This past weekend marked my last overnight travels in the UK. On friday, my tutoiral class visited the enormous British Museum. In a turn of poor planning (that's UGA for you) and bad luck, most of the exhibits that our tutor wanted to show us were closed. Ooops! But we did get a chance to see the Rosetta Stone, which for history and classics nerds, is a big deal. Other than that highlight, the museum proved to be too hot and too crowded and made you feel as if you were being herded from room to room by Asian tourists pushing their way through with video cameras. But it was an experience to say the least. After the museum, we ate dinner (and mostly drank wine) at a lovely Greek and Turkish restuarant and talked shop with our Don.
It was a early morning on Saturday (and not just because of the wine at dinner) when we caught the 5am train to the surprisinly lovely city of Edinburgh (pronounced, somehow, as "Edinburrr." Not quite sure how that works outs....) After an excruitating 7hour train ride in which we were forced to keep changing seats (and they wonder why American tourists are so rude....they're just tired!), we finally saw some of what Scotland had to offer. Walking up and down the steep, cobbbledstoned Royal Mile, we were able to see the Edinburgh Castle (huge), St. Giles cathedral (which had bell from one of the ships of the Spanish Armada), and Holyroodhouse Palace. We learned later that J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book in one of the nearby coffee shops. Too bad for us, we didn't get to see it....we were too busy shopping! (Some of you may be lucky enough to get some of the souvenirs I picked up. I wouldn't get your hopes up though....it's a select few)
We finally made it home to a rainy (surprise) Oxford and had to shower quickly and throw something cute on to meet our Tutor for drinks in the Provost's House. We finally met her Husband (The Provost as we were instructed to call him) and he proceeded to quiz us on our future life plans. In between interrogations, The Provost revealed some of the secrets of Worscester College and showed us around his home: the living room with paintings worth millions of quid, the study with a balcony overlooking the private rose garden, the dining room with the silver rowing championship cups... just your average flat. He also told us some funny stories of his term and explained the tradtion of "Scouncing." Scouncing, as it were, takes place at high table dinners as a sort of punishment for a social faux pas. For instance, if one of your mates insulted your momma, you could appeal in latin to the Provost presiding over dinner, for some sort of retribution. If your latin was correct and the offense was strong enough, the Provost would agree and bring out a Scounce, which is sort of a silver mug that holds various amounts of beer which vary from 2.5 pints to 7.5 pints. The offender would then have to drink the entire contents of the Scounce without stopping in order to correct the err of his ways. If he could not finish, he would then have to pay a fine. It's basically a glorified version of frat party hazing. To my people back in athens, happy Scouncing!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
One of the Queen's guard just checked me out!
Please excuse the lack of posts. I have been quite busy the past week writing over 10,000 words worth of papers about the Old Testament....its been a cRaZy week. not. You guys probably thought that I finally got caught up in the whirlwind atmosphere of Europe and was never be heard from again, when in reality, I just really wasn't in the mood to write, or to read, or to think even.
Well, besides the paper writing and intermitent whining about the paper writing, I have had some excitng English experiences. Last friday, I stayed in Oxford and went to the Ashmolean museam. After that rivitng experience, me and some friend had a leisurely lunch at the Turf Tavern.....the same place that former President Clinton used to frequent during his days at Oxford U. It is also one of the oldest pubs in town.
