I'm finally home! And man am I loving the food - I've had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, giant pancakes, real bacon, and macaroni and cheese in the past day and a half. But England was amazing. I absolutely know that I'm going back one day, no matter what. There's so much that I didn't get to see or do, and I will see Stonehenge before I die.

This is me in front of the Queen Victoria monument in front of the gates to Buckingham Palace. Two friends and I took a day trip there on one of our days off. We went to Harrods, Buckingham Palace, and Trafalgar Square.

I'm really tired now, because I've been writing all day, so I won't say much, other than I wish I hadn't had to leave so early. I never even got to try treacle sponge!

Today, we went to Westminster Abbey. It was absolutely gorgeous, but they wouldn't let you take pictures! I thought that was ridiculous, so I cheated and took them with my phone instead. They're horribly quality, especially compared with my fancy new camera, but I thought I'd post them because it was easy to send
them to my computer via Bluetooth.


Ceiling




Someone's tomb. One of the King Richards, I think?


Coronation Chair


Queen Elizabeth I's tomb


And again


One of the people buried with Mary, Queen of Scots whose name I can't remember


Top of Mary, Queen of Scots Effigy Tomb


Mary, Queen of Scots Effigy Tomb

Picture custom of BBC

So, here's my interesting story for the day:

I got up this morning to go see a play, The Tempest, in Regents Park in the Open Air Theatre at 9:45 AM. We were to leave at 7 AM in order to get there in time, but three people didn't wake up on time, making us late. Instead of hiring a bus to take us there, Dr. Trivedi, the program director, decided that we would use public transportation to take us to London, since there's a bus stop right next to Regents Park, and it would be cheaper and convenient. Because we were late, we had to take the Oxford bus to the bus station to take us to London.

We got to the play 5 minutes before it started, watched it, and left (unfortunately they had designed this one to be geared towards kids, so I didn't like it as much as the one I watched a few days ago).

Dr. Trivedi had given us round trip bus tickets, so we could go back any time we wanted. The Victorian literature people had class at 2:30, so they had to leave immediately to get back in time, but history wasn't until 4:40, giving us some time to do whatever before going back. Two friends and I decided to get lunch before getting back on the bus to go home, so everyone else left, and we went to Pizza Express (which was actually pretty good!).

In the middle of lunch, we get a call from Trivedi. Did you know that there was a protest about Sri Lanka going on in London today? Well, that means that all the roads get blocked surrounding the protest. The rest of the class hadn't been able to use the bus stop we arrived at, because the roads around us were blocked. He told us to get a cab to take us to Victoria Coach Station, and we could catch another bus there to take us to Oxford. So, we finished eating and hailed a cab. Twenty minutes later, the cab driver told us that he couldn't get to Victoria Coach Station, because with the road blocks, he was just going in circles. So we got out, and called Trivedi again. He told us to hail another cab and go to Paddington Station, then catch a train to Oxford. We got the cab, and drove around for another twenty to thirty minutes. We made it to Paddington Station, and bought three train tickets. However, the train was leaving in 6 minutes, and we didn't know where the platform was or how to get to it. We did find it, right as it was leaving, and were able to get on.

Once in Oxford, we had no idea where we were, because none of us had ever been to the train station. We asked several bus drivers, but none of them could take us to the UGA House. So, we got another cab.

Three hours after we left Pizza Express, three cabs, and a train later, we finally made it back - before anyone else! They must still be either in London, on a bus, or on a train - I'm not sure. On the bright side, we did get to see a lot of London our first day there, and we're being reimbursed for all the money we spent on transportation. Plus, we figured out where the train station is and bought our tickets for when we go back tomorrow!

While you can't see it very well in this picture, because we were facing the wrong way, this is me and some others from the UGA at Oxford program standing in front of Christ Church, which has one of the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen. I haven't gone in yet, but I'm planning on it as soon as I have the time. This is where they filmed the moving staircase scene from Harry Potter! I've also seen the place where they filmed the dining hall scenes. Exciting =]

On the same day that we took this picture, I also went into a building that has been around since the 1200s. It's been completely refurbished - in the 1500s! Everything is so old here. What they consider to be "recent" is often before my country was even a real country yet. It's incredible!

Yesterday and today have been devoted to papers. I was up until about 4 AM finishing one, and I'm now working on the other. But after that, I don't really have much due the whole time I'm here.

