Bittersweet

I really think my brain could use this week long break before school starts after the last few days. We finished classes on Tuesday, had Wednesday free as a study day, then had a final yesterday and our last this morning. There were some long group study sessions in Jesus College, some even longer study breaks masquerading as naps, and a few coffee runs thrown in for good measure. I'm happy to say that everyone is finally done studying and ready to enjoy Oxford, but here comes the bittersweet part... it's our last day here.

I visited Christ Church and walked around the town for a couple hours this afternoon taking pictures of the gorgeous city to cap off my trip. Christ Church has become quite famous for the role it played in Harry Potter, there were several scenes shot inside of Christ Church, but it is a magnificent college. It has changed leadership several times since the first building was done and the architecture demonstrates how much it has been cared for by different people over the years. I've become very interested in architecture over the course of this trip as we have seen some absolutely incredible buildings, but other than the building itself my favorite parts about Christ Church are the tree in the center and the meadow outside. There is a large tree in a courtyard area with the base reading "The leaves of the tree are for for the healing of the nations." This really struck me and I kept returning to it throughout my visit. Colleges own a great deal of land in Oxford and the Christ Church meadow is a fantastic use of that land. In the center is a bit of farm land and several cows graze here as well, but there is also a great path with magnificent views of the land as well as the skyline. I was repeatedly struck by the beauty of Oxford as I walked around today.

After staying in such a beautiful city for a month I'm not quite sure I'm ready to head home. Of course I love Nebraska and I miss my friends and family, but there's just something about Oxford that I'm not quite ready to let go of. I'm taking it as a sign that I'll be back at some point. I don't think I could have asked for a better study abroad experience. We packed a lot into a little into our short time here and far exceeded any expectations I had coming on the trip. It was a wonderful experience and I am so happy that I will have the privilege of helping other students plan their trips for next summer!

Pictures below are of Christ Church and from walking around the city. The last is of the Radcliffe Camera, part of the library. Enjoy!

Wonderful Weekend

The past weekend was truly spectacular. Saturday a couple smaller groups visited Bath. The city is famous for the Roman Baths, but served as a popular holiday location for aristocrats who would visit for the Baths and stay at the Royal Crescent. The Crescent was built between 1767 and 1775 and has become a well-recognized landmark though today it serves as a hotel. The Pulteney Bridge is another well-known landmark. It's a beautiful bridge offering a great view of the historic city. One of the last historic sites we visited was the Circus. A gorgeous building that forms the shape of a key, which can be seen from the sky. This building was a key reason that UNESCO awarded Bath with the title of a World Heritage Site. The architecture has been extremely well preserved and all of the buildings are magnificent. I truly do not believe you can take a bad picture in Bath, as there were gorgeous scenic views from alleyways as well as in more open and populated areas.

Additionally, there are several museums in Bath including the Fashion Museum. This museum houses a collection of dresses and gloves from the 16th Century as well as more modern pieces including the Dress of the Year for 2011. It was interesting to see how fashion has changed over the centuries and to try and imagine wearing some of the clothing that was popular years ago. Some of the day dresses from the 16th Century are large enough that I'm not sure anyone could fit through a door wearing them today. During our visit there was also a special display of costumes from movies depicting the royal family including a few dresses worn by Helen Mirren in the movie The Queen and Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth. There were some fun items included such as the green Versace dress that Jennifer Lopez famously wore. It was a wonderful museum and really a neat collection.

The Women's Olympic Marathon was taking place Sunday and I can now officially say I saw an Olympic Event! We took the bus in early that morning and got a place near the start of the race, by Westminster Abbey, allowing us to see them within the first seven minutes of the race. It was incredible to see how fast they were going and the crowd support was amazing. Within a few feet from us I saw about five different national flags and several other nations represented. The view was incredible although I felt bad for the runners, as it was quite rainy out. Overall we have had great weather for the Olympics, but I would not have wanted to run 26.2 miles in the rain. Luckily for everyone it cleared up about halfway through their run and they were able to finish in some great weather. After seeing them run by we headed out toward the London Tower and caught a bit more of the race as they ran past that section of London. It was one of the most fantastic experiences being able to watch world class athletes perform.

