Thanksgiving and the beginning of week 8

I posted Wednesday a week ago... right before things got really crazy!

Thursday I woke up and headed to class where we talked a lot of one of my favorite readings that we've done this year (Donna Haraway's When Species Meet).  After a great discussion I rushed off to see a friend, Aaron, from UGA who was in town visiting another one of his friends.  I met up with him and stopped to get cash out before heading to get coffee together only to realize my debit card was missing.  After a moment of panic, I forced myself into calm and Aaron came along with me as I retraced my steps from the previous day.  Thankfully, the last shop I'd been to the night before had my card safe and sound!  Aaron and I spent an hour catching up which was really nice and then I had to head off to meet Brittany and Ben to do the grocery shopping for Thanksgiving (which we would be celebrating the next day, Friday, so we had all day to cook!)

After buying an insane amount of food, Ben and I took a load of items back to his place while Brittany took a load of things that could be prepped back to her place.  After dropping items off at Ben's, I headed to meet with Kersty about my termly progress.  It went well and from there, I walked to Brittany's, stopping at the store to pick up a few things we had forgotten.  Once at Brittany's, she'd already done a ton of prep work.  She'd made a double batch of gluten free/dairy free cornbread for our cornbread stuffing, boiled 30 eggs for our deviled eggs, and started roasting squash for our stuffed butternut squash.  She went to work on the wild-rice stuffing for the squash and the peach cobbler while I shelled the 30 hard boiled eggs, cubed cornbread, and did some clean up.

After the peach cobbler was done, we headed to the bar right down the street from Brittany's with Tom (another American guy in our program), Brittany's Swiss roommate, Lenny, one of Lenny's friends, and another one of Brittany's roommate.  We watched the Detroit Lions stomp all over the Green Bay Packers (yay Megatron and Matthew Stafford!) and snacked a bit. We left around 11:30 (trying unsuccessfully to leave out a side entrance that ended up with me Brittany and Lenny packed into a little foyer since they apparently locked that door out sometime after we arrived!) After trying (also unsuccessfully) to skype with Andie, Mom and Dad to wish them a happy Thanksgiving.  Then, I finally got some sleep... Brittany and I had a long, long day ahead of us on Friday.

We woke up on Friday and showered before heading downstairs to start packing up food and ingredients to move to Ben's.  Ben came by on his bike to take a load of stuff and then Brittany and I called a cab to move the rest of the supplies, including things like the already peel hardboiled eggs and the giant turkey.  As soon as we got to Ben's we refrigerated what needed to be and then hauled the turkey upstairs to get it going.  I stuffed it full on lemons, oranges, pears, apples, onions, garlic and carrots, filled the roasting pan with some broth, slathered it with dairy free "butter" and popped it in the oven.

Then Brittany and I headed downstairs to get started on the rest of the meal.  I started working on the sweet potato souffle while Brittany set to work on the fruit salad.  Ben helped us peel and chop, as did James when he arrived a bit later and Cody came by to help out and make pies!

Brittany and I were amazed at how smoothly it all went.  Neither of us ever got irritated with the other, we didnt step on each other's toes, we balanced the work load well and everything was ready right on time.  It was a whirlwind day trying to get everything done, figure out what could be reheated and what needed to be made right as people arrived, etc.

People started arriving around 6 and Brittany and I were changed into dresses and had appetizers out for snacking (deviled eggs, a cheese platter, crackers, hummus and veggies) and the mulled wine was simmering away for people to enjoy.  Brittany was finishing things in the downstairs kitchen and I went up to get the turkey which had been resting and to make the homemade gravy.

At exactly 7, which was exactly the time we said dinner would be served, everything was ready.  We had SO MUCH FOOD!  We had:  the turkey I cooked, with homemade gravy, regular stuffing, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato souffle, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed brussels sprouts, roasted butternut squash (stuffed with wild rice, pecans, cranberries and green apples), cranberry sauce, and a green salad of mixed greens, diced peppers, sliced mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and avocado.

To kick the meal off, Ben did a reading, and after we ate, he did another reading and then we all went around and shared what we are thankful for.  I think we sounded a bit like a broken record with each of us saying each other, but I also think we all meant it.  It's been pretty amazing with just how quickly we formed such a close and cohesive group and since I couldn't spend Thanksgiving with my family, it was wonderful to get to celebrate it with the "family" I have here in Oxford.  Plus, I think everyone really enjoyed dinner- both the food AND the fellowship.

After giving thanks we ate dessert (Brittany and I made peach cobbler and a fruit salad of pears, mandarins, pineapple, grapes, and peaches dressed with whipped coconut milk mixed with honey and lime juice, Cody made the pumpkin pie and a fruit tart and Andreas made an apple pie and a pecan pie.   Then James pulled out his cello and Ben pulled out his guitar and they did an amazing duet, followed by a Bach solo by James and then sing-alongs to Wagon Wheel, Let it Be, Hey Jude, and Hotel California.  For those of you who enjoy Ben's singing in the first video... you can see/hear more of him Monday, December 9, on The Sing-off, on NBC.  It should air at 9pm and he's the tall redhead in the Princeton Footnotes.

After music, Dennis and I headed off to buy more wine for everyone while others cleaned and others sat around and chatted.  Little by little people drifted off until it was just me, Andreas and Ben sitting around discussing religion and world views and playing sporcle games.  When I finally headed home it was 3:30 and I could hardly keep my eyes open.

Saturday and Sunday were quiet days of work and having a service check of Bailey's bike done to return it in good condition and relaxing and a zumba class (which I looked ridiculous in and absolutely loved... what a fun way to work out!)

Monday I was in class 9-4:30 and then rushed home to get ready for the St. Antony's/St. Cross/Christ Church black tie Christmas dinner.  Brittany and I went and while it wasn't wuite the experience I was hoping for, I think we still had fun laughing at the undrinkable wine (so sour!) and meeting a few new people.

 Today's class was rescheduled due to a University faculty strike so I took the day to catch up on some work.  Back to the actual grind tomorrow!

Home soon!

Week 6 and the beginning of week 7

I last wrote about 10 days ago... right before I chopped about 10 inches off my hair.  It still is quite long and it looks healthy.  I'm happy with it, though next time I may go closer to shoulder length.

That whole weekend was quiet and kind of a detox and catch up weekend.  I did lots of reading on Saturday and then went over to Brittany's to cook dinner.  We made a curried red lentil stew with homemade cornbread and a big green salad and I think everything turned out well.  I stayed over there pretty late Saturday night and then walked home and crashed.  Sunday, it was more reading and several skype sessions, including catching up with an old Penn friend who I have not talked to in at least 2 years.  

Last week itself was relatively quiet.  Early in the week I'm pretty sure I did things, fun things.... but unfortunately they didn't make my google calendar so now I don't remember most of them... my brain stays pretty constantly fried here.  On Thursday I went to class and then to a branding lunch (as part of a focus group to help with the branding of Oxford's new environmental/sustainability group).  I got a free lunch (kind of... kind of wimpy for a lunch) but a free goody bag including a tote and a notebook AND I got to hopefully help brand a cool organization, so that was all good.  