As a side note, here are some things I've learned thus far:

• The dollar to pound exchange rate SUCKS
• Coke Zero tastes funny
• You're supposed to eat pizza with a knife and fork
• They intentionally give you more reading than you could ever possibly finish
• Drunk Englishmen will serenade you with birthday songs if asked nicely
• The peanut butter also tastes funny
• People back home sometimes forget about the time difference and call you at 3 AM
• In the summer, the birds start chirping at 3:45 AM and the sun starts to rise at 4
• Pea puree comes with everything
• This is the land of no free refills
• Everything comes in really tiny glasses. Obviously they don't like liquids
• Baked beans are a breakfast food
• It's a trolley, not a cart or a buggy, and you must pay for it, along with your plastic grocery bags
• If you have one foot in the bike lane, someone will ring their bike bell angrily at you

Well, I'm off to do more of my paper. Cheerio!

Well, I made it to Oxford in one piece. This is a picture of my bedroom. There are four beds (you can't see one), but I only have one roommate. I'm on the third floor, and let me tell you, dragging a 65 pound suitcase up two flights of stairs is NO FUN.

It was... interesting, getting here. I arrived in London at noon yesterday after the longest flight of my life. I found several other people from UGA, and we managed to find the right bus to get us to Oxford. Then they went to their hotel, and I went to mine. It was quite possibly the smallest room I've ever seen, but comfy enough. It had a bed and a shower, which is all I really cared about. The jet lag is getting to me though - I went to bed at 8:45 PM, woke up at 1 AM, went back to sleep aroud 4:30 AM, and then woke up around 8 AM. And now, I'm sleepy again, but I'm trying to keep myself from taking a nap so I'll get used to the time difference.

It's weird. The people here have been either really rude, or really nice. Some of the rude ones were in the airport, and all airport people are rude, so that's not too surprising. I went to lunch at an Italian place with 4 other girls today, though, and the man who brought our food out was terribly rude to us. He was nice to the rest of the (British) customers though, so it had to be because we're American. Our waitress was really nice, however. It's like there's no "in the middle".

I've also found that I'm a little more homesick than I thought that I would be. It's probably because this is the first time that I'm really traveling alone, with absolutely no one that I know and am familiar with. I've met some people, but it's not quite the same. I find myself wanting to call my parents all the time, but at $1 a minute, I can't.

Also, the voltage converter I brought with me so that I can use British outlets decided it doesn't want to work. One of the other people here let me use his, so I'm able to charge my laptop. I just hope that the stores are still open when I go on my walking tour through the City Center of Oxford later.

I'm also slightly stressed, since I have two papers due Monday, neither of which I've started. I guess that's what I'll be doing tonight and tomorrow night, I guess. I have a free day on Monday, so I'm really hoping that the papers will be due by Monday night.

Overall, I'm doing pretty well. I feel a bit lonely, since I'm separated from the other 4 girls, who are rooming together, and my roommate is off with her dad. I think things will improve in that area once we start going to class and on the various excursions. I'll be taking lots of pictures!

I thought I would post my itinerary. Just in case you're wondering what I'm up to!

Friday, June 12: Arrive at Heathrow Airport at 12 PM. Take the bus to Oxford and check into Parklands Bed and Breakfast.

Saturday, June 13: Check in at Oxford Center by 10:30 AM. Orientation meeting at 12 PM. Walking tour of Oxford at 1:30 PM

Sunday, June 14: 9 AM-11 AM History class. 2 PM-4 PM Shakespeare class

Monday, June 15: Free day

Tuesday, June 16: 9 A-11 AM Shakespeare class. 11:15 AM- 1:15 PM History class

Wednesday, June 17: Excursion to Stratford (Shakespeare's birthplace) and play at 7:30 PM

Thursday, June 18: Visit to Hatfield House

Friday, June 19: Free day

Saturday, June 20: 9 AM-11 AM Shakespeare class, possible play in London at 9:45 AM. 4:40 PM-6:40 PM History class

Sunday, June 21: Free day

Monday, June 22: Visit to Westminster Abbey, Westminster Hall, and Banqueting House

Tuesday, June 23: Visit to London. Play at 2 PM. Lecture at Globe Theatre at 6:00 PM. Globe Theatre plat at 7:30 PM.

Wednesday, June 24: 8:30 AM-10:30 AM Shakespeare class. Play in London at 2:30 PM and 8 PM

Thursday, June 25: 9 AM-11 AM History class. Play in Stratford at 7:30 PM.

Friday, June 26: Excurson to Hampton Court Palace and Tower of London

Saturday, June 27: 11:15 AM-1:15 AM Shakespeare class. 2 PM-4 PM History class.

Sunday, June 28: Check out of Oxford Center by 12 PM. Flight around 1 PM. Arrive in Atlanta around 5 PM.

My Oxford history professor is insane. He honestly expects me to be able to read 20 pages of that. Even if I could make out what the words say, I don't read Old English! Did you know that sometimes, they liked to use weird looking f's instead of s's? It looks like a lowercase f, but with the right side of the horizontal line cut off. I can't find any pattern to it - one time they used "pass" and another time they used "pafs". So this is what it looks like: the Prieft of the Parifh must Ufe the new Prayer Book to preach to his Parifhioners. 56 pages of that!

