The Four Winds That Brought Us So Hastily Here

Hello!

Do you ever have those weeks that seem to be engineered to slowly break you down? This past week was absolutely one of those for me. We started our official Oxford classes on Monday, and while I am only taking two classes I have never done this much work. Each class has at least a 1,500 word paper due every week and due to one of the weird intricacies of Oxford, we are unable to check books out. That means all of your reading has to be done in the library. I spent about 7 hours a day in the library this past week, and I am exhausted. I also stressed myself into six migraines over the course of the week, but that is another story. Don't worry, I'm doing my best to resolve this issue.

I don't want it to sound like I am ungrateful to be here, I recognize the privilege I have in being able to complain about the level of coursework in Oxford. I'm sure that as the weeks go by I will develop more of a routine for work. But, it was a baptism by fire this week. 

On a much lighter note, I had a truly wonderful weekend. One of my good friends from the summer camp I work at lives in Durham and invited me to visit her. Two of my other friends from camp also came and we had a lovely weekend talking about the coming summer and all of our memories from last year. One of the amazing things about friends from camp, at least in my experience, is that they allow you to be completely comfortable with yourself while also poking fun at you almost all the time. I am so incredibly grateful for the relationships I have with these individuals, they mean a lot to me. 

In addition to traveling this weekend it was also Formal Hall at Regent's Park (a fancy three course meal). It was really fun to get dressed up and eat fancy food that I didn't have to make. Emily had a jazz gig after, but because of my early travel to Durham I was unable to attend. I woke up in Oxford at 5:30 am and arrived in Durham around noon. It was a long train ride, but I was able to write a full essay so I found it successful. Jorunn (my friend from Durham) picked me up at the train station and then we went back to her house to pick up the other two (Maeve and Aubrey). We went to Knitsley Farm for a lovely lunch and then ventured into Durham. We just wandered around for a bit before going into the Cathedral. We just happened to be there during Evensong which was absolutely beautiful. On our way back to Jorunn's we picked up a friend of hers who will also be at camp this summer. The majority of our time was spent chatting about camp and encouraging Jess about what a wonderful experience it will be for her. Naturally, we face-timed some of our camp friends in the States before having movie night. 

Here is a house group shot from Formal Hall.

Unfortunately I was only in Durham for about 27 hours, so we didn't really do a lot while I was there. On Sunday Aubrey and Jess had to get dropped off at the train station early so I went with Jorunn to say goodbye before we went back to her house before I left. We had a really relaxing morning filled with boardgames. Turns out I am not good at Quirkle, but am pretty good at Ingenious (I highly recommend both games, they are very fun). The weirdest thing that has ever happened to me occurred on my way back to Oxford. I was writing a different essay on the train and I fell asleep (not that weird), the weird bit was that I kept typing and when I woke up the essay made sense. Now, I don't know how deeply I was asleep, or how long I was asleep, but this was one of those moments where I wasn't sure whether to be proud of myself or deeply concerned. I'll let you know if it happens again, but I'm hoping it was a fluke. 

I'm sad my time in Durham was so short, but it's alright because I will see the majority of these friends this summer at camp. I am so incredibly thankful that I have friends who persuade me to avoid homework for a bit and allow me to enjoy some downtime. I can't wait to see them all again soon! (Also, we don't have any pictures together because we talked too much and forgot to document our activities). 

This is the only picture I took in Durham and I honestly took it just so I could post it in a blog post. 

Madeline

Scrabble in Portugal (Maybe It Wasn't Your Typical Vacation)

Hello!

I recently returned from my last big travel experience during this study away trip. My housemate Emily and I flew to Portugal to meet up with a friend of mine from camp. She very graciously invited us to join her, and I immediately seized upon the opportunity. 

We left beautifully sunny Oxford on Wednesday afternoon and arrived in Portugal in the evening. It was kind of surreal walking out of the airport, the air was warm and it smelled like jasmine. It was a completely different experience than Oxford, but they both have their positives.

The view from our apartment.

After getting settled where we were staying Aubrey, Emily, and I ventured out to find dinner. We found a restaurant near our apartment that had free wifi and good food (spoiler alert we went back three times). Settling into a new place is always a little weird, but because I'm familiar with both of my travel companions there were no issues at all. 

Our first full day in Portugal was amazing. It was sunny, beautiful, and warm. We knew it was going to be one of the only really nice days while we were there so we took full advantage of it. We spent the morning at the pool and then some time at the beach. I normally don't love the beach, but I actually really enjoyed it! We stayed until the wind started blowing sand into our ears and then we went back to the apartment. We started a game of Monopoly before dinner and had to put it on pause for the night. 

