Stanley Roadhouse

I would like to take this post to make a special shout-out to my current housemates--Alanna, Ali, Hannah, Jelsa, Jennifer, Jonny, and Matt. You guys rock ;-)

Last week

It's odd to think that after next week, Oxford will be minimized to only a memory. It's a shame since I feel as if I'm finally settled. I really have loved it here. I wonder how much I've changed. Academically, I feel stronger. It's a safe claim to say that I'll be the best art history major Georgetown when I graduate (I'll be the only one). Seriously though, I do feel as if my critical writing has improved considerably. Also, my formal analysis has really benefited from being able to experience the objects first hand. I told Tyler that I feel as if I know how to look at art now, but he said that sounded really pretentious. I would have to agree, so I won't be saying that again. Though I'm happy to be leaving with a few respectable essays under my belt, I'm not going to regret not being a student here anymore. One thing that Oxford has led me to reconsider is what I would like to do post-undergrad. It has made me reconsider grad school especially a program that would take several years at a prestigious school away from home. I've always said that I don't want to be defined by my line of work, and I think I'm actually starting to believe my own mantra now.



I've been asked by several people what I feel as if I've gained most from this experience. I always say independence. It's nice to work at my own pace on my own hours (I like to wake up and stay up late). I love being able to walk around the city and enjoy my solitude. I feel like I won't have that free time at home. I know I won't. Obviously, I have more friends and responsibilities at home, whereas here, I can take it easy. But it's more than just solitude, it's also becoming less dependent on others. I've always required my "me-time." I haven't always been able to cook, or book my own flights, or even seriously had to budget my own time.

I'm really looking forward to being home again. I miss my friends and family, and basically, my comfort zone. It'll be nice, but I wonder how different it'll look to me. Yesterday, I was at a the book shop/cafe Blackwell's and these four girls were having a loud conversation beside me. They were American, and they said "like" a lot. They sounded hilarious. A guy I knew who is Northern Irish was sitting nearby, and I knew he overheard the girls too. "Please tell me I don't sound like that," I said. "Yeah...you do," he informed me. When I go back home, I picture myself just staring at people in conversation with my eyes widened in awe and mouth slightly opened. Maybe a slight head tilt as well. It'll definitely be interesting. One of my favorite games to play in my head here is spot the American tourist. I almost feel as if I sound snobbish, but Americans do dress and act distinctly.

There's much more I need to blog about, so I'm going to make a list of things for myself. You can stop reading this now.
*Summer eights
*final fling
*bath, maybe Winchester
*punting?

Discrepancies

I've been meaning to post the cultural differences for some time now, here's a few...

**pronunciation (American English translated into English English):
-aluminum- AL-U-MEN-EE-UM (I would actually like to adopt this one)
-derby- Dah-bee (just wrong)
-oregano- or-ah-gahn-o
-underwear- pants (this has caused some major confusion in the past)

**EVERYTHING'S SOOO SMALL!!
-the cartons of juice, if you can call them that, can be swallowed in 2 large gulps. and they're outrageously overpriced.

**roundabouts...who knows....

**People here are environmentally conscious as well as humanitarian
-SUVs do not exist--nearly everyone rides a bike
-Fairtrade stores- products from third world countries that actually pay their employees decent wages
-everyone recycles, no one leaves lights, radios, etc on...
-free range eggs--some people make this into a HUGE deal...I'm still learning.

**boys wear capris, but they just call them shorts. the way guys dress here is a good deal different from American guys. they're definitely more metrosexual.

**Refrigerator confusion
-jam on the counter
-bread in the fridge
-honey in the fridge

**food
-beans for breakfast
-proper bacon does not exist
-bland does not mean healthy--food here is extremely fattening
-Indian food is the British equivalent of Mexican food
-vegetarians do exist...and in large quantities

**pubs and american bars are not synonymous. there's this pub by my house here that has a playground.

**this probably isn't a cultural thing as much as it's an oxford thing...but I feel as if I can get away with saying a lot of things at home, and it would be accepted for what it is. often here, I say what I think is an innocent statement, and people jump all over it...analyzing, critiquing, etc.

