Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense

Shamed be he who thinks evil of it. This is the motto of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry in England. It was founded in the mid-fourteenth century by Edward III of England. Today it includes the sovereign and the Prince of Wales, no more than twenty-four other knights and other certain members of the British Royal family and foreign monarchs. The ruling monarch alone has the power to bestow the order upon a person, it remains a very personally royal order. Last weekend I visited, along with the other scholars and several Rotarians, Windsor Palace and Eton College. Windsor Palace is the weekend home of the queen and the royal family, we were supposed to see the Mews, but...the queen was in residence and she took precedence, so we just got to see the public rooms. The chapel, St. George's Chapel, is the hereditary home of the Order, it holds the emblems of the current members and memorabilia of past members and sovereigns. The chapel is also the resting place of twelve English monarchs including Henry VIII and his wife, Jane Seymour. I just stood and stared for a few moments. How the mighty have fallen.

The term is done here, this week I have a few more classes just to finish up some things that were missed during the last two months. I don't know if I can tell you really what I've been thinking or feeling. Its been so intense at times and then at others so much time for reflection and wondering. I wonder where I will be in a year from now, I wonder again how I made it here, I reflect on the events that brought me here and I thank God for His provision. I have had so much fun with the Rotary clubs here and enjoyed talking with them and telling them about Kansas. Its so fun to tell them about some of our history, the Indians, the cowboys, Dodge City, and the Old West.

Tonight I have a book I need to finish and a few more Latin exercises to practice. I can't believe that I can look at some Latin phrases and I can tell you what they mean and why. Tomorrow, for the last Latin class of the course we read Winnie the Pooh in Latin. Oh, and someone has translated The Hobbit into Latin--Hobbitus Ille. My goal--to read J.R.R. Tolkien's work in Latin. I cannot wait to get home and to give my little brother a huge bear hug, to hold my niece, to see the starts and sunrise. I'm looking forward to my mom's cooking and the distance I can see when I drive. But this place is unimaginable. Oxford is a place that can be like any other, just another town, a place to live and work, full of humans and buildings. Then you turn a corner and face a building finished centuries earlier, walk through a doorway and the sight takes your breath away, step outside and feel the mist on your face and its magic. Thank you, :)