Goodbye academia, I bid you adieu!

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Done.
Finis.
Accomplished.

I just sent away my final paper for Oxford. I realized after my roommate, Andrea, had gone to take it in for me that I had forgotten to sign the declaration at the end of the paper, but I will go in later to do that. Not a big deal (I hope! It'd be horrid to find out that it was!).

It was my longest paper yet: 4,241 words (not including footnotes), covering 16 pages (with the bibliography), and the sad part is, that if I had a month to devote to this paper, or even another week I could have doubled, tripled, quadrupled the paper. It was fairly easy to write and it was an interesting topic, at least, in my opinion:

The ‘Other’ History: Of what value to the historian are women’s letters from the eighteenth century, and what does their content reveal about the societal roles of women during this time, the practice of history, and feminist and subaltern histories?

So, if you interested in a paper on that covering Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Jane Austen, let me know ; )

The question I'm sure (or at least hoping) you're asking is 'When do you come home?'

The next few days will be very busy, and any chance for a relaxing end to my Oxford experience will, more than likely, dissipate within the next few hours. I have yet to pack and do the dreaded task of figuring out just what I bought while I was out of the States (yay Customs!). Being a Weller, and specifically my Dad's daughter, I have been blessed with the 'Stress' gene. Therefore, this is what I anticipate today and tomorrow looking like:

• treat myself to a mocha if I happen to make it into town
  
• clean my room, do laundry*
• make my Customs list
• get rid of/donate everything I don't absolutely need to bring home
• start to pack
• realize that my suitcases are way too heavy, thus having to re-organize and re-pack
• buy my bus ticket (which I will probably forget to do) to get back to Heathrow :(
  

*This task will be particularly fun, as my house is literally getting over from a staph epidemic. That, along with the flu and colds, is actually motivation to wash my clothes before I come home!

On Saturday, I leave my house at 6:30 am in order to get to the main bus station at 7:05 am. My good friend Quinn is helping me get my luggage to the bus station, so that part shouldn't be extremely bad. However, the hour before I leave will be, as I scour the house, and my room multiple times for things I may have left behind. I will arrive at Heathrow around 8:40-9:15 am (which mind you is a good four hours before my flight leaves...remember: I suffer from the Keith 'worry syndrome'). I'll have to check in, which will release most of my stress as my heavy luggage will be gone! Then I'll be hanging around the airport (after security, which hopefully won't be as bad as when I went to Rome : / ), taking in everything I can before I leave beautiful,wondrous England. 

BUT THE FUN DOESN'T END THERE!!!!

My flight should arrive in Philly around 4. Another student from my program will be on my flight; in fact, it is the same person, Ross, who was on my initial flight from Philly to London. So at least I won't be completely lost...theoretically.

Once in Philly (which I have heard is the worst-managed airport in the States...joy) I have a 4-5 hour layover. But don't worry, I will have plenty to do! Not only will I be able to go through Customs (lucky me!) and be frazzled to no end, but I will also be able to reintroduce American fast-food to my system! Ha ha ha : )

In all seriousness, though, the next week should be interesting from a food perspective. I've eaten McDonalds, Burger King, and pizza less than a handful of times and Subway twice since September. I'm excited to eat the following foods the days I return:

• mozzerella sticks (with melba sauce!!!)
• real pizza (I had it in Italy, but that was it); East Side and Four Corners
• Chinese food!!! Dragon Garden and Fu Sing better stock up!
• Subway: you would think it's the same in England...but it's not.
• Anything from a diner: The Glenville Queen and even, dare I say, the Duanesburg Diner.
• Cracker Barrel and Boston Market!!!!

The thought of everyone (and the foods) awaiting my return is very exciting!

I'll try to update before I leave!

=)

Cheers!

Prayers Please

Hi Everyone,

Quick note to say everything is winding down here at Oxford! My last paper id due Thursday and it's a whopping 4,000 words. It doesn't sound that bad, but trust me, it's going to be interesting. I still have research to do, so let's hope that goes well.

