The Whirlwind UK Tour

April 19- 29
I flew into merry old England on Sunday 19 April. It was really great to be back – it really felt like I was coming back home! I took the bus to Victoria Station in London and had the biggest urge to just get on the train (dear old First Great Western) and go home to Charlbury. Instead, I bought a Tube pass and figured out my way to the hostel where I met Phoebe and Adina. The funny thing about traveling is that there is no way you can be prepared for everything you will come into contact with, but oddly enough, you figure everything out! At least I did, which means anyone can...
First thing we did was dump our stuff (well I did, they had been in London for a day already) and go check out the Tower Bridge, The Tower, and St. Katherine’s Docks at night.
On the Monday we headed over to Leicester Square to see what tickets were on sale for musicals in the West End – we picked Les Miserables and we got super seats! Then we did a bunch of wandering – around Big Ben and the Thames, Westminster (you can spend an entire day in there...it’s astounding!), Buckingham and stuff like that. Then in the evening, we walked back through Leicester Square to get to the theatre and it turned out that the Star Trek premier was happening there that evening! So we saw some actors and some fog machines and stuff...but unfortunately we had to leave to catch our show before things really started to get interesting. I’m not too sad though, even though I missed seeing Jeremy Clarkson, because Les Mis was one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen in my life – I would have joined the revolution right then and there if it hadn’t already happened over 200 years ago... and we were also close enough that when the actors lined up for their bows, they could clearly see that I had been bawling my head off – kudos to them for mad acting skillz.
Then on Tuesday we just wandered around Oxford Circus and Baker Street (we found Sherlock and Watson’s house! – cute little museum...) which was really cool, and we mingled with working London! To be honest, I’m so jealous of anyone who lives in London, England. What an amazing city! Maybe one day...
Phoebe and I also went to check out Wembley – home of the England Football team and playground of Manchester United. Wow – it’s an INCREDIBLE stadium! I’ll be back there one day...gotta see me a football match on that pitch!That night Adina flew back home to Canada and Phoebe and I decided we needed to make some plans about what we were going to do for our UK tour! So we talked to some train station employees, some travel dudes, and scribbled our plans onto a scrap piece of paper.
So far:
-London for three nights...Westminster, Wembley Park, Picadilly Circus, Oxford and Baker Streets, Les Miserables...
-Liverpool for the day...The Beatles Story, Matthew Street (plus the Cavern Club) to...
-The Lake District...Windermere, Keswick (James Bond Museum), Grasmere (Dove Cottage-Wordsworth), Bowness (Lake Windermere, The Beatrix Potter Story) RAIN:(
-York...for the afternoon, did a walking tour, it was awful, but the city is great! to...
-Edinburgh... got in super late, woke up early to go to Loch Ness, train ride took waaaay too long! so it took the whole day, but we hired a private taxi, worked out a deal, and made it out to the Loch and Urqhart Castle for a bit...very foggy! how mysterious...
Belfast
Cardiff
CHARLBURY!

The Homeland

So I've been here in the Netherlands since Saturday (the 11th)...here is a list of some of the stuff I've done so far:
-met a ton of relatives
-toured the towns where my grandparents and great aunts and uncles grew up
-rode in convertibles
-chased a Ferrari
-walked on some dijks
-sat on the beach
-rode on a motorcycle
-did the 11 cities tour (of Friesland) in a car...
-ate fantastic Dutch food
-drove on a bouncy road
-had a super time:)

Barcelona, Baby!

Our next stop on our ama-z-zing post-programme travel was Barcelona, Spain.
What a fantastic city! Our hostel was legit (Sun and Moon...reccommended) and in a central location. We got in late so we just went straight to bed. Next morning was Good Friday and we were woken by all the bells of the city ringing in remembrance. It was really beautiful. I worried about spending Easter away from my family - it is one of my favourite holidays and I've always been home for it- but it was actually ok. There was a Roman Catholic church on our street so we stopped in to hear a Good Friday chant and watch a procession with an icon of the crucified Lord. It was incredible.
Then we went off to find Parc Guell, playground of the famous artist, Gaudi. It was nuts! It looked like Dr.Suess had got all up in ére - the buildings were all funny shaped with wavy towers, there was a pathway through something that looked like a sandcastle that some bully had poured water all over, and there were bright mosaics all over! Would have been perfect if it had not been pouring rain.
So we headed off to find Gaudi's masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia - one of the wierdest buildings you will ever see in your life. I'll post pictures when I get back on my own computer. Gaudi worked on it for 42 years and only stopped because he died, but work continues today. How bizarre.
That night we saw a HUGE Good Friday procession with floats and bands and huge crowds of cheering people. Barcelona is a good place for religious holidays if you want to keep in the spirit...just what I needed.
The next day (Saturday?) we headed out to find MontJuic and walked the wrong way around it...but we lucked out because we could walk through Olympic Park, see the art gallery, and take a bus up it...instead of a gagillion stairs! There is a castle on top so we checked that out, and we got the most incredible view of the Mediterranean Sea, the beaches and the harbour. Little bit of paradise. Then we took the gagillion steps down and walked along the harbour to the beach. By now the sun had finally come out and it was gorgeous! The water was cold, but the sun and sand was warm, and there was a fantastic band playing...
We also toured the maaaany open air markets that are everywhere in the city, they sell some cool stuff, gorgeous handmade jewellery and bags, and bizarre antiques. Sweet.
Barcelona is such a fun city. The architecture is incredible, the people are friendly, and there is so much to do! I love it...
And then I hopped on a bus and attempted to fly to the Netherlands, except for the huge thunderstorm that delayed by flight, the plane parked waaaay out on the tarmac that we had to get bussed to and my broken seat. But who's complaining! I made it to Holland!
**Keep in mind that I don't know how to pronounce most of the place names I've put in here...good luck.**

Let Loose in Europe

So on the saddest day, April 6, 2009, the ABU-Oxford Programme of 2009 came to and end. It was an interesting end, everyone was stressed to death trying to get papers and reports in on time, but we had a great party on Saturday night, with some good reminiscing (no idea how to spell that...)some funny jokes and some sweet food and dancing:) On Sunday, Emily W went home and Joel disappeared...then Monday morning we lost Ben, Matt, Emily M and Whitney. I was getting pretty depressed. At 2pm, it was time for the rest of us to go...Carolyn, Lisa, Chloe, Melissa, Phoebe, Adina (Phoebe's friend from Canada) and myself, flew off to Paris, leaving behind the home we had quickly come to love...now is a good time to shed a tear or two, I did:p
While that was thoroughly depressing, I knew I would be back in a couple of weeks to say proper goodbyes (ie. 'see you again as soon as I can afford it' (or the government will pay for me...)).
So off we flew to Paris! It was so great that we were all going together....like a sweet girl's weekend away before the real travel began! So we were met at the airport by Julianne, Stephanie, Lisa and Denise with a big wonderful sign welcoming us! And croissants...yum. We had a fantastic time trying to find our hotel whilst dodging the world's largest raindrops (we had to go all the way to France to find rain...). Then on Tuesday, we found a free walking tour and walked all over Paris with a huge group of other Anglophones. We saw virtually everything from the outside for two seconds...so I'll go back...:) But I did go up to the Arc de Triomph and the Tour Eiffel (first level). Then we met up with Julianne and went to see the Eiffel Tower at night, right on the hour, so we could see it sparkle! It was sooooo wonderful!
Wednesday we went to Versailles in the morning (rain) and then the Louvre in the afternoon (sun). Then I met Steph outside the Louvre to see their school, the Pantheon, and then meet Julianne and the other Redeemer girls. The off to the Luxembourg Gardens with some delicious pastries to ruin my dinner! We went all together for dinner in this cute little Italian/French restaurant but there we said goodbye to Chloe, Melissa, and Carolyn:( Saaaaaaad.
Thursday I met up with Stephanie to use her internet and to see what I was allowed to of the Foyer where she lives...very nice! Then we went off to meet Phoebe, Adina, and Phoebe's other friend Laura at Notre Dame. I said goodbye to Stephanie (who is now in Italy with Natalie and Julianne) and went to tour the famous Cathedral! I went into the treasury to see the crown of thorns and an authentic piece of the cross....could be...it was a beautiful day and we walked through the gardens as well and went across that one bridge with all the souvenirs and such...
And then we flew off to Barcelona!

