Saying goodbye

From Day 17:

We spent some time apart today, which was good (and needed). He went to the Uffizi and i slept. i then went down to the Ponte Vecchio to take pictures, then to the statue garden, then back to the hostel for the free walking tour. It was really fun and educational, even though we went to a lot of the places i went yesterday, but i learned interesting things about them. at the end of the tour i got a huge surprise: Ally and Claire were in Florence too! They found Joe and then they found me at the end of the tour! we walked down the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace and Gardens, which were huge (but we didn't go in :P) and caught up on our trips and lives. we found the "best gelato in the city" and a small cafe for lunch, then split up for a while. Me and Joe went to the Chisa di Santa Croce, which was a good find! They had the tombs of Rossini, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Dante, Marconi, Fermi and Galileo! It was a smorgasbord of dead famous guys!! There were also some other awesome things as well, like some of the clothes of St. Francis of Assisi and some cool art. After that, I had my bad ass moment of Italy: walking to the top of the Duomo!! 463 steps! it was pretty amazing. And i got some good pictures too! we went back to the hostel after that for some relaxing time and dinner (did i mention we get HUGE free plates of pasta for dinner? cause we do :D) Then we met up with Claire and Ally again and went to the Piazza di Michelangelo, which had BEAUTIFUL views of the city! We walked around there for a while and a creepy church that's gates were open at night. we went to their hostel after that and had some wine and talked for a few hours. I think that may be what i miss most alcohol-wise when i come back to the US: being able to just sit down with some wine or a drink and just talking with people wherever. Not in dorm rooms, or at a party, just chilling some place and having a good relaxed time. Anyway, Joe was tired (so was I, but I'll blame him :P) so we went back to our hostel. We're eating breakfast at 9, then leaving for Lucca in the morning! It's gonna be really awesome. Wrapping up week 3 does seem kind of weird, though. I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 18:

We put our Oxbridge minds to the test today! We arrived in Lucca at around 2 and forgot to check for our reservations for our next trips, so we went back to the station and apparently the Lucca station is not big enough to do this at, the closest one was at Pisa. We were planning on going to Pisa tomorrow, but we decided it would be better to do go get our tickets and just spend the rest of the day there and do Lucca tomorrow. Smart, huh? Well i am super glad we did! When we got to the Pisa station, we went to make reservations and besides the people there being super unhelpful and running me in circles, it turns out the only trains that would get me to Barcelona leave tomorrow! so i would have been screwed if we had gone to Pisa then! Got my reservations (which were super expensive, btw!) and we went to the Leaning Tower. Joe went up in the tower but i felt as though i had spent enough money for one day (€74 on the reservation)! We spent time there till sunset, then got a train back to Lucca. We had gotten groceries earlier, so we went back and made dinner and got ready for bed. It has been a long day! We're getting up early tomorrow so i can see some of Lucca before I have to leave. I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 19:

Me and Joe went walking on the walls of Lucca and had deep, philosophical conversations which included whether QEII will have Charles assassinated before she dies, man boobs, a theory on old people and other pressing topics. we found the medieval tower i read about that has an oak tree growing out the top of it. the tree wasn't that great, but the views were good! I definitely want to come back one day to see the rest of the city. We went back to the hostel cause it started raining and are some food and talked until i had to leave. we said goodbye and i headed for the station for the 12:12 train to Pisa so i could get my train to Barcelona. We left at 1:10. ARGH! I don't even want to go into it. Long story short, it turned out alright. i was like 3 minutes early for the train thank God. The rest of the day was uneventful. Train to Milan, sat in the station for 1 1/2 hours, night train to Barcelona, one of the guys in our compartment got kicked off the train, then i settled in my train bed. weird. it's kind of like laying down in a car, but more bumpy. I got up at 7:30, so even though it's early in the night, I'm going to go to bed. But first, some...

BITZ O WIZDUM!!!!

Discoveries in Italy

1. Venice isn't that amazing if you don't like church after church (after church) and canals.

2. Gondola rides are expensive! €80 whether it's 1 person or 20, so make sure you have a large group (more than 3 people) if you want to go on one!