As some of you may know there have been quite a few problems in Greece lately, with riots and general unrest. Specifically this violence is targeted in Athens, where one of my best friends from Messiah (along with a good number of other Messiah students) are studying for the semester. They're almost ready to come home and it's a shame that their last days are marred by these situations. However, I would really appreciate your prayers going out to these girls as I'm sure it's hard enough being in a city where you don't completely understand the language, but to also have to be on the lookout for dangerous behaviour is a stress these girls just don't need. So please keep them in your prayers in the following weeks!

Also, if you could keep myself and my parents in your prayers, that would be appreciated. I have to perform a miracle of packing everything I've accumulated into two suitcases and my parents, especially my mom, are going to be nervous wrecks from about 6:30 am Saturday, when I leave my house, The Vines, until 10 pm when I land in Albany and have picked up my luggage.

Thanks for your continued support! Hopefully my final essay will rock everyone's socks off and I can end this year with a bang!

For those interested, my paper will be on:
Letters written by women in the 18th century and what they say about feminine social roles, and how the historical analysis of these letters plays into feminist and subaltern histories.
Oh dear Lord. How am I going to finish this in three days?


Prayers please!!!!!
Cheers =)

Happy Thanksgiving!

So once in every year we throng

Upon a day apart,

To praise the Lord with feast and song

In thankfulness of heart.

~Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

I never realized that Thanksgiving wasn't a worldwide observed holiday. I guess if I had thought about it I would have come to the conclusion, but it is such a great holiday that I assumed everyone would want to partake in the overeating of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and my beloved cranberry sauce!

Today is not Thanksgiving, at least, not for me. I'm not bitter or saddened, because Thanksgiving Day does not exist in England. It's almost  as if I don't know what I'm missing. Yet, I do!

I thought I'd take this opportunity (which has dual purpose as paper-writing procrastination) to say a few things I'm thankful for:

• That I have lived in countries (I like saying that!) where I can practice my faith freely and be a strong, independent woman (or at least, try to be).
• My family. I won't list everyone here, but know that I am thankful for all of my family, those who I parted with a few months ago, and those who I haven't seen in years.
• My friends. I couldn't survive away from home (or sometimes, even at home) without them. The line between family and friends is a blurred one, and I'm thankful for that.
• That even though it's frowned upon, a preposition is something I can end my sentence with.
• The blessings I have. I only hope I can use them in the way God wills.
• Everyone who reads my blogs. It makes my words important and gives what I say meaning.
• Jane Austen. She makes me laugh constantly and her writing is a true blessing.
• The internet, because I can keep in contact with everyone and access information as the slightest of ease.
• Opinions (even wrong ones ;) )
• Music. Every human emotion can be triggered or satiated with it.
• Thanksgiving. Because when else can you watch the GREATEST parade on earth, avoid helping to prepare food, overeat to the point of sickness, watch men attack each other for fun (American football), and then fall asleep by 6pm? If this isn't the American Dream, I don't know what is!

So, thank you for reading my blog and keeping up with my happenings in Oxford. I am thankful for my readers and subscribers and that I am cared about enough to take a few minutes out of your day to read of my rants/adventures/crazy thoughts.

I'll be home in 16 days, and while I 'should' be sad about leaving glorious England, I'm more than excited to be home and see everyone and for what is surely to be an amazing Spring semester.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Oh, the Queen was in Oxford today and I saw her motorcade =)

My visit is complete!

Location: England, Age: 21

     It was pretty fun having my birthday in England, although it wasn't the same as if I had been back home with friends and family. I woke up unnaturally early and had breakfast with a few of my close friends at a cafe in town. There's not much that can beat scrambled eggs and toast in the morning! At the cafe, I saw Anna Popplewell, who is most famously known for her role as Susan in the Chronicles of Narnia movie, which my nephew Liam thought was pretty awesome.

