You Sound Like You're From London

The alarm sounded at 7:30. Grumpy, I quickly turned it off then said to Claire, "Why do we have to get up so early!?"

By 8:30, we leaving House 9 and walking toward the train station in Oxford headed for the city of London. I forgot to eat breakfast, so I grabbed a chocolate pastry and a cappuccino in the train station.

With a "chugga-chugga choo choo!" the train took us to Paddington Station in London. It was about an hour to the city, but it went by pretty quickly. When we arrived, we went to the British Library where we saw "Treasures of the British Library." The Magna Carta was there along with so many other amazing manuscripts. One display was a collection of The Beatles' drafts of song lyrics. One song was written on the back of an envelope--they had bad handwriting! but I suppose that's alright since they were geniuses.

I saw first editions of Shakespeare, Jane Austen's journal and her first draft of "Persuasion," a 10th century Bible, and many other antique documents. It was awesome.

I ate lunch at a nearby pub called O'Neils. I got a Tuna Melt--pretty tasty, but we had to eat fast in order to meet the group in time to go to the British Museum. Cole had told us that the British Library and Museum were very, very close to each, so it would be a very short walk. I'm never going to believe him again. It was NOT short, but I suppose if he told us it would be as long as it was we would complain. The British Museum is always fascinating and intimidating. Mummies, sculptures, artifacts, art, EVERYTHING you can imagine. I saw the Rosetta Stone which was fascinating. My feet were killing me after about two hours of browsing through the museum, so I found a bench and rested for the rest of our time there. At four, the group reconvened. I met up with Becca, Brittany, and Derko since we were the only four who would be returning to Oxford that same night. Brittany and Allison wanted to go see "Phantom of the Opera," but they didn't have tickets, so we walked down to the theatre district at Leicester Square, but they were not able to buy tickets for a good enough price; therefore, Allison and her group went to their hostel and we four day travelers headed to Piccadilly Circus to shop and explore. I bought a gift for Jason, and then we wandered the streets a bit. It was a freezing cold day with winds and light rain, so we tried to think of something that we could do that would be inside. So we hopped on the tube to Knightsbridge to visit the famous Harrods department store. We walked around in wonder at the ridiculous prices on everything. The jewelry didn't even list a price, instead the ticket said, "Price upon Request"--I don't even want to know what price they would give for a De Beers diamond necklace that contained 230 total carat weight! I did purchase some Rose-flavored Turkish Delight. I'd never tried it, but it's pretty good!

When we got hungry, we wandered the streets until we found a pub that wasn't too crowded. We landed at the Angel & Crown and went upstairs to eat where it was a little more quiet. I had a delicious Steak & Guinness pot pie that took about 30 minutes to eat because it was so hot. We stayed at the pub for a while talking and eating. Eventually, we hit the streets to do a bit more wandering and experiencing the city, and then headed back to Paddington Station to catch a train back to Oxford.

Exhausted, we arrived to our houses around midnight. It was a long day, but it was SO much fun!

Wandering, Wandering...LOST!

Yesterday was Sunday. I decided to go for a walk to explore the city and enjoy the brisk, January air. Off I set--I decided to wear my warmest coat and my tennis shoes so that discomfort would not be the cause for me to return to cozy House 10. I headed to city centre. I decided to stop in the covered market for a cookie. I cannot seem to be able to venture away from the Triple Chocolate Cookie and a cup of cold milk; however, I think the next time I go to Ben's Cookies, I'll follow the example of the girl who ordered after me who, when asked what she'd like, responded, "What is the hottest?" And that's what they got. Mmmmm...a hot cookie with cold milk would be so perfect! I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out next time I go.

Anyway, with cookie in one hand and milk in the other, I turned onto High Street past Magdalen College (CS Lewis is closely tied with this college, but I'm uncertain whether he attended or taught there). The buildings were very beautiful.

