So its been a while.... Again. Sorry about that...

The last time I left you I was recently settled from a long but beautiful and emotional weekend on one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world. You know, I never thought that in 6 months I would be displaced from the Rocky Mountains in a hospital bed to the Scottish Highlands in a tent on an ground mat. What a great God I serve to be able to be there!

Anyways, so the last two weeks in Oxford would prove to be very busy. After the trip, I of course had to drown myself in books yet again to finish the two papers that lay ahead of me. I spent a good portion of the 90-some-odd hours that spanned from Monday to Thursday preparing for these two classes. My topics were the British Constitution and Israeli Palestinian Conflict. First, the British Constitution was something like I never even considered. As a pre-law student, I've been drowning myself in University courses related to law, so I feel somewhat confident in my knowledge of Constitutional and Tort law. Through this class on British Common law, however, i'd realize how much I didn't know about the foundational source for American Law--British Law. It was a great topic because I learned that Great Britian, while it doesn't have a written constitution, has statutes, case law, procedures, and expectations that guide them into a field of law referred to as Constutitional Law. It was a great learning experience, and even the 700 page Law book I had to read was super interesting and chock-full-of great information. But honestly learning a new legal system is like learning a new language. Tough and tedious.

That Friday, we had been promised an excursion with our Common Law class to London. So, for about the 4893th time, we board a bus to London with our professor Ben McFarlane. Let me just put my two cents in about this guy. He is awesome. And he is a prodigy. What a great experience to be able to take a full course with such a legend! He's about 30 years old, but upon coming to the University as a student, he started studying law. Only 4 years later he is a Doctoral Fellow at Oxford (the youngest one EVER) and he is a Dean of the Oxford Law school. How awesome! .... As I digressed I will now resume. We get on a train to London where we take a tour of the Supreme Court and Parliament of London--both of which I've seen but never toured. It was also interesting to learn that the Supreme Court has only existed 3 years, and only since October have they had their own building. So new for an institution that seems so basic! I also learned that before three years ago, Great Britian used their legislature to produce "Lords" who would serve as Legal Law Lords to decide cases of strong importance. This creates a problem, however, because the same people elected to Parliament are deciding cases probably biased. Now, they have a separate entity that makes these decisions. While at Supreme Court, we also got to witness a case with real judges deciding a case about the embezzlement of 40 million pounds! (About 60 Million dollars)

Now lets move on to what you really want to hear about--the night in London. Ben McFarlane had taken us to do the two most obvious things related to the Legal System in Britain apart from meeting David Cameron, the Prime Minister of England. So..... We go see Legally Blonde at Picadilly Circus at the Savoy theatre. What a great show! If you know the story, you know what the musical will be like--but much better. It was SUCH an awesome show, and we had a great time getting to meet Dr. McFarlane more and meeting his wife. She is a barrister in England (the equivalent of a lawyer) and she showed us her little white curly wig she has to wear in court... It was a great trip..

The next day, I went with a group back to London to see Les Miserables also at Picadilly at the Queens Theatre, and we ate a wonderful meal of Hungarian food with a UGA Professor, Dr. Lira Rhodes. Finally, to end the weekend, Sunday we travelled to Bath, England to see a wonderful city full of suprises. For anyone who doesn't know the Roman Reference in England, it is tied at Bath where all religious Romans came to pay their respects to religion and spend sacred moments near the naturally hot springs. Built around this is Roman ruins of the temple, spa, and meeting rooms used by the Romans about 2000 years ago. Also in Bath is the Princess Diana fashion memorial and the Jane Austen house. Jane Austen based many of her stories in Bath, and the idea behind many of the buildings remaining are portrayed in many of her classics such as Pride and Prejudice. Finally, we obviously had to end the day by going to the usable Roman Baths, where we payed a fee to enjoy a whole day of Spa treatment and relaxation in Hot tubs, pools, and saunas. It was the great end to an absolutely wonderful weekend. Not only was the city beautiful with its towering cathedrals and beautiful ruins, but the food and spa scene was great! One of the best places I've been in the United Kingdom for sure.

So now its back to real life, but the last week of real life I'll face across the pond for a while. We have a debate at the end of the week on the Iraq War, and we have a discussion on Property Rights in Law on Thursday. Apart from that, we all want to see as much of Oxford and the surrounding areas as we can. Yesterday, my friend Emma and I spent all day on a bus tour, learning new facts about the city that we never knew. For example, we saw a small garage where a Mr. Morris used to build cars. It was always called "Morris's Garage." It later became known as MG, and the source of some of the world's most remarkable cars. We also spent lunchtime in the Harry Potter Great Hall, and found the Alice in Wonderland realities all throughout Christ Church College. Then, we spent about 30 minutes in a little store where a certain little girl always got her chocolates after a long day at Uni. Alice Liddell (presently known as Alice in Wonderland) was a real student at the University, and at this chocolate shop is now a store full of Alice goods, and is properly called Alice's Shop. For lunch that day, we ventured out about 8 miles to the English countryside where we ate at a restaurant called "Trout." It was one of the coolest dining experiences I've had yet, because it was literraly a whole in the wall on a small river. Very famously known, Trout had great seafood and a great atmosphere.