Journey to the Centre of the ... Industrial Revolution

Today we had took a rockin' awesome field trip to Telford/ Iron Bridge/ Coalbrookedale, which is practically in Wales...
To get there, we took an equally rockin' awesome mini bus and jaaaaaam packed 16 of us in it! And you know how I feel about British roads...lets just say, if I didn't have Ben to laugh at, I would have been toast.
The weather was kind of blah - couldn't decide if it wanted to rain or be sunny, that was too bad, but we spent most of our time inside anyway.
Our first stop was to the Victorian Village in Telford. It is a restored mining/Iron producing town and it had a foundry, bank, pub, sweet shop, bakery, all that...the bank actually changes money into Victorian coins that you can use to shop in the village, very cool. We got to see some iron being poured and some coke and other bits being melted down, and we also saw some blacksmithing with the help of a steam engine. Steam engines=a big deal (I should actually be studying about them right now instead of writing this!)
We made some nice new friends as well - the fellas at the print shop - they decided I should come live and work with them because I have small fingers. Which I could lose in the machinery...super. Our other friend lived in the mine Manager's house and was making some delcious lunch when we popped in. She told us some nice stories about doctors and sub-letting rooms in the Victorian period, as well as her travels to Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Lovely.
We were actually pretty Victorian today - we ate homemade bread from the bakery; Chloe, Melissa, Carolyn and I dressed up in Victorian evening wear and got our photos taken, and a bunch of the others learned pub songs. Good day so far.
Then we hopped back in ye old mini bus to brave the roads again. We weaved and careened our way over to Jakefield across the Severn River and toured the Tile Museum there. That was a cool museum, very well done. And I think tiles are cool now...probably the biggest fan.
Back in the bus, across the Severn again, off to Iron Bridge.
Guess what we saw here? A great bridge, no, not made of wood or steel, but made of IRON! Wow...clever name. This was the world's first bridge of iron and it was built here by Abraham Darby III in 1777-79. Kind of a big deal...anyway, it was built here because Iron Bridge (used to be called Coalbrookedale) was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, producing iron and other materials from its fantastic deposits of raw materials. Floods a lot though...Iron Bridge does...
We stopped at one more museum as well which told the basic story of Iron Bridge, past, present, future, and lots of details about floods.
It was a pretty unique trip - the stops we made were fascinating and engaging. The thing is, as well, that most of what you study in England, you can find surviving examples of it semi-nearby. For example, we are studying Victorian science and everything we saw today enhanced our lessons. England is cool like that.
So apart from the claustrophobia bus, it was a super trip!

Bath Day!

Some time in the recent past, March 13? yes...Friday the 13th...again, Em, Chloe and I hopped on a train and went to visit, dun dun duhhhhhhh BATH! (pronounced Bawwwwwwth). We had the day off so we decided to make the most of it and the train system and dangerous tunnel engineered by Brunel! We knew the trip would be extra...special...when we ended up in the same car as a Hen party (a Bachelorette party) of about 12 outrageous, loud, maybe not so morally inclined ladies with pink fuzzy pompom headbands and equally pink champagne. Never a dull moment...

Charlbury-Reading-Bath Spa! (that was our route...)

Once we arrived, we somehow found ourselves in a candy shop...we had no idea where we were going...what are the odds! But that little detour happened to make us perfectly on time for a free walking tour of Bath! That was a fluke too...we're just lucky...so armed with sweets and a knowledgable tour guide from ...Manchester?? whatever...we made our way around beautiful Bath!

One cool thing about Bath: it is a World Heritage City, there aren't many of those...and you know the ancient Romans? yea, they hung out here, chillin in the bawwwwwths.

There are actually three hot srpings in Bath and the water is actually really hot! I forget the amount, but the important thing is that tonnes of water gets pumped naturally into the baths every day!

On our tour, we saw the Abbey, the Roman Baths, the Pump Room (Jane Austen, anyone?), The King and Queen's Baths, the Cross Bath and some other bath that was for the poorer classes. Yes, Bath became popular because of the healing properties of the hot springs - but I tried the water...no good, no good at all! 46 minerals plus warm temperature...think about that.

Wouldn't you love to go sit in a bath that thousands of skin-conditioned, ill, moulding, sore, and medical-mystery types had been chillin in in the nude for centuries? Doesn't that sound neato!? Don't worry...the water is fresh every day...and there is a brand new state of the art spa for ya'll:)

Anywho, the tour continues...

Queen's Square - beautiful Palladian facade, but looks a bit like a dog's dinner from the back..., The Circus, The Royal Cresent (WOW!)

Interject cool story about Cresent: John Wood, the architect, liked everything to look uniform, that's why he did facades. The Royal Cresent is actually 33 homes, but the lovely Palladian facade makes it look like a unit. Very nice. BUT! All the front doors are painted white, except one - a nice light yellow one. Story goes that 10 or so minutes before the law came in that all the doors must be white, the crazy old lady living in the house painted her door yellow. When she got in trouble, she went all the way to the House of Lords to fight for her yellow door! And she won! So she left it in her will that whoever owns that house MUST keep the door yellow...you go girl!

And now back to the tour...

The Assembly Rooms, for balls, and tea parties, etc., the Gravel Walk (mentioned in Persuasion) and the Georgian Gardens, the Hospital (another one, we saw St. John's earlier in the tour) which is now a research building. And I think that was it...

Then we kept walking and found the Grand Parade, the Pulteney Bridge, Laura Place, Great Pulteney Street, Henrietta Park, the Holburne Museum of Art, and the Bath Rugby stadium...and the Huntsmen, where we had dinner...I love Bath.

A Brief Response to the Recently Released British Film entitled 'The Young Victoria' depicting the Early Life of England's Longest Reigning Monarch

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, what a beautiful film!
It will make girls sigh and guys jump off a bridge. Classic.
Maybe someday it will come out in Canada...

Homies from Home!

In a sense...

From 6-8 March, my not so ghetto friends (from Redeemer) came to visit for the weekend from France! Yes, Steph and Julianne took a nice little break away from hectic Paris life to take in the English countryside! It's only a hop, skip and jump, really. Naturally they were charmed!

So they stayed with Marion and Andrew (saved the day at the last minute! love you both!) and they got on great! We tried to make the most of Saturday - pain au chocolat pour dejeuner, then off for a typical 'life with Sarah' jog to the train station. Thankfully we met a good Samaritan on the way who gave us a ride! I just hopped right in the car and Ju and Steph followed believing that I knew the people! Ha! never met 'em before in my life! We did a solid Oxford tour and then had dinner at the Eagle and Child, 'cause you gotta.

Interjection: have you ever had Sticky Toffee Pudding? Do it, best thing of life!

Meanwhile, back to the story.

One thing that surprised me was how much it had all become every day for me! Ju and Steph were going nuts with photos; it's not like the magic has worn off, but I may have been taking for granted how cool my new school is;) They kindly reminded me...

The weather was perfect as well, and the flowers were all blooming! And we saw two protests! Communists and Animal Rights...never a dull moment...

Then we went back to Charlbury, ate toast (yes that is important enough to include in a blog), went to the local pub (very English experience - we HAD to do it;)) and then watched The Illusionist with most of the other girls - we also had some chocolate heart attack - chocolate ice cream, brownies, and mars bars chopped up on top!