     Then I went to the city centre small building of the program that organizes my studies in Oxford and just hung out for a while. I took a nap while waiting for one of my friends, Dabney, who I was going to go food shopping with. I decided to miss my lecture in order to get everything done, and then Dabney and I went to the infamous 'Primark' store and tried on some dresses. Primark is hard to describe, but I guess it would be close to a 'Marshalls' back in the States. I only ended up buying footwarmers, but it was a lot of fun. They have some crazy styles in England!

The main part of my outting was to buy the food that I needed to cook my birthday dinner. I had decided much earlier in the semester that I wanted to cook for my food group on my birthday- that way I'd get to eat my favorite food on my birthday! Food groups are about 10 people and there are two per day. Every person cooks at least twice during the semester per day they sign up for. For my birthday we combined food groups and were making...*drumroll*

Chicken and Spaghetti! It's a famous Weller staple and, while I had never made it before, I figured...how hard can it be?

Well, it's not too hard, but it helps to know that 2.2 lbs are in a kg, and not the other way around. I bought 6 kg of pasta, somehow thinking that it was only 3 lbs. Needless to say, I have 8 pounds of spaghetti left on my kitchen shelf!

A Pre-Advent Epiphany...

     I hope the following doesn't sound to saintly. I wrote it while I was in Starbucks today on a whim. Before today I would see people milling about the street with their opinions and cynicism and all I saw was disconnect. And disconnect begets despair, and even worse, complacency. Everyone with their selfishness and judgements and no hope. Sinful. Forever. 

     But then I realized, we are all connected- by God and by our humanity. Not one of us is unloved. We all have hope and somewhere, deep inside, we have faith.

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     There isn't too much better in the world than the approach of the winter holidays. Something about Christmas carols coming on the radio at Starbucks while I sip on my mocha and work on reading Northanger Abbey produces the most relaxing and comforting of feelings.

     There isn't snow and there won't be a Thanksgiving like it should be, but Oxford is in preparation for Christmas is outstandingly special. I've seen better decorations and more festive storefronts, but I was never part of a city's holiday festivity, only an observer. I have no vested interest in the lights in Washington Park, or the Schenectady Christmas parade, or Proctor's annual production of the Nutcracker; Rotterdam does little to prepare, mostly because the cows and barn cats don't care much for the blinking lights.

     Yet this year, for a few weeks, I'm part of the festival. My inner excitement regarding the celebrations of family, friends, the birth of Christ and the chance for new opportunities seem like it's playing itself out on the streets of Oxford- a brass choir playing carols on Cornmarket Street, seeming miles of Christmas displays at Marks & Spencers, advent calendars bracing the walls at Blackwells, and holiday themed beverages at the cafes. 

     All this to say that for the first time in longer than I can remember I truly feel that there is hope for our world. I've always believed it, but I never remember really feeling it. People are good at heart and it is our duty, not just as Christians, but as humanity to love one another and help to bring out the love, compassion, and hope in all that we meet.

We are not a lost people. We have hope.

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Upcoming: Posts on my birthday and my weekend in Rome and the Vatican City!

Update/Transportation

I wanna hang a map of the world in my house. Then I'm gonna put ins into all the locations that I've traveled to. But first, I'm gonna  have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won't fall down.

--Mitch Hedberg

Since today is Halloween (and more importantly Chrissy's birthday) I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to update you all on life in Oxford. To set the scene, I'm currently writing this from inside a Borders Starbucks. I just finished my tutorial meeting with Emma, my tutor, for Jane Austen (we discussed 'Mansfield Park'). I feel like I've just experienced the epitome of Oxford-- a meeting with a professor over coffee. To add to this description, I will let you know that I just saw a guy with a green painted face walk by. Halloween is interesting in England…to say the least.

 

Tutorials have been going well, although I'd be lying if I said it was easy. There is a lot of work and research to be done and it certainly keeps me on my toes. I have another tutorial in a few hours (Nobility and Gentry) and hopefully it will run smoothly. I feel like I have a good handle on the subject, which is more than I can say for the past two weeks. There is so much to know!!

