Tra La, It's May!

Happy (belated) May Day everyone!!!

What a whirlwind few days it has been. I suppose the story really starts on Tuesday, as I struggled to complete my Religion paper and 'what-I-learned' paragraph for Leslie. I was so close that I could taste freedom from papers. Also, it was free cone day at Ben and Jerry's, which was much needed. So Tuesday flew by in a flurry of paper-writing, ice cream cone eating, classes, and, oh yes, a chicken, cheese, and salsa panini which tasted nearly like the Southwest Chicken Wrap at Aroma's... it made me so very happy. I miss salsa. I finished my final paper around 9:00 at night, so not too late, then tried to go to bed around 12:00, but Shea's typing kept me up until about 3:00-- I was not a happy camper. I ended up getting about six hours of sleep... which would have been ok except that it was April 30th-- the beginning of May Day.

I got on the 11:43 train to Oxford, arrived, and went straight to my tutorial. It was Greg's week to read his paper. He didn't mention Methodists, which I told him was important. Methodists were all over our readings and he said they were 'bull-shit.' I knew better-- I studied the Baptist movement in Colonial America. Perhaps it was at Greg's expense, but I talked a lot in tutorial. I felt like I had things to say. I knew what an advowson was, and I knew about the way Methodism could have been revolutionary and could have kept a revolution from happening-- much like Baptism did in America.

Tutorial ended with a promise to meet Leslie at Univ at six o'clock to go to dinner, then I headed over to the Porter's Lodge of Hereford College to meet up with my friend Sean. We went to the King's Arms for a half-pint of cider. It was so nice to see someone from William and Mary!!! I can't wait for Saturday when I get to see all of the WM kids, and go to a kickin' dress party, as well. After cider with Sean I walked to Magdalen College to meet up with Greg and to wait for Danielle to finish with her tutorial. We had an hour to kill, so the three of us went over to Blackwell's (this absolutely amazing bookstore) and spent an hour enthralled with all of the knowledge, all of the stories, and all of the little slices of world around us. At six we met Leslie and went to the King's Arms (again) for dinner.

At the King's Arms we met up with Felicity James, the Jane Austen tutor. All of us sat down to a happy dinner whereat I learned that Leslie likes Disney World, loves Mr. Toad, had longish hair in the sixties, stayed up all night for May Day when he was ten because he stamped his feet and his mother let him, and that he thinks creative writing is a bullshit course because there is no body of knowledge behind it-- writing is a talent, not an academic subject. Leslie is amazing.

Around 7:30 he and Felicity left, and a few more ASE kids arrived. Greg wanted to go watch a football match, so we headed up Cawley Road to a pub... but Danielle, Emily, Andrew, Megan and I didn't really want to watch football, so instead we went to an Irish pub that Fiachra, Danielle's (Irish) Latin tutor had recommended. Apparently there is a way to store Guinness and to pour Guinness that makes it taste at its best-- which is why it tastes better in Ireland than in England--and this pub does Guinness as close to the correct way as possible. Plus, the owner/bartender was an old Irishman. We all ordered Guinness, of course. The owner poured it in such a way that in the foam on top there was a shamrock!!! We all found this stunning. After about forty-five minutes Fiachra himself randomly showed up!!! Amazing! He's such a darling man, very chivalric, very Irish (his first language was Gaelic for heaven's sake!), very smart. He gave Danielle his address and number in case we were out at four in the morning, drunk, with no where to turn. Danielle was ecstatic.

Fiachra sat with us, and about an hour later our Irish Lit tutor, Adrian, met up with us. Then the ASE students who had been watching the game came over to the Half Moon (as the pub was called) It was about 10:00, or so. Our motley crew, including Fiachra and Adrian, stayed at the pub until 3:30 in the morning, when the owner/barman closed the pub. Apparently Half Moon is the only pub in Oxford with a 24 hour license (most pubs close either at 11:00 or 1:00) and the only contingency is that he can't let anyone in the door after 12:30. Anyways, at 3:30 we all left, Fiachra had gone home, and the rest of us had to cross the Magdalen Bridge before 4:00. They close it at 4:00 on May Day because people like to jump off the bridge to celebrate, except that in recent years the water has gotten so shallow it's dangerous to do so. People still tried, however, so the bridge had to close. Some of our crew got food off of a truck (the popular thing to do at 3:00 a.m in England) and then we all went to Worchester College, where Adrian is a fellow, to relax in their common room. By this time, though, it was past 4:00 a.m and Danielle and I wanted to go back into town-- everything starts to open around 4:30 on May Day. Everyone else wanted to collapse on the couches in exhaustion, but Danielle and I triumphantly walked back to town, taking pictures of the sky lightening-- it promised to be a sunny day. We got coffee and pastries at a little take-away restaurant and mosied up to Magdalen College. People were already gathering.

At 6:00 in the morning on May 1st the Magdalen Boys Choir sings from the top of the Bell Tower and there are Morris Dancers and bagpipers and everyone is merry and the singing kicks off a big street party with champagne breakfasts. We didn't get to partake in most of this, as we were pressed to catch a train back to Bath, but Danielle and I did listen to the boys choir, listened to the bells, and ran merrily through the streets. We were back in Bath by 8:30 a.m where I proceeded to fall into a happy sleep.

Oh, but that's not all: May 1st was also Nunes Potluck dinner!!! I made pizza bites. We ate in the dining room in Flat 3 (managed to squeeze all 11 of us in) and had an amazing dinner of a tapas potato dish, Greek salad, guacomole and chips, french fries and fried chicken, bruschetta, garlic bread, bean salad, toblerone, strawberry shortcake, and strawberry cheesecake. It was perhaps my favorite night with Nunes House. We had all filled out superlative sheets earlier this week, so the Nunes superlatives were given out. I was voted "Smartest," "Lightweight," and runner up to "Most Likely to be President of the United States." I really do like my house. Sometimes I complain, but generally I could not have lived with a better group of people.

Finally:
Tra la! It's May!
The lusty month of May!
That lovely month when ev'ryone goes
Blissfully astray.
Tra la! It's here!
That shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts
Merrily appear!
It's May! It's May!

Ok, now THAT'S really all. :)