I'm so glad I got to spend the weekend around England instead of travelling far away. It made me really realize that alot of the world's treasures are just under our feet every day--Even in Georgia. Sometimes we spend too much time worrying about what we don't have or can't see, and we fail to realize what a wonderful place we live in and on. I hope after this trip I can go back to Georgia with a newfound appreciation for everything in my life and instead of worrying about when the next time I'm going to the Islands, spending that time seeing the beautiful Appalachian mountains and towering pine trees that surround me daily.

Thanks for reading this long, long account of my week. Hope it found you well.

Cheers Mates, Peace, Love and Harmony.

Andrew

We're closing in on Iceland... Beware of cold temperatures?

So fast-forward from last post a few days.

During this past week, I worked all week on a paper, visited London with my class and saw a play called Welcome to Thebes, and ate the best Thai food i've literally ever had in my life. At the end of the week, it was time for the much anticipated trip to Scotland with my roommate, Alex. Of course, 2 weeks ago when we planned the trip, we thought we could do anything. I think its called the Superman effect.... I'm not superman, and we couldn't do everything. We thought planning a trip leaving at 4:30 on Friday morning would be a great idea--especially if we could save a little money. Not a good idea....

On Friday morning (after having been awake til 1 a.m.) my alarm decided it didn't want to work. And not just one of them. Two of them. My roommate Alex met a similar fate, and at 5:30 my body clock told me it was time to wake up, for I was extremely late and out of place. Of course, I jump out of bed, my heart races, and I pick up everything in sight and scream probably not-so-nice words at Alex. Within 10 minutes, we're out the door, running towards no where amongst 16th century stone buildings, statues, and beautiful gardens of Oxford. I decide the direct us to the train station where maybe we can catch a last minute train to London to catch the 6:50 flight that we were supposed to make easily. I run in the train station, whip out my train card, and have a train to the airport within 2 minutes. Alex does the same. At this point, we have about an hour and some change to get to London via train, hop on the subway, go through the whole 30 mile city, get off and on another train to Luton airport, get on a bus to the terminal, and check a bag, all to arrive at the gate before the plane literally takes off the ground. By this point, it is looking grim, and we may have just wasted 200-250 bucks on this trip to Scotland. My heart is racing the whole time.

When we finally arrive in London, of course the subway made several stops and had several problems. With only 30 minutes before the plane lifts off, we're waiting on a train to take us to the airport. When it finally arrives, we're in terrible moods just knowing that the plane has left us. We get on the bus, and of course it takes forever. At this point, we have 10 minutes (the gate had closed 20 minutes ago) until its gone. I run through the airport, leaving Alex behind to check the huge bag of tents and sleeping bags and etc. At this point, every man for himself. I get through security in record time, and after running faster than i've ever ran, I run up to a gate that literally is closing as my feet are pounding against the concrete. I push it open, slam my ticket on the counter in front of the desk assistant, and run out onto the tarmac begging at the same time to wait for my friend. "Nope, you better run if you want on that plane." So I did. And Alex is stuck in London.

I arrive in Scotland, and at this point, Alex is on a train headed my way (9 hour train ride).... I step off the plane into the mountains (a bit snowy I might add) of Scotland. IT was so cold I thought I may cry, but I trucked my way onto a bus with just me and a bookbag and a bottle of water. I get into the city and look around to see one of the quietest but most beautiful places I've ever been. The whole afternoon looking for a hotel/hostel/bed/rock/somewhere-to-sleep was great because I got to see so much of such a lovely little city, adorned with stone, rivers and lakes, mountains in the background, beautiful bridges, beautiful castles and churchs, and nice little pubs. It was a wonderful city. I ate a Chinese buffet for lunch (ironic, right?), and enjoyed the scenery all day until Alex finally arrived late that afternoon. Since he had missed the flight, I didn't want to leave him again so we missed the train we were supposed to take to Kyle of Lochalsh, and we decided to stay in Inverness for the night. I booked a wonderful hotel on the peak of a hill overlooking Inverness Castle (see MacBeth references). It was beautiful and very nice, and after this crazy expensive day of travelling, I wanted nothing more than a plate of fish and chips, a bottled water, and a big bed. And thats exactly what I had.

So, we wake up early the next morning to make a train to Kyle of Lochalsh. We hop on the train, and it whisks us on a 2 hour ride through the Highlands. Now I had always heard it was a cool place and very pretty, but I wasn't prepared for what my eyes were about to see. On the train ride, I literally had an emotional breakdown it was so beautiful. Something that doesn't happen TOO often with me. Its really a long intense story of emotions, but I lost it. I met two friends on the train (Mara and Luke, both aged 3 and 4), and I'm sure they thought I was a complete weirdo crying on the train as it took us through the mountains, but I literally couldn't help thinking what an awesome God I serve who can move mountains such as these. It was absolutely overwhelming, but nonetheless, aboslutely beautiful. We passed several Lochs (note Loch Ness, where the mythical or real Loch Ness Monster resides), and we rode through towering green mountains with huge cliffs overhanging the edges of the train tracks ascending miles into the sky. Clouds topped the mountains, and I wanted nothing more than to touch those clouds at the top of one of those rocky peaks. Little did I know, within 12 hours I wouldn't only be touching one, but spending the night inside one.