I continued walking over a bridge and into a part of town to which I'd never been. Looking back, I should have turned around at this point, but I foolishly kept walking. And even more foolishly, I kept walking. And kept walking. I turned once and then decided to just try to find a different route back to city centre so that I could see more of this mysterious side of Oxford. I ran into Cowley road and turned left. Then I walked for about thirty minutes. At every bend in the road I thought, "Surely I'm close. Surely." Around 3:45, I started getting nervous and began to think that I was lost. I realized that I probably wasn't in the best spot of town. The next bus stop I got to, I stopped and read the sign. It read, "Towards City Centre." So I sighed, sat down, and waited. A couple of shady characters walked by, but soon there were about six people at the stop, all of which seemed to be nice and "posh." When the bus finally came, I got in and asked the driver to take me to City Centre. "1 pound 80, please," he responded. I paid, took my ticket, then relieved, I took a seat. The ride lasted about 10 minutes and I realized my folly: when I'd reached Cowley road, I should have turned right instead of left. That way I would have arrived back at city centre "lick-a-dee-split!" The bus driver pulled up to the intersection of Cornmarket, High Street, Queens, and St. Aldates. I then walked as fast as I could back to the house. Lesson learned: If I wander by myself, I should always turn around before I get too far from the familiar.

Since Dr. Lytle is here now after the Presidential interviews, we had management for the first time today. I really enjoyed it and the two and a half hours seemed to fly by! Afterward, I began working on my new goal: jogging. I donned my sweats, grabbed my iPhone and earbuds, and hit the street headed for University Parks. I need to download the "Rocky" theme song to really get me pumped while I jog. It wasn't pretty, but it was a start. Contented, I returned to the house and tried to warm up by taking a hot shower. Soon, it was time to cook tacos with Claire. Our jalapeno cheese really added to the entree. After dinner, my sweet tooth was back with a vengeance! I asked Malia if she was interested in G&D's ice cream for the second night in a row, and she heartily agreed to come with me. Ryker and Christie joined us as well. I ordered a Brownie Sundae. It was amazing! The brownie was so warm and soft it melted in my mouth. The Bailey's ice cream added a burst of flavor, and the whip cream and chocolate sprinkles completed the ensemble. I ate the entire thing on the walk back to the house. It was GREAT! It cost 5 pounds, so there is no way I'll be getting that very often, but perhaps it'll be a good treat to have every couple of weeks--when my sweet tooth is inconsolable.

Now, I'm in the common room watching a movie with many of my fellow adventurers waiting for 10:30 to roll around so that Jason will be out of class and can Skype with me before I retire for the evening.

Good night world! Your traveler is weary.

Well...

I've really not done very much the last few days. Claire and I went back to the open market on Thursday--Thursdays are antiques and what not. It really worked out nicely because the same book dealer was there and I bought two Agatha Christie novels and a PG Wodehouse novel. All three for only 1.75! Whenever Claire and I go to city centre together we always end up buying more than we meant to. We stopped in Zara and both bought shirts, but the good news is that they were on sale! For dinner that night we made Beef Stroganoff and it was absolutely delicious! We made too much for the two of us though, so we had a lot of leftovers...I won't complain about that though!

Yesterday I was the only one at the house all day. Everyone went to Bath, but I didn't want to travel quite yet. I didn't realize I'd be the only one left, but I didn't really mind. It was a rainy day so instead of exploring, I did some homework and read an entire Agatha Christie called, "Endless Night." It took an insane twist at the end and gave me the creeps! But it was very good! Agatha Christie is so good at leaving the reader guessing until the very end of the book, then she'll throw something crazy into the mix and I always am left thinking, "Didn't see that one coming!"

Today, I slept very late and took my time to get ready. It's quite chilly out. I had to walk to Sainsbury's for some groceries--I am NEVER walking down to city centre on a Saturday again! It was INSANE! So many people. Many tourists. I knew the majority were tourists because Sainbury's was not too crowded and only locals grocery shop...ha! I just classified myself as a local. If someone from Oxford were to read this, they would not be pleased; however, I doubt anyone from Oxford would read this, so I think I'm safe from any British wrath...for now at least.

