"Not all who wander are lost" but most of the time, I am. tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-05-15:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy 2006-11-19T22:17:04Z darcyquest img/travel-blog-feed.png Amadeus tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-11-19:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=19&entryid=31785 2006-11-19T22:17:04Z 2006-11-19T22:17:04Z This past week was the Bath Mozart Festival. I was glad to be able to celebrate such a big anniversary in some fashion. There was a whole ten days of concerts and a lecture and I'm not talking about some local chorus or something...no, we got world class performers. So I went to two concerts, a violin and piano duet, and then the London Winds last night. The piano/violin concert was in the Assembly Rooms, where there have been concerts for ... This past week was the Bath Mozart Festival. I was glad to be able to celebrate such a big anniversary in some fashion. There was a whole ten days of concerts and a lecture and I'm not talking about some local chorus or something...no, we got world class performers. So I went to two concerts, a violin and piano duet, and then the London Winds last night.

The piano/violin concert was in the Assembly Rooms, where there have been concerts for centuries. If you think Pride and Prejudice, this is where you would have had those Jane Austen-style balls. Very ornate.

The London Winds concert was at Bath Abbey, and I enjoyed it more. It's a beautiful space, and I actually tried to follow along in the program as the pieces progressed from one movement to another (this is allegro...ok this is the minuet...ok this is the largo...etc) so I think I got more out of it as an active listener than I did at the first concert I went to. But even more than that, it was just really relaxing to listen to good music.

Other than that, my weekend consisted of watching the Aristocats and Stepmom, going to the farmer's market, and doing lots of homework. LOTS and lots of homework. But I don't have to complain to you about that, as we all know how that goes sometimes.

I'm sick right now, but I'm still having a good time. i go to oxford tomorrow, and then after that I only have to go one more time. I'm going to be sad when my other classes are done though, because I really enjoy them. It's just that trip to Oxford that gets me down every week.

I forgot that most of you have a lot of this week off for Thanksgiving. Brittany is sitting next to me very anxious about the Bucknell basketball game. I am at least proud of the Seminoles for finally pulling off a win this week.

Go Noles.

Cheers,
Les

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]]> Oh Danny Boy tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-11-16:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=18&entryid=31472 2006-11-16T11:45:13Z 2006-11-16T11:45:13Z I want to go back to Ireland! I had a fantastic three days in Dublin. Flying in, we could see the beautiful coast, but I only spent time in the city. It’s a very compact city, though, nothing like London. From the top of the Guiness Factory (the seventh floor) we had a panoramic view of the city all the way to the mountains that surround it. It’s a beautiful country. I want to go back and spend more time, ... I want to go back to Ireland! I had a fantastic three days in Dublin. Flying in, we could see the beautiful coast, but I only spent time in the city. It’s a very compact city, though, nothing like London. From the top of the Guiness Factory (the seventh floor) we had a panoramic view of the city all the way to the mountains that surround it. It’s a beautiful country. I want to go back and spend more time, both in Dublin and other places. I want to go to Connemara and Galway and the spend time in the Aran Islands listening to people speak Gaelic. It’s a really beautiful language, just from the little bit I heard in Dublin. A few people in our group spent our “free day” at Howth, a seaside town not faraway. But there was enough to do in Dublin itself to keep me so busy that I am still tired! We saw an excellent Yeats exhibit at the National Library, and a whole lot of places that had literary significance. It seems that everytime we turned around there was another building or street or statue from a Joyce novel. There are wonderful statues all over Dublin dedicated to the writers- Joyce, Kavanagh, Oscar Wilde, etc. The other thing we did that was relevant to our class material was tour the Kilmanhain Jail. It has a lot of history, but its biggest significance, and what was relevant to our course, was that it was the site where the rebels of the Easter 1916 Uprising were held and executed. I learned a lot in just an hour of touring it. Besides all that, we saw other interesting things, like the National Museum. Not only did they have rooms upon rooms of Bronze Age jewelery and Viking treasures, but they had a whole exhibit on the peat bog bodies. They are bodies that have been preserved in peat bogs and they are both grotesque and fascinating. Speaking of grotesque, I tried my first Guiness on this trip. I couldn’t finish my first pint- I suffered through about half of it and then two other people finished it for me. Everyone was enjoying my experience. But even though I don’t like beer, I still could enjoy the brewery tour, especially the view from the top I just told you about. We took a “literary pub tour” that took us around to four different pubs Saturday night, and the actor and actress leading our tour acted out scenes from famous Irish works. It was really well done. If anyone understands Waiting for Godot, let me know, because that was the second time I’ve seen it AND we read it this week and I still don’t understand what it’s all supposed to mean in the end.
My friends and I spent Sunday afternoon doing a little bit of shopping (something I haven’t done in Paris or London) and walking around Dublin. It was very relaxing to not feel like we were rushing around sightseeing. The people we encountered in the pubs in Dublin were very friendly, and I intend to go back.
But what was the highlight of my trip? Actually, there are two. The first is comical, the other is academically astute.
We saw the spot where Handel’s Messiah was first performed. It’s now a luxury hotel, but there is a nice memorial plaque outside of it. On that street corner in Dublin, one of the ASE staff who accompanied us and our tutor to Dublin started singing the Messiah. Not humming, or even shouting the Hallelujah chorus, but BELTING in his (very good) tenor voice, parts of the Messiah I wouldn’t recognize just having seen it all the way through once. And as he keeps singing, he’s looking around and making hand gestures as though we should all join in. I was sorry that we were so disappointing to him, but who other than Andrew Butterworth (a man of mysterious talents) can just start in the middle of Handel’s Messiah? So finally he stopped and got us all to sing the hallelujah chorus, and we obliged him so we could move on.