For lunch we found our way to the Curry Capital of the World, more commonly known as Brick Lane. The area is lined with great Indian restaurants and we ate some wonderful food. It was a bit like visiting China Town or Little Italy in New York or somewhere where the food is just so authentic and delicious. After lunch we spent the day at London Tower. Having been the home of so many royals the tower is rich with history. In fact it's so rich with history that three queens including Queen Anne Boleyn were killed in one spot in the center of the lawn and over 1,500 individuals were buried beneath the church. It was home to the most infamous jail towers and many individuals faced a great deal of torture there before eventually being led up the hill outside the castle where they would be killed in front of massive crowds.

On a more fun note, the royals used to receive amazing gifts from around the world, and at one point had an elephant, polar bear, several lions, tigers, and other animals housed within these gates. Even more amazing, are the crown jewels! Unfortunately they are extremely strict on their no photo policy around the jewels, but I was floored by the size of them. The crowns did not even look real the jewels were so large; it looked like something you could buy at a costume shop and pretend was real. In addition to the jewels themselves there was the most magnificent set of banquet dishes completely made out of gold. One platter depicted the Last Supper while across the room there was a "punch bowl" the size of a coffee table. It noted that it could hold over 100 bottles of wine, and the ladle looked almost like an alphorn (the large instruments made of horns that are often depicted in images of the Swiss mountains). The tower was just absolutely fantastic. Every square inch tells various stories and I know we only touched on the very tip of them. It would be fascinating to do more research into the building and learn about all that has taken place there over the years.

The last stop of the day was the London Bridge. There are large Olympic rings hanging from the top of the bridge and it is the most magnificent picture. It truly is a once in a lifetime image and I'm happy that we were able to capture it. The day was packed full of fun things and I learned a great deal about London and the history of the British people.

Pictures below include some of the women running in the Olympic Marathon, the London Tower, and the London Bridge.

These are pictures from Bath. The first is of the Bath Abbey, the second of the Royal Crescent, and the last is of the Pulteney Bridge and the street to the left of it.

Time Flies- Week Three

This last week was extremely busy, exciting, and wonderful. There was a fantastic lecture over the current state of the European economy, a visit to Stratford, the Ashmolean Museum, a group beach themed event and some wandering around Oxford. It was quite the week!

While it may not sound all that exciting the lecture on the European economy was an eye opening experience. I've been keeping up on the news this summer, but I had no idea how bad things had gotten. Often times the news doesn't tie everything back to past problems so when I saw how each smaller issue related to one another it was shocking. Many leaders are so focused on saving the Euro that they are causing more problems in the long run for the various European economies. A great deal of the bailout money being given to countries such as Greece and Cyprus is used to pay back debts rather than being put into the country's economy to try and jump start it. Without changes being made within the country there can be no end to the need for more bailout money. However it seems that since Germany is so focused on maintaining the Eruozone they, along with the IMF, are prepared to keep providing bailouts. Russia has helped in Cyprus, but most nations outside of the EU are wary of getting involved. I can't say I blame those leaders for being cautious. The discussion was detailed and informative, yet it is just the tip of the iceberg. I was truly floored by how much we learned.

On Wednesday we made a trip to Stratford to see "The Twelfth Night" performed in Shakespeare's hometown. Since the play was in the evening we were unable to visit much of the city, and unfortunately I missed seeing the place where Shakespeare was born, but the play was wonderful! The set was fabulous and the actors even more so. The plot is much like the movie "She's the Man" in that a young woman dresses up as her brother and takes his place. It wouldn't be a play without a love triangle, which adds some extra twists to the plot. Of course there are differences between the play and the movie, but that is perhaps the easiest way to describe the main portion of the play. I don't particularly enjoy reading Shakespeare, but seeing his plays come to life has been a completely different experience on this trip. We've now seen two plays of his and both have been phenomenal!

The Ashmolean Museum is an art museum in the center of Oxford. They have work from Ancient Rome and Egypt to modern day pieces. Since it's there is no entrance fee I felt that I had to go look around. There really were some great paintings and drawings. They also had jewelry, furniture, dishes, and tiles from the Middle Eastern region of the world. Every room was very different from the previous display so it was almost like you were on a quick trip around the world. Later that night everyone dressed up in beach attire and met up for some games in Jesus College. There was a life size version of Jenga, twister, and a whole lot more. Some people really went all out with monkey costumes, floaties, and snorkels!

Since I don't have many pictures from our events this past week (often times cameras were not allowed) I'll include some more from Oxford.

The first is the Bodleian Library, the second of New College, and the third is in the Christ Church gardens.