3. EAT AS MUCH GELATO AS YOU CAN!!!!!!!! Gelato shops are everywhere and it's so much better in Italy than anywhere else! My record is 17 flavours and 28 scoops total!!

4. Night trains are EXPENSIVE!! Try to get a day train if you can!

5. Meeting up with people is awesome! try to plan some short run-ins with friends if you can!

6. See the original David. It is worth it.

7. Book tickets for popular places ahead of time. you'll save hours upon hours of waiting in lines.

8. Don't trust the communists! They tell you lies! (i know that happened in Switzerland, bit i forgot to write it there and i felt it needed to be said)

9. Switzerland is full of hot people. Italy is full of people who think they're hot.

10. Italian pasta FTW!!! Have some!

I'm super tired, so I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

Spain coming soon!

Jojo

Week...Whatever, i lose count now

From Day 13:

We have done a lot more today, even though we started late. I slept in for the first time on this vacation! how long did I sleep, you may ask? Till 9:40! Whew, late i know! :P

we started the day at the Bear Park (fun facct, Bern got its name from the bear, barn[ with the funny dotted thing over the a] in Swiss-German, and bear hunting). A bear pit, like a bull ring, but for bears, was a huge attraction for the city until the 1800s. Realizing the cruelty, they stopped the bear pits and gave the bears their own sanctuary in the city. we went to the bear preserve and watched for a while. the bears were boring and lazy. that's about it. we then ventured to the Canton's cathedral with a huge tower (which i refused to pay 8 francs to go into!) it also has a pretty famous door ornamentation of the Final Judgement. I took pictures (it was allowed). After the church, we went to the Museum of the Alps, where we learned about mountains and argued about the origin of man. I also kicked Joe's ass at a mountaineering dice game. fun stuff! We then found the Natural History Museum, which we made it literally 5 steps away from yesterday before giving up and turning around (OXBRIDGE!!!) and we had a good time there. There was a huge real-life anthill, interesting because we watched A Bug's Life 3 days ago, and then looked at animals and the environments of the world, interesting because we watched Fern Gully 2 days ago :P

They had some cool skeletons (the Swiss are obsessed with death, just as a sidenote) and a room of mirrors, which is always fun! We walked around the Swiss government buildings (we couldn't go inside) and found security is much more lax in other countries than it is in the US. No death threats from armed guards in Europe, no sir-re!

Ummm...i think that's it, but since it's the end of a country, here are some...

BITZ O WIZDUM!!

Things i learned in Switzerland

1. Switzerland is EXPENSIVE!!! I think that's all that needs to be said about that.

2. Switzerland is beautiful!!!! Come and take lots of pictures wherever you go! I think it sort of cancels out the cost! lol

3. The Swiss walk slower than Brits...come to think of it, really everyone walks slower than the Brits. It takes some getting used to.

4. SWISS CHOCOLATE IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!

5. Canadians are just as loud as Americans...maybe louder.

6. Fondue is Swiss. I know right?

7. Given the option, i would rather travel alone. 'Nuff said.

We're headed to Italy tomorrow!! Venice here we come, but for now, I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

from Day 14:

GELATO IS AMAZING!! Thought i would start off with that. We arrived in Venice at around 2:30, only about 7 hours on the train. not bad considering the distance. Once we found our hostel, where Jenni was waiting for us, we all went out exploring around the city. Venice is beautiful, but kind of boring. There are tons of churches (yay) and lots of canals. that's about it. Thank God for gelato! So amazing! I've already had so many scoops! other than walking around, we didn't do much besides getting stuck behind slow walking people and talking pictures of an all-Asian Palm Sunday service. we are all dead tired and i'm sure Joe will want to start early tomorrow, so I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 15:

I was right. We left the hostel at 9. We all went to the Ghetto, the Jewish ghetto that is. It was interesting, but barren. Apparently, stuff doesn't really go on there unless it's a Jewish holiday. other than that, it's just the ghetto.