And the other highlight was Trinity College, where they have the Book of Kells. I saw pages from the Book of Kells up close, under glass, beautifully illuminated. The exhibit went in depth as to how the book was made, too. The library above it had many other manuscripts from more contemporary times, including the FIRST EVER PRINTED COPY of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Yeah. 1472, or something like that. Not the year he wrote it, of course, but the year it was ever printed rather than copied. Still impressive, I thought.

So that's it. Oh, and maybe I'll look into what kind of graduate programs I could do at Trinity College. But only after I've gone back to Ireland and can base that decision on more than three days.

Oh Danny Boy remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Guy Fawkes Day Celebration! tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-11-06:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=17&entryid=30375 2006-11-06T09:45:02Z 2006-11-06T09:45:02Z This weekend was amazing. On Friday, I didn’t even leave my house. I was doing homework for the better part of the day. So, yay that stuff got done, and boo, that I spent one of my last 40 something days in England inside of my house. So Saturday and Sunday well made up for it. On Saturday, Melissa and I set out early, picking up Jess and walking to the farmers’ market. It’s fun to walk around and try ... This weekend was amazing. On Friday, I didn’t even leave my house. I was doing homework for the better part of the day. So, yay that stuff got done, and boo, that I spent one of my last 40 something days in England inside of my house. So Saturday and Sunday well made up for it. On Saturday, Melissa and I set out early, picking up Jess and walking to the farmers’ market. It’s fun to walk around and try samples and buy fresh veggies and such. Then Melissa and I walked around part of Bath, running a couple of errands, and I bought soap that looks and feels like Jell-O. It seems to be a fad here. And I have to admit, it’s pretty awesome. Then when I got home from all of that, Brittany and I went to the gym and really pushed ourselves. And after shower and dinner, we headed up to the university with the rest of the town, to see the fireworks. It was a national holiday weekend here in Bath, so there was a big carnival with rides and games and carnival food and fireworks. It was FREEZING so we left right after the fireworks, but it was a lot of free fun. Then on Sunday, Melissa and I tried a new church (she attends Catholic mass and I go to the Abbey) called the Central Reformed church of Bath. It was really sweet and everyone was very warm and welcoming to us. They have two pastors, a married couple, and they are from the States. The rest of the congregation is over the age of 60. But it was very sweet and I might go back. Then we did homework and I had another power workout and then we went over to Jess’s house and made dinner with her and Abbey. It was a feast! And then we could walk outside of their house and have a perfect view of the fireworks over the recreation center. TWO nights of free fireworks! I think that’s pretty special.
Today is Oxford day. But I figured out that I can take an even later train and still be on time, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m taking a train, and taking the bus to her house directly from the train station and back again. I won’t even feel like I’m really in Oxford.
This weekend coming up is my trip to Dublin with my Irish lit class…three days in Ireland! I can’t wait. Between now and then I have to do a lot of homework, though. I’m very slow at making progress on rewriting my memoir. I don’t want to make a lot of the changes that my prof wants me to make…but I do want to get a good grade! So I’ll be working on that for hours and hours.
Bath is lovely! I hope you are all doing wonderfully. Don’t be out of touch!

Guy Fawkes Day Celebration! remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Under Involved tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-11-01:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=16&entryid=29861 2006-11-01T21:52:39Z 2006-11-01T21:52:39Z I had a meeting today with my "mentor". It seems an unfitting title because this is the first time we've had a mentor meeting, and the program is more than half over. But he asked me about how I'm doing, and more importantly WHAT I'm doing. And then he suggested that I find something else to do. Apparently, I'm not doing enough. The fact that I'm taking four classes (everyone has four classes here, it's 16 hours credit) and getting along ... I had a meeting today with my "mentor". It seems an unfitting title because this is the first time we've had a mentor meeting, and the program is more than half over. But he asked me about how I'm doing, and more importantly WHAT I'm doing. And then he suggested that I find something else to do.

Apparently, I'm not doing enough. The fact that I'm taking four classes (everyone has four classes here, it's 16 hours credit) and getting along well with the people in my house and making friends with other people on the program and going to and from Oxford for my Spanish tutorial by myself every week and ENJOYING Bath isn't enough...

I wanted to interrupt and tell him that in a normal semester of college, I'm taking 17 hours of class and 10 hours of rehearsal and helping to lead FCA and giving tours of the school for the admissions office.

Can't I enjoy NOT being too busy this semester?

I think so. So I will pretend to take his suggestion of getting more involved, which is what a lot of people were told today apparently, and then throw away the little slip of paper he gave me with a phone number on it.