 

Tonight my house is having a Halloween Party for all of the SCIO students. SCIO stands for 'Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford' and is the program I'm studying here with. I will be dressing up as Jane Austen, and I'm hoping to quip up with random quotes, although they will most likely be about 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Mansfield Park' which, I am sad to say, are so far the only books I've read in their entirety. I was going to be a mime, and had been practicing my miming skills (which are decent at best), but decided that I would wear the gorgeous dress that my mom had made. Plus, this is probably the best audience for subtle Austen allusions. Let's hope I can pull it off! I'll be sure to post pictures at a later date.

 

For those that are interested (which  I hope is all of you!), I'll explain a bit about transportation here in Oxford. Recently, Oxford was listed among the top cities for the longest commute. I believe it cited the Oxford commute as being around an average of 51 minutes, second to London and Birmingham (and maybe Liverpool?). Every day (or at least, almost every day) I take a short walk down the lane my house, The Vines, is on. It takes no more than five minutes on most days and the bus stop is close by. I've had very good luck with the bus system in Oxford. I ride with a company called Stagecoach and I bought a 13-week pass for a decent price, and with riding an average of twice a day, it costs little over 50p (pence) a ride. Usually the buses arrive every seven to eight minutes, however sometimes I'll have to wait up to 15 minutes. In rare cases I wait longer, but that is very rare indeed. To walk into the city center takes a good half hour, whereas the bus takes less than ten minutes to drive there (usually less, but it depends on traffic). It's been fairly easy getting busses back and forth, and they all have a ticker on the outside that says where they are going and via what roads. Since there is another University right near my house (Oxford Brookes, but this is not part of the Oxford University), there are also a lot of 'Uni' busses which I can ride with my Stagecoach bus pass. Very convenient.

To be honest, I didn't expect to like the bus system. Coming from a suburban area in New York and a very rural area in PA, I was a bit nervous. I'm not sure that I had ever ridden a public bus before. However, it's very safe and usually very clean; the bus stops are usually in very convenient places. I'm not sure how I will manage without the buses!

Yet, the state of public transportation in England says a lot more about feelings towards transportation in general. I speak on my feelings upon living here for a few months, and not with any inkling of how true Brits feel, but I imagine my thoughts are similar to those of many locals. Using public transportation is a great way to cut down on exhaust emissions from cars. Carpooling, or should I say, buspooling is very convenient, cuts down on traffic congestions (making the city center of Oxford very nice for pedestrians), and limits pollution. If I lived in Oxford full time, I more likely than not, just use public transportation rather than buy a car. There's no need! Having experienced the many benefits of using the buses and trains (another wonder, very reasonable costs as well) it makes me wonder if the U.S. will ever catch this craze? I certainly hope so! Think of the land that can be kept open, at least in part, if we just had reasonable trains instead of highways! I recently looked up an Amtrak fare from Schenectady to Harrisburg and it was very expensive, in fact, it was at least double what a similar distance would be in England (relative to the value of the currency for a native). Not to mention the fact that going to Harrisburg I would have to transfer in New York City or Philly, which I imagine are far less conducive to stress-less travel than the stations I've experienced here in England.

 

Well, I feel that I've gone on long enough about matters which probably don't matter. I must be back to our SCIO headquarters so I can prepare for my next tutorial in about two hours.

 

Feel free to post your responses to my public transportation rambling! I'm looking forward to hearing other's responses (*cough Elizabeth, Quinn, Dabney cough*).

 

Cheers <3

Note: this post is from quite a few weeks ago, but I forgot to post it. I hope you enjoy this reflection on the beginning of fall in England...

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Fall is here. That crisp air smell is present, even all the way across the pond. It's a rather encouraging feeling, that no matter where I would be this semester I still get to experience that Fall smell. 