Here's an interesting tidbit: Thursday, on the way to the antique market, Claire and I walked past a funeral at a Catholic church. It was a sad sight. Today was quite the opposite: I walked past the same church and there was a wedding taking place. The bride looked freezing greeting guests outside in her sleeveless dress, but I'm sure she didn't even feel the cold.

My apologies for such a boring update. I hope tomorrow to got explore the city and take a lot of pictures. Monday classes really are in full swing so I'll have a busy week being cooped up in the house doing homework so that I can have an enjoyable trip to London this weekend.

Cheers!

To Market! To Market! To Buy a Fat Pig...

It's Wednesday night...we all know what that means...I went to the market today!

It was SO fun! This morning, Claire, Justin, Ryker, Nicolas, and I awoke with the sun to venture down to the Gloucester Green open-air market. Ryker brought his 50 Liter backpack to fill with the groceries that we were certain to buy. When we walked outside, we were shocked with the change of weather that had occurred overnight. This was what a bleak Oxford winter felt like. Snow and rain mixed together, a slight wind, and puddles, puddles, puddles. We were freezing. At one point, I was certain that I was getting frostbite!

When we arrived at the market we were absolutely ecstatic on what we found. Produce, beef, cheese, fish, bread, spices, books, trinkets, desserts, coats, scarves, gloves, everything you can imagine was sold at the market. Claire and I started out buying produce: potatoes, clementines, mushrooms, onion, fresh garlic, strawberries--everything was very inexpensive. We then ventured over to a few other booths browsing the old, hard-back books. Claire was quite taken with a set of Thomas Hardy novels, and I am definitely regretting my decision to leave without an Agatha Christie novel in tow. Nothing like snuggling up on the couch with a great murder mystery on a cold, dreary day. I won't make this mistake next week! After leaving the bread, we found a man selling bread. All sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors of Polish bread. We selected a huge loaf of brown bread, and then made our way to the fish stand. We had decided that we wanted to try cooking salmon, so we located the fish and purchased a pound and a half. Since it was so expensive, Ryker pitched in a couple pounds in exchange for being included in the meal. Eventually, Ben also got in on the deal by contributing green beans and rice.

Side Note: One aspect of the market that I found interesting and odd was that everything was weighed in pounds (lbs) rather then the UK unit of kilograms. Though strange, this worked in our favor as Americans because we had a better understanding of the amounts that we were purchasing.

On to the meats and cheeses! The lady at the stand explained that because of the rainy weather, she was not able to bring the entire variety of meats that she usually brings. So we bought some bacon and two types of cheeses: mild cheddar and jalapeno cheddar. After placing all of our groceries into Ryker's large backpack, we went on our way, stopping at the covered market to visit Ben's cookies and the butcher. I had a triple chocolate cookie again, but this time, I bought a cup of cold milk for 50p. It complimented the cookie perfectly! I was in heaven! Finishing the cookie, I discarded my cup and napkin and headed to the butcher. We picked up minced beef for burgers and tacos as well as chuck steak for Beef Stroganoff. On our way out of the covered market we passed another, more expensive butcher who sold "organic meats." There were entire sides of beef hanging from the ceiling. As we turned a corner we noticed a shopping cart right next to us with a side of beef just laying in it. Seeing the skinned tail just made me a little sad...then I thought about how delicious that must taste!

By this time we were absolute icicles and decided to head back to the houses. On the way, I ran into the small Sainsbury's to buy a few ingredients for the Beef Stroganoff as well as some deliciously rich chocolate milk--no doubt the BEST chocolate milk to ever pass my lips. Finally, we were able to retreat to the warmth of our cozy home. Claire and I cooked hamburgers with jalapeno cheddar cheese on toasted brown Polish bread for lunch. It was spectacular. By the time lunch was finished we headed to class in House 9. Afterward, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon doing homework and napping.