From the lunch I rushed over to Green Templeton College to meet my International Environmental Law professor to get my long essay topic approved.  I came with 2 ideas for a topic, and Catherine (the professor) much preferred one to the other so I'll be writing on the 1996 Nuclear Weapons Advisory Opinion (which stated that it is actually NOT illegal to use or test nuclear weapons... but left the ICJ lots of wiggle room to change their minds on this in the future).  Fascinating stuff, though it's been awhile since I'm written a long essay and I'm not excited to have to relearn how to cite Blue Book.  My meeting with Catherine also included 2 of my friends/coursemates, Lisa and Louis so from the meeting we headed to get coffee/tea and then an event at the Oxford Martin School entitled: Now for the long term with a lecture entitled "Governance, sustainability and future generations: designing institutions with a long term focus" given by Prof Simon Caney.  It was okay, but I was a bit fidgety/just really distracted.  

After the lecture I headed home to do more work, then re-met up with Lisa for dinner, then we headed to an debate at the Oxford Union (This house believes positive discrimination is a necessary evil) and met up with Brittany and Rob.  It was okay, but not as good as some of the other debates they've had and we ducked out about 3/4 of the way through to meet Sophie, Dennis, Louis (and as it turns out, others too!) for drinks.  We hung out at the Turf Tavern, in the outside area and just sipped hot mulled wine and still froze.  We weren't out too late and had a pretty relaxed time.  

Friday is when it hit that I had 2 papers due on Monday (a short response paper for my international environmental law elective and an outline of the direction I want my thesis to go) so I spent all day reading and writing like crazy.  That evening, I decided to meet up with friends who had tickets to an event at the Oxford Union.  I hadn't snagged a ticket, but they said they may let in Union members on a first come, first serve basis so Brittany and I decided to tag along with everyone and try to get seats.  Beforehand, Brittany, Dennis, Ole and I met up for dinner, but we were worried about being at the front of the line so we ended up going straight to the Union.  The event was the filming of a debate/t.v. show called "Head to Head" that is aired/run by Al Jazeera. This episode was Jimmy Wales, who is the founder of Wikipedia who was being interviewed by/debated with by Mehde Hasan, who is a British political journalist and broadcaster.  There was also a panel including Herman Chinery-Hesse (a Ghanaian software entrepreneur), Isabella Shankey (political director of the non-profit Liberty), Bob Ayers (former US intelligence officer in the army and Defense Intelligence Agency) and Oliver Kamm (journalist for The Times).  The discussion centered around whether or not wikipedia makes us better informed, freer?  Or if the internet more broadly does.  It was really good. 

After the event we all went out for sushi and then went to St. Cross College to play pool and fooseball.  It was an incredibly fun time and I learned quickly that I am really, really terrible at fooseball.  From there, we went to Freuds and hung out until they closed.  All in all, it was a great night out with a large group from NSEP, including a few people who rarely come out with us, so I felt like it was a wonderful Friday night.  

Saturday was another day working away, but I finally took a break around 5PM to go take a stroll around the Oxford Christmas Market with Brittany and Andreas.  It really wasn't so good (nothing on Prague or Munich!) but I'm glad I got to see it.  From there, I went home and made dinner, did some more work, and then went to meet up with NSEPers for a Latin BOP at St. Cross.  A big NSEP group was there and it was fun to dance, though there was very little latin music which was kind of a bummer.  I randomly danced with a guy who looked familiar.... turns out it's b/c we went to Penn together and graduated the same year, so it feels like a small world.   One of the NSEPers, Dennis, had friends visiting from home, 4 guys he grew up with, so it was also fun to get good stories for teasing/blackmail and hang out with them as well.  After the BOP a few of us (Louis, Katherine, Sophie, Brittany, me, Dennis and the 4 dutchmen friends) decided we weren't tired, so we headed to Maxwell's.... but it seemed that everyone had a similar idea and it was too crowded to get in.  After standing in line for an insanely long time, the boys all ate at a foodtruck and we all headed back.  

Sunday it was even more work... had to really crank those papers out.  The only break I took was about an hour in the evening to go hang out with the dutch guys again before they left.  

This week has also been busy (I sound like a broken record... but it's the truth every time I write it!) Mondays I'm in class from 9 until 5 and after class I went to the library and read for several more hours to prepare for my dissertation meeting on Tuesday.  Tuesday I had class and then met with who I think will advise my dissertation, Jamie Lorimer, to discuss my topic.  The meeting didn't go quite as well as I had hoped.  I'd read a great deal of what he'd recommended, but unfortunately that broadened rather than narrowed my interests and I think I may have come across as scattered and unprepared.  Regardless, Jamie didn't seem too concerned and is supposed to be sending me another mountain of reading to move forward.  

From there, I headed to a cafe to do some work, and then to my friend Ben's to check out the space fro Thanksgiving.  Ben offered to host thanksgiving for NSEP which has turned into me and Brittany heading up all the food/cooking/prep (with the exception of desserts!).  We wanted to check out the kitchen and figure out where to serve and seat the THIRTY (yes, thirty) people who are coming.  Needless to say, this week has also included lots of menu planning, gathering resources, grocery list making, etc.  After checking out Ben's, the 3 of us (me, Brittany and Ben) walked to buy a few necessary items for cooking that none of us had... things like: a meat thermometer, a turkey roasting pan (really just a giant pan big enough for a turkey), and heavy duty oven mitts (I normally just use tea towels... but I'm not normally handling a 15lb turkey).  After that, Ben split off and Brittany and I walked to Summertown (a small town a few miles from Oxford's city centre) to the mark's and spencer's grocery store where we picked up a few hard to locate spices and ingredients.  

Today has also been busy, lots of class and a lecture by Prof Susan Jebb (Prof of Diet and Population Health) entitled "Diet, Health and the Environment: Towards a More Sustainable Diet."  

Tomorrow I have class and a meeting with the course director on my progress (a requirement each term) and then Brittany and I will be doing shopping and prep work for the afternoon before heading to watch some Thanksgiving football at a place we found the airs American football!  I think we're going to watch the Detroit Lions play the Green Bay Packer.... naturally I am pulling for Matthew Stafford and megatron (though I never watch NFL... sorry if that's an unpopular decision? It's also a pretty arbitrary one).

Friday is the day we are celebrating Thanksgiving so that we have all day to cook... due to dietary restrictions (both allergies and some vegetarian/vegans) most of our menu will be dairy, gluten and soy free (impressive, no?)  What's on the menu? Turkey for the meat eaters (not very many of them, actually... a guess unsurprising on an environmental course), regular stuffing, cornbread stuffing, brussels sprouts, sweet potato souffle, rosemary garlic mashed potatoes, green salad with veggies and homemade dressing, deviled eggs, fruit salad with an improvised dressing of honey/lime/coconut cream, roasted butternut squash stuffed with wild rice stuffing, peach cobbler, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and homemade mulled wine.  Should be a busy and crazy 2 days prepping and cooking with Brittany but I'm so excited that she has done this before and I think we are going to make a great team in pulling this off! 