This weekend I had the opportunity to just relax, which has been very much appreciated. After a week busy with lectures and papers, I decided that, since I only have one tutorial (and thus only one paper) due this week, on Friday, I could use the weekend to regain sleep and work on my personal to-do list. This list included cleaning up my desk area, writing postcards, and filling out my absentee ballot. Upon reviewing the choices for president I realized how very important this election is. For the U.S., for the world, for history. I had some reservations about who I was going to vote for, but when the options were laid in front of me, it became apparent what my choice would be. 

Luckily, my rejuvenating weekend also allowed me to take go into the backyard of The Vines (the house where I'm living). I'm sad to say that yesterday was my first time going into the backyard! The weather was great and it seemed very peaceful so I headed out back and had a great time talking to my younger nephews and sister on the phone. Today I went back outside to take some pictures, since I figured the leaves will soon be gone (they seemed to have fallen all in a matter of a few days, making me think a better name for the Autumn/Fall season in Oxford would be 'Drop', like my friend Alicia suggested). Below are a few pictures that I took outside...

Baa Ram Ewe, Baa Ram Ewe

"Always remember, a cat looks down on man, a dog looks up to man, but a pig will look man right in the eye and see his equal."

-Winston Churchill

Per the request of the Quinn-ster, I have the following photo post of 'King Bladud's Pig Trail' in Bath...

More to follow...

Would you care to dance?

"I really believe I shall always be talking of Bath!"

-Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

I'm not sure that I'll always be talking of Bath, but it certainly was a memorable trip!

A few weekends ago, my friend from Messiah, Carly, and I traveled to Bath by train. We arrived early in the day and so, after arriving at our gorgeous hotel (read: with our hotel we were spoiled more than any college student ever has been...except maybe the heiress to large fortunes and royalty), we walked to the Jane Austen Centre on the other side of town. We had lunch in the Jane Austen Tea Room, and I had the 'Lady Catherine [de Bourgh] Cream Tea' before going through their exhibits for our tour.

I must be honest and admit that The Jane Austen Centre was a little bit less than what I had imagined. Granted, I probably had quite a spectacle imagined, so nothing could amount to the ideal. The displays were well done and it was very informative; for someone who didn't know a whole lot about Jane Austen, it would have been great. I did enjoy their gift shop, though, and quite a few of you will be receiving Christmas presents from there.

The main reason for the trip to Bath, of course, was to attend the Jane Austen Grand Regency Ball at the Assembly Rooms. After taking out time to get ready at the hotel (have I mentioned that the hotel was AMAZING?!), Carly and I walked, in our ball gowns, to the Assembly Rooms. We arrived to see quite a few people outside taking pictures, and as there was a decent amount of light, we joined in. We were disrupted at one point by the clip-clopping of a horse-drawn carriage, containing a few of the guests.

The night was filled with laughter and much dancing. There were an abundance of girls and so many of us stood up together. I am sad to say, that I did not find my Mr. Darcy, although we did make some friends, a few couples that told us of a reenactment at the American Museum just outside town.

On Sunday Carly and I ended up going to this reenactment....of the American Civil War!! Unbeknownst to us, we 'snuck' in without paying; although we followed the pedestrian signs, they had no place to buy tickets. We ended up seeing the Titanic exhibit which was set up quite well. The reenactment itself was a skirmish in which the Union won. It was very interesting as there was a narrator and the setting was absolutely perfect- up on a hill overlooking a stream and small wooded area. It was quite entertaining! I had never known that Britain was on the verge of joining the American Civil War on the side of the Confederates!

The weekend was quite fun and I'm sure I will never forget it!

As for recently...

I'll be posting soon to updated everyone on classes and such. But rest assured that I have two lectures tomorrow, a tutorial (meeting w/ prof) on Wednesday as well as another lecture, two lectures on Thursday, and a tutorial on Friday. For each tutorial I need to have an approx 1500 word paper. Oh joy of joys!

Luckily, my first tutorial and paper are on Pride and Prejudice!

Cheers <3

The Lake District

What are men to rocks and mountains?

