Happy Thanksgiving!

The appropriate subtitle for today's post: I love it when Katie propositions Rachele.

Thanksgiving...it is a solely American holiday and us Americans certainly celebrated it here! On Wednesday night, there was a feast in Hall in honor of the Sarah Lawrence Programme students. We had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, apple and raisin pie and ice cream. We also got wine and coffee--only the Sarah Lawrence people that is. The Wadhamites weren't special enough!!!! As we were waiting in line before dinner, Emma and I were talking to some of our British friends about Thanksgiving and Rob thought it was actually on Tuesday. He was horrified (and I think a bit embarrassed) when we informed him that it was actually on Thursday. It was actually pretty funny.

On Thursday, my flat and the flat next door prepared a feast for ourselves. We made 2 roast chickens, a VAT of mashed potatoes, herb bread, 2 kinds of soup, 2 apple pies, 2 kinds of stuffing (one was pork and pre-stuffed into the chickens, the other bread in the oven), cookies, gravy, cranberry sauce, and creamed spinach. AND we did it without burning anything, setting anything on fire, ruining any thing, no major kitchen catastrophes--other than the mess--and a whole lot of laughter and fun. There were 10 of us eating and it was lovely. We brought our kitchen table out our patio door, through the courtyard and into the other flat via their patio where it still sits because we are too lazy to reverse the journey. SO MUCH FUN!

We really had a wonderful time and it has just occurred to me that I am almost finished with this term. I have two essays due Tuesday and Wednesday next week and then I will be done! I cannot believe how fast this term has gone. I will be home on the 8th of December...its approaching really, really rapidly!

Also, because it is now after Thanksgiving, I get to do two things.
Number 1: I get to listen to Christmas music ALL THE TIME.
Number 2: I can drink peppermint mochas at Starbucks! I had one today while I read Milton's Paradise Lost and it was lovely.

PS. Sara, I didn't have to go to three different Starbucks this year...my first attempt succeeded!

Pirates of the Caribbean is my LIFE.

I've been thinking (while not posting for a while--sorry, sorry) about what my life's soundtrack would be. This week, it would be the Pirates of the Caribbean. I have been listening to the first and third movies' soundtracks non-stop. Its great music to write a paper to; plus, if you'll allow me to be a nerd for a moment, one of the themes always makes me think of this great unfettered freedom and power--a great pick-me-up in the middle of an essay. That said, let me tell you about our last field trip to Tinturn Abbey and St. Fagan's Museum in Wales.

This is Tinturn Abbey. It was a fully working abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the time of Henry VIII. At that time, it was abandoned and the local people began taking it apart. As the roof was made of lead, it was the first to go. Next, they would remove the stones for use in their own buildings. In the 1800's this was stopped and it is now being kept in the condition you see in the picture (hopefully for generations to come).

This is Amy and I in one of the windows. I felt like I should have had a Bible or some sort of old Greek or Roman text in Latin to read in the sun. The abbey was incredibly beautiful and really peaceful. One of my friends who is not religious said that they felt this sense of peace--like it was just an inherently spiritual place. I absolutely agree. We were only able to spend an hour wandering around and I could have spent all day relaxing and meditating.

On to St. Fagan's. When I heard it was a museum, I got really excited because, as you all know, I am a complete history nerd and I love old, historic stuff! St. Fagan's Museum actually is a lot like Plymouth Plantation or Colonial Williamsburg. There aren't actors from the time period, but what they've done is to find buildings from all different ages all over Wales and relocate them to a 100-acre living museum type place. They take houses down stone by stone and number the stones so they can be put together the exact same way. There was a Celtic village and a 1980's row house as well as a manor house, a corn mill (flour mill to us Americans) and the most beautiful gardens EVER. I had the most marvelous time wandering around with Kate and exploring the various areas and eras. We went into the mill for funsies and there was a man sitting in front of a fire with a beautiful black cat. He spoke to us in Welch: the most beautiful language I've ever heard! It was like a song, all soft vowels and sing-songy. If I had an aptitude for languages, Welch would be the next one I'd learn!


This is part of the marvelous gardens. They kind of capped off the whole day. It had rained for an entire week before the trip and that Friday was the first sunny and gorgeous day in a long time. It was a perfect day off work.

Speaking of work, I have been so swamped for the last two weeks. Since Emma and I missed a tutorial due to a miscommunication, we had to make one up this week. This means that, instead of the usual two 7-10 page essays, we had three. In one week. I have not gotten a proper night's sleep in a long time; however, as of Wednesday, I am back to the usual two essays a week which is now going to seem like a piece of cake! This week I am reading Ben Jonson's Volpone for my lit tutorial and considering the role of fortune and either the body or the spirit. For history, I'm reading about Winston Churchill...my favorite quotation about him so far is "He was the one minister who felt instinctively at home with war and with the politics of war." Basically, my essay is supposed to consider him as a wartime leader. This is a timely essay since this week's core class lecture and outing is about him and we will be going to Blenheim Palace (his family's seat). I am very excited about this prospect.