More updates post Thanksgiving!  

Weeks 4 and 5: Busy, Busy!

It's been a busy 2 weeks (well, week and a 1/2) since I last posted!  This post will be long, and the photos are sometimes mine, sometimes Andie's and one is from a friend!

Tuesday, November 5th and Wednesday, November 6th, I stayed busy with class, reading, and yoga.  I was trying hard to work ahead so that I could be pretty much done with work for the following week and have the weekend free.  I did a decent job of getting ahead and decided that Thursday night I would reward myself and go to an Oxford Union debate on whether or not religion causes harm to society.  Unfortunately, my friends and I didn't get in b/c it was so crowded so we decided to hang out in the union bar and wait on some other friends to meet up.
After a bunch of us were there, we decided to migrate to Raul's- a cocktail bar in Jericho, not far from where I live.  There was a huge crowd of NSEPers out and it was a really fun night.  After Raul's, a few more of us went to check out Freud's, a bigger place with a piano and more room, but we didn't stay long.  Unfortunately, I was out too late, so getting up the next morning for Andie's arrival was a bit hard, but I was up and showered by 8AM and off to pick her up at the bus station.

Friday morning Andie was supposed to email me when she got on a bus from Heathrow to Oxford so I had an idea of when to pick her up (the buses have wi-fi).  For whatever reason, the wi-fi on her bus wasn't working, so I had no idea what time to be there.  I hung out at the bus station for what seemed like forever just so I didn't miss her and finally she arrived.  We headed back to my apartment to drop off bags and so Andie could shower, and then we headed to Bill's, a cafe/brunch spot, for brunch.  We both had the vegetarian breakfast which was delicious.  While in Bill's it started to drizzle and by the time we left, it was really raining.

We headed across the street to the Oxford Union, the debating society on campus.  I'm a member, which really just means I get to go to debates, speaking events, use the library, the bar, etc.  The library is quite pretty with big, cushy armchairs, so I showed that off and then we headed to Christ Church College.  Oxford is divided into colleges which are somewhat similar to the "houses" in Harry Potter.  Colleges are where you live, who you play sports with (against other colleges), and the hub of your social life on campus (unless your weird like me and hang out more with kids in your department).  Your department is different than your college.  Colleges are different ages and have different campuses, and Christ Church is one of the oldest (founded in 1546), the largest, and the most beautiful colleges at Oxford.  It has produced 13 British Prime Ministers, and can be seen in films like Harry Potter and The Golden Compass.  We wandered around there a bit, and then headed to the Sheldonian and the Bodleian Library.  Unfortunately, it was graduation weekend so everything was booked or closed off and we didn't get to see either of those things except from the outside.

From there, we headed to my department so I could show off where I have class and we could warm up a bit.  Then, it was a walk through the park and back to my apartment to dry off and warm up before heading to Turf Tavern where Bill Clinton "did not inhale"... sure.  At Turf Tavern we ordered beers (I hate British beer... note my tiny 1/2 pint... take me back to the Czech Republic, please!) and some appetizers and hung out.  I was hoping friends would stop by but only Brittany made it out, though Andreas tried but somehow we missed him.  After snacks and 1 beer, I thought Andie was going to fall asleep on the table so we headed back to my apartment and I let her go to sleep while I finished up a response paper that I had due on Monday.

Oxford: Education in Intoxication.  I promise there is more to it than this!

The next morning Andie and I headed off to London.  We took a bus from Oxford to Victoria Station in London and then headed to our hotel to drop our things off.  I never really think about just how BIG London is but it's enormous.  It took us about an hour to get to our hotel, which was still in a pretty central area of London.  It's nuts... and a bit hard to navigate... Andie and I are a great example of the blind leading the blind.  We headed from our hotel to the British Museum which is such a cool place.  We saw the Rosetta Stone, all sorts of cool things from Egypt (mummies and the likes), artifacts from China, Korea, the America's... the list goes on and on.  I'm a museum lover and since it was cold and rainy it made for a really fantastic afternoon.

After an afternoon in the museum, we took the tube over to see the London Eye.  We got off the tube across the river and walked across one of the bridges so that we could see Big Ben and the London Eye from the same view.  It was gorgeous.  We then got tickets to ride the London Eye and as we got to the top of the Eye, fireworks started going off.  It might have been my favorite moment of the trip as I love fireworks and the view was gorgeous.  I took about 50 pictures but it's really hard to see on film... I'll post 1 anyway.  

After fireworks and a trip around the Eye, we headed to a pub where I finally found a Czech beer(!) and Andie drank something else terrible and British (ha!).  We warmed up and lingered over our drinks and then decided to go hunt down some Indian food (London is known for having some of the best in the world).  We scoured reviews and settled on a place not too far from the pub we were in.  With Andie leading the way, and me protesting that we were headed in the wrong direction, it only took us a little over an hour of wandering and some nice British boys to find a destination that should have been a ten minute walk.  That said, Andie bought me a fantastic meal and she enjoyed chicken korma while I had some sort of tangine veggies and we split garlic naan.  After stuffing ourselves, it was back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.  

The next morning we got breakfast at the hotel (included in our room rate and not bad for hotel breakfast) and then we headed into the city to drop our bags off at the baggage storage at Victoria Station (just to save ourselves a trip back out to the hotel).  After getting our bags secured, we walked to Buckingham Palace.  I had forgotten that November 11 is Remembrance/Armistice Day, which is a memorial day observed since WWI honoring members of the commonwealth who have died in the line of duty.  The symbol for the day is the poppy (because of the poem, In Flanders Fields) and there was a huge ceremony going on for the day that the queen attended... which meant the palace was packed as people hoped to see her motorcade return.  It was Andie's dream come true to watch the parade and the Queen's motorcade, but I could have done without that part of the morning... plus, we accidentally were standing in the wrong place for the actual parade of soldiers and kind of missed that main event.  Despite being less impressed with the royals/standing in packed crowds outside Buckingham Palace, being in the city for Remembrance Day was really cool, though more on that later.  

After Buckingham Palace, we went to see Tower Bridge and Tower of London.  The area is different than I expected the the Tower of London charges about $30 to see inside, so we decided to save our money and instead settled for a smoked salmon salad and jacket potatoes for lunch. 

From there, we wandered to see Big Ben and Westminster up close, and then to Westminster Abby where there was a huge display for Remembrance Day.  Pictures don't do the scene justice. 

After this, we wandered back towards Victoria where we drank peppermint tea and then met up with a friend of Andie's.  Once we had located Ben (her friend), I got my bag and headed back to Oxford so do more reading/work and get ready for the week ahead.  