I am one of three girls helping to organize a shoe box Christmas donation thing through the Abbey, though, and that makes me feel like I am giving back in a tiny way.

Under Involved remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> J'adore Paris tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-11-01:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=15&entryid=29859 2006-11-01T21:45:01Z 2006-11-01T21:45:01Z I am really bad at keeping a journal. Or maybe this is a sign that I am too busy doing cooler things to keep up with a journal that you all probably stopped checking a month ago. To try to write down everything about my fall break would be futile, and also take more time than I have now. It was wonderful to see my parents…to show them Bath and my house and the city I live in. We spent ... I am really bad at keeping a journal. Or maybe this is a sign that I am too busy doing cooler things to keep up with a journal that you all probably stopped checking a month ago.

To try to write down everything about my fall break would be futile, and also take more time than I have now. It was wonderful to see my parents…to show them Bath and my house and the city I live in. We spent two days in London, in a frenzy, and then three days in Paris.

I...adore…Paris.

The Louvre was, of course, incredible. It lived up to all expectations. Mona Lisa is by no means my favorite work in the museum…and we only covered a fraction of the exhibits anyway. But I saw so many things from art history class that came to life before my eyes. Venus de Milo, the coronation of Napoleon, and some of my personal favorites- paintings by Panini.

Notre Dame is beautiful, but smaller than I imagined. It doesn’t compare, in my mind, to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Christopher Wren designed the dome to be like an observatory between Earth and Heaven, and it’s really breathtaking. It’s the largest dome in Europe (I was surprised to learn that, so I might have gotten it wrong…but either way it’s huge). There’s a window in the top of it. St. Paul’s is also more breathtaking than Westminster Abbey, which was too much to take in all at once. So many people are buried there, it’s just too much to see. It doesn’t feel like a church to me, just a graveyard.
But I was very excited to see the tomb of Elizabeth I.

Besides St. Paul’s, I think all my favorite spots were in Paris. Musee d’Orsay has all the Impressionism and Post-Impressionism paintings I could ever dream about…Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Monet, Manet, and lots else. I’ve never enjoyed an art museum that much.

We spent a lot of time at the Eiffel Tower, of course, both during the day and at night. I went up to the very top but I couldn’t see anything because it was foggy. But the view from the second deck was pretty astounding itself.

Versailles was beautiful but repetitive after awhile. We spent about half a day there outside of Paris, but we were still able to see pretty much everything I wanted to see in Paris. As for London, I still want to see Hyde Park (I just rode around the edges of it, but I want to actually be able to see the Peter Pan Statue and the Princess Diana Memorial) and Harrod’s. I’m going back at the end of the month with friends.

And next time I’m there, I’m seeing WICKED! WITH IDINA MENZEL! YESSS!

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]]> My Life As A House tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-10-17:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=14&entryid=27867 2006-10-17T14:19:57Z 2006-10-17T14:19:57Z Life as a house is interesting. I feel like I’m on Real World much of the time, especially since there are seven of us. I like living in a house, though, because I feel like I really /live/ here in England, not just that I’m staying somewhere for a brief visit. I even refer to it as “home”, which I’ve never called my dorms at Mary Wash. Our house is relatively drama-free. Relatively. I guess there’s drama and I’m just ... Life as a house is interesting. I feel like I’m on Real World much of the time, especially since there are seven of us. I like living in a house, though, because I feel like I really /live/ here in England, not just that I’m staying somewhere for a brief visit. I even refer to it as “home”, which I’ve never called my dorms at Mary Wash.

Our house is relatively drama-free. Relatively. I guess there’s drama and I’m just not in it. Thank goodness. My roommate Melissa and I are basically two peas in a pod. We go walking around Bath together on all our days off and stay in together sometimes when everyone else goes out to get drunk. She taught me a card game called Skip-Bo, and the first day I learned we played it for three hours. All the apples from our apple tree are gone, but we cut up and froze a LOT of them so we still make applesauce from time to time. We take turns cooking dinner sometimes, too. Luke and Liam are good guys to get put with because they’re easygoing. Luke has lived with girls before in his college suite, but poor Liam never even had a sister (he’s one of four brothers). Luke and I get along well. Molly and Diana and Brittany do everything together from Yoga to clubbing, but even though we’re very different we all seem to get along alright.

English plumbing is a nightmare. They don’t have integrated hot and cold water, so water is either hot or cold, not inbetween. We have a shower IN OUR ROOM. Without even frosted glass. It’s really awkward looking but really it’s just funny. At least we don’t have to fight the rest of the house for the main shower.

We get four channels of tv, and BBC owns two of them. It’s ok because we don’t really watch tv anyway, but I do miss Gilmore Girls. When I get back home, for the first day when I am jetlagged I’m going to do nothing but lay around and watch all the episodes of Gilmore Girls I’ve missed. And laugh, and cry, and be surprised.