...We split up after that cause me and Jenni didn't want to spend money on stuff (except for gelato!), so we left Joe to do his expensive things and we went off our own way. It was a lot of fun! we walked along the Grand Canal for a bit and got serenaded by a really food old guy (he was a Tenor II if you care to know) singing while walking behind us for a while. We turned off the canal path into a park with statues and fun walking paths down in a random wandering motion until we reached water again. We were apparently near a small island with a church taking up most of it, so we made our way there, but it looked super sketch, so we didn't go in and we sat on the park benches outside and people-watched.

We stopped by Il Penguino (hehe! the penguin! I had to!) and got some gelato before starting the trek back to the hostel. she left later on, so after we walked to the station (and getting more gelato :P) I met up with Joe again and we went on a fail trip to one of the churches he had gone to earlier. It was closed of course when we got there, so we went souvenir shopping.

...We planned out Florence, which should have a lot more to see! Tuscanny and then Spain!!!!! I am SO EXCITED!! Not to excited for some rest though, so I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 16:

Florence is so much nicer than Venice (to me at least)!! On a less awesome note, I have discovered 5 days is the longest i can travel with someone else. After that, every little thing starts to annoy you. Sigh. i am destined to be a loner. Anyway, we got to Florence at around noon and (of course) couldn't check in yet. So Joe decides we should immediately go to the museum with the David in it. If he had waited another 10 minutes, I would have been able to read about the advance tickets you can get so we wouldn't have had to stand in line for an hour and a half! ANYWAY, we got in and saw all the stuff in the galleria della Accademia, Including the original David, which i took illegal pictures of! :P

...We also went to the Medici Basillica and we went to the crypt where Donatello is buried and there are a lot of saint's bodies/bones there as well. The Palazo Vecchio was our last stop for the day (rrrrrgh... I didn't want to do a lot on the first day cause i was tired and i didn't want to end up like we had [and probably will], being done at like 1:30 and just doing nothing for the rest of the day >:O sigh.) and we went through and took pictures, then got caught in an actual rain storm, which hasn't happened since i left the US!! When we got back to the hostel, we had our free dinner and then i got some cheap groceries and Joe went to do work and I am going to bed early cause (of course) Joe wants to start at 8:30 in the morning. I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

the final days of Italy are coming soon!

Jojo

I'm really behind on posting to this thing!

from Day 7:

And on the seventh day, God let the sun shine and the sky get blue just for us to go to the tulip gardens! The Keukenhof gardens were definitely the highlight of Holland for me! Even though a lot of the flowers weren't in bloom yet, a lot were. I'm actually kind of glad they weren't, otherwise i may never have left. Seriously. It was AMAZING!

...i took SO many pictures!! there was a greenhouse that gave a glimpse of what was to come outside and we spent almost an hour just in there! It was probably the best flower day i will ever have in my life! When we got back, we went to a grocery store (on the advice of an old guy in our sketchy ass hostel) and got tons of food for cheap and watched Mean Girls with dinner. Joe's never seen it!! Crazy! Anyway, before i go, here are some...

BITZ O WIZDUM

some things i've learned in Amsterdam

1. Check your travel paths carefully. If you don't you may wind up disoriented on a ferry crossing into Germany

2. Germans are a lot less naturally friendly than the Scandinavians (The Dutch are in the middle)

3. Mayonnaise on french fries is actually not bad (thank you Pulp Fiction)

4. When you are in the Red Light District, EVERYTHING is sex related. To assume otherwise is a mistake!

5. Amsterdam has a vodka museum. go to it.

6. TULIPS ARE AMAZING!!!!

7. You don't have to be high to have a good time in Amsterdam

8. Anne Frank lived in Amsterdam. I always thought she lived in Austria. Hmm...

9. God loves the gays. So does Amsterdam

10. Don't go to the Sex Museum. I am telling you as a friend. it is not worth it.

so we have a train to catch at 8:04 (ok, so what is the deal with trains/planes leaving at such random times? Why not just go at 8:05. Or 8? or something with some sort of reasoning behind it, rather than 'hmmm...how can we confuse our customers? I know, let's make our departure times so stupidly random that it confuses anyone who wants to travel!' But i digress...) I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 9

It's been a good day. Expensive, but good. We started off the day (at 8:30) walking around the city because nothing was open =( . we went down to Lake Zurich and took beautiful pictures then to a cafe with super good hot chocolate made with REAL SWISS CHOCOLATE!!!