Monday I was in class from 9am until 5pm with a short break for lunch.  After class, I was feeling exhausted, but I'd noticed that some black skinny pants I've been really wanting at Gap were on sale, so I swung by and picked up a pair and then headed home to do some much needed laundry. Tuesday I only had one class, normally my favorite, but we had a guest lecturer who I felt didn't really answer questions/make things very clear.  I also had a headache that morning and by about 2PM it was a full blown migraine.  When those hit, there is not much I can do, so by 3PM I was in bed napping.  I slept several hours hoping to kick it, but no such luck.  That meant that I was feeling too bad to attend the lecture on the African bushmeat trade, which I had really been looking forward to so I was really disappointed.  

Wednesday I had class (Decision Making Processes) and for the second 1/2 we had a guest speaker from Macquerie, who works on high risk, alternative energy investments.  I didn't expect for it to be so interesting, but I can't deny that there ARE parts of finance I find interesting, and alternative energy investing is one of those areas.  I spoke with the guy about recruitment after class and while I don't think I'll suddenly ditch academia for investing or consulting, I'm also open to wherever life takes me and whatever interests me.  I also had economics Wednesday afternoon, but I only stayed for the first hour and then I slipped out to run home and change clothes and grab a bus to London for UPenn's "Time to Shine" event (an alum event to show the University's achievements and fundraise).  

Greg was also going so we met at Victoria Station and then headed over together.  Once there, we met up with some other friend/acquaintances and hung out until the presentation.  Amy Guttman, the president of UPenn, and someone I really admire gave the presentation.  She is a political theorist and I particularly like her work on deliberative democracy.  She has written 16 books, spearheaded need based financial aid at Penn, headed up the expansion of green space at Penn/in West Philly, and serves both as the chair of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues and with select other presidents of research universities to advise the UN Sec-Gen on things like academic freedom, mass migration, international development and the social responsibility of universities.  Needless to say, she is pretty impressive.  The presentation she gave was a little cheesy, but I love Penn and admire A-Gut so much that I was grinning the whole time anyway.  After the presentation we all stayed pretty late networking, hanging out, and enjoying the free nibbles and drinks.  

Needless to say, I was exhausted yesterday (Thursday) but there was no time to rest!  I had class, grabbed lunch, and then headed to a talk and performance by one of my all time favorite musicians, Ludovico Einaudi.  He is an Italian pianist and one of the most prominent contemporary/avant garde composers in the world.  I first got hooked on him when I was a senior in college and his music became the soundtrack for my writing.  To this day, when I need to write a paper, and I am sure as I start my dissertation, his music will be played over and over and over as I type to it.  For those of you interested, here are links to 2 of my favorite pieces: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcihcYEOeic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfz-XDWPt-M

After his performance, I headed back to my apartment to warm up and was planning to get work done... I cleaned my room instead... ooops.  Then I headed to our unofficial weekly NSEP dinner where Kanako, the only Japanese girl in our program, was heading up a Japanese themed dinner.  She made miso soup and we had all sorts of amazing sushi rolls: smoked salmon with cream cheese, avocado with egg and cucumber, salmon and avocado, tuna and cucumber, etc. etc.  There is a picture of some of the goodness below.  

Today I slept in and then ran some errands to buy things like a roasting pan and a bigger skillet that I've been really needing/wanting for the apartment.  Then I made lunch (sauteed peppers and onions on a roll with hummus, a small salad and a clementine).  Since then I've been alternating doing reading for next week (my migraine and the Penn event in London meant I got behind last week so I want to go into this week feeling really focused and prepared) and tonight my friend Brittany is cutting my hair (never fear, she is a hairdresser!).  I think I'm in the mood for a big change so expect before and after photos of my waist length hair disappearing!  

Hope things are just as busy and fun for everyone back home!  

Week 3: The pace picks up

Last week was so busy, but particularly the weekend was just nuts.

Our electives started last week which means I have class from 9-4, and a class meeting from 4-5 with a 1 hour lunch break from 1-2 on Mondays.  I woke expecting that terrible storm, but other than a bit of wind and rain, it was fine.  By the time I left for class it was COLD but the sun was shining.  So much for the worst storm in 25 years.  Anyway, class was good, but exhausting. I listened to a history of international environmental law from the 1600s until modern day for the first two hours and then rushed straight into my Governance, Policy, and Politics class where we talked about scales of environmental governance. After 2 hours of that, it was an hour lunch break (spent in the graduate geography lounge with other NSEPers) and then had a 2 hour lecture on data and mixed research methods in my research design class.  Finally, we had our weekly class meeting which is when the head of NSEP comes to chat with us about administrative issues, grading rubrics, and just important info that we need to know but doesn't fit into a class.  By the end of the day, I was brain dead.  I think I did something that evening... but maybe not.

Tuesday I did a good deal of reading/work and then went to my Nature and Society course, which was being taught by the professor who I was planning to ask to supervise my research.  I stayed after class to introduce myself and then went to have lunch with a friend.  After lunch I did more work and then headed to an interview for a nanny position.  I really liked the mom (didn't meet the daughter) but I think the job would involve a lot of time getting to and from their house and would also take away my morning reading time, which I am using more and more (the time between when I get up around 7:30 or 8 and the start of class on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 11).  On my way home from the interview, I finally bought a bike helmet so that I am more inclined to use the bike I've borrowed (which I'm still finding I don't use that much... still debating on whether or not I'll purchase my own) and stopped at Marks and Spencers to splurge on tangelos and fresh bread.  I also ended up buying one of their pre-made but unbaked pizzas with low fat mozzarella, balsamic onions, spinach, and butternut squash.  It turned out to be an excellent decision for dinner.

That night I did more reading, and then Wednesday was another full day of class followed by a really great yoga session that evening and then more work because I knew the weekend would be particularly busy.  On Thursday I had my reading group and then headed to do more reading (so so much reading).  I also got fantastic news that the professor I want to work with for my dissertation is interested in my project and thinks it's feasible.  I'm so excited because rather than food policy or security or anything, I just got approved to write my thesis on the commodification of horses as sport and pleasure/pet animals rather than as work animals or food animals (just look to last year's horse meat scandal in Europe to see how much our perception of the animal has changed!) and how that re-labeling/re-conceptualization process has had a large, positive economic impact as  horses become transboundary actors.  Basically I get to study horse importation at Oxford.  This is definitely the life.

Finally Thursday evening I let my weekend officially begin.  I headed over to my friend Cato's place for dinner with the rest of the NSEP crowd.  I think there were about 15 of us total and we made a huge pot of vegetarian thai curry and rice which was delicious.  We hung out and helped get the boys ready for a Halloween party that night (mostly just spraying them with fake blood) and around 10:30 or 11 I headed home while most people headed to the Halloween party.

