The last couple of days...

This is taken from an email I sent to Em today, but I don't think she'll mind if I put it here too.

Yesterday morning was awful. Not in the sense that things were going wrong, but in the sense that I felt wrung out, stressed out, and a bit homesick. We woke up early for bank appointments, and had to brave the tube along with every commuting business person in London. I don't like the tube in the mornings; everyone walks at the pace of a near run, no one talks, and everyone looks down. The tunnels funnel you all together, and it has uncanny similarities to how I imagine herds of cows being led to the slaughter house.
Everything at the bank was fine... accounts were opened... people were friendly... yadda yadda. Afterwards, Lis and I split up for the first time. She went back to the BUNAC office to work on job apps, and I went to hand deliver a few resumes. It's hard to describe how involved this all is. Hand delivering a resume involves getting on a tube, transferring to a different tube at a station, finding your way through the tunnel, emerging from below ground, and then finding your way through the streets. Because London is so old (which is awesome), the streets aren't on a grid system. There are streets running to and fro with little offshoots going everwhere. It's awful to find anything, and my hand map has become my best friend.
Anyway, I went off to find this man's office which meant I had to navigate the tube and the streets myself, which I hadn't done before. I finally found it and dropped off my CV and covering letter, and was immediately after mentally done dealing with things. I was so tired of being in a new place and having to play catch up all the time. I promptly headed for a Starbucks and ordered tea. I sat away from the windows and as far from people as I could... I wanted it to see as much like home as possible. I pulled out my Bible and opened to the psalms... and read Psalm 18. Read the first few verses and you'll understand why I got a bit teary. It was balm to my aching soul, and Jesus affirmed me over and over again. He reminded me of how much He loves me... how the only reason I've been able to get to London is through his provisions... how He won't abandon me now that I'm here. It was so wonderful. I haven't had a deep moment with him like that in such a long time. As cheesy as it sounds, it completely revitalized me, and I was ready to move again.
After I left Starbucks, I decided to see if I could find my way on foot to the BUNAC office to reconnect with Lisa and find more jobs. Well, I got blooming lost along the way. I came to one of their awful roundabouts with six streets jetting off in all directions. I must have been standing there for ten minutes trying to sort out my map in an almost panic.. realizing that I was totally lost in this giant city. All of a sudden, this man pops up next to me, and here's how the conversation goes:
"Excuse me, are you lost?"
Near tears, I reply, "Yes, very lost, I'm afraid."
Him: "Well you don't sound like you're from here! Wherebouts did you come from?"
Me: "From Oregon... I've just arrive a couple days ago."
Him: "Oregon! Is that near Orlando? I went there once- to go to Disneyland. Now, where are you off to. I'll show you the way."
I'm convinced that man was an angel, or at least on a divine mission from God. Brits would rather die that talk to someone new on the streets, or talk to anyone at all for that matter. It was the most wonderful moment, and I could just feel God again assuring me that all was well... that He was taking care of me, since I'm not able to do it myself quite yet.
Once at BUNAC, I made a few calls about jobs, and ended up in a phone interview with a lady who placed me at the job I'm going to do today. After talking with her on the phone, it was back off to the tube to navigate to her office to fill out paperwork. I got horribly lost on my way from the tube to her office, which was awful, but at least I got to explore a fun new area of London... it was over near Victoria and the palace gounds. After that appointment, I headed back home to the hostel in Shepherd's Bush, and on the way received a call on my mobile from the guy I had dropped my CV with earlier. He wanted me to come in for an interview that afternoon. So after getting home, it was off again to the tube station and the walk to his office. Once there, he explained the position to me in great detail, and it sounds terrifying. I told you a bit about it yesterday, but in short it's defining my own role to center around database administration, marketing, office management, and some small scale events. It'll be so hard, especially since I have to figure out what needs to be done and then do it. Without a taste of how this office (or any in the UK) works, I'll have a steep learning curve to catch up with.
That said, the job pays fabulously and I'll get 12 paid vacation days throughout my time working for them. Isn't that crazy? I'll get to take time off to be with my mom when she visits, and maybe I'll be able to cash out a few days for when I start travelling around Europe in March.
I'm still waiting to hear back from him to confirm that I've been hired. He said they were keen to have me yesterday, but I would just feel more reassured having it in writing. It's so hard to understand them when they talk sometimes!
So, that said, it was a long and tiring day. But I feel so good about everything... I was (at least I'm 95% sure) able to land a career related job within two days of looking, and BUNAC told me to not expect anything within ten days. I mastered the tube, and for the first time I felt like I was really part of this place. Granted, I can't find my way anywhere, but I'm picking up on the way things work. I'm going to be able to make it here. :)

And PS, guess what I can see out the window of the place where I'm working today! The Thames River and London Bridge. How freaking amazing is that?!

PPS, just got an email. I was hired at the snazzy job. Thanks for praying everybody... you've all been such an encouragement!