It's Getting Better All The Time

As my cliche title implies, things are getting better here everyday. My homesickness has mostly subsided and I've really been waking up more excited every single morning. Getting solid nights of sleep has also seemed to help this, as well as the wonderful friends that I am becoming close to here. In other good news, I've had FOUR days of sunshine and finally have some pictures to add! The picture at the top is actually a photo of the gardens at Christ Church. I actually attended the Evensong service here on Sunday evening. It is famous for its beauty and its place in history. The cathedral is actually a part of Christ's College, and the entire college is incredibly beautiful. I'll be going back for church again, as well as to more discovering as this is the famed location of many parts of the Harry Potter movies. Among other more important events, of course.
Next, for those wondering, here is what my room looks like. It's very large and plain, and contrary to what you may think, I've managed to do a lot with the place:

As a personal plug... if you draw me funny pictures and send them, it's a free way for me to decorate my wall and regularly remember how much I love and miss you;).

As for my weekend, Saturday was a pretty lazy day that I spent searching for some of my books and reading at our beautiful Union. The only problem with the Union library is that it is SO quiet and peaceful that just turning the page or unzipping my bag sounded incredibly loud and rude. It's almost TOO peaceful. Regardless, the library is absolutely beautiful with a gallery above the main floor, and tiny staircases. It reeks of old books (in a nice way) and has comfortable leather chairs for reading. I feel smarter just sitting in there, really. Here is a photo of the outside of the Union:


That evening, some of us decided to brave the nightclubs here at Oxford despite some wind and rain. It was a lot of fun, but I did learn a few things. 1) British boys like to flirt with American girls by insulting our intelligence and country 2) It may be cold outside, but British girls don't dress like it 3) McDonald's is open later here than in America and may be even more delicious and 4) Techno music + fog machines + Europeans - deodorant = a smelly mess. I'm glad we went out, but I do think I'm more of a pub person. :)

Speaking of, here is a picture of our favorite pub! It is just around the corner from my apartment and so far we've had two of our girls' nights here. The manager is an extremely nice Brit who really likes us. He invited us to come and watch the NFC championship there on Sunday night. It was really fun to watch such an American event from here, as well as interesting to watch the Brits get so excited about it. I think we're going to attend their Superbowl party, even though it'll be a late night as it won't be on until midnight here. It's worth the experience!



Yesterday began with a lecture and then I did research all day long for one of my two papers due Friday. The one break I took was for a nice dinner with the roomies, of which there is a photo below. They are very sweet boys and we're getting along very well. It's proving to be pretty entertaining to discuss our different views on things based on our gender. It's going to be a good semester together I think!



Then today I woke up for more research and spent the afternoon writing in a local cafe across from Christ Church. I took a short break to walk around the meadows, which was quite a luxury. I'm so glad to be settling in here so that I can finally appreciate all the beauty that surrounds me. Here are just a few other shots around Oxford. I'll make attempts to set up a photo account and a link for that once I start taking more and after my first two papers are written, but for now here are a few.




I must also remark on this day, the Inauguration Day. It was a strange experience not to be in the United States after spending the previous year and a half obsessing over the election and following it so closely. I spent the morning streaming CBS via internet and then after my paper was written we went to a bar that was hosting an inauguration event. This was actually pretty funny but also really wonderful. It's a Hawaiian bar named Kukui, and since Obama is also from Hawaii they hosted a luau. They had free Michelob, popcorn, pork BBQ (was not good, I got my hopes up for it though), hot dogs (same as the BBQ), a live band playing classic American rock, and Krispy Kreme donuts. Besides all of the freebies, they had multiple plasma screens playing the coverage, and even amidst all the silliness, it was an incredible ceremony to watch. I am so grateful to be an American and I think that watching such an event from out of the country gave it even more significance for me. It was a humbling moment as I watched the faces of the spectators, as well as leaders of our country, all looking toward the future. I may be a reluctant supporter of Obama, but I am a supporter nonetheless. I am proud to say he is our nation's President and of what it means to our nation and its history. I'm truly excited to see what the future holds and I hope that someday I can look back on this time when I have learned so much and use it to contribute to the nation that has given me so much. Oh, America, I love you! As shown below, in the picture of the girls, myself, and Uncle Sam.



Well, the next two days will be filled with reading and writing for my second paper. The first is behind me and I actually enjoyed learning about and writing about international political economy, but the next is the less interesting topic of Locke and Hobbes.

As always, feel free to drop me a line.
God Bless America!