KK’s Blog

We made it back to London and are currently trying to get a few hours of sleep at Brendan’s before we have to head out at 6 am to catch our flight back to the states. We flew in from Ireland this evening, then got a bus to Victoria in London and then got another bus to Brendan’s apartment. Then we have our flight from Heathrow tomorrow morning to Chicago, with a four-hour layover before we finally fly back to Louisville to get there at 7:15 pm. It’s been crazy stuff, and I’m definitely ready to not be traveling for a bit, although it has made me appreciate England more. In a way, I felt like I was coming home by just getting to London. I’ve been gone so long from the US. I mean, I guess it’s not that long, but longer than I’ve ever done before. Okay, Christi and Melissa are already asleep so I guess I better get some too.

Okay, so the bed bugs aren’t in Brussels, just in Paris. We’ve escaped those, but Melissa still managed to get some sort of bite last night. And it’s been raining off and on since we got into Brussels. I thought rain was typical in England, but apparently it is in northern Europe too. And the temperature is ridiculous, a stifling 55 degrees. We did find a “gay, wireless, happening” cafe to sit with my computer and look up stuff for Dublin, where it will get even better with a high of 57 degrees. But we’re going to make the best of it. Just tried to book a day tour, we’ll see if there is an opening. As soon as we get done here, we’ll be off to see a peeing boy. Yesterday we did get full of chocolate samples and ice cream. And we’ll be getting waffles today. We also found a shopping mall with a supermarket, where we felt at home. Got a baguette, cream cheese, chips, salsa, and sesame sticks. The guy who was cleaning tables in the food court kept walking by us and smiling. We looked like we were starving, shoving food in our mouths, and I’m sure our spread was quite an interesting combination. But it was so good. Glad we’re away from dirty Paris and under lock and key Munich, now we can eat what we want. The sun just came out so we’re going to try to catch it for the few seconds before it goes back behind the clouds.

So I read this book that Dani, Rita’s roommate, had left in Oxford while they stayed with me, called The Wrong Hostage. It was a suspense novel, not completely my type of book, but it was fun to read. However, I never thought I’d be living it. Munich was interesting to say the least. By the end of our three-day stay, Melissa, Christi, and I were referring to ourselves as hostages. Christi’s “friend” who we stayed with wouldn’t let us out of his sight and had every minute of our day planned. But we have now made it to Paris, after getting very little sleep on an overnight train and spending the day in Versailles with chilly weather. We are at hotel now, and we are one, two, free peoples (as one of our Austrian friends said as he was counting how many of us were going to be coming canyoning). So we are very happy, but very tired and hungry. Need to rest up and get energy for tomorrow. Maybe I’ll find some time to write a proper entry in here soon, but it might not happen until I get home. Hopefully I’ll remember everything. But just have to say, yay! We are free peoples!

I’m in Europe, met up with my friends, done a lot of hiking, and Brendan is already back in London. I’ll write more details later but I’m getting ready to go to a dance party in Munich with veterinary students, probably with a lot of beer. And yes, I have tried beer. We knew we would like Munich when we got here because as soon as we got off the train they gave us free ice cream and water. The ice cream was melting, so I was eating it really quickly. So I turned to Melissa and said, “This is the fastest ice cream I’ve ever eaten,” except she heard, “This is the fascist ice cream I’ve ever eaten.” And she was wondering if I had just made a funny joke, though she told me I might not want to say that here. And then Christi the next day asks one of our friends, “Is there anyone else famous from Germany besides Heidi Klum and Hitler?” We’re making lots of friends in Germany, no really, we are.

Okay this entry is a little delayed. I started writing it and then got busy. I’m still busy now, but I’m taking a bit of a break. Well after we didn’t make it to Stratford, Jennifer and I decided to go to Blenheim. It was a perfect day outside. And I’m actually glad we went there instead of Stratford. It would have been a good day to walk around a town, but it was even better to walk around meadows and gardens. We walked a lot, saw a lot of the grounds that I hadn’t seen before on my visits, and talked and took pictures. I don’t know how to describe it. We met a man from Tennessee and kept running into him. And kept seeing American families. We had a guy ask us if we wanted our picture taken, and we said sure. But it was weird because while that’s something that would happen in the States, it doesn’t happen as much here, that a stranger would just talk to us. But the day made me really happy, and I’m really glad I made it to Blenheim in the spring. It was beautiful. And since I can’t describe it, I’ll just put up some pictures. There will be more on Flickr, but here are some highlights.

We found some cool trees with really big roots. Amazing! We decided after discussing our love for trees that we might be considered tree huggers. Haha!

Swans!

Sheep!

A nice guy took our picture in front of the gates into the palace.

It says this is where Winston Churchill proposed.

In the US to grow roses it seems like people take so much time on them. Here, they just seem to grow everywhere.

Another cool tree. It was huge!!

I love waterfalls.

The picture in front of the main fountains that I always get with whoever I go with, holding my hand out in front of me. A “Joe picture” as my mom would say.

