"Not all who wander are lost"

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

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.

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!

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.

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