-Jane Austen

I apologize immediately for not posting in a while! It's been busy to say the least. However, I wanted to take a nap, but unfortunately "Moulin Rouge" is blasting downstairs in the kitchen. Oh joy.

I'm currently on my last real day of my vacation up in Keswick, Cumbria which is part of the Lake District. If you Google the Lake District I'm sure you'll find many beautiful pictures of the surrounding mountains and, of course, lakes, but rest assured that they are in no way equivalent to the real thing.

Our first full day up here was mainly to relax. We slept in and then in the afternoon went to Grasmere to visit Dove Cottage where William Wordsworth lived. It was a quaint town and I'd been there a few years ago. The weather, however, was atrocious. It was pouring non-stop and it even flooded the road we drove into town on, so that we had to take an alternate route home. It ended up being a nicer route in my opinion as it went right through the town I had visited when I was here with my parents.

Yesterday we went to a small church in town which was very pleasant. We then went on a ferry across one of the lakes and walked back to our cottage in town. Now, this seems like a jolly ol' time, except for those of you who know that hiking isn't high on my list of things I need to do. Add this to the fact that it wasn't a simple "Oh yay, let's walk around the lake" type of hike but a  "let's climb steep mossy mountain sides and step in mud bogs" type of hike. Luckily I had warm clothes and decent shoes. All in all it was a lot of fun and I'm glad I did it, but I wasn't so enthusiastic that I was motivated to go on the more intense hike planned for today. ;)

Today was a very relaxing day, at least thus far. I slept in a bit and ate breakfast at the other cottage. (This would be a good time to point out that the trip I'm on was planned by the program as an optional pre-term break trip. As such, they planned almost everything and rented two cottages for the time we're here.) After, I went to a few places I had looked up in a guide book last night--The Pencil Museum and Fritz Park. I wanted to stop at the town museum as well as the Mining Museum, but both were unexpectedly closed.

Knowing that it is supposed to rain this afternoon, I planned on walking back to my cottage (and praying that someone was there to let me in). Yet I failed to remember the street the cottage was on and my GPS wasn't updated with the additional maps for Northern England (whoops!). Luckily, in my tourist moments I had picked up plenty of brochures with maps in them, and managed to find my way to a street I had remembered passing earlier in the day. By some miracle I managed to find my way home!

Tonight we're going to a pub for dinner and tomorrow we leave for Oxford! Hopefully I'll be getting a nap in soon, and Wednesday the madness begins! Tutorials start, as do college extracurriculars! I'm so excited!!

I'll post pictures soon, and hopefully have more blogs about my recent trips, particularly my adventures in Bath!

Cheers!

Fortnight

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

-Walt Disney

It's hard to believe that I've been living in Oxford for an entire fortnight. So many things have happened that it has been hard to keep up with the posts! As I have quite a bit of reading to do tonight, this post will be brief, but I will definitely have time to divulge on my recent (and tomorrows) field trips. Mainly, this is a photo post.

Every Thursday during September, our British Landscape class goes on a field trip (which we are lectured about the day previous) and this past field trip was to Old Sarum, Salisbury, and Stonehenge. This first picture is of Old Sarum and the second is of me and a couple of friends reenacting Stonehenge.  I won't go into detail about their pasts for now, but they each are places that could be visited multiple times as they are truly breathtaking...                

These next two photographs are of Salisbury Cathedral. I could go on and on about this amazing building-- the gargoyles, the turrets, the pillars. Yet, there were three things that really touched me. 

The first was the sheer size of the cathedral. We were able to go on a guided tour which took us 202 ft up into the steeple- only halfway. From the top we were able to see the surrounding town and far into the distance, as it was a clear day. You didn't need to go far to see why Salisbury Cathedral is visited by so many people.
The nave was amazing and, even though I had visited a few years prior with my parents, it was great to be in there again. 

The second was that this giant church wasn't built simply to be a symbol of wealth or ability. Salisbury Cathedral was the physical embodiment of piety. This structure is a monument of devotion to God, and it is certainly amazing to see what people are capable of. 