Friday I had my very first riding lesson while here in England.  The upside was I got to ride a decent horse and it was great to be on a horse and also I think I was by far the most experienced rider in the group and got the least number of critiques, though I did get told that while not wrong, I ride entirely too "American"... which to be fair, is very, very different than the European style.  The down side was that the barn is nearly impossible to get to- I walk or bike to train station, take train, then have to take a ten quid ($16) cab ride.  The barn requires that we wear protective vests while riding and I got fussed at for not wearing one correctly (I've never worn one and had no idea how it should fit).  They are incredibly uncomfortable, particularly through the chest, and make it exceptionally difficult to get shoulders back.  I think the guy teaching us was nice, but a bit misguided... he kept complimenting me for having my horse "on the bit" but I could feel that he was NOT on the bit some of the time... it would come and go but sometimes he had his nose in but didn't actually have engagement with his hind end.  Also, the instructor told us that to find distances we need to look at the jump... so he kept telling me to look down (not directly but just by nature of the size jumps were doing) since we were jumping a mix of crossrails and 2'-2'3.  Final downside... we don't tack or untack... handed the reins to mount and hand them off as we dismount... which is nuts to me.  It might be nice on occasion, but I miss interacting with horses so it's not something I want regularly at all!

Still, even if I didnt agree with all of his teachings, he let the lesson run long (apparently unheard of at these types of riding schools) and by the time I got off my legs were shaking and felt like jello (I am STILL a tiny bit sore).  Because our lesson ran late (which I was grateful for so not complaining!) our cab got tired of waiting on us and left so we had to call another one and wait for it.  Because of this, we missed our train back and had to wait for the next one.  Because of all this I was late for my friend Brittany's birthday dinner and by the time I got there (still in riding clothes), I was exhausted.  I ate pretty quickly and didnt stay long, which I felt kind of bad about b/c I love birthdays and Brittany is awesome and one of the people I feel closer to in the program so I wanted her to have a fun night even though it probably didn't seem like it.

Saturday I got up and headed into London to see my friend Carrie, who I worked with in Prague, and her friend Marta.  We met up at Victoria Station and then headed towards Buckingham Palace, then over to Big Ben and Westminster and then to ride the London Eye.  I expected to be terrified since I am not a fan of heights, but the little pod things are totally enclosed and it was only a tiny bit scary but mostly just really cool.  When we got off the Eye we wanted food and luckily, there was an awesome street food/food truck festival happening right there on the South Bank by the London Eye.  While we were eating it started misting but it was pretty typical British weather... and then the wind started howling and it started POURING.  We rushed under cover and I decided to grab the metro rather than walk back to Victoria Station to catch my bus back to Oxford. It was an easy metro ride, but at $7 (4.5 pounds) for a single, one way ride on the tube is just nuts.

I got back to Oxford, grabbed dinner and cleaned up my room and showered.  Around 7:30, people started showing up for the pre-game for Halloqueen, which is a huge party that my college, St. Antony's, throws every year for Halloween and is normally one of the largest graduate parties on campus.  I'd say 20-25 people came and my apartment in just not that big, so it was crowded, but so much fun helping the guys get make up on, get bras stuffed, and try to get "beards" made of eye shadow on the girls (we went too light with mine and it looks like bad bronzer!)  After lots of getting ready, we headed over to the already packed party right around 9pm.  Overall, the night was fantastic.  There was lots and lots of dancing (including ridiculous dancing where girls and guys swapped stereotypical club dancing roles) and just fun to see everyone dressed so crazy.  There was one incident where one of my friends got literally thrown out (I mean man-handled and all) because some girl complained that he was in the women's bathroom (which is labelled as a unisex bathroom so he wasn't doing anything wrong).  I had to help hunt down some people to deal with that, but he got let back in and all was well.

Most of the group stuck together, but by the end of the night, people had trickled away to head home or to various after parties.  A few of us (Brittany, katherine, Louis, Dennis, Lisa, Sophie, me and a guy named Andrew who is not in our department but I know from St. Antony's) came back to my place for an after party.  We mostly played electronic music and danced and talked and just had a look time.  Andrew left because the afterparty was "too euro" by which I think he meant too much electronic music and weird dancing.  Everyone finally headed home around 3:30 or 4 but it was a fantastically fun night and I still can't get over how much fun the NSEP group has when we all get together.

Sunday (yesterday) was literally a day full of nothing but reading for classes today.

Today (Monday) was a crazy full day of classes and during my hour lunch break I had to run to the student run co-op to pick up my weekly vegetable and fruit box full of local/organic produce.  After our class meeting a group of us headed out for tea/coffee at the Greens Cafe (a favorite of ours) and hung out and talked until it was time to head to a lecture on how and why businesses must change to be more environmentally sustainable.  The lecture was less of a lecture and more of a panel with lots of audience participation, but it was still pretty good, if not what I expected.  From there, we all headed our separate ways home.  I got home and cooked dinner (using almost exclusively the produce I got today...  i made a baked sweet potato topped with sauteed zucchini, onion, and mushrooms done with balsamic vinegar and then a dollop of hummus and I also roasted some carrots).  Since then I've been reading for class tomorrow and writing this insanely long blog post!

This week will include lots more reading and class, yoga, a reception with the head of the geography department, another Thursday night NSEP dinner, and then Andie will be here visiting over the weekend!

Hope things are well back home!

Week 2: Settling into a routine

The remainder of week 2 (after my post last Monday) was busy, but good.  I feel like I'm starting to settle in and find a routine, which mostly consists of class, reading, and some semblance of a social life.  On Tuesday, I only had one class and then I spent the rest of the day doing reading for the following day.  That evening, I hung out with a friend and watched Arsenal play Dortmund (and unfortunately lose to them...).

Wednesday was a fully day of class, reading, and then yoga.  I feel like I really did well the first week of yoga, but this past week I could feel a migraine brewing and my whole body just felt tired and achey.  I was glad I went, but everything just seemed hard... even things that had seemed easy the previous week.  After yoga I tried to do some reading, but my headache was getting much, much worse, so I finally just called it a night.

I woke up on Thursday with a pretty bad headache, but I got it under control before my reading group.  Unfortunately, my reading group had to meet in a different room than normal and the room had a layer of dust that looked like had not been disturbed in at least 20 years... that headache I had fought off returned full force and the entire group of us wheezed, coughed, and sneezed our way through the hour long discussion group.  From there, I ran some errands and then headed back to class for a bibliographic info session.  It was every bit as thrilling as it sounds (though to be fair, the librarian who runs the sessions and is our go to contact, Sue Bird, is amazing and goes above and beyond to be helpful).

After the session, I headed home to get showered and changed for formal hall at St. Peters College.  Formal hall is when a college holds a formal dinner.  You dress up (not in true "formal" wear but more like church or more casual cocktail wear) and also must wear your academic robe.  The night starts with champagne, and then you have a 3 course meal and wine, and the night ends with port and chocolates.  You are only allowed to attend your own college formal halls (in my case St. Antony's) or occasionally, you college might arrange an exchange dinner so that you can attend formal hall at another college.  The other way to go is to be invited by a member of that college and to go as their guest, which is what I did. My friend from home, Jacob, is also at Oxford this year and invited me to go to formal hall at his college.  The company and the food were both excellent and hopefully I can return the favor if I ever manage to get tickets to St. Antony's formal hall.  For those curious, we had mushroom soup, followed by guinea hen breast, scalloped potato type things, green beans, and mashed sweet potatoes, and an apple tart for dessert. At the end of the evening, I unfortunately learned that I am not at all a fan of port.  So much for those classy British evenings spent over port and good conversation.

