"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.)

Lake District Excursion: Day 3

Trucking away at writing papers. Taking a 30 second break.

I had a pleasant day. On our third hike for this excursion, we saw waterfalls. Pressured to be cool, I stripped down to my boxers and plunged into the icy cold water with Gary, Christine, and Laura. I don't know how they did it. They stayed in a little longer than me. I think I almost went into shock because my breathing was erratic and I couldn't articulate real sentences. But that's what made it awesome!

We discussed Brideshead Revisted today for an evening class, which was pretty intense. While it was my favorite reading for this program, I think it was everyone else's bane.

We had our third, four course dinner for this week. The three hour dinners are starting to eat away at all of us. While we are being urged to practice the art of long dinner conversations, we are also growing weary fast. Laura said she felt like she was shackled to the table with a ball and chain, and I agree all the way. The food is great, though. I just told Matt a little bit about what I've been eating so I'll share: duck, pork fillet, sorbet, vegetable soup, steak, and seven other courses that have escaped me. On any other day, I have had fish and chips, more steak, some kind of ethnic food (American, Brazilian, Greek, Indian, Chinese, or Tai), and lots of European chocolate. It's the best.

Tomorrow back to Oxford.

Now, I should really go back to studying poetry...

Lake District!

Had an amazing day!

This morning we talked about jargon normal people need not worry about like pantheism, animism, and the sublime. I have a loose grip on the ideas, but it is better than when everyone started talking about adolescence and transcendentalism at dinner yesterday. Don't look at me.

Later we went to Wordworth's houses and visited his grammar school. We climbed a treacherous mountain and a few of us--Dr. Stewart, Christine, Ahna, and myself--made it close to the peak. We could see for miles.

Now that I got that out of my system, off to finish a paper. More hiking tomorrow!

Heavy. What is it? The stuff that dreams are made of.

Sadly, I've reached the point in my trip where I am beginning to realize the amount of work I'm going to have to do from here on out. Essays, essays, essays. I also realized today that my trip is coming to a close. After we get back from here at the Lake District (Wordsworth's pad) we will be down to one week left to finish. As much as I have said I have learned, I feel like I still have learned only a little. I don't want to entirely accept that, though, so maybe I won't advocate it.

I think it's going to be hard going back home. I like being away. I like being a traveler. I like meeting new people everyday. And I like the adventure. I don't really like the lonelier parts of it, but there is something ideal in that self-exploration.

AND then school's going to start. All this is a little overwhelming.

That is all.

A More Succinct Approach (?)

London: Part III (the botched recollection of what has now become a tired trilogy)
Here's the rest of where we went and what we saw:
- Camden, had Chinese
-British Museum, saw the Rosetta Stone, Elgin Marbles, and mummies.
- Took a boat tour in a canal
-Went to the Globe, saw Ann Boleyn. Great new play.
- Had Greek dinner.
-Went to Platform 9 3/4
- Went to 221 Baker Street (Sherlocke's)
- Had a wonderful picnic on Primrose Hill and watched the city skyline opposite the sunset.
-Went to bed. Woke up.
-Had Brazilian breakfast.
-RAN with Christine and Shannon to the National Art Gallery and saw Michelangelo, Monet, Raphael, and others
-Tried to run to Abbey Road, but did not make it.
-Went back to Oxford.

Monday
- Gala #2
- Dr. Conner's birthday at The Eagle and the Child (remember, Tolkien and Lewis' pub)

Yesterday's Stratford Excursion
Yesterday we visited Stratford, saw Shakespeare's birthplace, and watched "As You Like It". It was a dark production, and one I'm still working out in an essay.

Today (Punting) and Beyond
Today was very laid back. We had class, discussed Wordsworth and Blake, and did some punting. I punted with Dr. Stewart, Dr. Conner, and Gary. Dr. Stewart is, of course, an old pro, and so started us off. Dr. Conner sang appropriate boat songs and refused to do any punting, and Gary expertly led the way. I ran us into the side of a bank, but that is the least one can do when one punts for the first time. So I got to chill out with everyone a little more than usual today. For dinner I tried some English KFC, which was more unusual than I expected. So much food, too. I later grabbed a hot chocolate with Gary and Laura, and it was muy bien. Sehr gut.