It was a beautiful beach.

You can tell I am really in my element in nature.

Our only group photo and my eyes are definitely closed.

Our second day saw us walking into Albufeira (the closest town to where we were staying). It was about an hour long walk, but it was super overcast so it wasn't too hot. Albufeira has a huge population of British tourists (everywhere we went had a full English breakfast on the menu). It was really weird to see a place so consumed by tourist culture. Our time in Albufeira was really nice, we went to an archaeology museum and a museum of sacred art. Once it started raining we took the bus back to the apartment. We ended our evening with leftovers and some heated games of Scrabble. Turns out, none of us are all that good, but it was super fun.

The beach in Albufeira.

We had high hopes for our last day in Portugal. We were going to take the bus into Faro and explore the city, but it was pouring rain. We were going to go despite the rain, but within five minutes we were soaked. After a rushed grocery store trip we hurried back to the apartment intent on hunkering in for the full day. We started with a game of Cranium (not made for three people) and lots of Scrabble. The weather broke in the afternoon and Emily went out to the beach. Aubrey and I stayed inside and talked about camp and all our plans for the summer. We also got really into the National Geographic show "The Incredible Dr. Pol". It's about a large animal vet in Michigan and it is fantastic. 

Just a small glimpse of how bad the rain was.

For our last dinner we went back to the first restaurant we went to and celebrated a successful vacation. Travel back to Oxford the next day went smoothly and now we are transitioning back into school life. 

I am so incredibly grateful for friends that invite me on crazy adventures!

Madeline

One Short Day in the Emerald City

Hello!

The past few weeks have been filled with essays, readings, and group projects. We just finished our final week of our last PLU class here and are about to start actual Oxford classes (but that's another blogpost). I have absolutely loved the course I just finished, and I'll be sad not to have class with everyone anymore. Now, for the real point of this post: I had friends visit!

My best friends Genevieve and her boyfriend Forest visited this weekend! Genevieve is doing a year abroad in Austria, so I hadn't seen her in months and a few weeks ago she asked if she could visit. Of course I said yes, so she flew over for a long weekend. They got in on Thursday night and we spent Friday and Saturday in Oxford, and then Sunday in London. 

Forest quickly became our personal photographer.

Touring them around Oxford was so fun! Granted, the tour they got was my version of Oxford so it featured a lot of books and coffee shops. On Friday we walked around Oxford and had a traditional British lunch of pies before I dropped them off at the Natural History Museum while I was in class. After class we came back to the house and Forest made dinner (it was really good!). They even got to join us for Family Ice Cream night and we ended the day chatting. I think Genevieve and I can talk to each other forever. 

A small garden near Christ Church.

Saturday might have been my favorite day with them. It was the first sunny summer(ish) day in Oxford and it was beautiful! We strolled along Christ Church Meadows before I took them into Blackwell's. Let's just say none of us left without a book, which means I purchased three books in two days. We found an arts and crafts fair in town and wandered around looking at all the booths. I then remembered the Farmer's Market at the bus station so we went over there intent on finding lunch. We were very successful (think lots of vegetable dumplings). We ended our day at the Ashmolean Museum, it was so good! I will definitely be going back. 

Christ Church in the sun (I made them visit twice).

Sunday we went into London. I made them wander around Hyde Park to find the Peter Pan statue (turns out it was on the opposite side of the park from our bus stop but, oh well). We then decided we were hungry so we took the Tube to Soho. Forest found a great diner and we sat around chatting and eating more food than we should have. We wandered around Soho for awhile before Forest had to leave to catch his plane, and then Genevieve and I did what we do best: talking and drinking coffee. It was so amazing to reconnect with her. I can't wait to work with her this summer!

Flowers in Hyde Park.

The Peter Pan Statue!

My adventures did not stop on Sunday. On Monday, three of my housemates and I went into London to see a musical. Two went to School of Rock and Emily and I went to Wicked. I don't think I can put into words how amazing it was, just know that it surpassed all my expectations! After many debates on best song overall vs best costumed song, we were on the bus back to Oxford. But, school never stops so both Rachel and I registered for Fall semester classes on the bus. That's right, I got into all the classes I needed. 

I stole this photo from Emily. Wicked was incredible!

This photo took me approximately 10 tries. 

It's been a whirlwind weekend and I am so looking forward to getting some more sun in Portugal!

Madeline