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.

Adventures in Ireland

This last weekend I made a trip, along with several other students in our program, to Dublin. I was able to even make the trip a bit of an adventure by opting to take several trains and a ferry rather than fly. Now I was worried leading up to the ferry because I've always pictured ferries to be small boats like the Staten Island ferry in New York. Thank goodness I was incorrect in this presumption! Our ferry looked more like a cruise ship complete with a movie theater, arcade, game room, shopping center, and two restaurants. Most importantly they had very comfortable chairs to sleep in since we travelled overnight arriving at the Dublin port a little before 6:00am. I was very glad I chose this option though because there was a magnificent view from the top outer deck of the ferry and I got to see a lot of the English countryside from the train.

Once we arrived in Dublin we dropped our bags off at the hotel, walked around for a bit waiting for everything to open up, and then took a 3.5 hour walking tour of the city. Our tour guide knew so much about the history of not only Dublin but Ireland in general. We went by the Dublin Castle where the British stayed and ran the government when Ireland was still under British rule. The castle garden immediately behind the building used to be connected to the river, and when the Vikings arrived hundreds of years ago that is where they landed. Since the water was so dark they named the city Dublin which means dark pool. We also visited Christ Church Cathedral, which was set up by the Vikings and at one time a Catholic church that was used for many purposes over the years and has been a prime example of the relationship between alcohol and religion in Ireland. A couple prominent families who owned alcoholic companies, such as the Guinness family, lived in Dublin and used their money to renovate some of the old churches and restore them to their original glory. It seemed that religion had always played a large role in Irish society so it was neat to hear how everything tied together. A few other sites we stopped by include Trinity College, the government building, and some monuments commemorating the potato famine. It was a wonderful tour and I learned a great deal. I truly could not have asked for a better introduction to the city.

The second day we were in Ireland we took a day trip outside of Dublin to visit the countryside and the Cliffs of Moher. I can not put into words how beautiful the cliffs are; I was absolutely amazed when I saw them. Along the way we stopped in Galway city, at the Dunguaire Castle, Poulnabrone Dolmen a stone age burial tomb dating back 6,000 years, and the Burren Mountains. In the mountains we took an hour long hiking tour and had a beautiful view. From our hike we could see the ruins of an old monastery tucked away where the underground rivers sprang up as well as the Kinvara village where there is an annual boat race in the small fishing village. We also learned about the rock walls that are everywhere. There area has a great deal of limestone rock, and so people have used it to build walls surrounding their homes, separating their land from others, and cordoning off different sections of their land. During the potato famine the farmers in this area had a bit of extra food so they decided to pay workers to come build rock walls up through the mountains in exchange for food. These walls serve no purpose, but it was a way for them to help their fellow countrymen survive this hard time. Lastly we visited a fairy tree. It's a special type of fig tree and it's believed that if you tie something to it when you have a problem the fairies will help to solve it. I really think it could be nice to have one in Lincoln and try it out. Everywhere we went we were surrounded by ancient sites and beliefs; there is just so much history even in the mountains!

Following the mountains we continued on our way to the Cliffs of Moher. We passed several more castle ruins along the way and finally arrived at our main destination. From the cliffs you can see the Aran Islands where the Irish Gaelic language is still spoken today. The cliffs themselves are 214 meters high at their tallest point and span 8 kilometers. I can honestly say that from every point on the cliffs there is a breath taking view. It was truly one of the most beautiful sceneries I've ever seen. Someday I hope to make it back to Ireland to see more of the countryside and perhaps make a visit to the city of Wicklow where the movie P.S. I Love You was based and filmed. Until then I will continue to think about all the great information and sites I saw this past weekend.

The pictures below include the Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, the Burren Mountains showing the old monastery, the fairy tree, four images of the Cliffs of Moher, and the remains of the Dunguaire Castle. Enjoy!

Off to the Races

It turns out I'm not as good of a judge when it comes to choosing horses at the races as I thought I might be. I finally figured this out after every horse I chose to cheer for lost. Most people in the group came home slightly in the red, but a few lucky betters broke even and the even luckier brought home some money yesterday. Maybe for next race I'm at I should choose horses based on facts rather than the horse's name or the color the jockey is wearing. I thought I would win for sure when I chose to cheer on Holyman and Obliterate, but I guess we can't win them all.

The race we went to was a little different than the big race tracks I've seen in the states. First the track itself is grass rather than dirt and there are very few seats. Most people in attendance stood in the grass down by the track or sat in one of the restaurants. I also thought there would be more fascinators (hats). Towards the end of the day I started to pick up a few tips on choosing a horse and learned that you should watch them walk around and warm up so you can see their leg muscles because that can give you some hint as to how well they do. The absolute best advice I heard was to ask the ushers at the front of the building. A couple girls on the trip asked an usher for advice and it turns out that he was right every time! I guess being around the horses so much really gives you a good sense of what they can do. The environment at the races is so fun; it truly was a fantastic experience and of my favorite activities of the program.