My Life As A House remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Wales tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-10-17:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=13&entryid=27864 2006-10-17T14:18:41Z 2006-10-17T14:18:41Z On our trip to Wales, we did not get to go on our big hike. It had rained too much the week before. I have little room to complain, though, because for the most part, the weather has been very blessed. We went in some caves instead, but I didn’t enjoy that too much because it was so damp and cold. But what we got to see of the Welsh countryside was beautiful, and we got to see Tintern Abbey ... On our trip to Wales, we did not get to go on our big hike. It had rained too much the week before. I have little room to complain, though, because for the most part, the weather has been very blessed. We went in some caves instead, but I didn’t enjoy that too much because it was so damp and cold. But what we got to see of the Welsh countryside was beautiful, and we got to see Tintern Abbey (an 11th-century Cisterian monastery, also where Wordsworth wrote his famous poem), Caerphilly Castle, and a town called Haye-on-Wye that was composed 90 percent (I’m estimating) of used book stores. A lot of people bought tons of books, but I didn’t buy any because they are difficult to carry back. And my reading list is long enough already of books I don’t have time to read because of school.

We stayed in a hostel in the middle of nowhere (we had to hike to get there) but it was pretty cool because our program (all fifty of us) were the only people there. So it was a good bonding weekend.

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]]> Oxford tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-09-26:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=10&entryid=25366 2006-09-26T14:36:21Z 2006-09-26T14:36:21Z After sending out a long e-mail yesterday to everyone about Oxford, I don’t feel like recapping it all over again. So I’m going to skim over what was really a very packed week with this list of highlights: -punting (pushing the boat down the canal with a metal pole) -Christchurch (service at the Cathedral, standing where John Wesley was ordained, the “Harry Potter” dining hall, the fireplace that inspired the stretched neck in Alice in Wonderland, the “moving staircase” from Harry Potter) -Alice’s ... After sending out a long e-mail yesterday to everyone about Oxford, I don’t feel like recapping it all over again. So I’m going to skim over what was really a very packed week with this list of highlights:
-punting (pushing the boat down the canal with a metal pole)

-Christchurch (service at the Cathedral, standing where John Wesley was ordained, the
“Harry Potter” dining hall, the fireplace that inspired the stretched neck in Alice in Wonderland, the “moving staircase” from Harry Potter)

-Alice’s shop (where the real Alice used to buy sweets, and was the inspiration for the Sheep Shop in Through the Looking-Glass)

The Eagle&Child- pub where C.S. Lewis and Tolkien and the rest of the Inklings met

The Terf- tavern as old as the 1200’s, was the setting in a large part of Jude the Obscure (one of my favorite books), and also the place where President Clinton supposedly “smoked, but never inhaled”

Blackwell’s at Oxford- the largest bookstore in England

-sketches by Leonardo da Vinci

-dinosaurs, mummies, and shrunken heads

-Einstein’s blackboard, preserved with his chalk handwritten equation, from his second lecture on the expansion of the universe

-my first and last martini. Yuck! but I was excited that I looked 18 and didn’t get carded.

-VERY formal dinner for which we all got dressed to the nines…very fun…and another night we had a dance at the university bar

OK, now that that’s said and done, I’ll come back and revisit parts of it later.

Oxford remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Another amazing weekend tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-09-12:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=9&entryid=23652 2006-09-12T13:42:18Z 2006-09-12T13:42:18Z A quick rundown of my weekend: Friday (no classes on fridays) after the gym I went on a walk with Melissa and Liam from my house. We went on a quest to find Shake-Away's, a milkshake place with (get this) 150 different kinds of milkshakes. Yeahh. They're not icecreamy like in the states, they're just sort of milky, and then they add basically anything in the world to it. So I had a Cadburry Egg milkshake. It's our new Friday ... A quick rundown of my weekend:
Friday (no classes on fridays) after the gym I went on a walk with Melissa and Liam from my house. We went on a quest to find Shake-Away's, a milkshake place with (get this) 150 different kinds of milkshakes. Yeahh. They're not icecreamy like in the states, they're just sort of milky, and then they add basically anything in the world to it. So I had a Cadburry Egg milkshake. It's our new Friday tradition, so next week I might try Nutella or Oreo or banana. There are plenty of thinks you WOULDN'T want to try, like liccorice, blueberry nutrigrain bar, or Wheetabix, which is a healthy cereal. So that is our weekly treat.

Saturday was one of the UK's Heritage days...when lots of things are open and free admittance. So Melissa and I got up early and walked to some of those places in Bath. The coolest was the Masonic Hall. I felt like I was some privileged scholar learning the secrets of the Da Vinci Code. 364 days a year it's closed to anyone who's not a Mason. But inside I learned a lot and saw some of the world's oldest photographs (not THE oldest but from the same few years) and the world's oldest gas appliance (older than the Bunsen Burner by 15 years). I learned about freemasonry and some of the symbology and a lot of the histrory. Very worthwhile.

Saturday night we celebrated a friend Annie's 20th birthday with pizza at one of the houses. Sunday Melissa and I got up again and took a free, two-hour walking tour of Bath. It was interesting. I saw some parts of the city I hadn't seen before and learned a lot of history.

Monday at Oxford I walked from the train station to my tutor's house instead of taking the bus. It took almost two hours (that includes stopping to take a few pictures and to buy a baguette sandwich to walk with) but I got to see the center of Oxford and all that goes along with it. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Starting this Saturday the whole programme will be in Oxford for a week.

