Oxford

Today for our Wednesday venture we headed to Oxford. I have to admit when I woke up this morning I did not want to go at all. I had gotten very little sleep and just wanted to have a day where I could stay in bed and get everything all ready for our departure for Italy tomorrow. The good news is I quickly changed my attitude as soon as we set foot in Oxford. I should have known I was going to love today from the start because I had already gotten a glimpse of Oxford on Sunday our on way home from Wales. The day started out really chilly...probably the coldest day so far...but as always the sun was shining bright by the time we left!

To start off the day we got to do a question scavenger hunt. Jeana and I decided to partner up (we were supposed to complete the task with partners) and Nathan (Denise's son) decided he wanted to tag along with us. While we were waiting for our bus to Oxford this morning Denise came up to us and asked if Nathan could tag along with us for the scavenger hunt but she had to ask because he was to shy. Completely adorable. Jeana and I love when the boys are around so it was a good time. I'm not sure he enjoyed the scavenger hunt as much as we did though since it was more student rather than kid oriented. We had to traipse all around Oxford to find the answers to 50 different questions. I thought it was a great way to learn about the city. We had a little over an hour to complete the task and meet back up with the group so that we could meet Phillipa's son who attends Oxford.

Phillipa's son ended up giving us a brief overview of what life is like at the college and how it is divided up. To get into Oxford you apply to a specific college and have to get into Oxford college as a whole. If you get into your college then you get into Oxford though. Sometimes if you don't get into the college of your choosing they will move you to another one. Unlike in America the students only pick one discipline to focus on and intently focus on it. They are not required to take the elective courses like we are. Selecting more than one discipline is extremely rare and difficult. Throughout high school they have about four disciplines that they focus on so that when they go to university they are able to refine it down to just the one. They have three terms a year instead of our two semesters. They get a three month summer break, two months for Christmas and a month around the Easter making it so that they are in school and out of school six months out of the year. Their schooling is much more intensive than ours is though. In their classes they will either meet individually with their professor or their classes will be two on one. As Phillipa's son said, there is no hiding. If you don't know your stuff then you are going to be called out for it. I have to say I'm glad our education is not so intense though I'm sure they are getting a lot more out of their education than we are! Hearing all about how their college differs from our was extremely interesting and I would like to continue to learn more.

After we got to hear from Phillipa's son we all headed to lunch. Half of the group went to a pub called The Famous Turf which is the oldest pub in Oxford. Its motto, which we all found funny, was "an education in intoxication." I had a really good chicken sandwich and some chips and coleslaw. I've actually been dying to have a chicken sandwich so it really hit the spot. I didn't think I was missing American food but I think I am as I keep thinking about random things I wish I could be eating and I'm sad when I realize they don't have it here! I am getting to try new things here which I really like so I'm not missing those foods too much!

After lunch we headed to Christ Church, which is a college and a cathedral. The neatest part about this stop was that several of the things in the Harry Potter movies are based off of this location so that was really fun!! We spent a while exploring in there and then we could either go home or hang around Oxford some more. We had to travel home in groups of six so six of us students stayed as well as all of the adults. Phillipa took a group of us to another location where they had recorded some more of Harry Potter and then we walked around the shops for a bit. I couldn't actually leave Oxford without getting a sweatshirt from there. So now I get to think I'm cool because I have an Oxford sweatshirt and now people might think I actually go there...if nothing else I still get to be cool enough to say that I have been there!! It really was a great place to see and absolutely beautiful! I got a few other people some things during my visit that I'm pretty excited about, but I can't mention them since I'm pretty sure people actually read this!

We headed for home around 5:45 so we didn't actually get back to our flat until a little after 8:00. Now I have lots to do to get ready to depart for ROME tomorrow!!!!! Super excited but as I said earlier, it still does not feel like a reality. I'm sure it will when we touch down in Rome though. Can't wait to see the beautiful city. The whole way home from Oxford Jeana and I were looking through my Rick Steves book to plan out what we want to do and we have more things planned than we even have time for so I'm sure we'll be busy busy busy while we are there! Then we'll take some time to relax and re-coop in Greece!! Just found out tonight that they only way to get to our hotel in Hyda (the Greek island we are staying on) is to walk or take a donkey...I'm definitely going with the donkey option and am really stoked! What an adventure that we are about to begin! At this time tomorrow we'll be in Rome! Time to go pack!

***side note...I will not actually be taking my computer and I'm not sure if they will have computers there so the blog/pictures will be posted upon my return!