Before we knew it, it was time to cook dinner. I didn't really know what I was doing, because our resources are limited, but I did the best I could to make a lemony salmon. It turned out really well! I'm not going to reveal my secret ingredient because I haven't yet decided if this recipe will be called, "Stephanie's Secret Lemony Salmon." It was the first time I'd ever made up a recipe, and it was really fun. I was very proud of myself! I can't wait to make it back home--I think my mother will be very proud of her young apprentice...at least, I hope so! My apologies if I'm boasting a bit, but I'm just so excited about it!

Now, I'm stuffed. The Internet has not been working since about 11:30 last night, so finally, almost 24 hours later it is kind of working. I'll take what I can get!

I'm hoping the weather clears up for tomorrow. I do not have class or anything, so I'm hoping I can go explore this amazing city and take some pictures!

SUNday

As I walked out of my room this morning, I was shocked at how bright the sun was as it poured through the windows. I immediately regretted my decision to sleep until 11 AM since I now only had about 5 hours of sunlight to enjoy.

Claire and I decided to go ahead and eat lunch instead of breakfast. We pulled our chicken slices and cheese from the refrigerator, but decided that cold sandwiches were simply too boring. So, I found a skillet, heated it up then cooked the chicken. I folded three slices next to each other then place a piece of cheese on top then another slice of chicken on top of the cheese. Then I flipped the entire pile over and cooked it until the cheese melted. Claire toasted the bread and I chopped some lettuce. We heated some Minestrone soup and chopped an apple then enjoyed a huge and delicious meal. After cleaning the kitchen, we strolled outside with some of the guys. We stopped at North Parade where we took many pictures. It's such a quaint little street.

After some of the guys bought hot sandwiches from on the hoof, we walked into town. It did not take long for Claire and I to grow tired of the boys and soon we were shopping, shopping, shopping for the rest of the afternoon. I bought a pair of jeans, a scarf, and a pair of boots. I had a lot of fun and might have spent too much money, but I figured that I'm only in Oxford once so I didn't feel as bad. We stopped at Sainsbury's for some apple juice. Let me tell you: the apple juice here is the absolute BEST! We bought three cartons!

Back home, it was time to cook dinner: Fiesta Soup! Since I had to improvise several ingredients, I was very worried that it would not taste very good; however, it was not too bad--not as good as when it has the correct ingredients, but still quite tasty. After cleaning the kitchen we headed to house 9 to try to watch the Cowboys game. I just uploaded pictures and updated this blog the whole time, but at least I was socializing!

It was a beautiful day filled with food and fun--can't be beat!

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

Not really. I just wanted to give a shout-out to dear Mr. Wordsworth.

I did in fact wander, and most of the time I was, in fact, alone; however, never did I find myself lonely.

My day started in a fierce anger directed toward a Mr. Jet Lag. We are not friends, and I doubt there is any hope of a future cordial relationship. This silent enemy of mine delayed my golden slumber until 2 AM! I was not happy. Then my poor friend Claire was sick during the night and around 6:30 she asked me to run next door and wake Cole so that he could help figure out how to get her well. Around eight she went to the ER and felt increasingly better as the day progressed. Now, she's out-and-about feeling great, so I am very thankful about that.

After rushing to get ready, I walked over to house 9 to meet a group headed to University Parks. I wore my new UGG knock-offs, but the ground was so puddly from the rain that soon they were soaked and my feet were once again tiny ice cubes. To make matters worse, I forgot my gloves so my poor fingers were in the same state. We threw snowballs and took some pictures (above), but soon I was too miserable to carry on and I retreated to the warmth of the houses.

I sipped tea and had some quiet time which was very nice and very relaxing. I didn't want to be too relaxed and fall asleep, so I soon donned my coat, gloves, better shoes, and new scarf and hit the streets searching for adventure.

