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."

"Delicious Autumn"

I haven't much time to write these days, but I thought I would at least post some photos of my trip home to Massachusetts during October. I had a short break from classes so I decided to fly up north to spend time with family and experience a taste of New England in the fall! These are some pictures from Cambridge, MA on the day of the famed, "Head of the Charles Regatta" (an international crew competition on the Charles River). The delicious looking pastry in the top picture is a pumpkin scone from Starbucks lightly glazed (I know, thats an understatement - its practically covered!) icing!





"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
— George Eliot

"Where the mountains meet the sea"

One of my end-of-summer adventures included a camping trip to Maine with my parents, sisters, brother-in-laws and close college friend, Elena (my cousin Tristan joined us for a portion of the trip as well!) We camped along the coast of Casco Bay at our favorite campground, Recompense Shores. Recompense Shores is located in Freeport, Maine on an organic beef farm (Wolfe's Neck Farm). Fortunately the cow pasture was far enough away from our own campsite for us to smell the cows in our sleep! However, it was neat to visit the animals when we were closer to the barn - other than cows, Wolfe's Neck is home to chickens, roosters, goats, sheep, turkeys, rabbits and more! (http://www.wolfesneckfarm.org/)

One of the highlights of our stay in Maine was a visit we made to the town of Camden, which is home to Mount Battie. We drove our cars up to the top of the mountain so that we could soak in the breath-taking view of the Maine landscape provided from its peak. Above is a picture of Camden harbor (Penebscot Bay) as seen from the top of the mountain.

Another trip highlight was my visit to Bath, ME with my parents and Elena. On the final morning of our stay, my parents took Elena and I out to breakfast at a very quirky little cafe in Bath called the Twilight Cafe. Elena, a blueberry muffin lover, ordered a blueberry muffin served grilled! I, of course, ordered a scone! In addition to finding a great place to eat in Bath, we also came upon some interesting antique bookstores. My mom discovered a copy of the "Collected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay," our favorite Maine poet! A portion of her beautiful poem, Renascence is printed on a plaque which stands on the top of Mt. Battie.

Here is the first stanza of Renascence written on the plaque:

"All I could see from where I stood
Was three long mountains and a wood;
I turned and looked another way,
And saw three islands in a bay.
So with my eyes I traced the line
Of the horizon, thin and fine,
Straight around till I was come
Back to where I'd started from;
And all I saw from where I stood
Was three long mountains and a wood."

Camden, ME is often referred to as the city "where the mountains meet the sea," - a reference made to Renascence!

Shakespeare on the Common

Last weekend, my parents and I drove into the city to see Shakespeare's Othello performed on the Boston Common. It was a lovely summer, Sunday evening - perfect weather for an outdoor play. Before the show began, we plopped our lawn chairs on an open patch of grass where we could see the stage and dined (actually, "supped" sounds more Shakespearean), on ham sandwiches and cantaloupe.

The show was entertaining, though I wasn't quite in the mood for such a gruesome production (unlike his comedies, I find Shakespeare's tragedies sometimes easier to read than to see) The Boston common is a nonetheless a prime people-watching venue, and I found the sights and situations going on around me to be just as amusing, if not more amusing than the plot that was unfolding on stage!

Members of the play's audience varied greatly in race, gender and age. In front of me sat a group of asian adolescents, sprawled out on a blanket, playing cards. Near them were two European couples, apparently on a double date. On my left was a party of twenty-something twenty somethings, all of whom were females. They sat circled around a chocolate cake, nibbling and chatting cheerfully as they passed around endless tupper-ware containers of snacks to accompany their desert. A dark-skinned woman and a light-skinned man sat together on my right. How interesting, I thought, that they were witnessing another racially - mixed relationship on the stage.

It seems to me that live theatre truly is a "slice of life" experience; both the actors on the stage and the members of the audience can be involved in presenting a picture of everyday reality.

http://www.commshakes.org/shows/current_show/Othello/shows_current.html

Irish Tea

I just HAD to include these photos of the tea and scones I ate while in Ireland this past May! I think tea and scones are my absolute favorite snack. In Ireland, the scones are more biscuit-like than other scones I've tasted which are more like cookies in their texture and taste. Irish scones in comparison contain much less sugar - a dollop of jam and clotted cream adds the right amount of sweetness to them!