...we then went to some churches, an art museum (blah), and the Swiss national museum that took forever to get through, like almost 3 hours of museum!

...It is really nice to have someone to travel with, if for nothing else, there is someone to talk to. Having it be your best friend is a plus :)

We're heading to Lucerne tomorrow. Big lake #2, beautiful mountains and more awesome Switzerlandness awaits, so I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 10:

Switzerland is such a beautiful country! We arrived in Lucerne at about 10 o'clock and we couldn't check into our hostel, so we walked around the city and soaked in the beautifullness! We ended up walking around the whole northern outside of the city! We saw the mountains in the mist and bought souvenirs. Joe got a badass pocket watch and I got a Switzerland mini-scarf!

...It's pretty warm here and the people were enjoying it! Apparently, the Swiss people love to practice tight rope walking. There were 4 in the park we walked by! anyway, we went to another chocolate shop and got some more chocolate (awesome!) and went back to the hostel to cook dinner. in the kitchen of the hostel, we met some people from Hong Kong and the man loved to talk! their son is 24 and has been working for an electronics company in Zurich for 3 years and they were vacationing with him until april. They were super traditional Asians! the wife was making dinner and the man was just sitting and talking to other people. One of the other people in the kitchen asked the man (the woman didn't speak English), "does your wife cook every day?" to which he responded "No...Sometimes we go out". I think the word Wow covers it! Anyway, he was telling us a lot about Hong Kong and it was really interesting how different cultures can be. Did you know that a lot of Chinese children are pretty much independent of their parents by age 18? You do now!

...After dinner, we went back to our room (did i mention we have a private room? Awesome!) and watched the new episodes of family guy and South Park, then A Bug's Life. Great night! We are going to see some sights, then walk around the other side of the lake tomorrow. Fun awaits, so I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 11:

I feel like a badass today! we literally walked off the map! we went so far around the lake that we left the city proper! It took a couple of hours and my legs are dead tired, but it was worth it. we got some awesome pictures of the mountains and a cool castle near the lakeside. the sky was way clearer in the distance today, so the pictures turned out awesome! we also went to the Cathedral of the Canton and walked around. it was pretty cool. We watched Fern Gully and were basically room bums the rest of the day. We were appreciating having a private room, so i feel it was justified! Cooked dinner and Chatted and ate TONS of Swiss Chocolate!!! It's been a great day and we're off to Bern tomorrow! I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

From Day 12:

We woke up at 9ish and left beautiful Lucerne for the big city! Bern, the capital of Switzerland is very much city. much more than the rest of Switzerland. It is also rainier. We went to Einstein's house in bern (in the rain), the History museum (in the rain), and shopping for food (again, in the rain). Our hostel here is at least nice. the Swiss do know how to put their guests up! All the hostels in Switzerland have been really nice (though a bit pricey), as all of Switzerland has been. We'll do more tomorrow, but for now, not much exciting. I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

More to come!

Jojo

More Craziness...

From Day 4:

Starting off early (with every school child in Copenhagen, apparently) at the National Museum. If I don't go to jail for killing a child in the next few hours, I'll tell you how it goes.

God it is great to sit down! So i didn't kill any wee-ones in the museum. i just avoided them by being on different floors at all times. It has been a day! I've walked about 15km (no joke) total today and my legs are killing me! I walked from the museum to the harbour, then up the waterfront to the Gerin fountain and still further to 'the little mermaid' every travel book, guide and person told me not to waste my time on it, but i did. it actually wasn't as pathetic as everyone made it out to be. That little lady is really photogenic! After that, i walked to Rosenborg Castle and the King's Gardens...the Danish crown jewels are there and my God, they are an extravagant people, the Danish!

...The end of my day has been less eventful. Copenhagen overall has been a good time. i wish i had planned 3 days in each place instead of 2, then i wouldn't have to cram seeing so much in so little time! Well, before i go, here are some...