On Saturday, we ventured into London for the day. We had the most amazing luck because the agonizingly slow bus we took arrived in the city just in time for us to walk up and see the changing of the guards. Through the throngs of tourists with fanny packs and video cameras, we managed to get a pretty good view. We even got down to the sideline to get some really good pictures. Even though they couldn't really show it, the guards totally liked us. You could just tell. After that we saw the Parliment Buildings, and Westminster Abbey, and heard Big Ben strike one. We then made our way to the Tate Modern art museum (to see some pretty strange exhibitions...modern art, I just don't get it really) , which just happens to be right next to the Globe theatre. From there, we crossed over the Millenium Bridge to reach St. Paul's Cathedral. This church was by far my favorite sight of the whole day. We toured the entire inside of the church and even hiked up the hundreds of stairs to the Whispering Gallery in the inside of the dome, the stone gallery outside the dome, and the Golden Gallery on the very tip top. It is interesting to note that in the Whispering Gallery, one person can stand at one side and whisper something into the wall and a person on the opposite side can hear it comepletely clearly. So cool!Unfortunately for us, photography was prohibited but the entire inside was absolutely awe-inspiring. The ornate domes and chapels with gold inlay and old tombs were completely amzaing in every single way. It sure beat the hell out of Notre Dame. After the Cathedral, we made our way across the Tower Bridge (this bridge is usually mistaken for the London Bridge, which is really not all that cool) to see the eery Tower of London. For the rest of the late afternoon and early evening, we drank pints and people-watched along the Thames.
Monday was again the wonderful High Table dinner. The food was fabulous, the wine was better, and the company was the best. There is no more to say than that.
As I said earlier, I have been busy writing papers all week preparing for my final tutorial. This last interrogation session could not be held in the garden this week for some reason, so we met in the Provost's house.....yes. Their digs could be explained with just this: I had class in a room with a painting that was insured for 6 million sterling. Thats 12 Million dollars!!!!!!! I don't know what I am going to do with myself when I have to go back to having class in regular classrooms!
Well, besides the paper writing and intermitent whining about the paper writing, I have had some excitng English experiences. Last friday, I stayed in Oxford and went to the Ashmolean museam. After that rivitng experience, me and some friend had a leisurely lunch at the Turf Tavern.....the same place that former President Clinton used to frequent during his days at Oxford U. It is also one of the oldest pubs in town.
On Saturday, we ventured into London for the day. We had the most amazing luck because the agonizingly slow bus we took arrived in the city just in time for us to walk up and see the changing of the guards. Through the throngs of tourists with fanny packs and video cameras, we managed to get a pretty good view. We even got down to the sideline to get some really good pictures. Even though they couldn't really show it, the guards totally liked us. You could just tell. After that we saw the Parliment Buildings, and Westminster Abbey, and heard Big Ben strike one. We then made our way to the Tate Modern art museum (to see some pretty strange exhibitions...modern art, I just don't get it really) , which just happens to be right next to the Globe theatre. From there, we crossed over the Millenium Bridge to reach St. Paul's Cathedral. This church was by far my favorite sight of the whole day. We toured the entire inside of the church and even hiked up the hundreds of stairs to the Whispering Gallery in the inside of the dome, the stone gallery outside the dome, and the Golden Gallery on the very tip top. It is interesting to note that in the Whispering Gallery, one person can stand at one side and whisper something into the wall and a person on the opposite side can hear it comepletely clearly. So cool!Unfortunately for us, photography was prohibited but the entire inside was absolutely awe-inspiring. The ornate domes and chapels with gold inlay and old tombs were completely amzaing in every single way. It sure beat the hell out of Notre Dame. After the Cathedral, we made our way across the Tower Bridge (this bridge is usually mistaken for the London Bridge, which is really not all that cool) to see the eery Tower of London. For the rest of the late afternoon and early evening, we drank pints and people-watched along the Thames.
Monday was again the wonderful High Table dinner. The food was fabulous, the wine was better, and the company was the best. There is no more to say than that.
As I said earlier, I have been busy writing papers all week preparing for my final tutorial. This last interrogation session could not be held in the garden this week for some reason, so we met in the Provost's house.....yes. Their digs could be explained with just this: I had class in a room with a painting that was insured for 6 million sterling. Thats 12 Million dollars!!!!!!! I don't know what I am going to do with myself when I have to go back to having class in regular classrooms!
Monday, July 21, 2008
500 Churches and 600 Pubs
After a long and agonizing day of travel on ferries, trains, and taxis (all of which, miraculously, contained crying babies), I have made it back to my safe haven of Oxford from the land of Guinness and Jameson. It was quite a weekend.