Sunday morning we had another 'life of Sarah' experience and were late for church, and then got caught in a rainstorm on the way to our Sunday lunch host's home, yippee-do-dah.

We (Ju, Steph, and I) went to Howard and Jan's house for lunch, and they are just the most wonderful, hospitable people! And Jan was born in Manitoba and they lived in Toronto for 18 years - whoa connections!

Another Interjection: Sunday lunch is another one of the best things in life (more on that later)

And then, Howard drove us into Oxford so the girls could catch their airport shuttle...I was sad to see them go!

It was really great to have them come for a visit! I love where I am and there's never anyone to show it off to! We had such a super time!

Now I'll go see them in April! Booked my ticket already:)

London Calling...

Hmmm...so I've been getting a little lazy in my blogging habits...my bad. Let's just say that I have a really exciting life and am therefore entitled to be a bit behind...:)
So. The very last weekend of February, the whole group of us + Mad and Marion went to LONDON! for four days. London gets an ! behind it because it is one of the most wonderful cities I have ever been to - Rome and Amsterdam also in the running...
We took the train up (fact: if you go in groups of four or so, you can get much cheaper tickets! England supports communities and making friends...) right into London Paddington, home of, dun dun duhhhhhh Paddington Bear! Awwww (pause to reminisce on your happy Paddington memories...). All I can remember of the next hour or so is running everywhere yelling about southbound/northbound/eastbound/westbound/circle line/tube tube TUBE! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the London Underground.
We found our hostel right outside of the Great Portland Street Tube station - International Student House, complete with almost free breakfast, almost free bar, almost reliable internet, and almost hot water! Actually, I really liked the place. For all its quirks, I liked the atmosphere and everything was clean - and my room had hot water, I was willing to splurge on jam for breakfast and I didn't need the internet for anything so I was golden!
After our check-in, we hit the tubes and the streets to find the V&A - the Victoria and Albert Museum. I think they said this museum was intended to house pretty things - I'm sure they would include a smelly sock if it was all done up in lace and dipped in gold...regardless, we took a tour through the fashion section and then the British section so see the development of writing materials through the ages. Our guide was a hoot! And we saw lots of...tables. Good times.
Then the girls stuck up their noses and walked into Harrod's to do a bit of drooling! Harrod's, yes. Red carpets outside with doormen. Security guards inside. And Jimmy Choo shoes on the second floor! For those who don't know, it is a GIGANTIC super high class department store - Louis Vuittin, Chanel, Gucci, all those cool dudes...anyone want to buy me shoes for 500 pounds??
We found Jules Chicken for supper... (o, ps. we saw the most beautiful boy in the entire world - yes, that is significant;) just ask Carolyn...)our V&A guide recommended it, had some great food and then all got changed in the washroom - all the other restaurant guests were pretty shocked to see us come out one by one all dressed up - we were going to the opera!
Carmen the Opera was playing in the round in the Royal Albert hall. Everything in this area of London is named after Prince Albert (whom I just adore because we went to see The Young Victoria in the cinema...probably will never come out in Canada, sorry about your luck!) so the whole area is affectionately called Albertonia. Carmen is the story of a gypsy woman who is not particularily morally inclined who captures the heart of a (mildly irritating and pathetic) soldier. It ends sadly, but it was very well performed! Drama, drama, drama
Friday morning we headed over to the Museum of Natural History to pay a visit to Darwin. We stopped in to see the Dinosaurs...with all the 9/10 year old boys! There was a big robotic T-Rex and I saw it the same time as one of the little guys and we said "T-REX!!!" at the same time...no jokes! Who's the mature one...The Darwin exhibit was really cool, but very one-sided, as in evolution or nothing. That was a bit frustrating.
Then we went to the Parliament buildings and the National Portrait Gallery.
The portrait gallery was pretty neat - the Ditchley Portrait was there, and it was fascinating to see how the portrayal of people and style of portrait painting changed!
At the Parliament Buildings, we got a personal tour. Security was super tight getting in but that was it...you think they'd roll out the red carpet for us colonial types...but no. We saw the House of Lords (red, like our senate) and the House of Commons (green, like ours) - and the connections to our parliament buildings was acutely obvious. Kind of cool. But they were much more ornate and ancient, of course.
And that night, Phoebe, Emily, Chloe, Matt, Emily, Whitney and I went to see Wicked! The Musical. People, that is the best thing I have EVER seen! I laughed, I cried, I shrieked, I sang! It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much fun.
Saturday we spent the whole day at the National Gallery, just spending quality time with della Francesca, Lippi, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Picasso, Monet, Constable, Turner...those guys. *Sigh* what a beautiful place. And then Phoebs and I watched Slumdog Millionaire on ths silver screen...great film. Brilliant.
Fun Underground moment: Carolyn and Melissa got stuck next to this ancient, totally hammered old man on the tube and he decided to sing to them and become quite emotionally attached. Not good. When they could, they moved over to where the rest of us girls were standing but he followed. So at our stop, me, who was pretty emotionally wound from Slumdog quickly jumped out of the train and I somehow imagined that this freaky old man got off the train with us so I did the logical thing- I screamed and ran. And this convinced the other girls that he was following so they screamed and ran as well! How to handle a crisis 101. Well done.
Sunday morning we meandered over to St. Paul's basilica for the service. I'll be honest, this was one of the most beautiful, fulfilling services I have ever been to. It also helped that we were in England's biggest church, a Christopher Wren masterpiece, sitting under the third largest dome in the world! We got very informative programmes so we could follow along, and everyone was so kind. There was also a beautiful choir complete with choirboys with voices like angels.
After the service we found a pub and had a solid English Sunday lunch complete with Yorkshire pudding. And then we took a walking tour on which we saw the Thames, London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, The Scoop, The Belfast, the Globe Theatre, the Golden Hind, so much...
The thing about London is that when I say 'England' all the pictures that pop up in your head (I assume) are located in London - The London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster, etc. It's a wonderful city just exploding with history while being distinctly modern at the same time. I would live there forever...

An Ode to British Roads

O British roads you make me ill.
You have too many bends and too many hills,
Driving you takes too much skill!
O British roads, you make me ill.

O British roads you make me queasy,
My poor little stomach can never rest easy!
I'm sorry if this poem is cheesy,
But British roads just make me queasy!

O British roads you make me moan!
And I know in this I'm not alone!
We try to smile but can only groan,
Because British roads just make us moan.

O British roads make me insane,
I'm so glad we take the train!
It's often late but causes less pain!
O British roads make me insane!

Italy - Student Style (Part IV - Pisa-England)

On the train again, o I just can't wait to get on the train again...
actually, the train ride from Rome to Pisa was my favourite by far because the track went right along the sea for quite some time. It was absolutely picturesque!
Pisa itself was kind of dull, we spent most of the day at the piazza with the Leaning Tower and all that - the weather was fantastic, we made some friends...for better or worse, took some touristy pushing/holding tower photos, toured the church and ate more gelato! It was my last one so I got 5 scoops:) Don't judge.
Then we headed off for pizza, then back to the hotel for our last night in Italy! It was nice to have a hotel for our last stop...Pisa is not so good with the hostels anyway. But it was nice and quiet, I got a nice shower and a clean bed! AND I got to watch Walker, Texas Ranger in Italian! wow! Chucko Norriso?
Sunday: home day. Breakfast was super and then we packed up and walked (yes, walked:O) over to the airport to fly home! We left at 11am and made it all the way back to Charlbury by 3:30pm! Brilliant!
Good times in Italy for sure...