Jennifer and I had planned on going to Stratford today. I wanted to go because if you get to the box office early enough, there are still tickets for King Lear with Ian McKellan. Jennifer just wanted to go to Stratford. Well the transportation from Oxford to Stratford has apparently been decreased recently. There were buses at 9 a.m. and 3. The buses back were at 2:15 and 5:20. So the King Lear option was out, unless we wanted to pay a lot more to take the train and then we might have still been too late. Apparently people line up really early. So we were just going to spend the day there, but then Jennifer’s alarm didn’t go off, so she woke up at 9. Going at 3, we would get there by 4:30 and then have to leave by 5:20, and I just really don’t want to spend the extra money to ride the train. So now we might go to Blenheim Palace. I made a picnic lunch, so I don’t want it to go to waste. Or maybe we’ll go to the Botanic Gardens or something. I was thinking about taking Melissa and Christi to Blenheim on Monday when they’re here, so two times in one week might be a little much for me. We’ll see.

So now I’m sitting in my room wondering what to do with my time. I got my essay done early, so I could turn it in before we left. It had to be in by 5 today. But I sent it in at 8:45 this morning. I could go back and revise it because it was longer than he wants it, but I told him I was gone for the day, so he won’t know the difference, and in some ways, it just seems it would be a waste of time. It would still say the same stuff, just taking out some words or maybe just cutting a paragraph that will be useful to me later, but he just might not want. So I’m just leaving it. I might start my other essay, get it done early too, maybe. Although I will probably just continue to procrastinate. I wish there were a cure for procrastination. Maybe there is: having a roommate who gets everything done early, so you feel guilty and get stuff done early too. I had planned on not doing work today, so that makes me not want to do work even more. Maybe I’ll do some more planning for Europe instead. It will be nice in a couple weeks when I don’t have essays looming over me.

Brendan fixed my blog so that you can leave comments now. I know there are only a few of you who read this who do that, but I just wanted to let you know. You have to register though, which is just basically putting in your e-mail address and it sends it to me. Down toward the bottom of the sidebar, there’s a thing that says register, so that’s how you do it. And then click on comments to leave one. And my mom figured it out all by herself. I’m so proud! Okay, that’s all for now.

Brendan came to Oxford this weekend. He arrived Saturday morning, and left this afternoon. We tried to figure out our train plans for when we make our way to Europe, but we didn’t come to any conclusions yet. So then after he left I came back and tried to organize all my itinerary stuff. But it was really good to have Brendan here. I think he had a good time too.

Saturday morning, we went to Queen’s Lane Cafe and had brunch of salmon and cream cheese on bread with bacon and eggs. It was very good. Then we made a stop at my library and went to the University Museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museum. Brendan took lots of pictures and said his favorite was the Pitt Rivers. Then we went back to Regent’s to take a little break, after which we went to the Ashmolean, Blackwell’s bookstore, and the Museum of the History of Science where they had this special exhibit on the moon. I went to all these museums when I was visiting, but I haven’t been back much except when I went to the Pitt Rivers as a group outing of PPE students and to the Ashmolean very quickly with my mom, aunt, and uncle. It was cool to go back and spend some time there. I forget to appreciate things while I’m here because I know I’ll be here for a while so I feel no urgency to see things. It’s good when people who aren’t going to be here much come, because then I take them around and get to explore things myself too.

After our last museum, we stopped some stores, and Brendan bought a Regent’s Park scarf. It cost way too much money, but he didn’t want the typical Oxford University apparel. I’ve told him that you can tell people are tourists or aren’t students when they have that because usually Oxford students get the stuff with their school on it. It made me happy that he wanted something with my college on it. Regent’s isn’t exactly the most prestigious or well-known college at Oxford, but it’s mine. As we were walking, everybody around us had ice cream, so Brendan and I decided we needed some too. It was a beautiful day out, perfect for walking around the city and eating ice cream. So we went to G&D’s and got some homemade ice cream. There was a line out the door. Then we went down to the river and sat to finish it. Brendan said it would have been more hard-core if my river had rapids and that’s what I rowed through. When we were racing the water could get really choppy, though, rowing in the wake of other boats and if it was raining it got a bit rough.

So then we headed back to Regent’s, but we had decided to see a movie so we stopped to get tickets in advance. They give you reserved seats too. That was the first time I had been to a movie in England, been to plenty of plays but no movies. We saw Pirates that evening, which was decent. Good action, but it was Pirates, just what we expected, though I wasn’t completely happy with the ending. Before the movie, we went to the Eagle and Child for dinner. We both had fish and chips. Brendan hadn’t had that since he’s been here. Crazy. I always take people to the Eagle and Child to show off the meeting place of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. But I usually take pictures in there, and I forgot to. Actually Brendan and I didn’t get any pictures together. Just forgot, which my mom probably will be sad about.