**that being said, I also think people here are much more passive agressive. this may be due to my blunt, yet loving, friends at home, but I find people here to repress their emotions often here.
more to come later.....

One more month

One month from today, we'll bid Oxford adieu. This brings a mix of emotions. Sadness--Oxford is such a great city to live in. It's perfect in size. There are tons of places where one can just sit and think. Very rare for a city, I'd assume. And best of all--the SMELL!! Oh...I'll miss its florally goodness ;-) However, I'm VERY excited with the thought of seeing friends and family again! I just need to relish my time left...

Time management really gets me. I get caught up in doing nothing a lot. Well, not nothing as in just staring blankly into the darkness by myself. That would be a sad thought. But, I get caught up talking to people. Today for instance, I planned on catching up on my reading, but just as I had finished my lunch and was about to get to work, my housemate Jacob came in the kitchen, and we chatted for a good 3 hours! By the time we were finished, it was time for my skype date with Tyler. Then, I went back downstairs to make some coffee, and I ran into another housemate, who I then talked with for about another hour. I like talking to people, especially one-on-one, but I need to learn when to stop. I wonder if it's even enjoying the conversation as much as it is an excuse not to do work.

I guess I would have a lot more free time if I didn't have an essay due every week now. My tutor (God bless her) forgot about our previous tute in which we planned on an essay every other week. Oh well. I'm here to learn...blah, blah, blah... This is actually a pathetic complaint. Other students here have quite a bit more work as well as other social responsibilites that just don't come with a visiting student.

I don't think I could really make it at Oxford as a serious student. Aside from not being incredibly bright, I just procrastinate way too much. Matt was telling me that's how the Oxford admissions determine who get in. They judge you by how much you'll be willing to work when the work doesn't count (fyi: of the 3 years they study, Oxford students don't get graded the first two years).

There was something I had in mind earlier to write about but I've lost it. I was long overdue for an entry anyway.

Trinity term tutorial

This term I'm studying Medieval art. My tutor is Cathy Oakes who is the chair of the art history department at Kellogg College. She's a funny person. She fits nicely into the stereotype of the eccentric art professor. For one of our meetings, she showed up late and disheveled in appearance. Her turquois bra was showing. She's very nice though, and I think she'll be a good teacher. She has been very personable and clever in pointing me towards important texts. On our first tutorial, she asked me to explain the American education system. When she asked me what I did in my last paper, I silently thought, "This is amazing! I bet she'll only give me five essays like Claire!" I calmly told her that I wrote five essays, four of 2500 words and the last one had 5000 words, to which she exclaimed, "That seems like a lot of work!" Well....considering my Georgetown peers wrote at least eight last term, I didn't think it was too overbearing, but I didn't mention this. I think I'm going to end up having four essays this term though not everything was settled since she didn't even give me a syllabus; so basically, I'll have plenty of time to relax and enjoy my final weeks in Oxford.

Currently, we're entering into our third week, and I have yet to turn in an essay. I'm actually working on my first one on the themes of stained glass in four Oxford colleges. It's been interesting to read about, but I've lacked motivation. The weather has been incredible, so I just want to frolick in the quad or walk by the river. I also feel as if I have a much better idea as to what my tutor will expect and how to give her what she wants.

So here I am, struggling with the minute amount of work that has been given to me....

My little Schmer...