Italy - Student Style (Part III - Roma)

I love Rome. What a great absolutely ancient city! You could just be walking, turn a corner, and BAM! The Colosseum!
So Phoebe and I showed up in the dark and tried to avoid the homeless and beggars outside the gigantic Termini train station and pretend we knew where we were going - we did find a nice man to point us in the right direction...so we showed up at our first hostel and found that we were overbooked so they moved us down the road to another hostel. That worked out alright...made some new friends, watched some music videos, and ended up being the only girls in the all boys dorm...dang overbooking. That resulted in some pretty awkward, humorous times! The next day, we moved on to the Alessandro Downtown hostel to meet up with our SPICE program buddies. That was a legit hostel! It was great! We got free breakfast and pasta for dinner and met all kinds of great people!
We spent that first full day in Rome freezing to death walking under the Roman palm trees and touring Vittorio Emmanuel's memorial which was really beautiful. And becase we couldn't get enough of the cold wind, we went to look around the Colossuem as well. Wow. Just being able to see that, this ancient, fascinating, troubled structure and hearing its loooooong and varied story, was amazing. We spent a long time there - we had to get our monies worth! And we took tons of photos...good times. Then we went back for our free pasta, which was decent. and FREE, that's the important thing.
Thursday we walked over to the Vatican...we are walk pros...it was only all the way across the city, no big. It was pretty cool, but I was hoping that they would check my passport since it is its own country, but no luck. So we dressed appropriately and get through security and went into St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world. Apparently Peter, the first pope is buried under the basilica, you can actually see the valut and the mosaic covering his grave. The church was interesting...but honestly, I felt like I was in a Pope-shrine. It was absolutely overwhelming, all decorated to the max with precious stones, marble, gold, and whatnot. A lot to take in. Then we got lost on our way to the Sistene Chapel (hint: follow the large crowd of people), but we found a fantastic bakery! So we lucked out. And so with our chocolate croissants, we headed off for the Papal Palace to see the Sistene Chapel and all that. So you know, you can't just meander over to the Chapel, you need to go through EVERY exhibit to get there, but it's ok, because the other museums are fantastic! Gallery of maps, Raphael's Rooms, all sorts of stuff with frescoes by THE artists of the day, so that was alright. Of course you were allowed to take pictures everywhere except the Sistene Chapel, isn't that right mister NO FOTO! Jeepers. So while we gawked at Michelangelo's Creation of Adam and the like, we entertained ourselves by counting the number of people taking pictures compared to the number who actually got caught...those illegal photographers were the winners by far:). I won't say if I took any... :) Afterwards, we walked to the Pantheon to check out the hole in the ceiling. The outside was pretty dingy, but I guess that's allowed becuase it is absolutely ancient...the oculous was HUGE though and very impressive, but I would avoid it in a rainstorm...then we got some gelato:) That night, Phoebs and I met up with her cousin Hilary who was in Rome on business, what are the odds. She's great! Good times...
Friday we went to St. Sebastien's catacombs. Like the Colossuem, this was an incredible portal back to the time of the early church. There were carvings of the fish symbol and the names of Peter and Paul etched into the walls. There were also Roman mausoleums with the ashes of aristocratic Romans still in the urns with ancient fresoes decorating the walls. In total, I think these catacombs go down about 7 levels and there are 100,000 graves in total... we only got to see a small part but that was incredible! The museum on top was full of sarcophagi that had been uncovered in the catacombs, and other trinkets and decorations. And in the catacombs, you can see the clefts in the walls where people were buried, and look down the long halls and see more and more rows. It was surprisingly warm down there...the stone is volcanic and it was soft and moist. I'm claustraphobic but it was alright...I think the fact that I was down in ancient catacombs captured my attention instead. The church on top of the catacombs was built by...Constantine. How cool. So that was a good time. On the way back into the city I tried a Roman experience...I bought a panini from a roadside stand. Not recommended - go to a bakery or something. Ew. When we got back to the Colosseum, we split up so Jaime, Cherylyn, Phoebe and I could attempt to break into the Roman Forum (ancient ruins). In all honesty, we bought the tickets but they expired the day before (we were 15 minutes late- boo). So we got in line, tried to look like retarded tourists and they let us in! The Roman Forum is great, extra great because of our mildly illegal entry...it's all ruins of ancient temples, roads, palaces, and the like and it is HUGE! The weather finally matched the palm trees so we had a lovely walk around, it was what dreams are made of. Then we headed off to the Trevi fountain and the Spanish Steps. Made some wishes at the fountain and played some Crazy Eights on the Steps, headed back to the fountain and got some, o...gelato:) Friday was also Jess's birthday (one of the SPICE girls:p) so Amber, Jaime, Jess and I bought some fresh pasta, pesto, tomatoes and wine (and lemons we picked right off the trees) and made a rocking awesome Italian meal of our own! Pasta tastes so much better in Italy...then we went to the grocery store and bought some cake and ate it at McDonalds (everthing else was closed...it may have been pretty late...). Good party times...
Saturday morning, the SPICE girls left to return to the Netherlands:( We definitely had some super times and Phoebs and I were sad to see them go!
Then we left for Pisa...last stop...

Italy - Student Style (Part II - Venezia)

So from Florence, we took the train for a couple hours to, dun dun dunnn! Venice! Known locally as Venezia. I will admit, I was most nervous about Venice because it is an island, and there are no actual roads, etc. But we needed to see it before it sunk...:p. We had superb directions to our hostel but that was it for that good luck...we dropped off our bags and went to find St. Mark's Square...easier said than done! We wandered for ages...there were signs everywhere for it but still...some of the 'roads' look just like alleyways so you think that it cannot possibly be the way you have to go, but it most possibly is...
Somehow, we ended up going on the first day of Carnival! Carnival is a HUGE deal in Venice, it runs the week before Lent beings (ends on Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday). The closer we got to St. Mark's Square, the more we saw people dressed up in outrageous costumes! The Veneitians live for Carnival! I don't even know how to describe it besides amazing! All the costumes were incredible, some were just out of this world! St. Mark's Square, which is usually chalk full of pigeons was now chalk full of people instead, all singing, speaking different languages, dressed in costumes or taking pictures. There was a big garden set up at one end with a lion made of a shrub and beautiful lights, etc. It was so people could have a special place to parade around and feel all carnivally, they even played lovely nature/dream music. Wow.
Phoebe and I mostly wandered Venice, stumbling upon random concerts in the street and all kinds of fun stuff. We were lost about 80% of the time, but it was ok because there was so much to see, and how far away can you get really!? It's a island...
We also went to check out a cathedral and a free Vivaldi exhibit...Venice is super expensive, but there is so much that can just be looked at! :) I bought a mask...but I lost it in Rome so that was depressing, but I was mildly carnivally for a bit! In that garden thing in St.Mark's Square, we watched a tango party happening - a bunch of couples were on stage dancing, it was really cool and they have mad skills! We also saw three dinosaurs running around the square - they were performers from the Netherlands providing some carnival worthy entertainment. They were very agile and had nimble and they were a hoot to watch!
Venice was really neat. It is really unusual (it being as island and all), but so beautiful and QUIET! That was strange...no sirens...
Off to Roma!