Friday I had an all day seminar on the merging of science and policy.  The first half of the day was just lectures and while they were interesting, I was sleepy and hungry and it wasn't how I really wanted to spend my Friday morning.  After lunch, however, the seminar did a role playing event which I thought was a lot of fun.  Basically, we were divided into civil servants, citizens, and 1 minister and given a policy situation: whether or not we should build a nuclear power plant for alternative energy in the community.  Each group got a different packet of information... the citizens received one about all the negative aspects, the civil servants got full information of facts and citizen responses and had to sort the information and then were given a very short period of time to brief the minister on all the relevant facts... politically, scientifically, economically, it was an election year so the impact on his approval rating, etc.  The minister then gave a speech to the citizens to tell them his decision and to take questions.

The professors/seminar leaders made the activity as realistic as possible, and I actually really enjoyed it.  Even though I was already aware that politicians had to make tough decisions that might anger constituents even if they are economically and environmentally sound AND I knew that they had very short briefings on these things before having to do press conferences and talk to the public... it still puts it into a whole new light when you actually feel a sense of personal responsibility.  I thought it was a cool exercise and while a bit "surface level" in some ways, it was so, so good to do something a bit more "hands on" than all the theory we've been swamped in.

After the afternoon session, we all headed for ice cream to celebrate Lizzie's (a girl in the program) birthday.  We got ice cream/sorbet/cookies and then all split up for a bit before meeting at Hertford College (gorgeous!  you can see photos here: https://www.google.com/search?q=hertford+college&espv=210&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1pptUon8Baq40QX_pYHwCA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=622 ) for a reception from the all day workshop.  There was lots and lots of free wine and a few finger foods, but mostly booze.  The reception was for our program (NSEP) and our professors, lecturers, and the DPhil students who lead our reading groups.  It was a bit weird to be drinking (especially on an empty stomach) around professors, but it was also really nice to be able to talk with them outside of class and just get to know them a bit more as people.  I really enjoyed the evening.

Also during the evening I spoke with the head of our program about my research idea and she seemed to think it was interesting and feasible and gave me a few names of professors who might be willing to oversee the project.  I'm really excited about it because it relates to horses (rather than food) which we all know is my real love.

Saturday I spent all day, literally ALL DAY reading for classes on Monday.  Saturday night I met a friend for a drink at The Turf Tavern which is where Bill Clinton allegedly smoked pot but "did not inhale" (like anyone is buying that).  I had a pint of "black dragon" ale and a half pint of some sort of hard cider.  Both were warm and both were flat... such is the problem with drinking beer/ale in England.  Still, I had a great time out and now I can say I have been to two of the very famous pubs in Oxford (the first week I went to Eagle and Child which is where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to "think and drink").

Today I had brunch with a huge group of NSEPers and then we went to support another NSEPer at his open rehearsal with Midori (famous violinist) of Brahms violin concerto.  It was really fascinating and the music was gorgeous... if frequently interrupted by Midori for tweeks and corrections.  After that I've skyped with Mom (happy birthday!) and done some reading and then had dinner with my roommates which is quickly becoming our Sunday night routine as a way to see each other since we are all so busy.

The next week should be just as busy and interesting.  Tonight/tomorrow morning is supposed to bring one of the worst storms England has seen in 25 years so I am braced for that.  I also start my International Environmental Law class tomorrow.  Tuesday I have an interview/meeting about and nannying type position (only a few hours a week), Friday I have a riding lesson, Saturday I am going into London to see Carrie, a friend from Prague and then returning to host a pre-game for "Halloqueen" a cross dressing themed Halloween party.  I'll keep you all posted!

Matriculation, Schedule and Address

This past weekend was matriculation. It involved gathering as a college (I'm in St. Antony's) and parading together to the Sheldonian Theatre.  Then, during a short speech in latin, we are all told that we are now something we have never been before: official students of the University of Oxford.  There was then a short speech (in English) about being at such a historical place, a place with so many amazing people and activities and how we should make the most of it... not un-true, but after hearing it from so many people the past few weeks, not particularly inspiring.

Afterwards, we all walked back to the college for champagne, followed by a group photo of the college and then a late luncheon.  After the luncheon, I headed back to my room for a nap and woke up in time to get ready for the "Sexy Subfusc" party (to grandma, other relatives or adults reading this... sorry).  Subfusc is the official attire that you wear with your gown for matriculation, exams, and graduation.  It consists of black pants or a black skirt with black tights, black shoes, a white shirt, a tie, bowtie, or ribbon, a graduation style cap, and a black graduation style gown.  Every year after matriculation, 2 of the colleges (Linacre and St. Cross) throw sexy subfusc parties for graduate students only where the entire point is to make the subfusc a little more fun.

I got ready and met up with a whole group of people from my department.  We met at Keble College at then headed over to Linacre around 7:20 to queue for the party.  A large part of the fun is the queueing... everyone brings drinks and it's like a pregame or tailgate.  The longer we waited, the longer the line got... but it also seemed to widen as people stepped in with friends.  People looked great-  the guys actually go much further than the girls (who stick to shorter black skirts, heels, and white tops).  This year it was mostly guys in black pants and bowties with no shirts or anything else.  When the doors FINALLY opened, my feet (in heels) were killing me and it was close to being in a stampede.  We got carried along and when our group reached the front, they had ALMOST reached capacity... 1/2 our group (including me) got in, but the other 1/2 wasn't allowed in.  After a few minutes of deliberation (and security yelling at us), we decided if we couldn't go in as a group, we weren't going in at all... this was our NSEP night out! (NSEP stands for our program name... Nature, Society, and Environmental Policy).

We headed out to go across campus to the other sexy subfusc party... but by this time, so was a lot of the queue.  We raced over and I rode part of the way on the back of a bike with my legs held up... the whole thing was goofy and fun and also felt very Oxfordian/European.  We got to St. Cross and sweet talked our way in.  Once in, it was just dancing, dancing, dancing.  It was such a fun group and I think the ridiculousness and fun of the night was a great bonding experience and just a fantastic night out.  We danced until a little after 1 (when the party shut down) and then hung out and milled around for a bit before heading home.  One of the guys from my program was really nice and walked me home so that I wasn't wandering Oxford alone at 2AM.

The next day I was up relatively early (around 9AM, but I didn't get to bed until 2:30 or 3ish) and started reading immediately.  That's how I spent the whole day and then I cook for my roommates (simple pasta and salad) and then met up with an assigned discussion group for class today (Monday) and then met up with a friend in the reading room to do some more work.  Finally, I called it a night and hit the hay for today.

Today was pretty uneventful... class, I got lunch with a classmate/friend who is really fun and will also be here 2 years (and we ate at this awesome cafe and I ate a delicious "jacket potato" which is really just a baked potato with toppings... I got hummus, roasted veggies and cheese) and then had more class, a class meeting, and then off to the store and then a quick dinner (veggie sandwich and salad and some fruit), skyped with Mom, and have been doing reading since.  I got assigned my electives for the year today and I'm really pleased because I got my first choice for both terms.