Last night I went to my first rugby game. I've never even been to one at Mary Washington. But this Bath Rugby game was quite an experience. It took me until almost the end of the game to figure out that the ball isn't dead until it goes out of bounds (that's how sports-savvy I am, haha) so most of the time I was trying to compare it too closely to American football in which the ball is dead when the man is down. But once I picked up on a few of the rules, I was able to follow it and enjoy it.

I guess I'll do some reading in my Yeats poetry book before creative nonfiction starts in an hour. Note to self, I need a stapler for that class. Hmmm.

later!

Another amazing weekend remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Waiting for Godot tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-09-08:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=8&entryid=23180 2006-09-08T11:22:41Z 2006-09-08T11:22:41Z Last night I saw Waiting for Godot at the Theater Royal here in Bath. I went with some people from my Irish lit class, because we're reading the play later this semester. It was a really good production, with talented actors (it's going back to London after this week) but a lot of the ideas went over my head. Still, I'm glad I saw it. I joined the gym, and the most challenging thing about that is trying to use ... Last night I saw Waiting for Godot at the Theater Royal here in Bath. I went with some people from my Irish lit class, because we're reading the play later this semester. It was a really good production, with talented actors (it's going back to London after this week) but a lot of the ideas went over my head. Still, I'm glad I saw it.

I joined the gym, and the most challenging thing about that is trying to use the metric system. I don't do kilometers. How far have I gone? How fast am I going? But it's a really nice facility.

I can't decide on a favorite class between creative nonfiction, in which we're writing our memoirs, or In the Courts of Princes. My classes are wonderfully small:

Spanish- one on one with a tutor at Oxford (I have to take the train there and back)

In the Courts of Princes- six people

Creative Nonfiction- nine people

Irish Literature- ten people

It's fantastic. It is going to keep me on my toes. You can't get away with not being prepared, not even for one class. Classes only meet once a week, for two hours. That means lots of work outside of class, but it's not harder than M'dub. Supposedly this should be one of the easiest semesters of college, from what I've heard.

More later,
Les

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]]> sheep and cows and pigs, oh my! tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-09-04:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=7&entryid=22819 2006-09-05T14:44:56Z 2006-09-05T14:44:56Z This is short because I'm tired and I want to go back to my house, where I currently am not getting internet, and relax. But it's been a couple of days and a lot has happened. Yesterday was Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Avebury. Stonehenge was more exciting than they told us it would be. Probably so we wouldn't think it was the coolest thing ever and then be disappointed. We got there in the morning and the weather changed from cloudy to sunny ... This is short because I'm tired and I want to go back to my house, where I currently am not getting internet, and relax. But it's been a couple of days and a lot has happened.

Yesterday was Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Avebury.

Stonehenge was more exciting than they told us it would be. Probably so we wouldn't think it was the coolest thing ever and then be disappointed. We got there in the morning and the weather changed from cloudy to sunny about 15 times in the hour we were walking around the stones. But that meant we got to see them in all kinds of light. Then we went to Salisbury, where we walked around the town which has stuff from medieval times all the way to present, the highlight being the Salisbury Cathedral. There we saw one of the original 4 copies of the Magna Carta. Pretty impressive stuff. You can get a lot closer to it than you can to the Declaration of Independence. I couldn't believe it was still in such mint condition since 1215!

Our last stop was Avebury, which is MUCH BIGGER than Stonehenge. We hiked around the stone circle (it's huge) and I was distracted by the sheep. Yeah, we were walking through sheep pasture. We all smelled like sheep, too. Eww.

Today I went to Oxford for spanish. I found my tutor's house, and the lesson was really helpful. I'm going to learn a lot. I got to Oxford 2 hours before I needed to, because I thought I'd do some sightseeing. But Oxford is much, MUCH bigger than I thought it was. I didn't realize before that there's an actual city, not just a conglommeration of 39 "colleges"

So I walked around for those 2 hours, but I didn't see anything significant because I had no idea where anything was. I'll do better next week.

My roommate Melissa taught me how to make applesauce in the microwave from the apples in our yard, and it's my new favorite thing. I'll make it for all of you when I get back. nothing like the applesauce in containers.

I'm drained from the day. Catching trains and switching trains and walking around Oxford and catching buses and trying to think in Spanish for the first time in months...today was really the first time with the exception of the train from London to Bath that I have been on my own, an American amongst the brits. Everytime I thought I was going the wrong way today, I started to panic if I let myself think "I am in another country"...so I just had to keep stopping myself fom thinking about it. I haven't gotten lost yet, knock on wood.

Tomorrow is creative writing, my first class here in Bath, and I'll get my first diagnostic back. I hope it's alright.

love you all, and really really miss being able to talk to you guys on the telephone. i'm finally starting to get homesick now, but it's nothing bad. i havent cried or anything. haha.

cheers!
les

sheep and cows and pigs, oh my! remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> These boots were made for walkin' tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-09-02:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=6&entryid=22527 2006-09-02T13:41:54Z 2006-09-02T13:41:54Z Boots I do not have...yet. Walking I have done...lots. Bath is a bigger, more bustling city than I was expecting. I'll have to look up how many people live here. The Roman baths were beautiful. So many roman artifacts! The self-guided tour was cool. I'm so glad we went before they stopped openging them (and lighting them up) at night. Yesterday I got my books, and walked around the city some, got a tour of Bath University nearby, walked back rather than taking the ... Boots I do not have...yet.