Two nights ago, I received an unexpected call from my mom in which she told me one of my good friends from home had passed away. I was shocked. One of my worst fears is someone close to me dying while I'm here, and of all the people I worried about, Erin never made the list. It's odd that I would have never thought this. Erin had cancer for as long as I was friends with her--four years--but I honestly never foresaw her dying so young. I was uncontrollably emotional at first--simultaneously upset and angry. I hurt physically as well--my body just ached. I was upset at the loss of one of my dearest friends. We were really close in my high school years, and though we drifted slightly due to distance, I still saw her regularly during the summers. But I was also extremely mad at myself. I was mad for not contacting her while I had been here. I had done a good job (for me anyway) of keeping in touch with friends, but I just never facebooked Erin or wrote her a postcard. Actually that's not true. I had written her a postcard the first week I was here, I just never took the next step of getting her address. Erin was such a great friend to me, and I was so angry at myself and sad that she may have thought that I had forgotten her. I really wish I would have known how bad off she was...

I'm much better about it emotionally. I talked it through with Tyler, and he was amazing about it. It's insane how someone willing to listen to you cry and vent can make such a huge difference. It seems as if people usually feel really uncomfortable and like they have to say something right away. Usually the person says something dumb when really the best thing they can do is just lend some time and a listening ear. I just cried for the first bit to Tyler, then went through my anger at myself, but I mainly reminisced the good times. I'm still in shock though. It's just so sad to think that she's not going to be there when I get back. Her funeral is today. I'm sure that tons of people went. Everyone loved her. Though people will mostly be grieving, I can't help but think that her funeral will be kinda funny too. I mean, I'm sure Erin would have found some amusement in it. She was the type of person who would laugh at the most sad, serious moments in a movie. It drove me crazy even though I would often laugh too. When I was telling Tyler about Erin, I couldn't help but laugh. I couldn't get the image of her squeezing my arm so she could fart while we were in church or her saying "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness" and waving her hands like she was about to have an anxiety attack. She was one of the biggest dorks I knew. I'm going to miss her so much. My little Schmer...

Paris: Our culinary quest for edible perfection

I just read three pages on images in medieval art, and I have no clue what I had just read. I hate when that happens. But you know what that means? Blog time!! Hmmm….I still have yet to record my Parisian experience….

My favorite thing about Paris was the food. In a fight, French food would destroy all other food. Jennifer and I actually splurged a little in Paris and ate at a couple quaint little cafes. We had slept the night before, so unlike our first day in Dublin, we were well energized. We found our hotel pretty easily. The tricky part was learning how the metro works. They don’t label the lines very well. After dropping our backpacks off at our room, we headed to the Arc de Triomphe. Honestly, it’s not that amazing of a sight, but it does mark the top of the Champs Eylsees. It was lunch time, so we stopped at the first café we ran into (another rarity…usually we wander around for a while trying to find the best and cheapest place only to discover everything’s pretty much the same). The café we stopped at had this really neat deal where you could get a drink, a sandwich, dessert, and coffee for about 7 euros. The desserts looked amazing, so I was immediately sold. The café was fairly touristy, so thankfully the servers spoke English although it was no English I could understand. They didn’t speak my type of English either. I enjoyed the pointing method. I chose this chicken sandwich on the most delicious garlic bread, a sprite, this chocolate and banana pastry, and I was given a receipt for my after meal coffee. When I was given my coffee, I was surprised to receive a shot of espresso. Now I had always inwardly rolled my eyes at the people who would come into the Mulberry ordering only a shot of espresso, but I decided to remain open-minded after all, it seemed to be a very Parisian thing to do. It was heavenly. Taking a nibble of my chocolaty pastry and sipping on my espresso was one of the best things I have ever done. And yes, drinking my double shot, I did feel slightly better than everyone else.

Another noteworthy culinary experience of mine was going to another café before strolling over to Notre Dame. I had this huge pizza thing which was good although it was nothing special. What I’m talking about is the pistachio macaroon I had for dessert. I had read that the macaroon was somewhat of a big deal among French pastries, so I knew I would regret not trying one. I had a choice between coffee, chocolate, and pistachio flavored macaroons. I opted for the green one. It wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as the other pastries on display. It had a round cookie shape and like I mentioned before it was a rich sea green color--not the most appealling color for any food. My first bite was life altering. It had a nice crunch to it, but it remained moist on the inside with a type of cake and filling in it. Oh…it was such a beautiful experience.