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