Ireland was absolutely amazing. We arrived in Dublin at around 6 am on friday morning after eleven hours of traveling the night before. (But hey, we're young right?) Exhaustion did not hold us back as we began the sightseeing shortly after checking in to the Holiday Inn. (No hostels this times, we heard bad things about the ones in Dublin...unsuitable for print) We started with the annoyingly tourist-y open-top bus tour, which actually proved to be a good investment since it provided a "free" taxi around the city all day. We popped in to Christchurch Cathedral, which is the sight of not only the oldest settlement of Dublin, but also Europe's largest underground crypt. Quite a sight. They even had the tabernacle from the King James era. Next, we went in to St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is pretty incomparable. The soldier memorials inside the church date back to the 10th century. After the churches, we saw the Dublin Castle and the post office where the civil war began in the 1920s along with many other buildings and musems that I can't remember right now. It was a long day.
In the evening, we made our way to the legendary Temple Bar, which is famous for some reason unknown to me. It is pretty cool though because it has room after room of bars and a open-air beer garden in the middle. After meeting loads and loads of tourists, we finally met some legitimate Irish boys who were participating in the country's national pasttime: Drinking Guinness and singing badly.
The next day, we got out of the city and traveled by train. Between the group of Spanish fourteen-yr-oldsinging along to Britney Spears of all people, and the names of the towns we passed (like DunLaoghaire, which is really pronounced "DunLeery"), we were kept entertained the entire ride. We got off in seaside town of Bray. It was so quaint and we had the perfect weather all day; sunny and not too hot. The city was hosting a summer festival with vendors and merchants from all over the world. I ate Peruvian food for lunch...IN IRELAND! There were also children everywhere. Two words: Ginger Kids. Very fun!
This weekend was a blast but now its back to writing papers and reading communication journal articles. High Table is tonight, so that always provides a needed break from studying and I will probably have some stories about it later this week.
Cheers!
Ireland was absolutely amazing. We arrived in Dublin at around 6 am on friday morning after eleven hours of traveling the night before. (But hey, we're young right?) Exhaustion did not hold us back as we began the sightseeing shortly after checking in to the Holiday Inn. (No hostels this times, we heard bad things about the ones in Dublin...unsuitable for print) We started with the annoyingly tourist-y open-top bus tour, which actually proved to be a good investment since it provided a "free" taxi around the city all day. We popped in to Christchurch Cathedral, which is the sight of not only the oldest settlement of Dublin, but also Europe's largest underground crypt. Quite a sight. They even had the tabernacle from the King James era. Next, we went in to St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is pretty incomparable. The soldier memorials inside the church date back to the 10th century. After the churches, we saw the Dublin Castle and the post office where the civil war began in the 1920s along with many other buildings and musems that I can't remember right now. It was a long day.
In the evening, we made our way to the legendary Temple Bar, which is famous for some reason unknown to me. It is pretty cool though because it has room after room of bars and a open-air beer garden in the middle. After meeting loads and loads of tourists, we finally met some legitimate Irish boys who were participating in the country's national pasttime: Drinking Guinness and singing badly.
The next day, we got out of the city and traveled by train. Between the group of Spanish fourteen-yr-oldsinging along to Britney Spears of all people, and the names of the towns we passed (like DunLaoghaire, which is really pronounced "DunLeery"), we were kept entertained the entire ride. We got off in seaside town of Bray. It was so quaint and we had the perfect weather all day; sunny and not too hot. The city was hosting a summer festival with vendors and merchants from all over the world. I ate Peruvian food for lunch...IN IRELAND! There were also children everywhere. Two words: Ginger Kids. Very fun!
This weekend was a blast but now its back to writing papers and reading communication journal articles. High Table is tonight, so that always provides a needed break from studying and I will probably have some stories about it later this week.
Cheers!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Halfway done....with papers!
I have just finished week three of my lovely stay here at Oxford. I am so ready for the school work to be over so I can just enjoy the scenery! In fact, yesterday, I blew off all my work so I could sit on the lawn in the sun. Take that, tutorial!
