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

A Bird's Eye View

“All the pathos and irony of leaving one’s youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveler learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time.” -Paul Fussell

On Friday night, while packing mountains and mountains (and mountains) of clothing and books into 2 suitcases, I was struck by a feeling of nervousness and emotion. "I'm going to the other side of the world for almost 2 months," I thought. Why did this make me so nervous? I have no idea. But immediately I grabbed my camera and began taking picture after picture of my home, my room, and my beautiful family. It's something that I've always taken SO much for granted--given even the slightest circumstances, I risk never seeing them again after tomorrow. As morbid as that may sound, I had a devout interest in making sure I had every remnant of them I could get my hands on, so I could remember the whole time what an absolutely wonderful set of parents and brother I have. We may not always agree, and honestly sometimes we may strongly disagree, but they are absolutely the most important people in my life. After this trip, I will make an effort never to take them for granted again.

So on Saturday right after lunch, my wonderful parents delivered me (and my 2 suitcases weighing exactly 49lbs each, limit 50lbs) to the Atlanta airport to begin my first leg of the beginning of the trip of a lifetime. Arriving at the airport with about 4 hours to spare before my flight, my family and I sat in the large rotunda watching a menagerie of individuals pass in and out of the airport: many looking tired from a long day of traveling or excited to be in the awesome Georgia heat. Every time I go to the airport I love people watching (a favorite mall activity as well) and trying to "figure people out." Him... He's a boyscout getting ready to go to camp. Or an army man who just left his wife and newborn behind. Or a lady obsessed with plastic surgery whose face may fall off at any time. Its a favorite game of mine, and this trip was like every other.

Finally, after going through security and taking the beloved tram from T to E terminal, I sat at my gate awaiting my 8 hour flight. I was SO nervous--and i've never been one to be nervous on any trip. I love going. To the mall, to the mountains, to a ball game, to Anartica. Wherever it may be. But I was shaking like a leaf before my flight. There were a couple hundred people on my flight, and probably 75% of them were students going to study in the U.K. While my program was the only one going to Oxford, a good majority of them were studying in London. So passport, Ipod, and mountains of books in hand, I boarded my flight knowing not ONE soul.

Ascending into the sunny day, I started thinking (like I always do when traveling overseas). This world is absolutely overwhelming. There are so many people from so many different walks of life. Some may have terrible issues in their life that they are having an extremely hard time dealing with--and i'm just worried about them moving out of my way so I can pull my bags down. Also, the world has so much to offer and see, and I am so small compared to the many destinations and locales. In a plane to England, you pass over 4 different countries, and beneath the wings of the plane you can see the visual representations of lives being scattered and strewn all over the variable terrain. It really gave me a newfound perspective again--

1. I can do, be, or see so much. This expansive planet is mine for the taking.

2. I am not the least or most important person in this world, but I can make a difference, be it minute or substantial. Owning Coca-Cola or helping a struggling woman with her bags in the overhead.

3. Wherever I am and no matter whom I'm with, because of my trust and faith in my religion, I am never alone.

So despite today's small wins by deciding a detailed life story of the people walking through the Atlanta Airport, no entertainment can compare to the genuinely perspective changing glimpse I got from a view from an airplane window.

Thanks,

Andrew

Starting New

As if this years book isn't already full of a plethora of new beginnings and incredible over-comings, today starts a[nother] new chapter in my life.

Only 60 days ago, I was packing my car leaving my little white house in Douglas, GA headed for the big city of Athens. This wasn't just a regular trip to Athens, though--this trip was the first trip back (alone) in four months--to revisit my life I had left behind as a result of a horrific accident in Colorado while on a family ski vacation. While the trip going north on Georgia Route 441 was a long, tedious mind game as I pondered on my situation, I knew I had turned the page and a new era of my life was to emerge from the stale whiteness of the hospital rooms and offices.

Then, as my first class (outside LSAT prep) started, another chapter had instantly begun. My educational experience post-traumatic brain injury was something I fought from creating hardships--but deep within my soul I knew it would be much harder than I had hoped. And it is. Studying is now a long process; notecards, post-it summary notes, and reading and re-reading are now common-place; Bedtime is now at 11; and coffee and I have become GOOD friends.

So here I am. Yet again, on the corner of the last page of the current chapter. Turning it seems so mindless and expected, but it is a task that much to my dismay has created stress and second-thoughts. Since before my stint in hospitals across America resulting from a traumatic fall onto a [large] rock under the snow, I had planned a study abroad experience in Oxford, England that would embark in the middle of the summer and stretch throughout July. While the original trip was cancelled because of "lack of interest" at the University of Georgia, a new trip developed for me, and almost 3 months later, I am pulling into my driveway with a trunk full of suitcases, travel shampoo bottles, books, and charging cables [oh and don't forget the toilet paper my mom made me pack because according to a website "some of these countries you go to may not have toilet paper" (like the rest of the developed world?)]. And why has preparing for this trip been so stressful for me? Well, I took the LSAT in June--did horrible. I took an independent readings course in May and June, which I am still working on now. I took an Economics class stretching over the month of June, and my final was this morning. I have 2 classes to prepare for in Oxford, and about 5,960 (not sure if my math is perfect, but very close) pages of books to read BEFORE I arrive. And I can't pack any more than 50 pounds. So yeah, as if doing all of this doesn't sound fun enough, I had 2 major brain surgeries 4 months ago, and the scar on my head [while it looks awesome] is glaringly obvious.

As I got in my car coming towards home, I looked in my rear view mirror to see the big red truck that parks next to mine at my apartment and the little red flower pot at my door to realize that I won't see them again for 8 weeks. For some folks, this may not seem very significant, but for me, that's a LONG time! And packing for that long? Hardest thing I'VE EVER DONE. I've only been gone ONCE for a trip longer than that, yet that was a trip I had no desire to ever be on or ever go on again (2 month hospital stay) and I wasn't forced to prepare luggage for this time--unfortunately in that case I wore a lovely white hospital gown with little blue flowers all over it. for a long time. A VERY long time.

So I say all that to get one point across: Today started my trip--a 7-week stay at Oxford University in Oxfordshire, England. But even though I left Athens behind and I'm educationally and personally stressed out past the maximum, I know It'll be a great trip! I'll be studying hard, but it will be an experience of a lifetime. How many people can say they've been educated by tenured Oxford dons at the greatest and oldest educational institution in the world? How many people can say they've studied 2,000 miles from home and had the world at their fingertips for a couple months? Who can feel sure that he can intimidate ANYONE who tries to pickpocket me with the AWESOME scar i've got adorning my scalp? Not many, but I will be able to very soon.

And with a fresh roll of extra-ply toilet paper to wipe my sensitive bum, I know I'll be safe when I get there an they just "don't use toilet paper" like mom's travel site warned.

Keep up with my trip!

--Andrew