Walking I have done...lots.

Bath is a bigger, more bustling city than I was expecting. I'll have to look up how many people live here.

The Roman baths were beautiful. So many roman artifacts! The self-guided tour was cool. I'm so glad we went before they stopped openging them (and lighting them up) at night.

Yesterday I got my books, and walked around the city some, got a tour of Bath University nearby, walked back rather than taking the bus, which turned out to be about 25 minutes of a downhill walk...my calves are still tired. Then we had a study skills session which was really intimidating. The professor leading the session was from Oxford, and I quote him from his schpiel on the importance of citing sources correctly:

"If you misquote a line from Shakespeare, I'll know it. But if it's a comma I think is out of place, I may have to go back and check so you should have your sources cited with all information."

A man who knows every (punctuated) line of all of Shakespeare's works by heart? That's not natural.

But basically, the biggest difference between classes here and classes there is the reading. At home, there is required reading. And if you're a good student, you do all of the required reading. Here, if you're a good student, you do all of the required reading, and then the RECOMMENDED reading. So maybe I have to read a play for a class, and that is required. But the suggested reading might be a book on the author's life, or another play from the same time or author. And if you want to contribute to the seminars here, (25 percent of your grade), you will need to have read from the suggested reading list.

I'm going to be very busy these first few weeks. What people on the program have heard from people before is that eventually you figure out how much work you can get by with, and it really isn't that bad at all.

My first class is at Oxford on Monday. I have to take the train, and then the bus, and find my tutor's house. I'm a little nervous about finding my way. This first week I'm just going to go in really early in the morning, because my tutorial is not until 2, and wander around the colleges at Oxford for awhile.

Today is shopping day. Everywhere is having big sales, because the fall collections go up after today. My roommate and I walked around for awhile in the middle of our grocery shopping. (Grocery shopping is by far the most difficult thing so far, but if that's all, then life is not worth complaining about). I found a cute flouncy denim skirt for 3 pounds. That's six dollars. But the annoying thing is, it's a size 10. For anyone who might not know girls' sizes, I'm nowhere near a size 10. I'm a 2 or a 4. Luckily Julie had already warned me about how skinny European women's clothing is, so I'm not panicking about suddenly wearing a size 10. I might go shopping some more, just to look around. I'll be happy if I find a black clutch, and some rainboots. I don't plan on buying a lot of clothes while I'm here. It's too expensive trying to travel and eat and go out.

We had a reception last night with all of our tutors. We sipped wine and strolled around a Victorian art gallery and mingled with students and tutors (a tutor is the equivalent of an american professor...in england professors are more like the very top of their field). I felt about 25. Then everyone went out to this club, my first European club experience. I didn't really like it. I guess you have to be drinking to enjoy yourself at those kind of places, or at least be a really great dancer. I don't think I'll be going along from now on.

But aren't you proud of me for at least trying these things? I'm really putting myself out there. And as for new experiences, I think I'll go try to catch some of the cricket match in town before walking around some more. Tonight feels like a good night to settle in with a cup of tea and do some reading, because we have to be up early tomorrow to go to Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, and Avebury.

These boots were made for walkin' remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> hello? tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-31:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=5&entryid=22326 2006-08-31T12:53:56Z 2006-08-31T12:53:56Z So last night I was trying to use the british phonecard they gave us, because i'm not getting my phone fixed until today, and i punched in the wrong number because i was looking at the wrong spot on the card, and a british woman answered. "Hello?" I panicked and hung up. Rude, I know, but at least i didn't try to ask her about my calling card. The whole house (including me) laughed a lot because after I hung ... So last night I was trying to use the british phonecard they gave us, because i'm not getting my phone fixed until today, and i punched in the wrong number because i was looking at the wrong spot on the card, and a british woman answered. "Hello?" I panicked and hung up. Rude, I know, but at least i didn't try to ask her about my calling card. The whole house (including me) laughed a lot because after I hung up I asked, "Luke, did somebody answer when you called?" and he was like yeah, a recording! woops...

I'm still not homesick. Haha, I know I say that everytime I post anywhere, and I'm not trying to make you feel unimportant, I'm merely super impressed by my own strong will. I'm learning how to count british coins quickly, and oh by the way the exchange rate is basically 2.0 now (i think it's 1.97) so that's really fun (!)