For all my foodies out there, you know who you are, I would like to take this opportunity to brag. This sunday, me and some friends had a lovely leisurly lunch at a fabulous Italian restuarant called Jaime's Italian. That's right, I went to Jaime Oliver's restuarant right here in Oxford. You can be jealous if you want to...
Monday again was High Table dinner. Before the dinner, one of the most reverred Tutors came to speak to us about the "oddities," as he called it, of Keble College. He went over the history and development, which was all well and good. He then alluded to the college's social life. Lets just say they work hard but play harder.
The food at dinner was fabulous, as usual. I have yet to be invited to dine with the Dons but I feel it coming. Next week will be my time to shine....and to partake in the endless wine! Oxford is turning me into a poet...and I didn't even know-it! (I'm sorry, lack of sleep. Excuse the lameness.)
More next week, after I travel the world some more!
For all my foodies out there, you know who you are, I would like to take this opportunity to brag. This sunday, me and some friends had a lovely leisurly lunch at a fabulous Italian restuarant called Jaime's Italian. That's right, I went to Jaime Oliver's restuarant right here in Oxford. You can be jealous if you want to...
Monday again was High Table dinner. Before the dinner, one of the most reverred Tutors came to speak to us about the "oddities," as he called it, of Keble College. He went over the history and development, which was all well and good. He then alluded to the college's social life. Lets just say they work hard but play harder.
The food at dinner was fabulous, as usual. I have yet to be invited to dine with the Dons but I feel it coming. Next week will be my time to shine....and to partake in the endless wine! Oxford is turning me into a poet...and I didn't even know-it! (I'm sorry, lack of sleep. Excuse the lameness.)
More next week, after I travel the world some more!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Strawberry Field forever!
Ah, the exhaustion of traveling.
This weekend was an experience to say the least. Friday, after my tutorial, we took a train to the birthplace of Shakespeare. Stratford-upon-avon was chock full of things to se and do but the tempermental English climate was feeling sassy and it rained off and on the whole time. Nevertheless, we kept on trucking and saw his birthplace, his old school, and his grave. It was a whole lot of history for one afternoon. In the brief moments of sunshine, we walked along the River Avon (another one). It was absolutely beautiful, looking exactly as I pictured it in my head. Theres one advantage of daily showers: vibrantly green grass and foliage.
From there, we hopped on another train (we were so very euro) to the surprising lovely city of Liverpool. Now, when I thought of Liverpool, I always pictured an industrial, bleak urban nightmare dotted with Beatles history, but I was definitely ignorant on that front. In fact, Liverpool was named Cultural City of Europe for 2008, which, according to all the posters proclaiming it around the city, is a big deal. There are parks everywhere and their museums are huge and architecturally impressive. The highlight of our weekend was definitely the private taxi tour of The Beatles Story. Our tour guide, Lull, showed us sights from Penny Lane and Strawberry Field to the childhood homes of both Lennon and McCartney. We even saw the Cavern Club (where the Beatles played numerous times) and the school where Paul and John first met on July 6, 1957. (The school was having a Summer Fete across the street from St. George's church, whose cemetary has a grave of a certain woman, Eleanor Rigby...the boys later borrowed her name for one of their popular songs.)
The sightseeing, although fabulous, had nothing on the nightlife and our experiences with the locals. First of all, we stayed in a hostel. Enough said right there. Secondly, I haven't met people as friendly as those "Liverpudlians" outside of the South. Also called "Scounses" the locals speak with an accent more similar to the Scottish/Irish accent than the posh english one. It took a lot of concentration to understand what they were saying, but we somehow managed. (The fact that the people we talked to just happened to be cute university boys also helped our foucs...)Liverpool will definitely stay in my mind for many, many years.
This weekend was an experience to say the least. Friday, after my tutorial, we took a train to the birthplace of Shakespeare. Stratford-upon-avon was chock full of things to se and do but the tempermental English climate was feeling sassy and it rained off and on the whole time. Nevertheless, we kept on trucking and saw his birthplace, his old school, and his grave. It was a whole lot of history for one afternoon. In the brief moments of sunshine, we walked along the River Avon (another one). It was absolutely beautiful, looking exactly as I pictured it in my head. Theres one advantage of daily showers: vibrantly green grass and foliage.