In Kyle of Lochalsh, we tried to get a trip together to hike, since that was the original plan. I wanted to go to on a glassbottom boat trip, and Alex wanted to go to nearby Dornie to figure out the route of excursion for the hiking trip along with seeing Elian Donan Castle. We both did our respecitve things. The boat tour was absolutely incredible, and on this trip I learned that I was closer to Iceland than my home is from Atlanta, Georgia. No wonder it was so cold! And I in shorts!... I saw beautiful scenery at the edge of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, and I saw a lighthouse on the edge of a bridge that was something out of a book. I saw at least 20 wild seals lounging on rocks in the Loch and Ocean, and under the water I saw absolutely huge jelly fish spanning a 2-3 foot diameter. It was a great trip, and within an hour I had disembarked to get a phone call from Alex telling me to hop the next bus to Dornie, as he had planned a hiking route for the afternoon.

Within an hour, I was on a bus edging the mountains and the ocean headed to Dornie. When I arrived, I saw one of the quaintest smallest seaside towns. I instantly fell in love with it. Alex had met several of the residents of the city, and they allowed us to leave one of our bags in their pub until the morning so we wouldn't be carrying so much throughout the mountains. They were all so hospitable, and the pub was incredible. Off we go hiking beside the pub into the mountains. I have never hiked. Its just not my thing. But I was brave, and with the scenery I knew it couldn't be horrible. We hiked along the small paved trail in absolute awe by the beauty that surrounded us. We stopped at least 50 times to take pictures of what a magnificent world we live in. Finally, within an hour or 2, we had arrived at the point where the paved path split into a small trail through a sheep pen off into the Highlands. And there it began.

We hiked along literally a little path laid for us by the previous hikers and trail-goers. We continued along and saw numerous beautiful waterfalls falling off of the tall glorious peaks and rocks that towered above us. Again, I can't tell you how amazing that feeling was. As we hiked further into the mountains, the clouds I had so desperately wanted to touch began to become closer to my reality than I thought could be possible. We hiked hard and slowly throughout the mountains. It was FREEZING, and within an hour or so, the light drizzle we had started with turned into a torrential downpour (or so it seemed as we were carrying 30 pounds of luggage each with blue jeans and tennis shoes. It was about 50 degrees and falling, and the longer the hike, the more beautiful the scenery, and the more uncomfortable the temperature and conditions. By 10 p.m., we were lost. We were at least 5 miles from the closest town, we were in the middle of miles and miles of completely deserted mountains, and we were IN the clouds. Not just seeing them, we were in them. I finally made the call that we shouldn't search for the campsite we had originally intended to find. We had to go back and quickly. Darkness was falling, and so was the temperature.

We hiked as quickly as possible back in the direction from which we came--again a good 5 miles or more. It was probably about 40 degrees at this point, and the cold rain came down so unpleasantly. By the time darkness had almost fully arrived, we knew we had to find a place to pitch the tent immediately. We were both shaking from the cold, and the darkness made the travel even more impossible. We climbed to the peak of a small mountain, surveyed the land, felt the dampness of the area, and decided this was our spot. I'll be honest with you, blog, I was FREAKING out. I was freezing--probably colder than I have ever been. Soaking wet, freezing, tired, and wanting to go back. Irrationally, I almost decided to continue the 5 mile hike back to the city and try to find somewhere to stay (which probably would have been impossible at that hour). But Alex convinced me that we had to stay and set up the tent, and all would be okay. I was shaking, but luckily Alex found the necessary equipment to set up the tent, and within 10 minutes we had put together a structure that at least blocked the freezing winds that whipped around us in that cloud. Within 10 more minutes, we had an interior installed and we were unravelling our soaking packs and undressing from the heavy wet garmets we had been wearing throughout that day. We were a mess. Muddy, cold, tired, and stressed. But we were on the top of one of the worlds most beautiful regions.

We finally got everything sorted through, and we started cooking on our miniature grille. Alex MADE me buy freeze dried pasta and chicken, despite my opinion on how awful that sounded. But at the moment, it was probably the best food I've ever eaten. We finally drowned into sleep, and a wonderful (but freezing) night lay ahead.

The next morning, we unzipped our tent at 7 a.m. to see yet another overwhelming sight. The fog from the lochs, falls, river, and ocean had set around our tent and through the rolling green mountains around us, and we had awoken on top of this. That night we were put to sleep by the roaring sounds of at least 4 nearby waterfalls, and that morning the sound had increased due to the torrential rainfall of the night. IT was an amazing experience, and it made the pain worth it!