My new obsession here in Oxford is grocery shopping! Back home I find it to be such a drag, but here it is my favorite thing to do. I listed out the ingredients I needed to make a recipe I found online for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies as well as the ingredients for Fiesta Soup (perfect for a frightfully cold day). Off I went with a smile on my lips, money in my bag, and joy in my heart. This was what I love--exploring somewhere new all by myself. I stopped at Boots Pharmacy on Cornmarket to get a mirror for my room. Our mirrors are on the opposite side of the room as our outlets so straightening my hair was practically impossible. After leaving the pharmacy I ducked into the covered market in search of Ben's Cookies which I'd heard so much about. I did not expect the sight that was before me. It was a real market with a butcher, a produce stand, a flower shop, everything you can imagine was in that precious little covered market. Eventually I found Ben's, selected a chocolate white chocolate chip cookie then stopped at the butcher on my way back to the street. They had a special on minced (ground) beef, which was perfect since I needed that for the soup.

Again on the street, I returned to my beloved Sainsbury's to find the remainder of my ingredients. The Saturday crowd was quite hectic, but that only added to the fun of my adventure. To those who say that cooking most of my own meals will hinder me from fully experiencing the culture I say: FALSE! The grocery store is a great place to see locals--hardly any tourists go to grocery stores. Anyway, I did have to improvise on several ingredients, for example, one cannot buy Rotel Tomatoes here so I had to stick with plain ol' diced tomatoes. Since I had more ground beef than I could use in the soup, I also picked up some taco seasoning and shells. The only ingredient I could not find was cocoa powder for the cookies; however, with a shrug of my shoulders I lugged my groceries about a mile back to the house.

I was so distraught about not finding cocoa and still so hyped about my adventures, I decided to head to the next village called Summertown to scour their grocery stores. The Co-op was the first I came upon, and I had no luck with the cocoa; thankfully, there is a Marks&Spencer right next door, and they had cocoa powder. SUCCESS! Along with apples and lettuce, I trekked back home--about another mile.

Time to bake! The cookies turned out great! They were so chocolately that they were almost black in color. At first I was worried no one would eat them, but soon I found some takers. Exhausted, I rested in my room to read a bit of my textbook and rest my feet. The textbook put me right to sleep, but I woke up about 20 minutes later--powernaps are always great.

I was ready to return to the kitchen. Since Claire had been feeling so sick, she wasn't in the mood for anything too heavy, so I decided to wait and cook Fiesta soup tomorrow night. Meanwhile, I wanted to use some of my ground beef, so I decided to make myself a hamburger. I pulled a skillet from the cabinet and heated it on the stove then placed my burger patty on it for about 4 minutes. While it was cooking, I sliced some of the wheat bread we had purchased yesterday to create a make-shift bun, and I chopped some lettuce to give it a little extra flavor. I turned the patty over then immediately placed a slice of mild cheddar cheese on top while it finished cooking. By the time the burger was ready, the cheese had melted all around the burger so that you could barely even see the meat. I placed it on the wheat bread, added lettuce then bit into it, and, although I know it's rude to say, I did a good job! Since the meat was so fresh, the burger was juicy and thick, and the cheese almost tasted like Swiss. I enjoyed every bite and could have made myself another one, but didn't want to appear a pig.

I spent the rest of the evening relaxing with my fellow travelers and Skyping with my sweet blue-eyed beau who is the most supportive boyfriend a girl could ever have. I'm very blessed to have him because he makes this trip so much easier even though he is thousands of miles away.

Time for some shut eye so I'll be ready for all Oxford has to offer tomorrow! Hopefully I can find more opportunities to take pictures too.

Goodnight World!