BITZ O WIZDUM (Some things from Copenhagen)

1. The hello rule is even more important in Denmark, cause their hello sounds like 'hi'

2. The Danish have come up with the best drink EVAR!!! Hot chocolate w/ ice cream!!!!!!!!!! the ice cream cools down the HC enough to make it drinkable as well as adding delicious ice cream flavour to the hot chocolate! Awesome!

3. It is much better to give yourself more time, rather than going more places. i have discovered this.

4. Scandinavians are nice! Ask for help if you need it!

5. Always check the train station before just showing up for your train on the day of travel

6. Before you plan a trip, see when all the really cool stuff opens up

Only 6 for Copenhagen. Maybe i'm getting more cultured...or less stupid...or just can't think of anything else. well, train at 7:45, so I iz sleep sleep now!

~Bai!

From Day 5:

Well, that was a fun day. 11 hours of trains, accidentally boarding the subway, oh, and more trains! I left Copenhagen at 7:45AM and checked into my hostel in Amsterdam at 8:15PM.

...On my way, i apparently got on the metro. don't know how, but i did. When i came out, a policeman stopped me and started yelling in Dutch and i was really confused. apparently, the subway works the opposite way in Amsterdam; you pay when you come out. So i didn't have a ticket (since i got on it from a train) and technically took the subway through 3 zones and didn't pay for it! the policeman gave me a warning, so that's good.

...When i got to the hostel, i can see into the bar (yes the hostel has a bar. and a 'smoking room') and see a bunch of high Americans watching college basketball. really funny sight! they don't even react to the game, they just sit there open-mouthed staring at it!...Joe gets here tomorrow and i am worn out from the trains, so I iz sleep sleep now!

~Bai!

From Day 6:

Well, today started off with a bang...or shall i say a flash. at 4:30 in the f&%!ing morning, some douche-bag decides to get ready -loudly- and to turn on the room light! so of course, it takes me a while to get back to sleep and then i have to get up in a few hours, but whatever. ANYWAY...I went to the science centre (I know, 2 science centres in 2 cities. yes i know i am a music major) and it took me by surprise how mature it was and how mature European kids are. there were some rather 'older' scientific things that were just open for everyone and the kids were very mature about it. there was a little puberty film and i was giggling more than the 10 year olds. i felt immature. but i realize that it is because they are able to see it, and have it explained maturely and scientifically, at such an early age that they turn out to be ok with stuff like sex, drugs and alcohol. It was an eye opener. After the science centre, i got on the City Sightseeing bus and went around the city.

...i got off and went to the Amsterdam tulip museum, which is basically a room in the basement of a flower shop with info and a video. but it was cool nonetheless. i also got some cool stuff from the shop. after that, i got caught in a rianstorm and took refuge in a cafe, where i got some lunch, turkey bagel sandwich. yummm. then Joe called and said he was here, so i went back to the hostel and met up with him. we went walking around the red light district, providing immense entertainment and a REALLY FUNNY story, then the sex museum, then the vodka museum. the vodka museum was definitely the better of the two. we got free shots (Awesome) and learned about vodka. i am now determined to brew my own at some point.

...We're going to the tulip garden awesomeness in the morning and i am SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!! but for day 6, so long. I iz sleep sleep now!

~Bai!

More soon!

Jojo

The Madness begins! (excerpts from my travel diary)

BAH!! so it is finally happening! Spring Break, travelling through Europe AMAZINGNESS IS HERE!!!! so i will treat you for the next few weeks with insights into the mind of Joe Johnson and give you excerpts from the soon to be published (haha) travel diary of the 5 weeks of awesome!

from Day 1:

overall, i would say it's been an amazing day! my day started at midnight, catching the bus from oxford to stansead airport wherei had to wait for a few hours, but successfully booked, paid for and made a flight on time all by myself (It's the little things that make life grand!)!! i arrived in stockholm and proceeded to have trouble with my credit card, so what do i do? stand there trying for 5 minutes and then stand there some more. this, for some reason, looked shady to the security personnel, who felt it necessary to check my bags once more before letting me leave from baggage claim. other than that, it has been smooth sailing!

...i decided to check out Gamla Stan, the 'old city' and proceeded to get lost. but not the bad kind of lost. i mostly just walked around and checked outt he city. it was pretty fun.