Starting after class this morning we have our extended weekend. Most of us are going to visit Dublin but there are people staying in England to visit some cities around Oxford. There are a few other groups going to Berlin, Amsterdam and Scotland as well. Personally I'm extremely excited to see Dublin. I've heard it's beautiful and just a really neat place. Who knows, maybe it will even get me in touch with some of my Irish roots :) Since we're experiencing a "heat wave" with temperatures in the high 70s in Oxford it might be nice to have some colder weather for the weekend in Dublin. I'm perfectly happy with the temperature here knowing that it's over 100 back in Nebraska but it is a little funny that this weather is considered to be quite warm. Look forward to some fun stories from the weekend!

Until then here are some pictures from the races.

So Lucky

The last few days have been absolutely amazing! I've attended high tea, gone to London, and had a good old lazy Sunday.

Friday we got dressed up and went to experience the English tradition of high tea. I definitely think this is a tradition we could use in the states and more specifically in Lincoln. Perhaps we could make it a little less fancy but the idea of a tea break in the afternoon could do us wonders! The food they served was delicious and the tea was great as always. We had several finger sandwiches ranging from smoked salmon (my personal favorite) to cucumber. Then there were the scones with jam and cream and the top layer of just incredible desserts; I couldn't help myself, it was just all so good. It was also nice that the Dean was able to join us for tea before she headed back to Lincoln.

Yesterday we got up early and made a trip into London. It was a bit of a whirlwind but I managed to fit a lot into a day. We got there and had three hours to run around before watching the musical Chicago. We managed to make it to Buckingham Palace and saw the changing of the guard, over to Westminster Abbey where we took a tour, past Big Ben and the parliament building, then over by the London Eye and a neat little walking bridge. After all of that we had to rush back for the wonderful show. I just adore going to shows and this was a new one for me so it was very fun. Everyone seemed to like it, even the guys who didn't originally really want to go :) We then got another two and a half hours before the bus headed back to Oxford. I wanted to see the Olympic Village so a couple friends and I took the tube out to see it. Unfortunately the majority of the village was still closed off, but it was neat to say that we were there. We got a few pictures out in front and then headed to a great Indian restaurant right there. I would highly recommend the Indian food in London, oh my goodness it was a great quick meal. The entire day trip was fabulous and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I know there are a few sites I missed, but I am truly just so lucky to have been able to see as much as I did.

Today I woke up and walked around the city for a bit. I went to the Christ Church meadow and had my breath taken away. I can't wait to go running through there tomorrow because it is just the most beautiful little area of the city. I spent the rest of my Sunday being lazy reading a good book on the bench directly in the center of Jesus College. The weather was so nice I just had to be out there!

Everything has been so great throughout my trip. I couldn't ask for anything more and can hardly wait to see what else I will be able to experience!

Pictures include: Pictures from High Tea, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Olympic Village and Christ Church.

The Merchant of Venice

Yesterday I wandered around the city and found my way to the original Blackwell's Bookstore. It was started here in Oxford as a family run business and has now become one of the largest, best known bookstores in the world. Needless to say I couldn't help but buy a book! Other than the bookstore I walked by several of the other colleges and just admired all the architecture. There truly is nothing like these buildings back home and I want to try and see as much of it as I can before I have to leave. Everything is so old and beautiful, some buildings have been here for longer than the United States has existed! That's just so crazy to think about.

Last night we took a big group picture of the Nebraska at Oxford class of 2012. Dean Plowman made it to Oxford in time for the picture and then ate dinner with everyone. She is so interested in everything that we are doing and has been extremely fun to have here. After dinner we made our way to a play. I was honestly a little nervous for the play since it's was written by Shakespeare, but I had no reason to be since "The Merchant of Venice" was fabulous! We sat in a big outdoor amphitheater and laughed throughout the entire thing. From the venue to the actors it was just wonderful and I think everyone who went felt the same way.

Today we're going to experience a traditional high tea. I've been told that it's quite the event so I can't wait to see for myself. I also had the pleasure of eating my first authentic plate of fish and chips at lunch! I'm generally not a big fish eater, but I could probably eat fish and chips all the time it was so good. It looks like I'll need to take my camera to meals from now on because not only is our food delicious but the presentation never ceases to surprise me. It makes me wonder if this is what meals are like for Oxford students throughout the year or if it's just for summer events that they work so hard. If it turns out that these are typical meals for students I'm going to be very jealous.

Until I can post about my high tea experience here are a few pictures to look at. The second is the backside of the church I believe, the third is the original Blackwell Bookstore, and the last is of Dean Plowman and I following our group photo.