Italy - Student Style (Part I - Firenze)

First thing you should know: it is very difficult to be a student and a tourist at the same time. Having no money has the ability to prevent one from participating to the full extent of what a place has to offer, but it also allows one to be creative and find alternatives, and hey, pictures are free, right!?!
So for our half-term break, Phoebe and I headed off to Italy from the 13th to the 22nd.
We had a very bad start. Our essays and reports were due on the 13th, but our flight was leaving from Birmingham at 6:50am on that very day, so we had to be done on the Thursday. Side point, but a very important one: MY ASSIGNMENTS WERE THE FIRST ONES IN! I know that's mind-blowing enough for you all, but wait, there's more to come.
So Phoebe was going mad trying to finish her stuff on time, finally handed it in and ran home to pack in half an hour - Mad was going to drive us to Banbury (still Thursday night). I was going mad trying to fit all my junk in one backpack while trying to come to terms with the fact that we only had our flights and the first hostel booked! Diving in blind...We made it to Banbury on time to catch our bus to Birmingham (thanks Mad!) and then found a comfy spot (haha joke) in the airport to sleep for about 4 hours. Around 4am we stopped pretending to sleep and went to check-in then we flew out at 6:50am on the o-so-high-class Ryanair.
Dun dun duh da duh da da! We made it to Italy ahead of schedule!
We landed in Pisa at the Galileo Galilei airport and then went to look around for a train to take us to Florence. The train ride was uneventful until the dude came to check our tickets. "Bonjourno!" we said hello, it seemed like we could all be friends. But then..."Problemo". Sarah and Phoebe the exhausted student travellers had forgotten to validate their tickets! Big Problemo. It would have been great if we had known we had too. So we got a fine...Italy was not my friend so far.
It didn't get better either. We left the train station and wandered a bit when we got to Florence. Wandering is bad if you don't have a map and you are in an unfamilar city in an unfamiliar country. So it took us ages to find the train station back so we could find our hostel, which we still couldn't because Florence has black (residential) and red (commercial) numbers and we needed to find a commercial/residential building. When we finally found it, no one was there so we had to call and then wait, wait, wait till the owner came. We were the only people in the 'hostel' which was really just a bunch of rooms. But that was ok because honestly, we went to sleep right away (3:30pm) and got up the next morning at 9. It's a vacation, right?
We spent day 2 at the Gallerie delgi Uffizi looking at incredible works of art - Botticelli's, Michelangelo's, Raphael's, van der Weyden's, Rembrandt's...you know...those guys. I loved it, what a fantastic, ancient place!
Then we went to the Ponte Vecchio which is an enclosed bridge that has shops growing off the sides of all colours, it's incredible to see! It also has the Vasari corridor on top which was used by the Medicis, whom I love.
And then we got Pizza! Totally allowed...we were in Italy! O, then we got Gelato to celebrate Valentine's Day and sat in the Piazza de Signoria to watch all the lovey-dovey couples. How sweet.
When we got sick of valentine's mush, (o, and we were freezing to death) we headed back to our hostel and found that there were four new guests. So I decided to have a chat with the two also staying in our room and low and behold! They go to DORDT! Cherylyn and Jamie were on break from the SPICE Programme to the Netherlands (I was toally going to go on that programme!). What are they odds that we would end up in the same country/city/hostel? Totally a God thing...I'll be honest, I feel better in bigger groups of people! I'm bad at one on one. We also met Amber and Jess from Dordt and Calvin respectively who were also on the SPICE Programme and kindof travelling with the other two. Wow.
So we spent the next day - Phoebe, Me, Jamie, and Cherylyn- touring the Academia Gallery (home of Michelangelo's David), took some photos, which may not have been 100% legal...saw the Medici-Riccardi Palace, crossed the Ponte Vecchio to check out the Pitti Palace, met up with Jess and Amber, and went to the Piazza de Michelangelo. There was a great view of the city from there and we followed some nuns to a church where we got a free organ concert and the chance to look at some incredible architecture and artwork! Then we attempted to find Fort Belvedere by climbing this never-ending hill only to find that it was closed so we headed back into the city to find the Brancacchi Chapel, home of the finest Massachio paintings. On the way we found this fantastic outdoor market, a gigantic incredible church and finally the church with the Brancacchi Chapel where we sat through a Mass before checking it out. Wow.
Day three we were up early to check out Il Duomo, the Florence cathedral with Brunelleschi's architectural wonder - the Dome. It was closed. So we came back later and climed all 463 steps up to the dome. That was very cool, but I am mildly claustrophobic so it was an adventure...we got a great view of the city and the mountains in the distance...just chilling on the dome that revoltionised architecture during the Renaissance...
Then Phoebe and I caught the train to Venice!
Florence was amazing...dirty and noisy, but the amount of history and culture that is there everywhere is astounding! Recommended.

"We haven't seen snow like this since...2009!?!?"

This past week, the dwellers of the United Kingdom, the rainy frontier, learned what it is to be eskimos, and gained immense respect for Canadians.
(The picture shows snowy Charlbury)
Monday= 'snow storm' by British standards - London shut down, here in the Cotswolds we had about 4 centimetres of snow (school is not cancelled).
Tuesday= 'snow storm' with freezing rain (every other school is closed except Oxford...probably).
Wednesday= more snow but not a lot of accumulation (still no snow day! cruelty at its meanest).
Thursday=fantastic day. We started off by being woken up around 7:30am by Ben who was hollering about the amount of snow outside. There was actually a huge amount by British standards – like 4 inches! By 8, Ben was out sledging (sledding) already! Phoebe and I were REALLY hoping for a snow day. No luck. But we were in charge of leading chapel because Reverend Mike was out of town. So we showed up early at the church to toss something together! Last minute? Not us. We started with Roses and Thorns, then Jesus, Lover of my Soul, a devotional by Syd about rest in weakness, prayer, and How Deep the Father’s Love for Us. All in all, I think it went really well. Then we took our time getting to the train station- a bunch of our group got into a serious snowball fight with some of the local kids (most schools were closed) –I think we started it-, assuming that the train would be abominably late. It was not. We RAN. But this time, we made it. As we rode along and tried to catch our breath, we saw piles of people sledging down the hills in towns along the track. Happy snow day everyone else. Blast.
We got to Oxford about and hour and a half before lunch so I went to the Upper Rad Cam to do some more work on Margaret Cavendish. Essays due Friday the 13th! Blech.
Lunch at RPC was soooo delicious! Some kind of delicious creamy vegetable soup (no chunks) with noodles and big meat balls! With fresh bread on the side! And dessert! Sherry Trifle. Sherry Trifle, Sherry Trifle. Whipped cream (so much better here), custard, and jello with Sherry. It was yummy. And to top it all off, we had a gigantic snowball fight with our fellow students here. It lasted super long and everyone got SOAKED! What a hoot! When it was all over, there was no snow left in the quad - the ground was bare, the trees and bushes were stripped, and the poor snowman was sacrificed for the cause.
In fact, everywhere you went in Oxford or Charlbury, people threw snowballs at you! So you threw snowballs right back...what a great day!
It took a long time for my feet to get nice and warm again! I almost caught my death like poor Prince Albert!, my feet were wet aaaaaaall day – should have worn my Wellies!
Friday= Soooo much potential for a snow day, but instead, our instructor John took the train to us in Chralbury and we had a super short intensive lecture. How depressing. But our co-op lunch, prepared by Phoebe's group, was delicious! Afterwards, Carolyn, Melissa, Chloe and I decided to go sledging rather than study for our exam the next day. (Oh, I should not have said that!) So we found this ancient sled in the basement of Chloe and Melissa's house and christened it 'the family heirloom'. It took us a bit to find the hill...we ended up meeting Laura, Kev and Ben on the way and had a brief snowball war...everyone against Ben. Eventually getting to the hill, we were anxious to try out the family heirloom. Chloe volunteered to do the test run. No luck, what a terrible sled! Haha...it was soo rusty! But we were determined so we pulled the sled down the hill ourselves! By this time, the people around us were paying attention to our ridiulousness and everyone was just having a jolly good time laughing at us! It was really funny! We found this manky piece of insulation at the bottom of the hill and decided to test its aerodynamics...much more success with this one! Melissa had a good run to. Me, not so much. I was about 4x the length of the insulation and probably broke my shoulder from the impact of diving onto it. I think I made it about 10ft down the hill. All in all, it was glorious fun.
Saturday= Exam #1 on Early Modern Life Writings. I think it went fairly well.
Sunday= Sunday lunch. Yum, thank you Sue!
Monday= Exam #2 on Early Modern Art and Architecture. I think it went fairly well.
Now everything is a blur - just write papers. How odious.
Friday the 13th= ITALY!