Fast forward 5 hours, and were about to board a bus back to Kyle where we would catch a train back to Inverness to resume the "normal" portion of our trip to Scotland. Wow, what a wonderful, crazy, stressful, cold, but inspiring weekend. We ended our trip by staying a bed and breakfast we found upon arrival back into Inverness. The place was great and very affordable. It was an English Chateau type place, locally owned by a lovely Scottish family "obsessed" with Southern American culture. Apprently, it was the one place in the world they ALL wanted to visit so badly. As they had seen Paula Deen and other various travel shows that travelled to Georgia and South Carolina to see the countryside, history, and good southern cookin'. We had a great expereince there, and in the morning she had prepared a wonderful breakfast for us before we had to depart for the airport. We talked to her that morning, and we gave her our information so if she came to America, she could look us up. And back to the travelling world we were off. This time, we had plenty of time to spare and eat at the airport.......... Not as fun not being rushed. But we also weren't in dire need of Xanax and Valium.

What a crazy trip. One of the best I've ever been on.

Cheers mates,

Andrew

NEWS FLASH

News Flash for anyone who cares!!!!!!!!

ANDREW FOUND MOUNTAIN DEW IN OXFORD!

And he lives again! His days will be full of energy and excitement, as the lime green juice will now replace his bloodstream. Thank you for everyone who was hoping and praying that I would find it soon!

Also, today we had lunch at Georgina's (Megan, Alex, Alex, Emma, Andrew, and Brittany), and we sat right next to Jack White from the band the Raconteurs. You know, Steady As She Goes....!!!

Its been a great week, just got my first law paper back and got an A-... Not excellent in American standards, but come on, we're at Oxford. Finished a paper this week, and went on an excursion to London yesterday. We started the trip off with a wonderful, ABSOLUTELY wonderful meal at the BEST Thai restaurant I've ever been to in my entire life. We had so much food! The bill was really expensive, maybe around $650-$700 American dollars for about 13 or so of us.... But it was soooooo good, and it was of course, on the Oxford tab. We had Scallops, Venison, Chicken, and Curry--so amazing..... Then we went to the Imperial War Museum and to see a play at the National Theatre on Westbank. Before that we had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant behind the theatre on Westbank right across from the House of Parliament. A beautiful view, and a wonderful meal!.... It was a great trip, and a great play (Welcome to Thebes). Sorry for the quick post, I just had to make sure you all knew I found my mountain dew. SCORE!

PEACE AND HAPPINESS,

ANDREW

Bienvenidos a Espana!

So here we go....

Another great week in Oxford. Not anything super interesting happened on the school plains except two extremely tough papers due on Thursday. 1. Does Parliament interpret the will of Parliament? Should they? 2. Is the Democratic Peace theory the answer to world peace? Why or why not?

These papers took me hours upon hours sitting in a well lit computer room with a big picture window overlooking beautiful brick buildings lined with ivy and flowers. What a distraction! So many things to see just a few steps away--but instead I'm inside writing legal theory! But thats Oxford for you, what can you expect from the best and oldest institution in the world? So I wrote the papers and had class discussion at tutorial on Thursday. Sprinkled throughout the week was High Table (Harry Potter) dinner on Monday, a club called Bridge in Oxford on Monday, and wonderful chocolate from the convience store across the street. Thursday was the day I had been looking forward to all week, and finally, it arrived.

A huge group of us, maybe 15 or so, met up after dinner on Thusday night. Together, we walked to the Oxford Bus Station ready for a great weekend together. We had no idea what to expect or if the plans would even succeed in the first place, but we trusted that our newfound travelling instincts would guide the way. So we plodded along the streets as dusk started to overtake the sky, and finally at the trainstation we ran to the desk to get tickets to Bristol, United Kingdom. "3 minutes for the next train" the desk assistant spoke quietly and with an English accent. So of course we yelled for the group to reconvene and head to Platform 3. And of course, we missed the first train. So we sat for 10 minutes and were informed that we could take another train to a different city, change trains, and resume our trip to the final destination of Bristol. So thats what we did, only diverting our trip about 20 minutes.

When in Bristol, our large group tracked down the sidewalks trying to find Broad Street... Not that hard, right? Wrong. But at least we're on the coast. Seagulls cawed over our heads, and within minutes our friend James recieved a gift. Not from his mother or from a friend. From the seagulls above his head. Right on his shoulder. Yes, it was raining seagull crap. We brushed it off, continued the walk, and finally found the Grand Hotel in Bristol, UK. It was a beautiful 4-star hotel, and we had 2 rooms. For 17 people. YIKES. We did what any cheap travellers would do, and we slept longways, crossways, on top of people in the beds, on the cots, and crossing floors. But we made it, and we were staying at quite possibly one of the nicest places in Bristol. That night in Bristol was full of suprises; stags (Bachelor parties), charities, etc. People were dressed up in some of the craziest outfits I've ever seen. We took pictures with many of them (see Facebook soon), and we ate some delicious Kabobs and fries on the street as we waited for the late hours to settle in.... I'm on the coast of England, about to hop on a plane to Spain.

