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;)