To Be Determined Later

We took a river cruise along the Thames, the same river that is said to have inspired the Wind in the Willows.  It was also on a boat trip where Lewis Carroll first told the story of Alice in Wonderland.  Many characters whom are in the stories were inspired by the people on the boat trip.  Our boat was large and we were able to enjoy a wonderful meal and just relax.  All the houses along the river are so quaint and we saw a little girl sitting on a wall along the river, barefoot feeding bread to some ducks and geese.  It must be nice to be able to just step out into your back yard and just gaze at the river.     

We passed several people whom were rowing along the river.  Below is a picture of when we passed the boat houses.  The river was lined with dozens of boat houses.  Each Oxford college has it’s own boat house.  

The sun began to set towards the end of our cruise and I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be to live on the river and get to look at this everyday.  

As you travel through the streets of Oxford, history and inspiration are all around you.  You can’t help but be amazed when you think about all the people who once walked the same roads as I do now.  When I step out the door of the Jesus college and walk to the right I pass this shoes shop.  The original ledgers, still kept in the shop, reveal that Lewis, Carroll, and Tolkien all bought shoes here.  They still hand make shoes right in the shop.

Continuing down the street, you pass Lincoln College Library.  This library is a converted church.  Over time, the colleges ran out of space to house their facilities and many buildings, including churches and town houses have been renovated to house over one hundred libraries in Oxford.  

The buildings of Oxford are truly breath taking.  From the colleges that have stood for a hundred years and educated renowned scholars to the homes that house the perfectly pleasant Oxfonians.  

It is obvious that the inspiration for some of the most beloved stories are just around the corner of the streets.  On the walk C.S. Lewis took to get to his college there is a door with the carving of a lion as well as figures of two fawns.  You can also see a lamp post standing alone, just like the one in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.   

The Examination Hall is where all the student of Oxford take their final examinations.  There is a long standing tradition to wear a carnation during the week of one’s exams.  On the first day the flower is white, during the middle of the week the students wear a pink flower, and for their last exam they wear a red one.  I feel like if I had to take my finals in this beautiful hall I would be too distracted to pay attention to my test.  

This garden, called Penicillin Garden, named so in dedications of the scientists of Oxford whom first exacted penicillin, was where Tolkien often walked.  It s said that he had a favorite tree there which was the inspiration for Treebeard.  

Oxford is also home to the very first coffee shop.  

New College is where William Archibald Spooner was warden.  He was famous for having a problem of speech where he switched corresponding vowels or consonants in word phrases.  This speech pattern was later termed spoonerism.  

So I have absolutely fallen in love with British food.  It’s all bready, meaty and delicious.  Each morning we eat breakfast in this beautiful dinning hall which feels like it came straight from Harry Potter.  

We are served a full English breakfast complete with sausage tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, bacon, toast and hash browns.  

In the Evening we had a special “Start of Term Feast”.

Our first course was open goats cheese tartlette onion marmalade and balsamic.

Next was roasted breast of duck with madeira jus served with champ potatoes and fresh green beans.  

And finally for dessert, we had a traditional Sherry Trifle, which was absolutely amazing!

I am really hoping to try a meat pie and some authentic fish and chips.  

What I learned today: Keeping along the lines of the food theme, our program cordinator bought us all flapjacks, which aren’t pancakes.  They are these cookie/ granola bar type treats that I thought tasted like oatmeal cookie dough.  No one else in the group really liked them so I ended up getting the whole box to myself.  How do I always find myself eating the leftover food?  I also learned that here lemonade is like Sprite or 7 up and not what we think is lemonade.  I was surprised when i ordered lemonade and got soda.  I wonder if they even have lemonade and if they do I have no idea what they call it.     

I am now officially a world traveler.  After a ten hour flight and an hour bus ride I have made it to Oxford.  I got to Oxford around ten but couldn’t check in until two so I spent my afternoon wandering the streets taking everything in.  It’s amazing how everything looks so old but functions in a modern way.  It’s as if Oxford has so many pieces of the world just scattered about and it is your job to discover them.  

Most Interesting thing I learned today:  After I got to Oxford, naturally I was exhausted so after wandering a bit I went to this little cafe (which I later discovered is right below my window).  I got the most delicious panini, bacon and brie, it was so much salty, greasy goodness.  So after I finished eating, I just sat there waiting for my check.  And I sat there and sat there and sat there, for about 20 minutes but the bill never came.  Eventually a waitress came over to me looking very concerned and asked if I was alright.  I said that of course I’m okay and that I was finished with my food.  She said okay and got me a box for the leftovers.  But then the check still hadn’t come.  I sat for another five minutes or so, at this point getting irritated because I wanted to leave and all the waitresses were just standing around chatting.  The waitresses kept looking over at me and giving me weird looks.  Eventually the waitress came back and again asked me if I was okay.  I don’t know what I looked like but this waitress seemed concerned.  All I was doing was sitting there starring at my boxed up food waiting for the check.  The waitress came back again and asked if I wanted the bill and in my head I was thinking “Obviously I want the bill I have been sitting here starring at nothing for a half hour”.  She brought the bill and I paid and left. I later told this story to a boy I met in my program, who grew up in England, and he told me that it is rude for a waitress or waiter to bring the customer a check without them asking for it.  In America people are in a hurry to get people in and out of a restaurant, but here it is a much more leisurely experience.  They don’t mind if you just sit around and hangout for hours.  So now I know to ask for the check instead of waiting for them to bring it to me when I am done eating.  

What I saw today:  So I didn’t take a whole bunch of pictures today just because I was so tired but I did manage to capture some cool stuff.     

This was a group of about 7 or 8 people that were hanging out on the street playing the Ukulele and singing along.  I  thought it was funny because that was the least likely instrument I would expect to find on the streets of Oxford.   

This cool ancient looking cemetery was behind the Martrys Memorial and I thought it was cool because it was right in the middle of everything.  There was a pizza hut across the street lol.  

This is the street I am living on.  I am staying in that first big building on the right.