The morning comes early; 4:30 early. We all round up in the marble floored lobby and trek again to the bus station to board a bus for the airport. At this point, eyes are heavy but spirits are high. When we finally get off the train after arriving at the airport, we check in to one of the crappiest airline carries in all of the world--RyanAir. Or as we call it--RyanScare. But nonetheless, we are cheap travellers, and you gotta do what you gotta do. We pulled out our boarding passes (company policy in fine print--if you don't print out your boarding pass, you pay $60 at the gate extra) and attended the line that wrapped way around the airport. We got our boarding passes stamped, we got through security, and off we went searching through the maze of a very crappy airport. Finally we found our flight, and we walked out on the tarmac (its RyanAir, okay?) got on the plane, and off we went. I've literally never been on a plane like RyanAir. They sell cigarettes ON BOARD THE PLANE. Okay, their "smokeless" cigarettes, but come on! They sell Lottery Tickets. The seats are big enough for 1/2 a person. But it was CHEAP! So we finally approach the highest altitude. Below us are the English Channel, then France, then the Alps, and finally we see the beautiful Mediterranean coast. We have arrived in Espana!

The landing was of course terrible, but we touched ground. We disembarked, and we saw beautiful mountains lining the coast of one of the worlds most beautiful countries. Throughout the weekend, we saw absolutely beautiful scenery, we ate the most delicious seafood I've ever tasted, and we saw sights such as the Picasso Museum, the Unfinished Gaudi Chapel, the Gaudi Park, an amazing Fountain Show with lights and music, the Mediterranean Sea, stood atop the highest point in Barcelona and saw the whole city, and saw the Barcelona Night Life. It was amazing. One of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my whole entire life! It was an odd mix of a Carribean Island and a beautiful European city. I heard so many scary stories about Barcelona, but I had no bad experiences...until.....

So Saturday night we all decided to eat a nice meal at a wonderful Spanish seafood restaurant, and then we wanted to go dancing at a European techno club. So we ate our meal and we walked to the pier where the long line of clubs meet the beach. It was quite possibly one of the craziest nightlifes I've ever seen. Thousands upon thousands of people lined up to go in these absolutely massive clubs. And not just one club. Like 10. And all on the coast. It was also strange because at this point, people are just arriving and its 1 a.m. Apparently they still take ciestas in Spain after lunch, sleep for a while, then eat at 10 and go out at 1. Anyways, we get there, go in a club, dance for a bit, then our group decides they want to watch the sunrise. Not my first choice, but I'll go with it.... So at 3-4 a.m., we are sitting on the Spanish beach among thousands of people, we can hear and see the lights and music from the clubs behind us, and it's madness. About an hour into our sit on the beach we decide to take a picture. We get in a huddle to take the picture, and behind us runs two guys that hop in the picture with us. We brush it off thinking them just tourists, and all of the sudden a girl in our group screams that her purse is gone. We look everywhere to no avail, and finally realize the culprits have just escaped after 5 minutes of distraction. How could we be so stupid? So of course then arises a mess. Then it gets deeper when we find out thse guys are really bad news, and our friend has followed them into the night to retrieve the purse. We panick, and realize he has to be found. HIs life could be in serious danger, and he may not be in the best state to return alone to our Hostel. So we split up (remember, we have no phones because our phones don't work in Spain), and 2 groups try 2 ways of finding this kid. It was a mess, but finally, at 6:30 a.m., we realize there is nothing else we can do and we leave the beach. We walked along the coast, and we experience quite possibly one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Sunrise over the Mediterranean. It was beautiful, but still we were worried about our friend and very tired. Fastforward 4 hours, and we have taken a nap and prepared to go back into the world to get ready to come back to Oxford. Joe (our friend who was missing) has gotten a taxi back to the Hostel under very strange circumstances, and we are together again. We see a little more of the beautiful city then hop a bus back to the airport. Adios Espana!

One last note about the flight home--RyanScare just got scarier. Apprently we caught a "wake" from another plane because we got too close, and the right side of the plane dipped for a good 10 seconds. Then a bit of a nosedive. But the pilot reassured us it was "just a wake from another plane, but nothing too much to worry..." yeah right! We finally landed going 1001 mph, and suddenly everyone cheered and the flight attendant played a victory sound over the loudspeak. It was the most bizarre thing I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED. But again, it was cheap. We got off the plane, got on a train, and within hours, were touching Oxford soil. All in one piece (peace), thanks to RyanScare, theives, and a beautiful scenery.

Cheers from Holland

Again, sorry for the slow posts. The life of a world-traveller. Golly.... (I wish I were serious)

So I left off with the first week of crazy food and tough tutorial learning. Yes. So let me start from there. [Let me first insert the fact that while walking by a hotel across the street from my dorm, I ran into Annie Lennox.]

So let me give you some background on how the tutorial system in Oxford works--if I haven't already. Then I will work my way into the first two weeks of this personal learning approach. In England, University level is taught on a personal basis. You have what is called a "tutor" or English professor (usually a Doctorate) who you meet with only once a week per class. The tutor gives you a syllabus (I had 2, one was 2 pages with 27 books, and one was 26 pages with excerpts from 30 books), and you prepare based on what he has assigned that week for reading. He will give you a headliner topic which will encompass all of the reading you do for that week, and at the onset of class, you should have written a 9-10 page paper covering the topic in depth using the readings assigned. And this is weekly. We also have planned excursions, which tend to be a part of the English learning system. Almost a field-trip if you will.