Since I last updated, I have taken the third diagnostic test (that means i have one to go in the next little while), been taken on a tour of the gym (85 pounds...yikes! but i'm joining), actually eaten an apple from the yard (sour but perfectly edible), and walked some more around the city.Tonight a group of us is going to go to the Roman baths for the last night that they'll be all lit up. Exciting! As soon as I bring my laptop down here to the house, i'll post my pictures. maybe even later today! (tomorrow if not).

ok, that was not too meaningful. but i had the opportunity to use the internet so i took it.

love you!

hello? remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> is this our house? tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-30:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=4&entryid=22230 2006-08-30T12:49:23Z 2006-08-30T12:49:23Z Our first night, after going exploring around the city, we all had to stop and look twice at our house to identify that we lived there. since then, however, we have gotten pretty settled. i went to my first pub last night, which was far less scary than i ever thought it would be. today i have already written one paper, and in five minutes i'm about to go write another one. i have two to write tomorrow, also. classes ... Our first night, after going exploring around the city, we all had to stop and look twice at our house to identify that we lived there. since then, however, we have gotten pretty settled. i went to my first pub last night, which was far less scary than i ever thought it would be. today i have already written one paper, and in five minutes i'm about to go write another one. i have two to write tomorrow, also. classes start monday, but these are impromptus for each class that will be graded and show our tutors our abilities in each class. intimidating much? i also got my syllabuses this morning, and i'm overwhelmed. but i'm really excited about it. i'm kind of looking forward to the hard work. there is one other guy doing a spanish tutorial at oxford, so we may go to spain sometime. maybe. i don't know how i'm going to survive this semester in the second most expensive city in the UK. i'm so budgeted, though. i wonder about the people pounding beer, though.

is this our house? remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Cheerio...or something tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-29:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=3&entryid=22081 2006-08-29T12:12:25Z 2006-08-29T12:12:25Z Hello all. I won't bore you with all the minute details of my travel, just know that I got here safely. It might be worth mentioning that I got to see some of the countryside on my trainride from London to Bath, and it was quite pretty. The first thing I did when I got here was get settled into my house. It was built in the 1800's, so it's kind of quirky, but very charming at the same time. ... Hello all. I won't bore you with all the minute details of my travel, just know that I got here safely. It might be worth mentioning that I got to see some of the countryside on my trainride from London to Bath, and it was quite pretty. The first thing I did when I got here was get settled into my house. It was built in the 1800's, so it's kind of quirky, but very charming at the same time. My roommate Melissa is very nice and we get along great. There are seven people, total, in the house...5 girls and 2 guys. There was a little bit of food here in the house for us to tide us over until today when we can go grocery shopping after orientation. Last night after we made dinner,we walked around the city. It's a World Heritage City, very historic and very beautiful. My camera charger won't plug into the wall adaptor here, so hopefully this evening I'll buy something that will fit and I can start facebooking my pictures and perhaps posting some on here, if I can figure it out. The houses for the program are scattered throughout the city, so we're not all clustered together. I've only briefly met some people from the other houses at orientation today. My roommate and I came back to the house and made lunch but the rest of my house went exploring restaurants in the center of town, near our orientation. Melissa and I are just trying to save our money a bit. I don't really want to eat lunch out unless I have to, because there are about a MILLION little shops and restaurants around town that look expensive but intriguing. There are also lots of pubs, which again,I see as an occasionally fun experience but also something that will suck people's money right away. There is an abbey here which is quite beautiful from the outside; I haven't been in it yet. There are several parks in the city, one of which costs a pound to go in but has blue and white striped cloth lawn chairs everywhere. I think it will be my study spot. I figure the money I'm not spending on beer will be put to better use studying in a beautiful park-gardens thing. Orientation is a little bit overwhelming, especially since we're all jetlagged. They give us some information, then hand us a cup of tea, then give us more information, and refill our tea. The tea here is more like expresso, I think. It's very strong and it's served with milk and sugar. I don't think I'll need Starbucks for any reason, but we did pass one. It's a very walkable city, there is no need for personal or public transportation. We walked around almost the whole of it last night. I could spend a couple of DAYS just exploring Bath. Classes don't start until Monday, so I have lots of information sessions and receptions between now and then, plus a trip to Stonehenge, Salisbury (cathedral), and Avebury on Sunday. I'm getting wireless internet in our house, so I don't have to go all the way to the study house (in case you haven't caught on, everything is in houses here, not classroom buildings) to use the internet...unless our neighbors put a stop to us.
So far, I really,really like it here.I know I'll get homesick eventually, maybe when I'm not caffeinated, but I am surrounded by beautiful scenery and friendly people and I'm on the brink of adventure.
Oh, there is a shower in my room. Yes, IN my room. No curtain, either, or even frosted glass. So Melissa and I are going to go looking for a curtain today. But it has good water pressure and I don't have to share it with the guys (the rest of the house shares one bathroom, which is where we have to go for a sink and toilet) so I'm very happy about that...even though it's a little awkward looking when you walk in our room.
We have a back patio and an apple tree (real apples, not crabapples). How could I not love it here?
I do miss you all.
But don't worry about me because I'm doing well.
Love always,
Me

Cheerio...or something remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Imagine That tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-08-18:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=2&entryid=20832 2006-08-22T18:06:44Z 2006-08-19T03:17:46Z I'm not packed yet. In fact, I haven't begun packing. I think I have all the stuff I need, though, it's all a matter of rounding it up. Oh, and making it fit. I'm up for the challenge. I want to take this time to assess what kind of things I want to make sure I do while I'm overseas, and what kind of a person I hope to be when I return. So here is my list of things ... I'm not packed yet. In fact, I haven't begun packing. I think I have all the stuff I need, though, it's all a matter of rounding it up. Oh, and making it fit. I'm up for the challenge. I want to take this time to assess what kind of things I want to make sure I do while I'm overseas, and what kind of a person I hope to be when I return.

