

When I realized it was going to be one of "those days," I quickly opened a word document, put on my head piece, and gave my fingers a little stretch. Ready.... set..... go!

Call after call .....I listened, typed, responded, typed, made quick bandaid decisions typed and moved on to the next issue.

....after call after call after call all the way to 41. I actually think it may be over 41 calls, but at the end of the day I counted my word document and only had written down 41.

I spent the final hour and 45 minutes copying and pasting all of the call notes on our computer system and processing and planning problems.

WOWZERS I'm glad I'm not on duty everyday.

Recipes!

Hi Friends/family!

I am on a cooking kick where I am really enjoying cooking dinner these days. It is also an attempt to domesticate myself for the future! The only problem is, I don't know what to make besides the few recipes I have up my sleeves.

I would be super grateful for YOU to email me (h.r.daugherty@gmail.com) your favorite dinner time meal recipes.

YUM!

Sweet Southern Sounds

A few weeks ago, my coworker Hannah turned to me when I finished a phone call and said, "You're starting to sound more like us!" --"us" being the English.

"EEWWW," I thought. The novelty and the attractiveness of the English accent has gone right out the window for me. In my job, I don't hear the properest of accents, nor do they sound really pretty down here in Kent. They say and pronounce a lot of things that drive me a little bonkers. For instance, they don't pronounce their Ts or Hs in many words. And, they say "me" instead of "my". example - Where are "me" keys.

Don't get me wrong, I would like to improve my English accent during my time here, but I WOULD not like to lose my slightly Southern sound.

The redeeming factor of this story is that I got a facebook note today from roommate, Sarah from Boston, who is currently in Boston. She says her friends are making fun of her because instead of going to England and coming back with an English accent, she has come home with a Southern one!!!! Sweet North Eastern Sarah has started saying y'all like a born and breed Southerner!

That's right! At least I influence someone around these parts! :)

Espana!

As I tend to be a sporadic, slow blogger (as evident by no blog postings during the month of August), I thought I would leave y'all the link to three blog postings that Jen has already written about our Spain trip so you get a little perspective of our adventures while you await my postings! :)


Valencia


Barcelona


Madrid