Tomorrow we have to get the ball rolling again with going to the Lake District and talking about Wordsworth there. I will probably face another weekend deprived of internet and meet much more harsh conditions than London. Though I hear we will be living in the classiest apartments around.

Final Thoughts--a rare instance of introspection
I really like living here in England. I'm not sure I convey that well in regurgitating everything I do in a day for every entry I make. I really want to come back next summer. I don't want to go back home, yet, either. I feel like I've learned priceless information culturally, trivially, socially, philosophically, and spiritually. What I mean is that lines of poetry percolate through our speech. We are surrounded by a different social atmosphere. And we have staggering gothic architecture that towers over us to remind us of our humble dispositions. I didn't know that Oxford was such a religious place until I got here, but that's its history.

I could digress, but I need to sleep.
To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay. There's the rub.

There and Back Again: A Londoner's Tale II (A mini-flashback series) & More

Maybe the time of night I most dread--the point past my bedtime and the time I try to write an entry. Nonetheless...

A) London Part II (my original handwritten transcript):
Friday has been the big day. Today I went to my first Starbucks (Yeah, sad, I know. But in my defense, I never drink coffee!) Then we toured the rest of London. We went to Buckingham Palace (the Queen was home), went to Westminster Abby, saw Parliament and Big Ben, and went to the British Library. Inside the library, we saw the original, 1,000 year old manuscript of Beofwulf, learned about how it was Tolkien that made the effort in the past century to bring it to the front of serious literary discussion, and saw an original copy of Sir Gawain the Green Knight beside of it. Laura directed my attention to the Beatles exhibit right across from it, and it displayed the original lyrics to songs like "Yesterday" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand". The tour guide talked about one being pulled out of a litter bin and another written on the back of a letter, lending an almost insignificance to their scripting. I wanted to show off, so I proceeded to sing to Laura "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand". We then saw the Hertford map, and the last exhibit we saw was the Magna Carta.

London Excursion to be continued...

B) Today
Today was another good day. We discussed As You Like It and I happily completed what I think my first triumphant essay for this trip. I love class. I'm participating and arguing more than I ever legitimately have in class and feel so good about it. Dr. Conner told me he was happy about what I brought up today about how the space of the Forest of Arden works in the play. One of my constant goals is to win the love of my professors.

Tomorrow (actually in about six hours) we are going to go on yet another excursion to Stratford and watch As You Like It performed. That makes the third play we have watched this trip, the second of which will be in part of three of my London tale.

C) Friends: Part I (for Anna)
I want to dedicate a segment of this entry to introduce my friends I have made on this trip. Or maybe at least start a discussion. I can't do it justice tonight, sadly. But I'm having a great time with everyone on the trip. I have spent a lot of my time with (alphabetically) Ahna, Cristine, Gary, Laura, Shannon, and, of course, Dr. Stewart, Dr. Conner, and Dr. Lamb. Now that you know them, I will try to include them in future stories.

D) Just a little more...
Okay, I'm out of steam. I feel like I'm having a lot of trouble cramming a lot of stuff into one entry. I have so much more to say, but tomorrow, hopefully.

Yep. Done. Cheers.

There and Back Again: A Londoner's Tale (A mini-flashback series)

Back from London and no access to internet. Let me attempt to recap the past several days gracefully, with a little help from jotting things down in a notebook.

Thursday, we arrived in London. We took a small tour, began to get used to riding the Tube, and had dinner at an Indian restaurant. I loved the Indian food we had. It is my favorite out of all the ethnic food we have had so far including Tai, Greek, Chinese, and Brazilian. It was a pretty uneventful evening up until this time when our group split. Mine was the one that decided to rush the town. Dr. Conner and Dr. Stewart made me promise to not to leave the group, which inevitably foreshadows something bad to occur. We ended up going into the deepest, darkest part of London. Sodom and Gomorrah. I had to pretend to hold Christine's hand to get through it. I blocked the rest of that night out of my head for the purpose of this blog. Though, we did run into a "famous" person. Some girl from the Hills.

The apartment, or flat, that we stayed in was so nice. It was also very difficult to find out how everything worked. The washer/dryer was a pain, and it was an enigma to figure out how the blinds worked. I never did understand the shower with two opposite shower heads.

Now I must abruptly go to bed.

To be continued...

P.S.