Oxford Hugs Me When I Walk Outside

My bed was just as comfy as I hoped it would be last night. It kept me cozy and warm all 13 hours that I was asleep--I was exhausted! Claire and I slept the day away, but we definitely needed it. We woke up at 12:15 and rushed to be ready for our orientation. The group walked about ten minutes to St. Andrew's Church were we circled up and listened to a run-down of everything we needed to know about living in Oxford. It was very informative, so the two hours flew by.

It is not taking England long to convert me to their tea-drinking ways. We had a break for tea during orientation and I went back for seconds! I loved drinking it with two sugar cubes and a splash of cream.

Anyway, after leaving St. Andrews, Cole took us near the houses to show us where we do our laundry. Our houses are located on the edge of St. Hughes College, but laundry is the only reason we are supposed to venture any further onto the campus. Not entirely sure why, but I'd rather not get in any sort of trouble while over here, so I just will blindly follow that rule.

Becca, Claire, and I headed to the city centre to do a bit of shopping once we were dismissed. The snow on the sidewalks is incredibly slippery, so I had to concentrate on keeping my balance and was unable to enjoy all the beautiful architecture we passed. We ventured down to Queen Street and stopped at TopShop and Primark. I bought some UGG knock-offs for only 5 pounds--I swore I'd never buy shoes like that but my toesies are so cold here so I folded. I showed Jason on Skype, and he was practically horrified; however, I'm sure if his toes were frozen he'd buy some too! After stopping at a quaint delicatessen on High Street for a quick dinner, we walked back to Sainsbury's grocery store to stock up on food. Claire and I are really trying to save money by cooking the vast majority of our own meals. So we bought fresh baked bread, cheese, sliced chicken (the turkey was really expensive), apple juice, bagels, pasta, Ragu, and Sainsbury-brand Ramen noodles (they have that here for 9p!). Hopefully that will last us several days because it only cost 14 pounds total!

We returned to our cozy home and relaxed for the remainder of the evening. Even though it's not even 10, I'm so sleepy, so I think I will retire. I'm setting the alarm for 8 AM, so tomorrow should be full of adventure!

The Journey Begins

And we're off! Before I knew what exactly was happening, I sat teary-eyed on a bus watching my precious boyfriend drive away in my beloved Taquita Maria. My suitcases were packed--I had to leave many items at Liz's house in order to meet the two bags, one carry-on limit, but surprisingly enough, I succeeded.

After three hours on a bus to DFW spent chatting with my new friend Becca, the waiting truly began. Our flight was delayed an hour and a half, so we had A LOT of time to get to know Terminal D, but as always, time passes and soon we fastened our seat belts and flew off into the wild blue yonder.

I slept most of the way which was very nice. We landed at London Heathrow around 10:30 local time. Customs was crazed, so we had to wait quite a while to continue through the airport and on to Oxford which was about 45 minutes away by coach (bus). The drive to Oxford was absolutely magical! Snow covered the fields and blanketed the tops of trees and houses. With the infamous London fog, I felt as though I was going through a fluffy cotton tunnel the whole journey because the sky and the ground were both white.

Oxford, with its history, architecture, and overall atmosphere, is enchanting. I absolutely am ecstatic to walk the streets and parks exploring the unique beauty of the city. We arrived to our houses slightly before 2 in the afternoon and lugged our baggage up the stairs. Claire and I are bunking together in house 10, and I really love our room! Everyone ate a light lunch then walked into the city together to find banks, grocery stores, and other important places. After splitting from the group, Claire and I browsed a few stores then went to the 9-to-9 on our way home to pick up something for dinner. Both of us selected canned Minestrone soup, and my sweet tooth chose Digestives (cookies dipped in chocolate). I even found a Dr. Pepper! We heated the soup on our precious little stove in our precious little kitchen then went downstairs to eat in the classroom area. After a cold day, soup definitely warms the cockles of your heart. Exhausted, we cleaned our dishes then finished organizing our room.

Though it's early, my eyes are beginning to feel heavy, and my freshly made bed is incessantly calling my name. It cannot be ignored. Nighty Night!