For those curious, my schedule now looks like this (this includes non-academic things as well):

Monday:
9-11: International Environmental Law
11-1: Governance, Policy and Politics
2-4: Research Design
4-5: required class meeting

Tuesday:
11-1: Nature and Society

Wednesday:
11-1: Decision Theory
2-4: Environmental Economics
7-8:30: Ashtanga yoga

Thursday:
11-12: Reading group
4-5 (on occasional weeks)- bibliographic skills class with librarian

Friday:
Seminars (this week from 9:30-3:30) or riding lessons as scheduled.

All that free time it LOOKS like I have, is filled with lectures, reading, research, club meetings, debates, and trying to have some semblance of a social life.

For those of you curious, things can be mailed to me at:

Sarah Vaughn
St. Antony's College
62 Woodstock Road
Oxford, OX2 6JF
UK

Michaelmas Term: Week 1

Oxford's system is very different than most places... no one here seems to believe in using dates and it seems like there isn't all that much time that school is in session.  Instead of semesters, Oxford is divided into terms: Michaelmas (fall), Hilary (late winter/early spring) and Trinity (late spring/early summer).  Each term is 8 weeks long.  When getting an assignment or setting a meeting, no one says, "I'll meet you on October 18th", instead, they would say, I'll meet you Friday, Week 1 of Michaelmas term."  It takes some getting used to, but I like pretending I'm talking in code or something.

My first week of classes went pretty well over all.  The way my schedule is set up is a bit confusing.  This term I have 6 required classes, 1 required reading/discussion group, and a few all day Friday seminars scattered throughout the term.  I will not directly have an exam over each of the 6 classes, but I will indirectly.  The way it works is that I will have 3 exams in 4th week of Trinity Term (translate to mid-May):

1. Policy and Governance
2. Theory and Analysis 
3. Research skills

Each class I am taking now (with the exception of my elective), and each class I take Hilary term (with the exception of my one elective) falls under 1 of these headings.  For each exam, I will receive a list of essay prompts and have to choose 3.  I will then have 3 hours to write 3 papers... one on each prompt I choose.  The prompts will be spread out to include things from each class... so even though I don't directly have an exam... I still have to be prepared to be tested over everything and refer back to readings and important authors/thinkers.  My electives will be tested by essays that I will write over Christmas and Spring breaks.  

The classes I am taking this term are: 

1. Nature and Society
2. Governance, Politics and Policy
3. Decision Theory
4. Research Design
5. Environmental Economics
6. Elective (not sure what this will be yet and we had to apply and the elective classes don't start for another week... my first choice was international environmental law, so fingers crossed!) 

I also have a required reading group that meets once a week, 3 Friday seminars, and 2 bibliographic sessions with the librarian.  I have not spoken to any graduate student outside of our department who has more than 3 classes a week... so I think our program is just really intense, but I am happy to say that overall, I'm interested in the material and I think the program is a good fit for me, if not exactly what I expected. 

Even without the elective class meeting, this past week was super busy.  The professors assign "required reading" that we are expected to do and "recommended reading" which we are encouraged to use to explore ideas we are interested in, but by no means expected to read all of or read every week.  Even so, I'm swamped by the required reading alone.  The readings are really dense, and the ideas they contain and quite convoluted.  I feel like I've followed most of the classes reasonably well with the exception of Research Design (which really, I thought how hard could that be... but it was ridiculous... thankfully the entire class felt that way which makes me feel like less of a dunce).  I like most of my professors (there is 1 who seems to enjoy making things more complicated instead of more simple) and I really like the kids in my program.  

After one class some of us still had questions on Bruno Latour's actor-network theory, so we all piled into the graduate student break room and had one of our classmates who understood it (and the background influence of Kant and Foucault) gave a 30 minute mini-lecture to explain it.  We also are working together to find all of our readings and scan/upload them to drop box so that we don't all waste time fighting over 1-2 library copies of books and today I've organized a study group at 2 to go over some of the big ideas from the past week and really make sure we understand the broader themes.  Afterwards, we'll go for a pint. 

On top of class, I'm also staying really busy. I am determined to make use of all the amazing lectures and speaker events that go on here so Tuesday I went to a lecture by Dr. Charles Godfray entitled "The Challenge of Feeding 10 Billion People Sustainably and Equitably."  There were parts of the lecture I really disagreed with (like that raising animals for food production completely indoors is okay practice), but it was an interesting lecture and gave me some things to think about.  I also worked up the courage to ask a question at the end, which probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but I'm still a bit shy and intimidated, much like I was when I got to Penn.  As much as I know I earned a place here... it's still intimidating to be here. 

Wednesday I had a full day of class and then spent the afternoon/early evening MOVING.  I now live in a 3 bedroom apartment with 2 guys, Adam and Ali.  My room is MUCH bigger, and the kitchen is roomier and I am only sharing a bathroom with 2 people (score!) My room doesn't have a closet which isnt ideal, but I'm hoping the college is going to provide me with a wardrobe, and if not, I'll buy a cheap one off gumtree (craigslist equivalent).  Other than that, the flat is great and my roommates seem nice.  There isn't a common area so I really don't see that much of them but I think we're supposed to cook dinner together on Sunday night. Anyway, after moving, I went to a yoga class on Wednesday night.  I was a bit nervous that it would be too intense or too much power yoga and not the stretching and flexibility work that I enjoy, but it was a perfect balance and I'm still a bit sore, so I think it did it's job. 

On Wednesday I had felt like I was getting a cold, and sure enough, Thursday I woke up with a really sore throat.  I downed lots of tea and made it to class and then to the meeting for the riding team at Oxford.  I was encouraged to try out for the team, but to be honest, I'm just not so confident jumping unfamiliar horses (hard to admit, but true these days) so I'm going to stick to the lessons this year and see how I like the barn/trainers/girls on the team.  If all goes well, I may try out next year when I'll have a more flexible schedule (I'll only have 1 class my second year here) and perhaps feel more comfortable.  After the meeting I had wanted to go to "This House Has No Faith in Her Majesty's Government" which is a big debate held among government members at Oxford every year, but by this time, my cold was really setting in, and I knew the smart thing was to go get some reading done and get to bed. 

Today I woke up feeling really crappy.  I mustered all my energy and forced myself out and across the street to the pharmacy.  Thankfully, sudafed is over the counter here so I bought that and some eucalyptus oil and I'm drinking tea and taking care of myself- I'm still under the weather, but I'm able to function now.  I planned a study group for this afternoon to go over some of the more complicated ideas from this past week, so I will gather my energy and go to that.  Past kids from our program are also in town tonight and we were all supposed to go get drinks with them, but I'm not sure if I'll make it to that or not.  I really, really want to because I think they could have some really valuable advice, but I have a mandatory event tomorrow that will involve some time outside (cold and wet and rainy) and so I feel like maybe it's more sensible to try to get healthy.  Still undecided. 