...if you know me, you know i am obsessed with money from around the world. the Royal coin museum was perfect for this need of mine!!!! it was basically the best 2 hours of vacation EVER!!...so as you can see, my first day was rather awesome...but also long. I iz sleep sleep now! ~Bai!

from Day 2:

...i kept seeing this little cafe in Gamla Stan and finally decided i would go in. Great choice! I am eating a Brocolli and Ham quiche that is awesome and having hot chocolate because it is F*&£ing FREEZING here!! i mean it's Scandinavia, so i don't know what i was expecting, but still.

...today i got lost in the 'new city', not as fun as Gamla Stan. i went to the Nobel Museum and the Swedish Music Museum, both of which were pretty stellar!

...i ended up not doing much else the rest of the day but here are some.......

BITZ o WIZDUM from Joe Johnson

1. the Swedish love moose (mooses?)...i don't even know. it's just a thing here.

2. Hej (pronounced 'hey') is 'hello' in Swedish. if you say hey back to a store clerk, ticket person, etc. they will assume you speak swedish. ALWAYS SAY HELLO!!!

3. Americans are so behind the rest of the world! most of the people in my hostel are tri-lingual (their native language, English, and enough Swedish to get by) and it makes me sad i can't even understand numbers in swedish. Suck less America!

4. don't slip on ice. it hurts more when you already have an injury.

...6. Walk around, you never know what you'll find!

7. Swedish people are nice and friendly (and most of them can speak english!)

8.Swedes love asian food! Sushi, chinese, thai places EVERYWHERE!!!

9. burritos and chocolate...strangely awesome combination. Quiche and hot chocolate...better!

...Well, i have an 8:21 train to catch in the morning, so I iz sleep sleep now!

~Bai!

from Day 3:

Denmark is way warmer than Sweden!...i got turned around getting to my hostel, but a nice homeless woman and a random passer-by helped me get to it ok.

...i didn't have time to do much today, but i did go to the Ripley's Believe it or Not in Copenhagen and (more the reason for going) the connected Hans Christian Andersen MiniMuseum! it was really cool. there were interactive exhibits and storytelling with robots (always awesome!). my favorite story by him, the Steadfast Tin Soldier, had a little interactive toy room where you could make the toys come to life. LOVED IT! after that i went to the planetarium to waste some time. cool stuff, space.

...i caved and had chinese food for dinner. but hold judgement, i passed up 2 McDonald's, a Burger King, and a KFC (plus all the stuff, including a TGI Fridays in Stockholm) so i feel it's ok!

...i got internet, so i figured i would update my blog while i was at it. I'm gonna turn in early (recurring theme?) and get started fresh in the morning. I iz sleep sleep now!

~Bai!

More to come...

Jojo

Happy Thanksgiving...or as they say it in England, Happy Thursday!

guy fawkes burning

as you can see, i got a new camera, and it is basically amazing! November started out pretty great! we watched V for Vendetta on the 5th and me and Lora went to a carnival/fireworks show/guy fawkes burning the next day. i took lots and lots of pictures with my new camera! it was pretty awesome... but cold.

there's been a lot of visiting going on this month! justin came from Cambridge one weekend, then all of the Cambridge kids came the next weekend and then Allison came to England for a visit and she, Jenna and justin came to Oxford. Wow, Justin probably should have just just went to Oxford if he's gonna come here this often! then Joe came and we went to the Ashmolean! it was really fun! people from Hendrix that are studying abroad in different places have also been coming to visit the hendrix people that are here. lots and lots of visitors.

it's apparently been too much visitation. a guy from Oxford property services came to our house and told us that we have been making too much noise and that the neighbors had been calling the landlord and even the police on us and that if it didn't stop, they would have to take action! no one, not even the landlord, had given us any warning before this, so how in the world were we supposed to know if people were mad at us. Penelope says that's just how british people are...they just don't come up to your face and say STFU! well, we've toned down our partying and people are pretty much done visiting, so it should be ok.