This last blessing was tucked away in the steeple. In fact, the average tourist wouldn't have seen this, or even have known it existed. In the late 20th century, people were able to engrave a piece of glass, after which the pane was placed in the windows of the steeple. There were many panes of glass that had names of people who had toured Europe or the British Isles, many names of families, but one had caught my eye and really touched my heart. I know it needs no explanation...

As I have a field trip to Hampton Court Palace tomorrow and a paper due Monday, I really should hit the books. Hope this blog has sufficed for now :)

Cheers ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!

A Tragedy and a Triumph

"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." -Ernest Hemingway

After a good nights sleep I managed to wake up at 11 AM and managed to go through the morning routine with relatively no mishaps. I've managed to borrow a towel and I grabbed a curling iron as well, which hopefully will also work as a straightener of sorts. The one thing I have to buy is a straightener because *surprise surprise* it won't work. I used my converter and all, but it blew a fuse and I was then told that it would be much better (read: safer) to just use one that is from the UK. This was my tragedy, not so much because it was actually that bad, but it was very stressful not having what I needed.

My triumphs, thank goodness, have been multiple. The first isn't so much a triumph as it is a true blessing. As I arrived Friday and settled my first arrangements, I entered a small, yet cozy room that I share with a really nice girl, Andrea. We have very similar interests and personalities, but are different enough where we don't annoy the life out of each other...at least, not yet ;) The first obvious blessing is that I have a good roommate! The second is that there is only one roommate, which is a big stress reliever for me. The third is that we have a little sink in our room! So far, we are the only room to have a sink and our thought is that, since it's a rather

small room, it might have been a bathroom at one point. Nonetheless, it's very nice having a little sink to ourselves, since the bathrooms and showers (there are many, but the toilets and the showers are all separate) are all communal.

((Can you find Jeffrey the Gnome in the picture?))

My second triumph was finding a two-pence on the street! I went with a group of five or so on a leisurely walk in to town. We ended up walking probably over six miles (getting into town takes a good 15 minutes...getting back to the Vines took a bit longer--uphill for a good while). Amidst my travels I got to know some more people that live at the Vines and at one point noticed a coin on the ground. Fully aware that one pound coins are pretty valuable, I picked it up...but it was just a two-pence. But, that is about 3.5 cents! So yay for that triumph.

My third triumph was finally learning to play this game called "Mafia" and although I didn't win, I had such a blast.

Quick Facts From Oxford:

1. Garbage= "rubbish"
2. A "quid" is slang for a pound sterling (right now £1 = $1.77 or $1 = £0.57). This could stem from the name of a mint in Quidhampton, but is more likely to stem from the Latin phrase Quid pro quo, ("this for that") which  means an exchange of goods.
3. 'Cheerio' is outdated term but 'cheers' is not (that I know of)...

Overall, I had a great first (whole) day in Oxford and I'm really excited for what tomorrow brings! I could give hints away now, but I'd rather surprise everyone tomorrow (although, it should be noted that I have stayed up far too late and that my next post for "tomorrow" will, in fact, be today!).

Cheerio ;)

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Note to self:

-put picture of gnome on first blog

-upload video of bells ringing

'ello Gov'ner

"If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad."

-Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

I've arrived! Safe and sound and somewhat sane! It was a crazy time, flying from Albany to Philly, and Philly to London, but I made it. The plane was decent although my back is sore from trying to sleep at a 45 degree angle, and I was perplexed as to why we were served dinner (what seemed to be heavy chicken or pasta meals) at midnight EST/5am BST. Nonetheless I have learned the following valuable lessons that I would like to pass on to those of you who might travel for extended periods of time:

1. Don't overpack; it will make you very tired to carry your luggage around a huge airport and then the distance on the country road to your housing.
2. Make sure you keep the dramamine you brought in your pocket or purse, not at the bottom of your carry-on which is stored above in the overhead compartment.
3. Go to the bathroom before you get on your eight hour plane ride and then before your hour long coach ride into town.
4. Don't overpack!
5. Did I mention not to overpack?

