I'm back.

I have finally returned from my 3 months of study in Oxford, England! The experience was life-changing, undoubtedly. I would love to share travel stories, and lessons learned, etc. However, it would probably take a plethora of blog entries to describe my experience in full. I am going to limit myself to a few photos for now. More photos can be found on my Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527405754.

I am also figuring out a way to post my newsletter, "Life on the Isis,"- an amateur publication that I sent on a regular basis to family and friends while in England. It provides a much more comprehensive account of my adventures!

A quintessentially English treat: shortbread topped with white chocolate and berries. This item was photographed (and devoured) at "Cassandra's Cup Cafe" across from Jane Austen's house in Hampshire, England.

A photo of New College on an especially sunny day! New College was where I was selected to study for the term.

The Radcliffe Camera - a historic reading room that is primarily used by Oxford undergraduates. It is home to hundreds of books that are part of the extensive Bodleian Library System, and also many busy-body students slaving over essays! I had the privilege of being one of those students, though I didn't mind "slaving" over my work, as I'm sure others, in truth, did not either!

My lovely friend, and master travel-companion, Elena. Last year she studied in Barcelona, Spain and made trips to many other cities in Continental Europe during her time there. Needless to say, she is an old pro when it comes to taking public transportation, etc.! It was awesome to have her along for her expertise, and most importantly, for her friendship! This photo was taken on the cliffs of Cornwall, England. Here we are at an ancient amphitheater that was built into the cliff-side.

Glorious Cornwall! We were eager to visit the ocean after 8 weeks of seeing only books and the screens of our lap-top computers!

A snapshot of me in front of the famous (and somewhat underrated, in my opinion), rock formation, "Stonehenge."

En route to Oxford

Christmas break is coming to a close and the spring semester is quickly approaching. As many of you know, I will be continuing my studies in England instead of returning to Messiah College. I am blessed this semester to be studying at Oxford University, one of the world's top institutions. Oxford's ancient libraries and expert professors will no doubt provide me with new insights into English literature. I will be studying in particular, Victorian Literature and Restoration-era Literature (John Milton and such). My closest college friend, Elena, who is also an English major, will be coming with me to England and I am beyond excited to have her as a travel companion! I will do my best to keep everyone updated on Elena's and my adventures "across the pond."

Back to class.

After spending three bittersweet months in Massachusetts, I have now returned to Pennsylvania for my junior year of college. This semester I will be living with three other friends in a "quad" dorm room. Our room is really large! As you can see, we bunked all four beds and pushed them up against the walls to create lots of floor space. By the way, my courses for this semester include...

Composition, Theory and Pedagogy
(English)Medieval Renaissance Drama
Educational Psychology
Problems in Philosophy
Introduction to Theology

You've Got a Friend In Me

Last Friday evening, July 23rd, a group of my friends from high school and I had our annual summer costume party. This year the theme of our costume party was Toy Story, and all of us came dressed as different characters from the popular Toy Story animated films. Pictured above are all the party guests in my living room. I am the one crouching on the floor dressed as the character Buzz Light-Year (although in this photo, my ensemble resembles that of Luke Skywalker!) In past summers, we have had party-themes based around the Harry Potter and High School Musical films. My friends and I may be getting a little old to continue this tradition of impersonating kids' movie characters, but we simply get too much enjoyment from all the creativity involved!

Dad's Birthday Celebration

Here are a few pictures from my Dad's birthday celebration on July 13th! My mom and I made him a spice cake topped with frosting and toasted walnuts. As you can see from the photos, he also added French Vanilla ice-cream, caramel sauce and fresh raspberries on top of his special desert! I also blew up a few balloons (no one is ever too old for balloons and birthday cake!) on which I drew a sketch of his face. Currently my Dad DOES NOT have a mustache, but he has had one for many years in the past which is why I had to incorporate it into my "Rick balloon cartoon." Bon anniversaire mon pere! Je t'aime!

Summer Employment

This is for anyone who is wondering what I've been doing for the summer months away from college (and for the organization CUSP, in case they need a little P.R.!)

This summer I am working for the Center for University, School and Community Partnerships, also known as CUSP. The mission of CUSP is precisely what the title implies - the people at the center partner which the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School of Education, Public Policy and Civic Engagement to provide professional development and licensure opportunities to educators in south coast school districts. CUSP is run primarily by retired teachers and administrators from Southeastern Massachusetts. My boss, Karen O'Connor, a former kindergarten teacher, applies for grants to fund PD and licensure programs at CUSP.

My duties at CUSP are mostly clerical - I help answer phones, make photo-copies, sort the mail, set up for classes, events and conferences, take pictures and occasionally I get to do some research for my boss. Right now I am researching post-graduate ESL programs as models for a potential ESL program at CUSP.

If you're wondering how on earth did I land that job? - well, let's just say, I have a very gracious older sister who put in a good word for me while she did her graduate assistantship at CUSP last year! I am really blessed to have this job since (a) I get to work 40 hours a week! and (b) its an opportunity for me to work among experienced teachers (my goal has been to pursue a teaching license after college!)