Sights and Sounds of Oxford

So yesterday we took a walking tour of Oxford to check out the art and architecture. Of course, this place in ancient and the first college we visited, Balliol College, was opened in 1263...you know...basically yesterday. It is a beautiful place, lovely quads, gardens, and Mediaeval Architecture.
Stop 2: Exeter College. This is where J.R.R. Tolkein went to school and there is a bronze bust of him on the way to the chapel. It was estbalished in 1314, but the oldest part left, Palmer's Tower, was built in 1432. And the chapel. Wow. Google it or something because it is absolutely gorgeous!
Stop 3: Brasenose College, established in 1509. It got it's peculiar name from a statue that lost it's nose - 'Brazen' 'Nose' = 'Brasenose. And you thought everyone here was a genius...
Stop 4: University Church of St. Mary's. Pretty sure every chuch here is named St. Mary's. Well here in Oxford, there has been a church on this site since the 1100's. Dang.
Stop 5: Magdalen College (remember to pronouce it "Modlin"). Established in 1453 and C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll both attended here. It has the tower with the famous dreamy spires and it's right along the river. It's absolutely beautiful and there is a deer park with live deer - duh. Still cool. And there is a gigantic tree out back that apparently inspired Carroll's rabbit hole for Alice in Wonderland. And Addison's Walk - wow.
Stop 6: New College - coooool place! First of all, 'new' in this instance means nothing. It was established in 1379 - maybe that was new once upon a time. There is an ancient Roman wall that runs through the campus as well which is fantastic and then there is a great mound on the quad that was said to be a burial ground during the Black Plague. If you're ever in the area, you should go up to the mound and clap. Sounds retarded, but the strangest thing happens - when you clap, the sound echoes as a squeak. It's so bizarre! In the chapel there is a very strange statue to Lot's wife turning back and turning into salt. And in the quad between the cloisters has this great old tree that was used in Harry Potter - where Draco turns into the weasel. I touched it! Haha! The cloisters were also in the film - they were pretty freaky though, dark, with creepy statues.
Stop 7: Keble College: what a wierd looking school! It's a Victorian structure, red/yellow/blue brick instead of the gorgeous stone that all the other schools are made of. One thing that is cool is that in the chapel, there is a painting by Holman Hunt called 'The Light of the World' and it is just gorgeous. It's the original. Sweet deal.
So that was our tour...Now you can imagine what I see everyday!

And I thought I was busy BEFORE!

Friends, (we are reading George Fox - the man who started the Quaker movement and he called everyone 'Friend'- I think that's nice...and I can apply my learning;))
I am busy. But I'm still having FUN! Let me tell you...
This past week has been great, the weather - not soo good, but people say the third week is always the worst – for homesickness, for all kinds of stuff – like the honeymoon is over. I will admit, Week 3 has been...unique. First of all, I missed the train Monday morning so I stayed in Charlbury all day and read John Bunyan’s Grace Abounding for the Chief of Sinners and drank tea- loads of tea. The weather was dreary all week and I had a never-ending headache. Then on Tuesday my group had a meeting to plan our meal for Friday so we decided to have it at the pub. Wednesday we went to another pub for the quiz (second place this week), and Thursday we went to the Eagle and Child again because Phoebs and Em hadn’t been there yet. Then that night we went to Mad’s house to make our food for our Friday Co-op meal – chicken pot pie. And then on Friday we had our last Art and Architecture class with Glena :(and then we ate our delicious Chicken Pot Pie!
Friday afternoon, Chloe, Phoebe and I caught the train to Oxford to go to our first football (soccer) practice (called 'training' here)! We had to get some boots (cleats) but I was able to borrow some, Phoebs brought hers, and Chloe bought some - she has teensy feet! I don't know if I mentioned this already, but we joined the Regent's Park/Balliol College club football team. It was so great! The girls on the team are super and skilled so it looks like it will be a good season, and we Canadians could contribute - they were really happy we came out! So that was encouraging. Then when we trained it back to Charlbury, we ended up in the same coach as Sue's eldest son, Sean - it was pretty funny because Phoebe and I thought he looked familiar and he had seen pictures of us so we all sort of knew eachother - it was a bit awkward, the whole 'are you who I think you might be' but we got over that quick - he's a hoot just like the rest of the family. That night Phoebe and I went over to watch Blackadder II with Chloe. O my word. What a FUNNY show! You all must watch it!
SATURDAY! Good things always happen on Saturday...so far.
This time we went to Stratford-on-Avon: the Birthplace of the Bard (Shakespeare)!
We saw Anne Hathaway's cottage, Hall's Croft (where his daughter and her husband lived), Nash's House and New Place (the site of Shakespeare's house - it was destroyed by a history/English student hater) and then the birthplace itself. It was actually pretty incredible to see exactly where the great man was born -and all the signatures of famous people who had been there...in the 18th century...
One of our favourite things is...SCONES! so we stopped at a little tea shop and I had some Stratford tea (delicious) and a big delicious scone with strawberry preserve and clotted cream. Stop drooling;)
We also saw St. Mary's church where Shakespeare is buried - cool, but shrine-ish.
On Saturday night, Phoebe and I went to the 1st Annual Charlbury Beerfest with Sue and Dave. One icon of British culture is bitter beer and that was being replaced by international lagers, so some concerned British citizens instituted CAMRA which is basically the campaign to reinstate REAL ales. How nice. So that was pretty cool.
On Sunday, we had a fellow Regent's Park student preach (it is part ministerial school) and then we headed off to Sunday lunches hosted by members of the Charlbury community. Emily MacIssac and I went to the Lethbridge's house (yes, that city in Alberta is named after their ancestor- I'm famous by association) and had a lovely time - we had lamb, veggies, roast potatoes and Queen's Pudding for dessert! Life kinda rocks over here!
And then Monday, IT SNOWED!
The poor Brits didn't know what to do! London had it bad and the whole city shut down! It's actually still snowing...how bizarre!
Well I could use a snow day! We've got our first exam this Saturday and the next one on Monday! Blech.

2nd Week...Gone like Frank Sinatra, like Elvis and his Mom

I can't believe this week is gone already! It whizzed - like seriously! But it was phenomenal! Classes were great - we had a special lecture by a pro in Tudor to Stuart homes and he went through the loooooong history of the development of the home. On Monday we had chats with Lynn (in charge of international students at Regent's Park) to set academic goals - played some fooseball...not getting any better! On Wednesday we had dinner and games at Peter and Kay's house - it was great! Chicken Curry is THE meal here in England - everybody either eats it or talks about eating it! It's good stuff! (Mild, though...I'm a big wimp) THEN... Phoebs and I ran over to the quiz to join up with our team, which this time included Laura (Sue's daughter) and her boyfriend Kev. O yes...WE WON! ahahaha! The quiz included a section on Canadian trivia which Phoebs and I could actually answer (you know...capital, largest city, population, etc.). Rocked that...

And then we went home and booked some tickets for Half-term break...to Italy! YEAY BABY!

Thursday Phoebe and I had Emily and Lisa over for a movie party - we watched Mamma Mia and sang all the songs and laughed our brains out! That is such a great film.

And Friday Chloe, Melissa (both from ABU), Phoebe and I went to Formal Hall at Regent's. It was really great, but it was supposed to be Burn's night and we were supposed to have Haggis...alas not. We had fish. And I sat by the heater because I was freeeezing. But the window above the heater was broken. So I froze regardless! Then we went to the JCR for a pub quiz afterparty. We totally bombed that one! We made some British friends who tried to help us out - but we failed...but everyone cheered loudest for us! Gotta love those Canadians...

Saturday was the most insanely super day so far!

