"The time has come," the Walrus said.

This is my last full day in England. Sadness.

Today, we went to Stonehenge. I thought it was excellent, though the amount of tourists and it being close to the road took away that picture feel. I'm happy I got to see it.

Other than that, it's been pretty uneventful. I just did some loafing around. Oh, I forgot to mention I wandered over to the Ashmolean and saw Alfred's Jewel and a Stradivarius, the "Messiah". We're going to eat Tai tonight, like our first night here, and Dr. Lee will join us like our first Gala dinner. It feels like we're entering time in the trip where the cycle of events here could start over again. Or loose ends are getting tied up, like in a good novel.

So tomorrow I will be back home and I get to put my skills to the test, everything literary and beyond.

And I will now terminate this blog once and for all. Yeah!

END.

Extra Credit Answers...

Okay here are the answers:

I stole the name of my blog from Tiny Toons Adventures: How I Spent My Summer Vacation. T'was my favorite summer movie at one time.

And I was referencing a thrilling scene from Young Sherlock Holmes. A most excellent picture with the first fully CGI character. (1985 if you don't believe me.) The chapel I was in didn't look too far from the one in the film.

Extra Credit

Tonight I slipped into our chapel and it was really creepy. I thought for a second that one of the stained glass windows would come to life and attack me. Extra credit for anyone that knows that reference without looking.

Oh, and extra credit for anyone who can name where I stole the name of my blog.

Day XVII

I'm still writing essays. I'm constantly thinking literature we've read and discussed. At this point in the trip, I feel like it's completely saturating my mind. I think this is only a taste of what a good humanities student should feel like.

Today, I walked to the Pitt Rivers Museum when I got sick of writing and saw awesome Japanese armour, shrunken heads, the world's only remains of a Dodo bird (which to my surprise only went extinct in the 17th century, if I remember correctly--don't check--okay, now you probably will--don't hold me accountable), dinosaurs, and so many other artifacts. It was not like your average museum, either. It was dimly lit as to preserve the exhibits, and I felt like I was wandering through a cave. They actually offered "torches" at the front desk for those who wanted them.

Now I should get back to work. Tomorrow we are breaking up into groups AgAiN and discussing intertextuality (how later works incorporate earlier works) among different poems.

P.S.

Anna, I'm sorry I haven't written much about everyone here. I feel like it's awkward blogging about other people. I've tried, but I haven't gotten over it. But I'm am happy to say that I feel like I'm really good with everyone single person here. They are all fun and smart, in a very vague way. You bond with people so much faster when you're stuck together in an entirely different country. And when you have the coolest room on the planet. Oh, and here is what my room is kind of like (from Brideshead Revisited, the book that I was telling you about)((Charles' cousin is giving him advice as a freshman, like getting a different room)):

"They were large, with deeply recessed windows and painted, eighteenth-century panelling; I was lucky as a freshman to get them. 'I've seen many a man ruined through having ground-floor rooms in the front quad,' said my cousin with deep gravity. 'People start dropping in...Before you know where you are, you've opened a free bar for all the undesirables of the college.'

I do not know that I ever, consciously followed any of this advice. I certainly never changed my rooms; there were gilly flowers growing below the windows which on summer evenings filled them with fragrance."

Day XVI

We had our last Gala Dinner tonight. I'm glad that's over, but I know I will miss it. We talked about fate, free will, religion, science, Tess, Bridesville, and I don't remember what else. These long dinners take a lot out of you!

When I think back on the past three weeks, I wonder how this trip will affect me in the future. I hope it is massively positive, but I can see that it might potentially have a small affect, too. I feel like I've had a lot of eye opening experiences, but I feel that that can only be tested with time and going back home.

I can't name all the ways I feel like this trip has shaped some part of me, but a few things stick out...
1) I enjoy and understand poetry on a much higher level than I did before I came here.
2) I have a greater desire to learn about other cultures, people, and especially their languages. It can be really frustrating to be in a country where you feel like you hear more Italian, French, German, and Spanish than English. And with an accent, even the English can be tricky sometimes. This is especially true for a strong Liverpool accent.
3) I should have learned the more of the art of social conduct, so I'll see how that goes back in the States.
4) Some debonair taste in apparel.
5) And a whole lot more.

from Wordsworth's "Michael"

"There is a comfort in the strength of love;
'Twill make a thing endurable, which else
Would overset the brain, or break the heart"

(Once again, I apologize for all the detracting mistakes in this blog. As long as you can make some meaning, though, that should suffice for informal writing.)