My housing is absolutely gorgeous and I hope to have pictures up by Sunday. I live at The Vines which is a 35 minute walk from Wycliffe Hall, where I will be studying. Luckily there is a bus pass that will make it a lot less strenuous (as a bike in the rain is not exactly what I would like to do, especially the steep uphill trip back to The Vines). My double room is a bit smaller than at Messiah, but it does have a sink in the room which is fabulous!

I wish I could write more, but I'm simply exhausted and since it is 7:38 pm here, I feel that I will not suffer jet lag too badly if I take a small nap.

More later!

Cheers =)

Babe's cuter little cousin...

Somehow I came across a site about Royal Dandies Mini Pet Pigs. So cute!

Enjoy :)

Pre-Oxford

"'I'm something of a cheese connoisseur. I do enjoy a stinky cheese. A pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese!' Of course, anything sounds brilliant when said in such a remarkable British accent - but I digress."
~The Travelocity Traveling Gnome

Before I leave, I thought I would give a little background into my semester abroad. This is as much for your information as it is for my packing procrastination. (Pack three and a half months worth of clothes and other necessities into two suitcases? Yeah, right!)

I've always wanted to study at Oxford, ever since I was very young. I didn't know much else of what I wanted to do when I grew up but I knew that Oxford was the best University in the world and that I wanted to be there. Fast forward to last fall when I was getting ready to study in Cheltenham and suddenly realized that they didn't have any classes I wanted to take. After I couldn't physically produce more tears I realized that it was certainly a blessing in disguise.

I quickly decided that I would apply for Oxford and I was certain that if I didn't get accepted my life would be ruined, or at least very boring. The program I'll be traveling with is through Best Semester and runs from Sept 4-Dec 13.

I'll be taking two general courses: a British Landscape course, a history seminar; and then two tutorials: Nobility & Gentry in England 1550-1660, and Special Authors: Jane Austen. The latter two don't start until October, which is really good since I haven't finished all my pre-term readings. Yet, despite the mountains of reading, I'm more than excited for my two tutorials which will hopefully be the jumpstart to my Senior Thesis.

I'm completely ready for this new experience and prepared for what God has in store for me this semester. I know that it's a lot.

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I leave September 4th for my first flight by myself. I'll be flying from Albany to Philly (1 hr) and then from Philly out to Heathrow (8 hrs). I have a decent layover in Philly and I arrive at 11:00am (BST) so *hopefully* it will just be like sleeping in really late. Since I'm not too keen on planes to begin with, I'd appreciate any prayers :) 

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In a last attempt to make this first blog post interesting, I should probably explain my "Wandering Gnome" idea.

As some of you may know, this past Halloween I dressed up as David the Gnome which officially marked the beginning of my gnome craze. I now have a collection of garden and house gnomes.

Of course, the madness doesn't stop there. I wanted to chronicle my travels in a unique way by taking a small memento from home and photographing it everywhere I went. Since one of my best friends Dad's had already taken the "Traveling Rubber Chicken" idea, I felt that the only item truly representative of myself would be the gnome.

 Meet Jeffrey (kudos to my nephew Adam for the name)...

((PICTURE COMING SOON))


Seeing as the "Traveling Gnome" is taken by Travelocity, and my gnome won't necessarily go on travels, so much as he will wander throughout Oxford, the countryside and future travels (which include Cyprus, yay!), I settled on being "The Wandering Gnome."

So now, explore my blog, click on links or just go and re-read the quote at the top of the blog. You'll laugh, I promise ;)

Cheers,

Courtney

P.S.-- For those of you who are interested in contacting me (Skype, AIM, e-mail, snail mail) comment on this post or email me and I will give you more information. =)

Also, you can subscribe to my blog and receive and email every time I update. This is suggested for the truly devoted and, of course, my mom and dad.