So to get more personal, I am taking International Conflict and Common Law. I wasn't intimidated until after my first Common Law class when I learned that my 27 year old Oxford don was quite arguable a prodigy. He is the youngest fellow ever (500 years) at Oxford, and he is the current Dean of Admissions for the Law school here. For him, we will be writing in depth law reviews. Okay, easy enough, thats my subject. But this is British Law. Its like putting your underwear inside out--really confusing. But anyways, so my first two tutorials went well. I met the professors, wrote papers, and got considerably good reviews per my International Conflict prfoessor about my paper--and I quote "You're paper was very good but you have two major problems that you need to address to make this paper scholarly (Doesn't sound very promising, i know). Other than that, you're writing style is way beyond your years and this paper was excellent." So a good way to start off an otherwise intimidating semester.

Again for the past two High Table Dinners (think Harry Potter dining hall, literally), we had meals consisting of Prime Rib, Portabello Mushrooms and Duck, Prawns, etc, with a wide variety of wines, waters, and breads. Sitting at one of those tables with towering pictures of centuries past Presidents and stained glass windows of Alice in Wonderland and chandelliers, you feel quite Kingly. Servants tend to your table and answer any wish you may could muster. Is this real life? Speaking of service, did I mention that my dorm room has a full time maid? I guess they figure that the life of an Oxford student shouldn't be concerned with silly trivials such as cleaning. We'll just send someone in to tidy up, replace linens, make up the bed, and clean the bathroom EVERY MORNING. Awesome. Can I get one of these in Athens?

Finally, let me tell you about my weekend. Okay, so in Athens, we MAY be lucky to make a weekend trip to Charleston or Savannah or Atlanta. Well, in Oxford, we make weekend trips to Holland, Greece, Germany, Spain, Portugal, or wherever your little heart desireth. So this weekend, a few of us packed up and went to Amsterdam. A friend Michelle and I travelled to London by train on Thursday night, and we then boarded another train to a port outside of London called Harwich. We then got ready for a ferry we had booked the week previous. Now I have never been on a ferry, so I had low expectations. A crappy boat with a bunch of chairs where you just sit and wait to dock. Well this ferry was 8 hours, but oh the joys of travelling. So we get to the port, walk through the gates, and we board a cruise ship. No lie. Complete with Mahogany, gold, glass, our own private room, bars, restaurants, shops. It takes off, and we meet tons of people from America, New Zealand, and Holland. What a great experience! It was beautiful, from what we could see. Small mountains made up the coast of England, and the English channel was a surprisingly pretty color. Off into the night we sailed while sitting on the dock talking to our new international friends.

Arrival: 7 a.m. Friday morning with a new time zone and a new scenery. It was beautiful country side with absolutely gigantic white and wooden windmills decarting the plains. The weather was sunny, and the train was docked ready to whisk us to Amsterdam. We arrive, meet up with a group, and begin to see what Amsterdam has to offer. We stayed in hostels; something I've never done. Not quite as bad as stories such as the movie "Hostel," but not the most luxurious accomodations, as you may be in the room with up to 6 people you have never met. On bunkbeds. But relatively cheap. Its a city I've always heard crazy stories about. They sell marijuana at coffee shops--its the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. When you go in a shop to get coffee, you see Latte, Coffee, Americana, Espresso, Joint, Blunt, Weed brownie??? Its weird and it almost felt uncomfortable seeing it. But something new. Speaking of something new, streets were lined with huge picture windows. When you walk past, you may hear a tapping noise, and you turn around to see a scantily clad woman (MAYBE wearing a bra) dancing and pointing at you to come inside. Again weird and uncomfortable. But apart from the oddities, Amsterdam is a really pretty city. There are more canals there than in Venice, and there are many boats and canal cruises going up and down every canal. The city had beautiful architecture, modern rooflines, and historic features. The Anne Frank house was really emotional, and the array of artork was impressive (Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and others). All in all, Amsterdam was an interesting place--very expensive but pretty nonetheless--I've been once, and chances are I'll never go back. But I will say on this same trip I went to Belgium for a day trip to see what it had to offer. I hear good stories but not too much about what is there. But it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The architecture was absolutely amazing. The chocolate? Something like I've never tasted. The handmade laces and tapestries were lining every street window, and the waffles? EXACTLY what they are described--DELICIOUS! I would love to revisit Belgium--it was a beautiful place.

So we board a plane in Amsterdam to London at 7 a.m., and oddly arrive in London at 7:06. Thanks to the time difference, we had a plenty of time to catch a bus from Gatwick Airport and make it back to Oxford before lunch. Time to hit the books. HUGE week of studying and paper-writing ahead, and I'm a day late getting started! Yikes! On a positive note, about 30 of us are going to Spain this weekend. Leaving Thursday night to spend the night in Bristol on the Western coast of England, and flying out Friday morning early to arrive in Barcelona in the morning. It should be a great trip, spending alot of time on the Spanish crystal-clear beaches and white sand soaking sunrays and watching the time go by...

Check out pictures on Facebook throughout the week, as I have several hundred to upload from the travels so far. Thanks for keeping up with the trip--Its been great so far!