#1 we went to Broughton Castle in Banbury area (home of Lord and Lady Saye and Sele (the Fiennes'). This was where they filmed parts of Shakespeare in Love and the lead male actor in that film (Shakespeare) is Joseph Fiennes, the nephew of Lord and Lady Saye. Wowza. So Lord Saye gave us the tour...he is a hoot! And he took us everywhere and showed us everything, including where they live in the castle. I got to wear some medieval armour...I would be an awful knight...the armour weighed more than I did and when I put it on, I shrunk because the helmet was so dang heavy! Not my calling. We even went into the little room where one Lord Saye and a bunch of friends conspired against King Charles I with Oliver Cromwell! I was in the same room where Cromwell was! Love him! Jokes...I just wrote a 16page paper on him...that's the extent of our relationship. And we went on the roof...you know. Here is us running away from the castle just like Shakespeare did...it's also what we would do if we saw Joseph Fiennes coming...he's a bad apple;) And the other one has our whole group in it plus Lord Saye (in front of Matt, who looks like a dweeb).

After the castle we went over to the church on the grounds...that too was very beautiful! And it was a super day weather wise...frost in the morning and then sunshine all day! Not too cold either!

#2 We went to Banbury to see the Lady on the Horse

Poem: Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross to see a fine lady upon a white horse. With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, she shall have music wherever she goes.

Trivia: At one point, Banbury was considered the centre of England. Cool.

#3 We went to Hook Norton to take pictures of the Brewery. But wait! We ambled over to the visitor's shop (which was actually open!) and took a look around...walked through the museum upstairs and then met a nice man who offered to show us the steam engine in the Brewery (which was closed to the public at that time). So we saw the engine, and then he just took us around the whole place - including the fermentation rooms which are off limits. He told us to stick our faces into the vats and take a deep breath...everyone smelled something...except me. O well:( So that was a cool surprise - the tour, not the demented nose part. We even went through this really low tunnel thing into a room full (top to bottom) of kegs! Ha! No samples though...

#4 We went to the Rollright Stones which has a king stone, a circle of stones, and the whispering knights stones...it is a myth about a plot on a king's life (you wouldn't know him, he lived like, 5000 years ago...) and a witch who turned the conspirators into stones...tres cool. Apparently you can never count the same number of stones in the circle twice - Ben: 66; Matt: 69; Some random dude: 63. Hmmmm

#5 On the way home, we went past one of the Top Gear guys' house...I forget which one, but don't worry family, I will find out! We're like neighbours!

#6 We had supper and made cake at Mad's house then went to see a folkish concert by at 14 year old that was pretty amazing! Her name was Judi, and she sang about the credit crunch and global warming which was really funny. Her lyrics were really beautiful.

What a day...

Sunday was an example of how putting cows, chili flakes, mud, cake, football scores and Rowan Atkinson together makes for one jolly good day! First we went to church and then Emily, Lisa, Phoebe and I hopped into our wellies and headed off to take a walk down Watery Lane. That name was not a misnomer...it was shockinly accurate! Sometimes we had trouble telling what was lane and what was creek! It was stupendous! Then the path lead us to a field. Of cows. Real, live cows. That was a hoot! No we did not get attacked, not even Phoebe who was wearing red boots! Then we went to Mad's to ice the cake we made for our host family so we could have it for Sunday lunch - which Ben made for us! It was delicious - but really spicy! That was the chili flakes...

Now here is the rated section: Man U beat Tottenham 2-1 so Ben (a HUGE Man U fan) decided that he would gloat to his Tottenham loving grandparents, so, he wrote 2-1 on his naked bum and Sue (driving), Laura (calling to tell the grandparents to look out the window), Phoebe and I (laughing our brains out) drove over so Ben could do a drive-by mooning! Ridiculous!

Then we went back home to play some cards and do some betting (just pennies;).

And finally! It was Joel's birthday (I know, Michelle's and Janny's too - but Joel is here...) so we had a surprise party at the church, ate some more chocolate cake, played some games and watched Keeping Mum (Rowan Atkinson) - which was suuuuuper funny! It was a good party.

So that was the long way of saying that I had a wicked awesome week!

And I know this one will be good to, since I'm sitting here at the Church because I missed the train! Not my fault, promise.

;)

Cheers!

One Wicked Awesome Weekend - the First of Many I'm Sure...

What a weekend! Never a dull moment here in the U.K! Friday night Phoebe and I stayed in at our house and we had Emily over to watch Shakespeare in Love in preparation of our visit to Broughton Castle next Saturday (the movie was filmed there), and had some great desserts. This was after we finished our meeting about half-term plans with Mad and had then toured some of Charlbury's shops and the library. Saturday morning, we slept in like lazy students and then decided that we would go into Oxford for the day - we came to this conclusion about 10 minutes before the next train left from Charlbury station... so we met Lisa and Emily and we RAN all the way to the station. Now it's usually a 15 minute walk, but due to our spontaneous planning, we had to make it there in 4 minutes. Thank goodness the train was held up by people loading piles of luggage! So we made it...we were shaking and gasping for breath but we were on that train! SUCCESS! But we had no tickets...
Don't worry! We just bought them in Oxford, apparently it happens all the time! Phewwww. So, Phoebe, Emily, Lisa and I headed off to check out the o-so-ethnic Cowley Road which was a long walk from the train station, but it brought us past the Botanic Gardens, Magdalen College, and all sorts of amazing sights and architecture.

Here is us gazing dreamily at the dreamy spires of Magdalen College. It was a pretty dreary day but we made the best of it - we might have to get used to dreary!
So we walked down Cowley Road...it was definitely a college student area - it was pretty exciting!
Then we decided that we were too lazy to walk back and taking the bus qualified as an Oxford experience so that's what we did.
We actually found Ben and Matt and then we all went for supper at an Irish pub (O'Neils) and watched some Rugby Heineken Cup action - all the Irish people in the pub were going for Leinster so thats what we did too...it was a blast and a half! And the food was amazing! (and CHEAP!)
And after that, we decided that we'd just head back to Charlbury so we hopped back on the train (this time with tickets) and us girls had a movie night at Charlbury Baptist Church. We watched Elizabeth.
Sunday qualified as a 'wicked awesome day'. First, we woke up to the sound of bells tolling, playing all sorts of songs. That is incredible, and what a wonderful way to wake up! Also, the sun was streaming through my windows, illuminating my purple room! Then we had a combined service at St. Mary's, the local Anglican Church, which was about a unified church. It was a fantastic service with all sorts of congergation participation (choir, sketches, a cross activity, a picture activity) and the whole group was very welcoming to us. Then we headed off to our assigned 'Sunday Lunch Hosts' for...Sunday Lunch! These were people who wanted to help out with the programme but weren't able or chose not to house students. Emily, David and I went to Martin and Claire's house and had an incredible meal! I eat waaaaay too much here...I'm pretty sure everyone rocks at cooking! And then, they took us to Woodstock so we could see Blenheim Palace! That was right at the top of my 'To See' list so that was just great! It was still sunny outside and we walked around the lake and everything was soooo gorgeous. We even saw Canada Geese! The palace was incredible!

Emily and I were pretty excited! And we thought that we looked amazing in our Wellington Boots! Unfortunatley, the Palace was closed so we could only tour the grounds, but it was fine anyway...I'll just have to go back!
And that's basically it...I was able to cross a lot of things that I wanted to see off my list, but I'm pretty sure I'll go see them all again regardless!
It's hard to believe that we've been here just over a week! What a great week though and it just promises to get better and better!
Time is going to fly...dang.