Tomorrow is matriculation- which is the ceremony that officially marks our entrance to the university and is apparently seen as a big deal (if you don't officially matriculate, you also can't graduate).  I have to wear sub fusc (a certain outfit with a cap and gown) and the event is held in the Sheldonian Theatre, which should be beautiful (see pictures here: https://www.google.com/search?q=sheldonian+theatre&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=eBJhUoDFAY200QXqpICgDw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=622&dpr=1 )  

Anyway, I should get back to reading!  I hope all is well for everyone reading this! 

Oxford: Hard to believe I'm really here

After my last post which described Mallorca, Munchen, Garmisch and my final days in Prague, I headed home to GA.  It turned out to be a long trip... involving a very delayed flight from Prague to JFK, SPRINTING for my connection to ATL, making the connection and then not getting a seat, taking a shuttle to Laguardia and making a Swedish/American friend named Prudence, sleeping in the airport, not getting on a flight until the next afternoon and generally just being really tired and gross.

This summer was a bit of a challenge to adjust to being back in Madison at first, but more than that, struggles with Daisy's lameness and financial stress to pay for all of her diagnostic work and treatment along with paying for Oxford.  I spent a lot of time the first few weeks gardening and house/pet sitting and then I started working for a financial planner in town, Erik.  I haven't always had great experiences with bosses in the past (some pretty good but mostly really bad), and so it was a huge relief that Erik and I got along really well and he was a great boss, educator, and in some ways, friend.  I really enjoyed my time there and I'm looking forward to helping out there more over breaks.  I also got to ride some this summer, and judge 4 horse shows, which I loved.  Once life slows down, I would love to get my actual judging license.

The high lights of the summer were seeing the people I love.  I got to spend so much time with Mom and Dad.  For those of you who don't know them, they are pretty much the greatest people ever and feel more like friends than parents.  I had lunch with Mom almost every day and Dad and I hung out watching football every Saturday.  I also got to see Pepops on a whirlwind trip to Idaho, New Grandma, Uncle Norris, Tracy, Noah, Zoe, Liza, Uncle Curtis, Aunt Carol, and Andie on a whirlwind trip to NC, and Daisy, Ashley, Patrick, and other friends while in Philadelphia.  Thankfully, I even got to see Greg in August.

It seemed the whole summer like Oxford was a very distant pipe dream and then suddenly... it wasn't.  Before I knew it, I was on the way to the airport to board a flight to London.  After being judged (nicely) by the check in agent for the amount of luggage I had (2 suitcases around 48 lbs each, a very heavy backpack and a bulging duffle bag) I headed to my flight.  I got business class, which was great, but the flight crew was not one of the friendlier bunches I've had.  Upon landing, I went to customs and after a LONG wait, got to the front of the line.  I handed over my passport (with my student visa), my student # for Oxford, and let them scan my fingerprints, and that is when the trouble began.  When they scanned my fingerprints... nothing came up.  Then, nothing came up when they scanned my visa.  They couldn't find a record of it electronically.  I was detained for about an hour while they sorted it out.  I know an hour really isn't so long, but when you are exhausted and jet lagged and worried they might not let you into a country... it feels like a really long time.

Finally, they let me through.  By this time, my baggage had been stowed as "unclaimed" so I had to hunt it down which took awhile.  Then, I had to find the bus to terminal 5 and take it over so I could catch the bus to Oxford.  I somehow managed to get all my bags on the bus, and then back off and find the ticket counter for the bus.  Several buses came and went that were too full for any more luggage, but I finally got on one.  I was planning to watch the trip from Heathrow to Oxford, but I promptly fell asleep.  When we arrived to Oxford, I hailed a cab (the driver wouldnt load my bags... "too heavy" he said!) and took it to my college, St. Antony's.  Here, I finally met someone helpful.  The porter helped me get my bags to my house and showed me where my room was (though he did draw the line at doing more than getting my bags inside... I was left to carry them up 2 flights steep, winding stairs by myself!)
My room is very tiny, I posted pictures on facebook.  That said, I don't mind small and cozy (besides, it's easier to heat and stays warmer.)  However, I really dislike some other things about the house.  Mostly, that there isn't a bathroom on my floor other than a toilet, with no sink, on the other side of the house.  The other complaint is that there are 3 "kitchens"... but only two have stoves/ovens... so over 10 people share each of those and people are very territorial about kitchen space.  These issues, plus my difficulty meeting people made for a very lonely first week. To be honest, I'm still quite lonely, though it's getting better.

Difficulty meeting people?  You might be thinking I'm nuts... I'm on a college campus surrounded by other new students... meeting people should be easy.  And in some capacity, it is.  I've certainly met a hundred people easily... but as a pretty serious introvert, large, loud group settings just overwhelm me.  I know I can't rush friendships... but I am so ready to have a group of friends rather than 200 acquaintances.  I miss the constants in my life and change has never been really easy for me.  I push myself to make big changes and travel and do interesting things because I always end up loving them and I know they will be worth it... but the first few weeks of adapting are always a bit hard.

My department, Geography and the Environment (Nature, Society and Environmental Policy) has thankfully helped a good bit with that.  We had 5 days worth of induction, starting Friday over a week ago and running through Tuesday.  I really like the other people in the program and we've already had a roof-top gathering, trekked through some beautiful English countryside, suffered through the driest fictional documentary I've ever imagined existed, and gotten drinks at the Eagle and Child (where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to "think and drink") and contemplated attending a university almost 1,000 years old.  I'm also really enjoying the academic discussions already taking place surrounding commons, land ownership, land use, food scarcity, green growth, etc etc etc.

Thankfully over the past few days, I've been offered a new place to live (though the college has to approve it which could happen Tuesday... fingers crossed!) and I'll move into a 3 bed room, 1 bathroom apartment just across the quad with a German (Ali) and American (Adam) guy.  I'd have more space to cook and a much bigger room and a bathroom across the hall (!) and I think I'll like it a good deal more.  I've also borrowed a bike from a girl I horse showed with as a child (her fiance is here while she's back in the states).  Her bike is stuck in a high gear which makes the one hill I have to go up very painful, but I am already enjoying cycling and it's so nice to get settled before having to buy my own, so I really appreciate her generosity and it's looking like I'll end up buying one of my own soonish.  I've also started to meet people who are slowly feeling more like friends than acquaintances, though it's still slow going.

If I actually wrote about everything I've seen/done since I've been here, this would drag on for pages and pages more, but I'll just say that I've been incredibly busy with orientation, buying a cap/gown (which I have to wear for exams and special ceremonies as well as graduation), buying things for my room and getting settled, meeting people at socials, parties, themed parties, dinners, and lectures, departmental induction events (including multiple field trips), joining clubs, and getting lost (aka learning my way around and checking out gorgeous old buildings.  The weather has been a mix of some sunny and lovely days, and days like today... barely 50 degrees and pouring rain.

Classes start tomorrow and I'm already behind on my reading so I suppose I should get back to that.  Hope things are well for everyone back in the states or wherever you're reading this from.