And now, having discussed my work, I should go do some for a while! Actually, I'm probably going to go to bed and just tell myself that I'll get up early tomorrow (ha, thats funny). Either way, this post has gone on long enough and I'm getting tired. Take care and I'll try not to wait so long for an update again!


Oh yeah, one more thing. MY BIKE IS FIXED!

"I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like..."

Yes, I do have a bicycle. I bought one due to the 1/2 hour walk from my flat to Wadham College/the city centre. On a cycle, it only takes 15 minutes, 10 if I go really fast. Here's the problem: I am the poster child for Murphy's Law--anything bad that can happen, will. I had the bike for a week when I noticed that my front tire was completely flat. So, I took it in to a cycle shop by my flat and the guy said that what had probably happened was that the tire was not properly fitted to the frame. I could take it back to whence it came (a 45 minute walk) and it would be covered by warranty or I could pay 10 pounds for it to be repaired right by my flat. Dilemma!!!! Instead of making a decision, I just haven't ridden my bike for a week. By the way, it is blue, has a wire basket, a light on both the front and back and mudguards (or fenders as my dad likes to call them).

Now I can get to the point of this post. THE ELECTION. I am elated at the results but what I am even more excited about (if its possible) is that not only was I a part of making history but I watched history happen. As we watched CNN, the state-by-state projections rolled in. For each state projecting Obama as the winner, the entire room would cheer. I stood in the bar at the Oxford Union and watched as CNN was projected onto a big screen, predicting Obama as the future president at 4:00 am. (That is a six-hour time difference from Central Time). I was in the library of the Oxford Union watching the BBC's coverage of John McCain's concession speech. Amy and I stood watching, holding hands and crying, her because McCain reminded her of home and me because his speech was heartfelt, honorable and incredibly moving. For President-Elect Obama's speech I stood on a radiator, clinging to a window frame in the bar to see the screen while around me, Brits and Americans alike watched as history was made. Listening to those two incredibly moving speeches made me realize the integrity of both men. For Senator McCain to shush those "booing" in the crowd and the honor he did President-Elect Obama by giving him his compliments and wishing him the best was not an easy thing. However, he did it with great poise--what a great man. I hope he will continue to do great things in Congress. As for our future President, I look forward to his leadership. His speech proved he will truly be a great leader.

I had not realized until that night how lucky I am to be a part of a nation such as America. Our politics truly affect the whole world and though I knew this, I never understood the magnitude until I discussed American politics with Brits who knew as much as, if not more, about it than I did. We should feel proud that we come from a nation that can truly make a difference in this world. No matter whether your candidate won the election or not, there is one crucial thing to remember: we are all Americans, and we are so fortunate to have the ability to impact our politics.

Now that I've had my soapbox moment, (and I truly feel like I should have been standing, arms behind my back, the American flag as a backdrop while "Proud to be an American" played in the background) I'll tell you some more stuff about Oxford and etc.

Basically, my friends and I have been working and working and working. We took Friday (Halloween), Saturday (the American Halloween party) and Tuesday/Wednesday (Election!!) off work for the most part...so now we get to play catch-up. The workload doesn't wait for our convenience. Tomorrow we are off to Cardiff in Wales for a day-trip with the programme. Its a two-hour bus ride so I fully expect everyone will bring a book or two with them!

For my tutorials on Tuesday and Wednesday, I read Thomas More's Utopia and researched D-Day. Obviously, I had no problem doing the reading for my history tutorial. In fact, my tutor said that Band of Brothers is an essential read, so I bought it. Here is the teensy problem...I absolutely love it. I was supposed to be reading about D-Day (6 June 1944) and I found myself reading about the Battle of the Bulge (end of December 1944). Ooops. I told my tutor about my new procrastination tool and she just laughed. She later sent me an email to confirm the change of time for my tutorial and the post script read: "Put down Band of Brothers!"

It is now midnight and the bus is picking us up at 9:00 tomorrow. I need some sleep--still catching up from Election Night since I didn't go to bed until 6 in the morning and had to wake up at 9 for a tutorial! Have a good one and watch for futher news concerning the trip to Wales and more importantly, my bike!

ELECTION DAY

So here's the deal. I am waiting to post the next catalogue of my adventures until after Election Day because I have plans:
1. The Oxford Union is having a huge party to which I have a ticket.
2. Wadham SU also is having an election party.
3. My friends are having a party in their flat to watch for the results.
Point being, I am going to stay up all night and I expect to have so much fun! I also don't have the time at the moment to write anything other than this bit.

So. GET OUT THERE AND VOTE. It is your constitutional right as an American over the age of 18 and I've never been so aware of the great fortune we have in being such an integral part of our government as I am now that I'm in England for what could be termed as one of the greatest elections in American history.

Exercise your rights and have a great Election Day!!!! I'm off to a tutorial....