PS -- Shout out to Paris (Alex A.) and Brokeback (Emma L).....

Bienvendos a Espana, pero primero Hola Estudiando!

Andrew

Sorry it has taken me so long to write--so much going on and not enough time!

So where did I leave off....... Oh yes, acceptance into the Hogwarts library. So after this momentous day, we were off to meet tutors for our first class (which I had a 8-10 page paper to turn in on Thursday). So to the library we went, writing our paper while looking out the window seeing 500 year old buildings and tall spires that stretched to the heavens. What a distraction! I took the first week to become acclimated to the city and see all the sites. I went to Christ Church College and sat where Alice in Wonderland sat to study. I walked and ran along the Thames River. I climbed atop St. Mary's Cathedral and saw beautiful sights from the top of a church that stretched for many miles beyond Oxfords city limits. Then, as the weekend approached, I decided to explore my newfound home.

On Friday, I still hadn't made any plans, but a good friend of mine was staying in London with a different study abroad program. So of course, I call her quickly and tell her I'm coming. I board a bus, and within 2 hours, I'm sitting in front of Hyde Park in London scurrying through Subway stations making my way to her apartment outside of Regents Park. It was a wonderful apartment with marble floors, large rooms, and centuries-old architecture. What a cool place to be in London. Since I arrived later on Friday after my explorations through Oxford, we decided to hang out with all (about 12 including myself) of the guests of the apartment and then go out to see London's nightlife. In Soho, went went to a club named "Punk" (where Paris Hilton did her first interview with Lady Gaga). It was one of the best nights I've had in a while, dancing and hanging out with some really fun people--all in the heart of one of the worlds most internationally renowned cities.

The next morning, I awoke at 7:00 a.m. to start my day of seeing London (which I have seen before but wanted to see the sights... When in Rome). So I started my day out by seeing Picadilly Circus and the flashing lights of the musical scene (where many famous US Celebrities are making their broadway debut), went to the House of Parliament, House of Commons, Tralfagar Square, Hyde Park, London Eye, and Tower of London and London Bridge. It was a fantastic day exploring the city, and by about 1 oclock, I was boarding another bus back to Oxford to return to the Alice in Wonderland festival which happens once a year that just happened to be on July 10th. When I deboarded, there were children dressed at Cheshire Cats, people in crazy costumes, and many Alice in Wonderland tours going throughout the city. Home to Lewis Carroll (the writer of Alice in Wonderland) and Alice Liddell (the REAL Alice) Oxford had much to boast in the history of the book.

Sunday, me and 2 friends from the trip had booked an excursion to see Windsor Palace (the current residence of the Queen of England herself and the oldest inhabited castle in the world). We also saw Hampton Court Palace, each being around an hour from Oxford and an hour from London. They were beautiful palaces, and we even arrived at a time when the Queen was home! Flying high above the city, a flag notified us that the queen was only metres away from us as we stood on the streets of Windsor. We also rode a giant ferris wheel that took us high above the city, where we had a great view of Windsor Palace and the Eton College (where almost all the princes and prime ministers had at some point been educated, including William and Harry). When we arrived home at Oxford, we had a barbeque provided by Trinity College at Oxford, and we enjoyed socializing with the rest of our group and then a night of World Cup finale. It was great experience to be in Europe during the finale, as "Football" here is the biggest and most important sport. The city was teeming with excitement--every pub and restaurant was completely packed with people enjoying the final game of a 1 month tournament in South Africa.

On Monday, we returned to the library where most of us spent sunrise to sunset studying hard for the next week of tutorials. Then Monday night, we again had Hightable Dinner with our professors and dons. Drinks on the lawn followed by a dinner of Ribeye Steak with Mushroom bolognaise and Chicken Salad served with dessert and sparkling water was the end to a wonderful afternoon. Throughout the past couple days, I have nothing very exciting to tell you about, except that me and the library are becoming better friends all the while! Oxford tutorials are really intense--I definitely misjudged the difficultly level of them. While you only meet once a week with your professor, you are forced to prepare vigorously. Understanding the concepts and the timetable of events isn't enough--you must be able to understand why and how things happened the way they did and be able to make an educated opinion of the happenings. Its such a great way of learning, because you don't want to look like an idiot when you arrive in class and the don looks at you like you're completely stupid for not having some sort of educated opinion on the subject. That alone is motivation enough to come to class having read all 4-9 books for the week and being able to speak clearly and freely about what and why. So thats what I do during the week--Study study study!.......

The following weekends should be fun--This weekend, I hope to get to Amsterdam to see the city and see Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium. All cities filled with many interesting sights and happenings, they should be interesting. The next weekend, a good many of us have booked a trip to Barcelona, Spain. Both of these trips should be great weekend trips for us all to get close and see wonderful parts of the world.

Time for bed. Until next time--Peace, Love, and Rock-n-Roll.

Andrew

Oxford -- Milling around Londontown and a Piddle of fun in Oxford

Day 1 -- Arrival in London where we were surrounded with beautiful countryside, lush green grass, temperate weather, and Brits whose accent CANNOT be real life. Its just too awesome. When we arrived at the airport, we were whisked away from the airport on a few coaches, and we milled around and met people who we'd be spending the following 40-some-odd days with. After cruising past a little sign a big gate that said Oxfordshire, England, we knew we had arrived. Suddenly, towering limestone buildings with ornate carvings and moulding surrounded us, and Oxford University began to engulf our bus.