From there, we hopped on another train (we were so very euro) to the surprising lovely city of Liverpool. Now, when I thought of Liverpool, I always pictured an industrial, bleak urban nightmare dotted with Beatles history, but I was definitely ignorant on that front. In fact, Liverpool was named Cultural City of Europe for 2008, which, according to all the posters proclaiming it around the city, is a big deal. There are parks everywhere and their museums are huge and architecturally impressive. The highlight of our weekend was definitely the private taxi tour of The Beatles Story. Our tour guide, Lull, showed us sights from Penny Lane and Strawberry Field to the childhood homes of both Lennon and McCartney. We even saw the Cavern Club (where the Beatles played numerous times) and the school where Paul and John first met on July 6, 1957. (The school was having a Summer Fete across the street from St. George's church, whose cemetary has a grave of a certain woman, Eleanor Rigby...the boys later borrowed her name for one of their popular songs.)
The sightseeing, although fabulous, had nothing on the nightlife and our experiences with the locals. First of all, we stayed in a hostel. Enough said right there. Secondly, I haven't met people as friendly as those "Liverpudlians" outside of the South. Also called "Scounses" the locals speak with an accent more similar to the Scottish/Irish accent than the posh english one. It took a lot of concentration to understand what they were saying, but we somehow managed. (The fact that the people we talked to just happened to be cute university boys also helped our foucs...)Liverpool will definitely stay in my mind for many, many years.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Cheers! and essay writing...
I think we have worn out our welcome because jolly ole England has reverted back to its ways of cold, rainy days intermitten with windy gray skies. AND aparently £5 does not buy you a reliable umbrella becuase my brand new tartan one has gone off and broken itself. All is prefectly lovely though since I have been stuck in the library for the past couple of days writing papers for my tutorials. By Friday morning, I will have written 20 pages and made a presentation on Agenda Setting. Bloody Bollucks!
Oh well, back to the fun stuff...
A couple of nights ago, we went out and met some lovely british lads who introduced us to the club scene in Oxford. (seems like a bit of an oxymoron, doesn't it?) Well, we went and we danced, and danced, and danced. They loved us too. I don't know what it is but the young people here adore Americans. Everyone we meet is all "How do they do this in America?" and "Do you do that is America?" They are also really impressed by our dance skills...It definitely provides a well-needed ego boost after the strenuous discussion (or should I say, interrogation) that takes place in tutorials.
Last night, we had our second High Table dinner. Unfortunately, becuase of the rain, the pre-dinner drinks and mingling party had to take place inside. The food, of course, was amazing again. Chicken and chorizo ceasar salad with sirloin with boulanaise (SP?) sauce. Yummy! The surprise, however, came with the dessert: Pavlova. I am not a fan. It reminded me of stale easter candy mixed with lucky charms. And there was this awful goopy stuff in the middle. Not for me.
Well, back to studying. Does anyone know anything useful about the prophets?
Oh well, back to the fun stuff...
A couple of nights ago, we went out and met some lovely british lads who introduced us to the club scene in Oxford. (seems like a bit of an oxymoron, doesn't it?) Well, we went and we danced, and danced, and danced. They loved us too. I don't know what it is but the young people here adore Americans. Everyone we meet is all "How do they do this in America?" and "Do you do that is America?" They are also really impressed by our dance skills...It definitely provides a well-needed ego boost after the strenuous discussion (or should I say, interrogation) that takes place in tutorials.
Last night, we had our second High Table dinner. Unfortunately, becuase of the rain, the pre-dinner drinks and mingling party had to take place inside. The food, of course, was amazing again. Chicken and chorizo ceasar salad with sirloin with boulanaise (SP?) sauce. Yummy! The surprise, however, came with the dessert: Pavlova. I am not a fan. It reminded me of stale easter candy mixed with lucky charms. And there was this awful goopy stuff in the middle. Not for me.
Well, back to studying. Does anyone know anything useful about the prophets?
Saturday, July 5, 2008
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