So here is my list of things I want to make sure I do/see:

  • Westminster Abbey (gorgeous architecture, and I especially want to go to the Poets'Corner and see the tombs of people like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen and John Hardy and so many other famous people)
  • London Eye (a gigantic ferris wheel, 450 ft high, with these enclosed compartments so you're standing up and seeing the view of the whole city)
  • go punting at Oxford (row row row your boat)
  • go running in the countryside often (my *house* is a fair distance from the study center, across a bridge and such, so I think I'm sort of in the country)
  • join at least one club at Bath University...even though we don't take our classes there, we can use their gym and library and stuff and also join their organizations
  • really immerse myself in some of the British hangouts, not just the bars where all the Americans congregate
  • be responsible, but not end up BEING responsible for a house full of drunk classmates. i really hope I don't have to take care of people a lot.
  • Make a scavenger hunt in Bath for my friend Ashley Hamilton who is coming on the same program in the spring
  • do any harry-potter-tourist-attraction I come across
  • take in a production at the opera house in Paris
  • have a pint in a pub in Dublin (perhaps)
  • keep a journal- a real one, for myself
  • take lots and lots of pictures so I can scrapbook when I get back
  • write a postcard each day, or every couple of days
  • put forth the effort it requires to get everything I can out of my one-on-one spanish tutorial at Oxford. I could come back a much better speaker even if I don't make it to Barcelona this trip
  • buy a piece of art in Europe. Either a print from one of the museums, or a drawing from some street artist, whatever. It's on my life list of things to do.
  • Read under a tree at Oxford. Preferably with an apple in my hand.
  • Become a very proficient cook while I'm in charge of making my own meals. (and come back to mary washington ready to cook for my lovely roommates)
  • go to a "football" game
  • try cricket
  • eat fish and chips, once, from somewhere locally owned and operated
  • make a trip up to northern england and see Gloucester, where all the quidditch scenes in HP were filmed, and also the cathedral there, and where Gryffindor tower was filmed
  • see the Wind in the Willows exhibit at the Museum of Rowing and Rivers
  • admire all the plunder from the empire at the British Museum (mummies and gold and lots of stuff that rightfully belongs to some other country haha)
  • go to the Roald Dahl museum
  • go to the National Portrait Gallery (everything from royalty to Winston Churchill to JK Rowling)
  • go to the King's Cross Station in London and take my picture at Platform 9 3/4 (actually track 4), then take a walk up Diagon Alley (Charing Cross Rd in London)
  • go hiking in Wales (built-in weekend in my program!)
  • have a cup of tea almost every day
  • play in the rain....because there's going to be lots of it
  • do my best in my classes, and not put all of my homework off until Tuesday morning
  • keep in touch with people back home (tallahassee and school)

I can already feel that I'm going to come back much older...not TOO much older...but just more learned. And, let's see, when I get back I will have been to England, Ireland, Wales, France, and probably at least one other country, so I'll have experienced a lot of new cultures. I think I'll be more independent since I won't be able to call home everyday and hear my parents or my friends on the other end. Oh and I want to spend a lot of time reflecting on what I'm being called to do. I think I'll be able to run further/longer, cook a broader variety of things, write in a more polished way (creative nonfiction writing class), and that I'll be more comfortable in a wider range of social situations (I think it is going to be hard to go to Europe with this bunch of people and never go to a club). Overall, I think I'm going to return to the states a more confident, well-rounded individual. As cheesy as it sounds, I think I'm going to learn a lot about myself while I'm away from everyone familiar.

OK, that's it til I get there...hopefully for you they won't be this long from now on.

Much love,
Leslie
(Les, Guadi, short person...etc)

Imagine That remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> What I Hope to Gain from my Trip tag:travellerspoint.com,2006-05-15:/blog/?domain=lookingformrdarcy&thisblog_entryid=1&entryid=11733 2006-05-16T03:42:43Z 2006-05-16T03:42:43Z First and foremost, I am going to find Mr. Darcy. I mean, Jane Austen wrote a lot of her stuff in Bath, right? So it seemed like the most logical place to go. And oh yeah, I'd like to shake Harry Potter's hand. Tell him I expect great things from him in the seventh book. Ok, ok, I'll be serious. *deep breath* I'm really excited because I've never been out of the country. I can't wait to go places and see ... First and foremost, I am going to find Mr. Darcy. I mean, Jane Austen wrote a lot of her stuff in Bath, right? So it seemed like the most logical place to go.

And oh yeah, I'd like to shake Harry Potter's hand. Tell him I expect great things from him in the seventh book.

Ok, ok, I'll be serious. *deep breath*

I'm really excited because I've never been out of the country. I can't wait to go places and see things I've only read about, and to discover new things I've never heard of before.

I know God has blessed me with a *splendid* opportunity to go to Europe while I'm young, single, and still in school. It's going to push my education so much further, and I'm going to enjoy it so much.

So I'm going to use a blog to share my trip with all of you, my friends and family. I'm keeping my own written journal, but this will be an easy way of communicating. I can also post pictures on here along my trip.

What I Hope to Gain from my Trip remains copyright of the author darcyquest, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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