Once we disembarked from the bus, we recieved our bags and were pushed in the direction of our school. Once inside the large wooden doors and wrought-iron gate, we were given a key-fob to unlock the automatic gate to allow us "student access" into the school. Inside, the school was absolutely amazing. The greenest grass I've ever seen, all mowed and pushed into patterns on the grass. Perfectly manicured hedges and flower gardens on every wall, and hundred year old trees in every courtyard. It literally was something I can't even imagine! Through several arch ways of limestone we passed until we arrived at the final large courtyard with a straight path leading to another magnificent gate to the outside of campus. We had arrived in Trinity College, and Stairway 12 room 4 was my assignment.

Once inside, I entered the code to my 19th century door and opened it to reveal a massive living area complete with a quaint fireplace, antique desks, a full set of furniture, and 2 little bedrooms with a very modern bathroom. It was something out of a book! All the modern amenities of home! I was so excited to see such a great living space, clean, full-service maid daily, and a meal plan... But how would that turn out. Food in England has NEVER been great in my experiences. So a large group of us gathered to try some local pubs for lunch. We finally found a little pub whose speciality was London Fish 'N Chips and ale, and it was DELICIOUS. We finished off the evening by purchasing a U.K. cell phone and meeting the group at the School Trinity Bar (yes, a fully school subsidized bar--on campus). The next day was sure to be full of exciting adventures, as we were to meet our Oxford dons who would be leading our classes for the next several weeks.

I awoke full of nerves, because I knew it would be a telling day. Our day started with a wonderful tour of the school--and boy was I overwhelmed. This school is so large--39 different colleges to be exact, and each one with so much to offer. The biggest 9 of them have their own fortress style campuses, each with their own gate (mostly elaborate iron gates with ornate details) and their own dining halls and large chapels, libraries, and pubs. They also each have their own gardens and courtyards, which are perfectly manicured EVERY DAY. No wonder it costs so much to go to this school! So as we continued the tour, we were blown away by the vastness of the campus and the prestige that Oxford continues to hold all around the world. We walked through the schools of Bill Clinton, Rowan Atkinson, all the Prime Ministers of Great Britian except 4. And we walked through the schools at which J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis taught and were schooled. We also saw (and were promised admission and library card access to) the Hogwarts Library and the offices as seen in the movie. We saw the dining hall of Hogwarts, and we saw the actual campus where Alice In Wonderland was born.

Just some facts for the Alice in Wonderland lovers: (Alice Day is Saturday, we will be going. Its an all out festival all around the city dedicated to nothing but Alice in Wonderland)

1. Alice was a real person, her name was Alice Liddell and she was a student at Oxford University.

2. Alice's journey through a mythical world was recorded by Lewis Carroll, otherwise known as Ludwig Dodgson, an attendee of Oxford University.

3. Alice's father was the dean at Christ Church College in Oxford, and he was seemingly always late to any engagement he was attending, constantly checking his watch and complaining about being "late, late, late for an important date." Alice's father became the white rabbit.

4. There were 2 especially odd plump twin boys at the school, and they became Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb.

5. A tree (which I stood beside) in Christ Church has a branch that sticks out which was oddly always occupied by a cat whose tail swung back and forth. This cat became the Cheshire Cat.

Later that night, we were taken to a large common area where were introduced to some of the most prestigious and intimidating people I've ever seen -- our Oxford dons. We had meetings with them and recieved our (rather thick) syllabuses, and they told us our personal tutorial times and in their private offices of course. They described the courses in general and told us what to expect, and finally we were led through the bushes to the large field in front of Trinity with perfectly manicured and pushed grass. A large tent had been erected where they gave us all an unlimited supply of Pims 25 and Wine. We enjoyed an hour of cocktails, and then we walked to the dining hall where we would enjoy our first Oxford meal--and boy was it a meal. Upon arrival, the servers scurried to the side of the room to man their stations, and we entered (in suits and dresses) to see each place setting perfectly arranged with 2 wine glasses (one for white, one for red), 4 forks, 2 spoons, 3 knives, 2 plates, candelabras lit, and tablecloths down. It literally looked like a banquet for the queen. When we all arrived behind our chairs and the dons had lined up as well, they spoke a Catholic prayer and everyone was allowed to take his or her place after the dons had done the same. We were served a 4 course meal of Tomato Pesto Goat Cheese, Duck with Mash, Creme Broule, and Coffee and Mints. IT was a wonderful start to a wonderful trip.

Since this first magical day, I haven't had a class yet. Since we have private tutorials with our dons, we have them only once a week, and my first class is tomorrow. I am very excited, yet I am very nervous because of all of the work I have put forth to keep up with the readings and finish the 10-page paper due tomorrow (yes a paper due in 2 days). I have frequented 3 libraries already, and I know that there will be many more of those days to come. But I'm studying at Oxford; what did I expect?

Andrew