Just went on a walk. I lied and haven't started my work yet. There was a lot on my mind. I think that the weirdest feeling about being here is not wanting to go back home. This whole trip has made me wonder a lot about identity, home, people, and culture are attached. I think I am feeling homesick, I would never admit it, and I miss people, that I will, but being in a totally different world with completely new people, a completely new community has a weird feeling to it. I can't describe it better than that at this time. Just a weird feeling. If you ever watched Arthur and remember the part in the series when Buster went away with his dad flying around the world, then that might help. He was out of the series for a long part of the season, and when he came back everything had changed. He was different, and everyone adjusted as if he were never there. That was my favorite part of the series, and it was kind of sad, too. But I like such things.

I guess I might say that I feel like a foreigner everywhere right now. Now starting to break away from habits I wouldn't have even noticed at home, and developing new ones. I have absolutely no idea what will be the outcome of this type of experience, and I guess that is what makes it most exciting.

I also expect that this feeling will only increase over the time I'm here, so I might promise to be reticent and not mention it again. Even if I do get homesick.

One last thing. I just happen to think of a passage from Tess that might appropriate this situation and put into practice what I should be doing in my essays:

"Moreover, when two people are once parted--have abandoned a common domicile and a common environment--new growths insensibly bud upward to fill each vacated place; unforeseen accidents hinder intentions, and old plans are forgotten".

New growths insensibly bud upward to fill each vacated place.

Hump Day

So, so much to write about! We just got back from watching "A Midsummer's Night Dream", and it was so funny! Great Play! Bottom was the best part by far.

Okay maybe not too terribly much to write about, but I'll stab. Class is going very well. I would like to say I'm learning a lot about poetry, but I shan't be too hasty. We conferenced with our professors about our first response paper, and I will be working on mine diligently tonight to bring it beyond a rough draft. I was a little disappointed with it, to be honest, but I will put all the energy I have stored to make it better. I have to write much and get caught up on my journal entries. Or, at least start those, anyway. After that, I hope that I can start on more papers and FINALLY get to reading the poetry assigned for tomorrow. Again. We're discussing Milton's "Lycidas", and we will be breaking up into pairs to present our interpretations. Now, if I have made it sound too easy so far, I'd like to draw attention to the whole educational program here. Our professors are challenging, impossibly learned, and are pushing us as far as they can. They are Dr. Conner, who actually helped to write SPAMALOT, Dr. Lamb, who went to NYU, I believe, and Dr. Stewart, who is actually originally from here and received his PhD here, as well. Together, they make an unstoppable tri-force of knowledge, entertainment, and hilarity.

Anyway, during a minimal amount of free time today, I went with a couple of our group to the Oxford Museum, forgive me if that is not the right name. There is housed inside Einstein's blackboard where he elaborated on a theory here at Oxford during a debate.

Yesterday, I didn't get to write about what we did. We visited the English countryside and it was amazing. So much corn, so many sheep. As far as the eye could see. We walked on for several miles.

I should probably not neglect all the food I have had either, but I will do it injustice by not recalling half of what I've had....okay....no...I'll work on that later. But it's been good!

A few things I like about being in England:
1. No tipping. No taxing.
2. Everyone has untidy hair, so I fit in.
3. I hardly ever need my sunglasses.

Speaking of #3, the weather here is awesome, being so close to the ocean. I haven't see a clear day since I've been here (I heart overcast weather), and it's always the right temperature.

Didn't do half bad, I s'pose. Wrote more than I anticipated.

Tomorrow we are going to London and staying there for a time.

Oh, and I haven't had a Coke since I've been here. I've been cut off by the culture itself. I'm getting a myriad of headaches, but I refuse to give in as long as the opportunity lends itself. Like Lent all over again.

Pip, pip.

Dear Anglophile:

I'm so sorry about the crappy quality of writing that I put into this, too. I don't check what I write, and I have so far made posts at like two in the morning. It's painful for me to read, but I really don't care with it being what it is. I'll try to be a better person in the future. No promises.

Back to School; Gala

Today I realized that I'm actually back in school. Amidst all the scenery, I was distracted by the very thought of studying, and even now, it still seems distant. I don't feel like I'm at school, although I'm always processing what's going on all the time, like the readings, history, culture, and the accent. I have a feeling that this impression of mine is susceptible to change and am curious to how it consequently will.

