Oxford and Other Foibles

Sorry to have gone AWOL for awhile, but the past week the program was in residence at Oxford where there were three computers for fifty-five people and no wireless internet. Lovely.

Oxford, though, really was lovely. I almost wish I had done the WM Oxford program, just to live in that city instead of Bath. I like Bath, but I love Oxford (although if I had three tutorials like the WM program makes everyone take I'm not sure that I'd actually leave my college very often). I'm so glad I get to go there every week for my tutorial. It was also nice because while everyone else scrambled to try all that Oxford had to offer I was serenely writing papers and casually saying, "Oh, well, I'll try a milkshake when I'm here next week," or "Maybe I'll decide on those earrings for next week." That was quite nice. Another perk was that I actually knew my way around. Instead of pretending to know where Christ Church Meadow was, I actually DID know. Instead of groping about in the dark for my way to the market or Primark I could just walk there no trouble.

Oxford has so much more than Bath. The most amazing discovery was a restaurant called The Mission: Mexican Grill which was Chipotle. I could not have been more pleased. It also has a more diverse history, as a Civil War Walk with my Tudors/Stuarts class proved. It was such a beautiful morning for a walk--bright and sunny--and we got to see lots of buildings associated with the Tudors as well as with Charles I, since Oxford was the King's Capital during the English Civil War. After the walk Danielle, Katie and I went to the covered market for some hot, caffeinated beverages-- that's another thing! The covered market! I love it so much. I wish I could pick it up and move it to Bath... or Williamsburg. I really do love Oxford. Another thing Oxford has is punting, but our punting day got snowed out. Yes, it SNOWED the first day we were in Oxford, but by the end of the week it was warm enough to just put on a hoodie instead of a full coat. English weather is very strange. Leslie quoted, "April is the cruellest month." But yes, I didn't get to go punting. Maybe next week.

The best part of staying in Oxford was that I got to meet some new people, especially some of the Linley girls. My roommate for the week, Jess, was amazing!!! She's so nice! She also likes just about everything I do plus some-- Firefly, Gilmore Girls, Labyrinth, Ralph Fiennes, etc. She also watches Doctor Who, which most of my friends do (and I feel that I have woefully neglected... I should take that up). And she loves Shakespeare! She's going to loan me her Twelfth Night DVD. I'm really excited about that. Generally, getting to know some new people was awesome. I'm also getting to know a girl named Emily H. who is an amazing singer/songwriter (I first heard her play at Write Nite about a week and a half ago). She's such a great person, and she's friends with a couple of people that I know from Shakespeare in the Dark! Then, there's a girl named Danielle who lives in Prior Park that I started to get to know over Spring Break (she was in Munich with us) but who I feel like I talked to much more in Oxford. We're going to go to the May Day celebrations at Magdalen College together, which I'm really looking forward to.

The downside about Oxford was that I had two papers due, both for Leslie. I love my tutorial (I'm trying to figure out how to make Leslie my best friend), but the papers are taxing. They usually end up being quite long and he expects a lot from each paper. The other ASE papers I can semi-half-ass, but not the papers for Leslie. I have another due Wednesday (plus a Tudors/Stuarts paper). On a happy note, Leslie said that my paper on Marriage and Gender was my best yet, which I think means I got an A, since my last was an A-. Nevertheless, I got hot chocolate after the tutorial, simply because I deserved it after having double session. I've found that Caffe Nero has the best hot chocolate in England. It's like drinking melted chocolate bars. It's so incredible.

There were two nights of note: the first was Indian Food Night, and the second was formal dinner night. ASE took everyone out for Indian food for 12 pounds, which Danielle, Andrew, and I thought was ridiculous. Instead, we went up Cowley Road and found an Indian food restaurant where we got four curries, two naan breads, two rices, chips (french fries), and a 1.5 litre of Coke all for 13 pounds (total). Since we saved so much money we went to a pub called Cape of Good Hope and got ourselves some pints to celebrate. As Danielle said, "I haven't been this happy since Munich!" We were very thrilled with our bargain finding.

The next was the Formal Dinner Night. I was seated in a corner with Andy Venn, Adrian (my Irish Lit tutor who is fantastic), Emily W., Kiki, and Galina. Basically, I had a loaded corner. Adrian and Andy are hilarious and with the rest of us joining in the conversation was great. Then we had these awful singers and the whole time I was trying not to laugh while Kiki and Adrian were doing their best to make me laugh, especially Adrian. After dinner we went back to the University College bar (yes, each college has its own bar) and Emily H. played some songs which literally bring tears to my eyes they are so gorgeous and in general we had a merry time, until the bar closed. Then we went to some club called Baby Love, which was less fun, but ok. I left before everyone else, because thanks to my double session of tutorials I had been sleep deprived. And I needed to pack. And I wanted to call Jacob. You know how it goes.

This weekend I went to London to stay with my parents!!! It was so nice to see them. My mom will be back on Thursday, so it wasn't a goodbye until May with her today, but it was with my dad. London was quite nice. We saw the play God of Carnage with Ralph Fiennes. OMG! I adore seeing him on stage. He's such a great actor. Sadly, he didn't appear at the stage door this time, but it's ok, since I got to meet him after Faith Healer (which I didn't actually see, but oh well). God of Carnage was a great show. It was described as "a very funny tragedy" and I think that's apt. Very witty, very well acted, I want the script. My parents and I also went to the National Portrait Gallery to see a new exhibit on the Bluestockings and today we ate lunch at Ye Olde Cheddar Cheese Pub. Generally, a very good weekend. But now I'm back in Bath and back to the books! Less than five weeks until I'm done with my studies and I'm back stateside!