But anyway, this time tomorrow, I will be on an airplane, somewhere over the Atlantic, just barely into my nine-hour flight. I will either be asleep or reading Julius Caesar, or possibly eating some sour gummy worms. I'm kind of nervous about travelling by myself... ever seen the movie Taken? Not a good idea to watch as a girl travelling abroad by yourself. But I'm still excited. I just really hope the schoolwork part dies down a bit while we're there. For $2000 plus airfare, meals, and souvenirs, this trip isn't exactly cheap, and I want to have fun! I do have two assignments due tomorrow (on the day when everyone will be flying over... not cool) and two 5-6 page papers due a couple days after I get there. I have no idea how I'll get it all done, but I guess I don't have much of a choice!

So, here we go... about to become a world traveler. I'll try to post some while I'm there, but if I don't, I'll be back on June 28th, hopefully all in one piece. Wish me luck!

This is my neighbor's pool. You can't see it, but there are about a trillion bugs floating on the top of the water. But that's okay. You know why? Because it's a pool.

Last summer, I had access to the apartment pool where one of my friends babysat. We'd go three to four times a week, and I had a very nice tan. This summer though, the family doesn't live there, and so I have no pool access. We sold our boat a few years ago to pay for my car, so I can't go to the lake. I had convinced my dad to buy us an above ground pool, but the only level area we have in our yard is on the side, where it would be in view of the street, and the stupid neighborhood laws say we can't do that. So, I was missing out on the summer fun of swimming and floating and basically doing anything to get wet.

So, on the day of The Meltdown (as I've come to call it), my dad went over to our neighbor's house (an older couple) and asked if I could use their pool in an attempt to make me feel better. Well, now I have a pool... kinda.

I sat out today with Romeo and Juliet so I could simultaneously enjoy my summer and do my work. I put on SPF 30... and still got fried. My attempts to set myself apart from all the pasty British people has worked - but I'll be red, instead of tan.

Hi. My name is Stephanie, and I'm a bad blogger. I came to this realization when I noticed that my supposedly daily photo blog has turned into a once in a while when I have the time and I feel like it blog. So, from now on, that's what it will be. I wish I could remember to do it every night, but since I can't, I won't try. I will no longer feel remorse for being remiss in my recounts (or what I remember of them) of my life.

Anyway. I haven't had the greatest day. The online portion of my study abroad classes started yesterday, so I've been doing nothing but reading Shakespeare in preparation for the past week. Unfortunately, I didn't get ahead in my reading enough for life not to be stressful. Last night, I was up fairly late writing my two page response to the assignment on The Winter's Tale, which I finished up this morning. When I got the grade back... it was a C. I do not get C's. Ever. I've only ever made one B in a class in my life. My really crappy grade paired with the fact that I have another assignment (in the history class) due tomorrow, which, at the time, I hadn't even started on (for which I had to read an entire 300 page book as well as about 40 pages of online stuff), and I have to read The Tempest by tomorrow as well lead to my first academic breakdown. I've never had that feeling of "oh crap, I'm not going to get this done. I'm not going to get this right. I'm not going to get a good grade and there's nothing I can do about it." Let me tell you, it's really not a good feeling. At one point I actually considered withdrawing from both classes, getting over the loss of almost $3000, and not going.

After a couple of particularly bad hours, I calmed down enough to rationalize and make a plan. I contacted my Shakespeare professor and realized that the history assignment isn't that hard, as well as had some of my mom's homemade fried chicken and a bowl of ice cream, so I'm feeling a lot better about life now. I'm still stressed, more so now than I've ever been for finals or for any other class, or any other thing in my life, really. But as an optimist, there is a bright side: tomorrow, my neighbors are letting me use their pool to study by, so I can take a swim and get a tan, all while reading. Also, if I can get through this and not fail, there will never be another class as hard as this one. I just don't get Shakespeare. I don't think he wrote his plays with any kind of deep literary meaning in mind. I don't think he agonized over the subtleties of every single world. I think he just sat down, and he wrote it, because that was how he made his living. It was either write a pretty decent play that would sell out the theatres, because otherwise, all he'd have to eat is a couple of shoelaces. This opinion of mine makes it slightly difficult to analyze his work, because I'm making things up. I don't believe what I'm saying, I think it's a load of crap. And it probably is.

As for the pictures, I was taking a break last night around 2 when I decided to start playing with my webcam. The first one is my favorite because the book that's burning is Shakespeare. Too bad it wasn't a real fire...

I also just realized that this is my 100th post! So yay. I didn't do the 100 things about me... but oh well. I'll do them on the next post, and it'll be 101 things about me. Or maybe I'll save it for 111, so I can call it Eleventy-One things about me =]