Our study abroad group went to Cambridge about two weeks ago. Have I mentioned Cambridge? Apparently not! Wow! Well, we went to Cambridge, toured the colleges, marveled at King's College Chapel, ate lunch at The Eagle pub (site of the realization of DNA, and also site of my first taste of mulled wine - delicious!), wandered over to the Round Church, took pictures of various colleges, and went up in a tower of one of the colleges' chapels (the name escapes me; I'll insert it when I remember), among other activities. I felt much more at ease in Cambridge than I do in Oxford. But don't tell anyone here that. I plan on looking into it for my graduate studies, in addition to Oxford.
We also went to Stratford-upon-Avon last Wednesday afternoon. My friends and I saw Shakespeare's birthplace, walked along the River Avon, saw where Shakespeare was buried, took the long trek to Anne Hathaway's cottage (not the actress, as many people needed to be reminded!), had dinner in a pub, and then were privileged enough to have tickets to see "King Lear" that night. It was incredible - seeing the place where that incredible literary mind was formed, and then seeing the products of it.
I am going to miss these little excursions - they were such fun!
I have bigger excursions ahead, though.
Planning my travels has been much more complicated than I originally thought. One must take into consideration not only method of travel and lodgings, but transportation to and from the airport and about town, places to dine, activities, laundry ... it's exhausting. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, though, I just stop and think about what I'm doing. Can't find a cheap flight from Ireland to France? Maria! You're going to France! Struggling to get in touch with hostel owners to confirm reservations? Maria! You're going to Scotland! And so on. It's amazing.
Besides those activities, I also went up to the top of the Magdalen tower on Friday. That. Was. Incredible. We (myself and a few other OSAP people who are studying at Magdalen) struggled to open the old, enormous door, and climbed over 140 winding stairs to reach the top. The entire city was sprawled out below me. I could see the Radcliffe Camera and the Bodleian, the rolling fields in the distance and the metropolis of the city centre. It was majestic. I, by the way, love heights, so this was a particularly exhilarating experience. I am still speechless about it.
Lastly, on Saturday, instead of being a productive student and writing my essay, I decided to get a taste of Oxford sports. My friend Corwin and I went to our friend's varsity rugby match against Cambridge. We, having failed to research the sport beforehand, had absolutely no idea what was going on. It's a fascinating sport, regardless of whether or not one knows what's going on. We then walked over to the Torpids (rowing, for those of you who don't know what the Torpids are). Rowing, I've decided, is my favorite sport. The way the boats glide through the water, propelled by arms working in perfect synchronization, a coherent unit of men or women completely in harmony with one another ... beautiful. I loved it.
And now I must finish this entry, as I have to get to my last Oxford University Student Chorus rehearsal before our concert tonight.
Cheers.
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