Sunday, February 23, 2014

The amazing adventures of Megan, Katie, and Rachael (and other short stories)

Hello all! I'm terribly sorry it's been so long since I've written, we had a busy first week of classes and then last week when I was going to write, I found out that my converter refused to charge my laptop anymore, so I've been unable to put anything up for a while... But it's working now, so here I go!

Our first week of classes was pleasant. I managed to take the tube into my first class on Monday and not get lost, and I even had time to get some coffee from Cafe Nero. Cafe Nero for all my coffee loving people, is rather like Starbucks in the states (although they still have plenty of Starbucks' here) although I'd actually say they make better coffee than the average Starbucks...

I have class Monday, Tuesday and Thursday here. Each class is three hours, which is why I only have one class of each a week. It's a bit wearying to sit in one class for three hours, but sometimes we have tea and cakes half-way through, and that does brighten ones perspective.

On Monday I have Contemporary Britain which is essentially a poli-sci class on... contemporary Britain. Yeah. It's quite interesting and the prof is amusing and interesting. On Tuesday I have  Medieval History (Of Britain) with Katie and Rachael. That one is also interesting, and a class I really need since I've recently added a history minor to my degree. On Thursday I have Shakespeare in the morning, then Media in Britain in the afternoon. My comm class is great so far and Shakespeare... well is Shakespeare. I'm not sure how much I'm enjoying the prof in that class. She's young, barely older than we are and I'm not sure how much teaching experience she actually has. But, we shall see. The great thing about the Shakespeare course is that we get to go see performances (which, in my opinion, is the only way people should really experience Shakespeare...) We had our first performance that first week, on Thursday. It was a performance of Henry V with Jude Law playing Henry. It was really good, and I've decided that I can enjoy Shakespeare if I can see it performed. It was a packed theater in West End (The theater district in London) but we all really enjoyed it.

So, that was our first week of classes.

Last weekend we had a group trip to Bath which was fabulous. The non-fabulous part was our frantic flight to get to the train station. Katie, Rachael and I left with what we thought was plenty of time to get where we were going. However as we were walking there Rachael says, "Are you sure it's the Waterloo station?" We checked and saw that she was indeed correct, we were meeting at Paddington, not Waterloo. We felt a flutter of nervousness, but it was okay, we still had time. After huffing and puffing our way to our tube station we arrived to find it closed. We looked at each other in dismay, but a kind gentleman told us we could catch the bus to the next tube station, "Just over there" he says, motioning toward a gentle incline behind us. We start up this incline. This sweet little hill that was actually Mount Everest in disguise. We gasped our way up this mountain, dragging our suitcases behind us and wondering if we shouldn't just give up and flop down in defeat. We didn't however, and we finally made it to the top after at least four minutes of terrible exertion. We found the bus. Well, we found a bus. Which we thought was our bus, but we weren't terribly sure. We got on it anyway and ended up finding the next tube station. We were seated comfortably on the tube, but as we looked at the map, despair started eating at our hearts. There was no way we were going to make it in time. We were waiting at one of the stops, almost ready to move again when Rachael says, "GET OUT HERE." We dash of the tube, barely making it past the doors sliding shut behind us. Rachael says, "We can go another way." So, after getting through a terrible maze of signs and stairs we find the correct tube line. We get on it, jiggling our heels and glancing with agony at our watches (Well, cell phones...). We make it to Paddington station, squeeze into the lift and dash out. We can't find anyone. Our group is nowhere to be seen. At this point I was ready to get a coffee and sob bitter tears into it. Rachael however, had more presence of mind and decided to call a friend. Thankfully she answered and we found our group. Our relief was palpable. However that relief turned to annoyance/frustration/life isn't fair/irony when our group leader told us we needn't have hurried.

Our train was late. 

 After this traumatic experience we arrived in Bath! We saw the ancient Roman baths that have been there for 1,000 (?) years. We saw a bunch of signs claiming Jane Austen fame (which actually annoyed me because Austen hated Bath, but, whatever ;) ) and we saw the Royal Crescent (Very expensive houses arranged in a crescent shape overlooking a large garden) and the cathedral in the city. It was nice to see everything, and to get out of London. The next day we went to Longleat House, the home of  the Marquis of... something. It was a lovely house, surrounded by acres and acres of grass and trees. That in itself was refreshing to me. After nothing but city and buildings and concrete it refreshed my soul to see green hills and blue sky. We spent the afternoon in Wells, a cute little town which is actually a city, but only because it has a huge cathedral. We saw the cathedral, wandered around the town, and went into the Bishop's Palace. The gardens around this place were breathtaking. At one point we came upon an acre of land that was completely carpeted in purple crocuses, white snowdrops and violets. It was magical. We left for London that evening, weary, but happy.

This last week was fairly similar to the previous one. Classes, tube rides and runs. Katie and I have been continuing to go running, although sometimes my legs feel like concrete and I want to just lay down and have people run over me.

Yesterday Katie, Rachael and I went to Oxford! It was beautiful. We started out going to the Ashemolean Museum and then went to the Eagle and the Child for lunch. For those of you who aren't as nerdy as me, the Eagle and Child is the pub where the Inklings met. For those of you who didn't gasp in amazement, the Inklings were a group of Oxford professors which included Tolkien, Lewis, and other amazing authors. It was there that the first pages of Lord of the Rings and Narnia were read and discussed. Wow. I felt so inspired sitting there (we actually got to sit in the room where the Inklings sat.) Now I know a lot of you would get excited to see a famous celebrity or something, but for me, sitting in a room where writers who shaped literature in the 20th century sat, was a whole lot cooler. After my definite geek-out moment (which Katie and Rachael tolerated with much grace and good humor) we went to the Botanic garden (the oldest in England) which was lovely. We wandered the streets for a bit, trying to find Christ's Church. We did find it, but it was terribly expensive to get in, so instead we wandered more, walking along a canal and enjoying the breeze and sunshine of an early spring day. We had a delicious cream tea afterward and then wended our way home. It was lovely to walk toward our train station as a silvery-blue twilight fell over beautiful Oxford. It was really amazing to be walking in a place of so much learning and knowledge and beauty.

For those of you who've actually read this whole epic, I applaud you. You either really love me, or are terribly bored. For those of you who are bored, go read a book, or better yet, some poetry. I recommend Seamus Heaney's District and Circle.

I'll try to update more frequently, especially now that I've got my computer working.

Cheers!

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