After the movie, we were both tired so we went to bed. Then we got up this morning and went to church with Celia. We stopped and got some frozen pizzas and garlic bread, as is mine and Celia’s tradition. It was our last Sunday lunch this week because next week I’ll be meeting Melissa and Christi in London on Sunday. Brendan had Scrubs on his iPod, so we switched it up and watched that instead of Everybody Loves Raymond. And Celia brought strawberries. It was a good lunch. Then I took Brendan to the bus station, and he’s back in London by now. I miss him. It’s nice to have people visiting me. But I should get to work. Jennifer and I might take a trip to Stratford this week, so I need to get a little ahead.

I need a break from my essay. I’ve just written a bunch of random stuff and now I need to go back and put it into some organized fashion so that is at least looks like it answers the question, which isn’t really a question this week. Just a quote and “discuss.” I don’t like those. And usually for this tutorial, I have a bunch of graphs that I include, but so far, I really only have one that I think applies. Just glad that I shouldn’t have to present today. Graphs take up the majority of presentations usually. Or maybe I’m just completely missing out on something, and the other two are going to have a lot of figures to draw up. Oh well, that means it will be worth going to the tutorial, right?

So I stood up a few minutes ago to walk around my room, which I’ve done a lot this morning, when I finished typing another couple paragraphs that probably don’t go with the paragraph before or after them. And I was thinking that I need to get this essay mostly done before lunch because after lunch, I’ll have a half-hour and then I’m going to meet Sarah and Celia. I’ll still have time after I meet them before my tutorial, but I’d like to have it almost to the printing stage by the time I leave. And I was thinking, after this, I only have two more weeks left of term. Two more weeks until I go meet Christi and Melissa in Austria. Two more weeks, and I’ve finished my first year at Oxford University. A whole year at Oxford, as a real student. It’s really weird to think about. Sometimes my time at Georgetown seems like forever ago, and then other times, I wonder where the time went.

I went to Georgetown pretty much only because of the Oxford program. They gave me more money too, but it was mainly because I could get out of there and go to Oxford and get a degree from one of the most prestigious schools in the world. Then I could apply to Northwestern, get in there because they saw my Oxford degree, and get it paid for. I would become a famous journalist, or better yet, own and edit my own magazine. I had it all planned out. A lot of things have changed since then. Before, I daydreamed about coming to England and studying here. But as the time got closer, I wondered if it would really happen. I knew I would go over and visit, but who was I to think I would actually get in? I mean, I was known as the “smart girl” in high school, but that was in Richmond, Kentucky. I guess I was considered pretty smart at Georgetown, but I didn’t get any recognition for it. As I got into bigger places, I was realizing more and more that I wasn’t all that smart. And there were a lot of kids applying to Oxford. They said they accepted 1/3 of qualified candidates, that’s not even including the unqualified ones. And after my visit for a fall term, I didn’t even know if I wanted to come back. It wasn’t as romantic or wonderful as my daydreams. I just stayed in my room and felt miserable half the time. But I studied a lot too. I learned a lot. And apparently Regent’s took notice.

Somehow, I got in. I got my acceptance letter on what could have been a terrible day for me and my mom, but I still wasn’t the happiest. It meant I had a decision to make. I called Dr. Apple and he thought I hadn’t gotten in because of the tone of my voice. Well, we can skip ahead now. I accepted. I took out loans. I now am very familiar with flying on my own from one country to another, going through customs and passport control. Carrying four bags at a time, plus a coat with pockets full. And my iPod is my constant companion. And now I’m sitting in my room, looking forward to my lunch of fish and chips that I have practically every Friday, with the sun actually shining for once, thinking it’s pretty warm out. Then I realize, I’m thinking mid-60s is warm when in Kentucky, it is probably in the 80s. Oh well. I’ve given up my warmth in June for a good education. I’ve given up three Halloweens, three Thanksgivings, two Valentine’s Days, and an Easter in the US. Now I don’t even realize that US holidays are happening. Memorial Day was this week? Really? Oxford doesn’t believe in taking days off.

But I think, in the process, I’ve become more like an Oxford student. I used to worry so much about essays, now I just make sure I have something written. I don’t worry about what my tutors think so much, as long as I learn something so I can do well in my collections. And I know I can do well on collections. So now my only worry is final exams. Before that seemed so far off. But now, it’s just a year away. In one year, I’ll be sitting in uncomfortable, nice clothes, writing four essays in three hours, seven times. This is after I turn in my 50 page thesis. And then I’ll come out of my last one and get “trashed” (when all your friends “celebrate” with you by throwing eggs, flour, glitter, whatever on you when you come out of exam schools).

It’s crazy to think about. It’s crazy to think I’ve been living in England for much of the past year. It’s crazy to think I’ll be traveling Europe with my two best friends for two weeks. It’s crazy to think I’ll be doing it all over again this next school year. But sometimes I have to think about it. Let my mind reflect on it. Just say, “Time out” for a second before I go back to looking at another essay.