Rain, Trains, Birds and Babes, Quizzes and Shenanigans in General

It's Thursday already! Nutty. Dodgy even. That is absolutely my most favourite British word so far! But anyway, it has been such a great week so far! I can't believe I haven't even been here a full week! I'd like to say that I have a routine but that would be a laugh! Every day is new and different, and for me, always a surprise because I never take my schedule with me anywhere! O well. Classes have started and I'm really enjoying them so far. I'm taking Early Modern Life Writings and Art and Architecture this term and then after the half term break, I'll take two other classes. They are challenging but in a good way - I'm really encouraged to read my assigned reading closely and engage the texts which I definitely never do! Awful. But I'm learning:)
One of my favourite parts of the day is getting to eat lunch at Regent's Park with the other students. So far I've sat with new people every day and I always have such a great time - the students and staff are super friendly and full of advice. As well, a group of students from Georgetown in the States just came so there are some more internationals - but of course, everyone likes Canadians better;) Today we actually spent some time in the JCR (Junior Common Room) - which is the name for the group of undergraduate students but also the name of a physical room - and Matt, Phoebe and I played Fooseball with another guy from the JCR - he was from California. And he was a wicked striker - he had serious Fooseball skills. Jealous. What else...O yes. On Wednesday, a bunch of us decided that we would have dinner and a pint at the Eagle and Child (locally referred to as the 'Bird and Babe'). This pub is right around the corner from our College (Regent's Park) and it is famous because C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein and others met there every Tuesday for beers and to talk about what they were working on and toss around ideas. oooo Yeah! So I had some Bitters and Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas - you can't get more British than that!
Now, Some of you may remember me mentioning the Quiz at the Bull. There was a point where I had no idea what that was...that time has passed because I am now a fellow participant in the Quiz at the Bull every Wednesday! Basically it's a general knowldege/trivial pursuit kind of game where teams show up at the Bull (which is a Pub/Hotel) and fill in the Quiz - history, geography, pop culture, sports, etc. and then Clive marks it and the winner gets...bragging rights. :) It was sooo great! We didn't lose! ;P Our team was made up of Sue (my host), Dave (Sue's boyfriend), Ben (Sue's son), Phoebe and myself. Sue aced the Soap Operas, Ben aced the sports, Dave did history/geography/pop culture, and Phoebs and I voted when we had to make guesses! So I'm going to do some UK general knowledge research and watch loads of football with Ben and hopefully I can help out more next time!
And today, we had one class but we had chapel here in Chalbury at the Baptist Church. Reverend Mike lead it and he has one of those really great voices that doesn't require a mic - a great pastor voice! He talked about blessings, the Beatitudes and it was really encouraging - a good way to start the day! Then we headed over to Oxford for lunch and class and the Phoebe and I went to check out the covered market. It's what it sounds like - there are all sorts of shops (chocolate, flowers, clothes, restaurants, etc.) inside a building. It was great. Oxford is so beautiful and everywhere you turn there is something new to uncover.
Tomorrow is a pretty casual day and it's definitely getting warmer! But that also means rain...
Looking forward to the weekend!
Cheers!

Rain? Yes it does that here...loads and loads!

Today was our first day in Oxford!!! We had to make it to the train in Charlbury for just after 10am...I know, posh life, eh? haha. Everyone made it - even Matt and Ben who live right by it (aren't the closest ones always last??) and Phoebe and I - me who set my alarm for pm and Phoebe who ignored hers:) What a team! So we took the train into Oxford where we were met by Lynn who will be teaching us one of our courses - she's just great! and we procedeeded to do a brisk walk though most of Oxford to make it to our appointment at the Bodleian Library on time. Now my spatial ability sucks so this fast pace didn't help me pay attention to where I was! and did I mention, it was RAINING? Try not to fall of your chair in surprise! Yes rain, all day. But it wasn't cold.
So. We made it to the library - which if you didn't know, is world famous and has more books than probably the population of the UK. The granting of library cards is a pretty official ceremony, we even had to swear an oath...you can imagine - I will not deface, blah, blah, blah or set fire or flame to the premisis, blah blah blah;) and then I proceeded to sit on the throne in the Convocation Room where we were ( the room housed Parliament during the Plague, I think) when an alarm went off. Yea, oops. Actually, it was the fire alarm! pheewwww.
After that scare, we walked and walked and walked until we found Regent's Park College where we will be attending. And we had lunch, which is quite the affair every day. We met some fellow students and this whole Oxford thing seems it will be loads of fun!
Then we walked and walked and walked so more - we had a thrilling session on using the Bodleian Library (kidding, soo dull, but necessary) and then Lynn left us to do some shopping or whatever before we caught the train back to Charlbury.
When we got back, we went for dinner at Mad's which was great! Our whole group, organizers included, is just a hoot!
So that was another super day! The rain has stopped, for now, and it's a beautiful night! Makes me want to go for a walk and I miss all my walking buddies! ;p
Now, first day of classes tomorrow! The real work had to start sometime;)

Sarah's Campaign to Build Muscle

So moving to another country for four months involves a lot of luggage. Ok, fine. Me moving to another country for four months involves a lot of luggage! That makes sense, right? Here's the problem...I am ridiculously weak! My suitcases were over the weight limit, but the Air India man let me take them anyway...phew! But everything was potentially necessary! So it was quite the hassle moving those suitcases around! But who even wants to hear about that!
Our flight was good- someone else had to take care of my suitcases so that left me free to watch Bollywood movies! Honestly, if you get the chance, watch one- they are a hoot! At least Emily and I thought so - we sat together - Phoebe was right across from us but moved toward the back so a family could sit together - she's the best;) She made some new friends! So Em and I watched Bollywood and laughed our brains out - we were the only people on the Air India flight laughing at the film that everyone was watching (and the kids were dancing along to!)...hmmm. O well. So our flight was good - there was a lot of turbulence the closer we got to the UK, the food was strange, and we were all dehydrated! But we arrived early (we may have screamed and jumped up and down because we were in ENGLAND...), got through everything quickly and then sat down at Baggage Reclaim to wait for Joel to arrive. Which he did not. So we finally left to find the Yotel!!!! Yes, YOtel...waaaaaay cooler than plain old 'hotel'. This was the hotel in Heathrow Airport - in case you ever want to find it - its in terminal 4 and the very furthest corner of the top floor. We know that now! So the three of us, Phoebe, Em and I settled in there, the pink lit hallways and clear glass bathroom doors surprisingly did not deter us! Joel finally showed up after his plane had to emergency land in Halifax and we squished 4 people into modern but very impractical 2 person room! The airport, hotel, underground (train) was all very warm and super dry so we thought that it was funny that our first impressions of England were that it was warm and dry as opposed to the typical cold and wet! Then we went outside...when everyone else finally showed up - all jetlagged and whatnot, we loaded onto a bus to head to Charlbury. Peter met us there - he's in charge of all kinds of stuff on the programme and I believe he will even be teaching us a class. So he showed us the sights on the way- those who were awake, that is! I was awake, just so you know;) But it was incredibly foggy on Saturday! And the moisture on the trees was frozen so the scenery was incredible!
When we got to Charlbury, our home for the time we spend here, we were met by the cheerful and friendly programme coordinators and moved all our suitcases into Charlbury Baptist Church - which is essentially our HQ. Then we had lunch and did introductions! And afterwards, our hosts came to pick us up. Phoebe and I are staying with Sue who we liked right away! She brought her daughter Laura to come get us and it took two trips to get our luggage to her house!
The house is great! Sue has three kids but Ben is the only one still at home but we didn't get to meet him till later on - but we knew that there would never be a dull moment!
After setting up our rooms (Phoebe and I each get our own - mine is purple!), we had dinner together with Sue and Dave and then we all went off to experience a truly British institution, the Pub! It was great! There was live entertainment and the people were so fun and friendly! I had some true English beer, and yes, it was great!
Sunday morning, we went to church at Charlbury Baptist and then went on a town tour. People, honestly, this is the most beautiful little town ever! It's like a dream! Then we had lunch followed by orientation which was overwhelming but got me even more excited!
Now I'm off to bed - someone's got to go to Oxford tomorrow, you know;)