The affect of the accent is a bit different than I expected, and I find it strange to have it around me all the time. Today while I was visiting a few stores, I would mimic the clerks speech and tersely reply "Hallo" or something to that degree. I say tersely because at first I felt like an outcast speaking with as an American. In the oncoming weeks, I look forward to see whether I will continue to try to acclimate my speech or if I will be the rebellious American many of the English folk see us as, according to my interactions and impressions. As an aside, have spent a lot of the day thinking in a British accent purely out of happenstance. We shall see if the seeds sprout.

Class was interesting, as we have three professors amongst us while we sat at a table discussing what is assumed has been read and consumed while we sipped on tea. Spending almost all my social time with the professors has so far been a different and enthralling experience. So much education!

We had our first Gala dinner this evening, which eventually progressed to the Eagle and the Child Pub, the pub where Tolkien and Lewis shared their drafts of The LOTR and The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. Nonstop wild evening.

I couldn't resist either asking a British person their view of The Simpsons, given our sharing of pop culture/political exchanges. I had heard that it was wildly popular in Europe, and I myself believed it was similar in the British sense of humor while satirizing American life. Dr. Lee, a guest of ours at our eatings tonight confirmed both of the views. Refuge! "Oh, we love the Simpsons. They're very much like our British humour, you know, sarcasm n' all. We're only just now getting some of the older episodes. They've been around a donkeyish number of years".

Arrival

Today, we arrived at Oxford.

We came here after the longest flight I've ever been on, which also concurrently served as the first. The people I am with are a nice group, though, so that made everything go much smoother. I tried watching Ghost Writer and the Hurt Locker on the flight, but failed on both accounts. I did manage to listen to a full playlist of Aaron Copland music, though, and watch reruns from this season of the Office and 30 Rock.

We eventually arrived. I got situated in my room, which came with a fully functional piano. Weighted keys and all. I have a great window view that opens out onto the quad. My room is still really empty and quiet, though.

We went sightseeing around the town, and saw some wonderful architecture. We were going to go to Christ College (where much of the Sorcerer's Stone and the dining hall was/is filmed), but decided to postpone due to an insane tourist line. We went to a cloister in a neighboring college, though, where a scene from the last Harry Potter was filmed, specifically, where Mad Eye Moony turns Malfoy into a rat. I didn't recall that scene, so I just took my professor's word for it. I'll look it up later.

We ate Thai for dinner. And the rest of the evening is pretty much a blur. I'm exhausted and really should go to bed even though I should review poetry for tomorrow. Haven't slept for over a day though, so I will make that my first priority.

Finished Tess and Packing

Okay, finished Tess and packing for today. Sooo tired. Going to England tomorrow. Gulp. Feels unreal. I refuse to believe anymore until I'm in the airport.

T-Minus One Day

Hello Blogosphere! I have to first admit that I feel a little uncertain about our recently formed relationship considering that not many introductions begin with terms of agreement that say my sponsoring website might have to hand me over to the government after supplying them with ample self-incriminating evidence. I think, then, that I will write like I am writing a journal entry with the insight that someone might be looking over my shoulder. So not too privately. Who knows? It might be just between you and me.

Now, the main plot of this, my blog, is to write about my going across the pond to jolly ol' England. I will most likely use this as a rough draft for my many journals that I have to sketch out, two, actually, and I can use this as easy reference for myself, as well as for, I suppose, others. Not too concerned about the latter when it comes down to it since I am only the least bit aware of your lurking presence.

Icebreakers aside, let us get it on. I'm writing with a five o'clock shadow and sore eyes. (Aye! There's a good, romanticized beginning. Yeah!) I have read voraciously preparing for the oncoming trip, including an inch worth of a poetry packet, novels, a play, and more some more poetry. Specifically, these are Shakespeare's As You Like It, Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess, Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Kennedy's Elegy: The New Critical Idiom, and Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. Happily, almost all of these have one thing conveniently in common: DEATH...or...MELANCHOLIA...or...ALIENATION, and, if you're lucky, DIPSOMANIA. Okay, not really, but that's what it seems like.

Quickly casting all of the others into a corner, my favorite by far has been Brideshead Revisited. With Sebastian, a morose drunkard that talks to his teddy bear because he misses his childhood and hardly relates to his family, what's not to like? That's really just scratching a surface detail, but I'll hopefully delve more deeply over course of practicing this genre.

Okay, being the early AM, I feel I have sufficiently blogged away for my first entry, and, if we are lucky, expect more to come!