July 1- 4th

Independence-Day weekend is a time of the year which I anticipate during all other seasons! For me, the weekend festivities begin July 1st, my birthday. This year, as we entered the month of July, I officially exited my "teenage years." Thank God, I am finally 20!

My birthday celebration on Thursday, July 1st, was probably not too exciting by most people's standards, but nonetheless enjoyable. My parents and I rung in my 20th year with a batch of purple-frosted cupcakes and chocolate-chip cookie dough ice-cream (my favorite ice-cream flavor - shamefully, I rarely eat any other kind!) I had fun opening gifts from family and friends. Among the gifts I was given was my very own DVD copy of "The Young Victoria," Sonya Kashuk make-up brushes and a graphic t-shirt from my sister Meredith that reads, "I LOVE British Boys" (truly, that t-shirt could not be more fitting - no pun intended).

On Saturday, July 3rd, we continued my birthday celebration by eating breakfast at a quirky restaurant in Providence called the "Liberty Elm Diner." I ordered a plateful of their famed Johnny cakes, which are essentially pancakes made from cornmeal and water and covered of course, in thick maple syrup. My Johnny cakes were topped with a miniature umbrella - similar to the parasol we poked into my birthday cupcake (pictured above). At the diner, we were accompanied by Philip and Anh Sawyer, relatives from my mother's side. Philip and Anh took us to their loft apartment after the meal for a tour of their home/fashion studio. Philip is a clothing designer and he and his wife are directors of a ministry for artists in the Providence area.

Later Saturday evening I joined my two closest Middleboro friends, Laura and Danielle for our annual trip to Marion, Ma to see their fireworks display. We got there a couple hours early and hung out on the beach until the fireworks began. You can see a picture of the three of us above with our oh-so fabulous glasses!

By Sunday, July 4th - the nation's official birthday, my parents and I hadn't much energy to do any more celebrating. My Dad and I drove to Duxbury beach in the early evening to take a relaxing stroll along the water. We ended the evening by toasting marshmallows over a fire in the backyard and by watching the annual Boston POPs!
concert on TV.

Below are two links: one for the "Liberty Elm Diner," and one for Philip Sawyer's clothing design website!

http://libertyelmdiner.com/
http://philipsawyer.com/index.html

Getting Geared up for Oxford!

As some of you may have heard, I am making plans to study abroad during the Spring 2011 Semester. My goal is to spend a semester steeped in studies of English literature at the romantic, yet rigorous Oxford University! When I am ever bored, I can't help but watch these interesting video-clip testimonials from current Oxford students...

The Wall of 100 Faces - University of Oxford

There is no guarantee yet that I will be accepted into the Oxford Study Abroad Programme as I have not yet completed and submitted the application. If not Oxford, I tell my friends, then I will do my best to at least study somewhere outside the country! I think study abroad programs are an awesome opportunity for students to experience other academic communities outside their own and to experience a different educational system (I really admire Oxford's tutorial system of education in which students receive individualized instruction from tutors and then spend most of their time studying and researching on their own - that would be well-suited to my own independent study-habits!). And study abroad is of course great for the sake of experiencing other cultural climates - a semester abroad sounds like a truly enriching opportunity!

Kyle and Meredith's Wedding

Just three days after my return from Ireland in May,I got to watch my older sister Meredith tie the knot with her fiancé Kyle! After flying into JFK airport on May 27th, my parents picked me up in NYC and drove me to Philadelphia to assist Meredith with her wedding preparations. The three days leading up to the wedding (May 30th) were undoubtedly chaotic. As Meredith was finishing up her final days at work, I was sitting on her living room couch writing out place cards for the reception and trying to recover from a nasty cold so I could sing a solo at the ceremony! When Saturday came, my mom, Christie (Meredith's roommate), Katie (my other older sister!)and I were out and about getting manicures and pedicures and prepping for the rehearsal dinner.

Then Sunday, a.k.a. "The Big Day" finally came! Meredith's former employer, Elaine, whose daughter Meredith babysat while in college, was kind enough to lend her house to us as a getting-ready venue. Elaine and her daughter Hailey decorated the house with all sorts of special decorations including a purple and white balloon arch over the front door and purple and white flowers planted in their back yard. As the bridesmaids and mothers got ready for the wedding, we munched on fruit and french toast and sipped delicious mimosas! Kyle's sister Melissa invited her personal hair dresser up from New Jersey to do hair and make-up for Meredith and some other bridesmaids, and while I opted to take care of my own thick and unruly mane, they did a highly professional job for everyone else! Meredith's hair and makeup looked amazing and when we helped her into her elegant white dress, she truly was a stunning bride!

Meanwhile - enough about the pre-wedding festivities! On to the wedding itself (although it seems to me that the getting-ready part of any occasion is always as fun, if not more fun than the occasion itself!). The ceremony went smoothly and the pastor who married M and K did a great job of keeping things under control and guiding them through their vows. The flowers looked amazing, thanks to Auntie Ellen and the florist friends from her church! We took some great pics with the photographer outside the church afterward and then Kyle and Meredith drove away from the ceremony in a bright red vintage mustang. It was great to be in the presence of so many family members and friends at the reception and I had alot of fun dancing the night away with cousin Nora and my sisters!