tutorials are going pretty well. my professors are basically genii (geniuses?). my minor tutorial professor can speak 27 LANGUAGES FLUENTLY!!! Ridiculous! she works for the British Library and translates for czech diplomats and coordinates receptions and huge dinners and celebrations for important people and everything! she is basically a beast... except for the fact that she is like 5'2 and speaks like a parakeet. she has parakeets in her house and kyle and i have decided that she is probably an animagus and the parakeet is her animal. i'm going to have her again in the spring for my spanish tutorial, which will be really interesting.

my major tutorial is really fun and my tutor knows sooo much about music. he is a performer too, so that makes him even more crazily awesome! it's been going pretty well. he said i've been doing really good, but my last paper was a complete fail. i have my meeting with him later today, so we'll see how that goes. other than that, they've been completely awesome! i am also really excited because i will end up having both of these tutors again (i don't know if they want me back, but they're stuck with me! HAH!)!

trampolining has been going great! apparently even though i am not an official member of a college in Oxford, i will still get to compete against Cambridge at the Varsity meet next term, and i am also getting to compete in the sort of national college competition later in the spring! it's been really awesome...i'm thinking i might keep doing it when i get back to the US if i can find a place.

my first Thanksgiving meal

even though the British don't celebrate it, we had our own little thanksgiving at our house yesterday. me and bernice did the cooking and if i do say so myself, it was quite a good meal! there were 5 of us and,as you can see, we made a crap ton of food! day 2 and there is more than half of the food left (I'm actually eating leftovers right now!). we'll see how long it lasts!

Coming home in a week and a half. i don't really know how i feel about it. i am really excited to see my family and friends (and my new ipod will be waiting for me when i get there!), but at the same time, it's a realization that i'm a third of the way done with my year in england. i get to go to jewell to see people i haven't seen in months, but i also have to talk to professors about credits and majors and my future and it's all just a lot to handle. i want to come home, sure, but it just drives home the fact that i am growing up and will have to be a part of the real world soon. hmm. guess it had to happen sometime! :P

well, that's all i can remember for now.

kthankxbai!

Jojo

Choir fail #1

hey all, sorry i haven't updated in a while, it's been a weird couple of weeks.

Brief recap of the time since i wrote last:

October's been going pretty fast. tons of drama, of course, but too much to go into here. we had our introduction papers due on the 8th, which i think mine went well, but we won't get them back for another week (yea, 4 weeks to get a paper back!). then the real tutorials started. it's not been extremely difficult yet, though i have at least one paper every week instead of one every two weeks, which took some time to get used to.

my birthday was on the 16th, it was pretty good. i didn't do too much (and didn't get drunk). just basically spent a really nice and relaxing day at home and then went out to eat and to a few bars and a club that night. it was a good birthday. and i got to see someone get alchohol poisoning and get carried off in an ambulance! haha. God knows what i like to see on my birthday! :P

i went to a dance at Regent's with Melody Megan Annie and Corey a couple of weeks ago and it was really fun! i got to "dress up" like a professor, which basically means i put on some nice clothes and danced a lot! It was glorious!

as far as OOSC related business, we went to a castle, a palace, an artist's manor, and Shakespeare's birthplace as well as other places in Stratford upon Avon and London that were of Shakespeare significance and it was pretty cool. other than that, we've just been hanging around oxford and doing not much. there are some cool British people we've been hanging out with a bit that Becca introduced us to. they're basically awesome and annie's kind of dating one of them.

Me and Maura went on a surprise and last minute trip to cambridge to visit Joe and Jenna and everyone at Cambridge and it was AMAZING!! we went to a pirate dance and met the people that live on their floor and had pizza and watched movies and it was great! Cambridge is much more like a city than oxford and it was really interesting. plus i got to spend time with joe and jenna, which was amazing as always. justin got me sick though, and i spent the next like 4 days in bed. : ( not a fun tutorial, let me tell you! now they have to come visit us so we can take them around oxford! hmmm...what else?

Oh! i joined the Oxford Trampolining Club!!!!! my god, i love it! it's really weird trying to get the hang of the differences between gymnastic form and trampolining form (trust me, there are a lot of them), but i think i'm getting it. they said i might even get to compete later in the year! SO EXCITING!!! it's three times a week as well, so it gives me something else to do other than procrastinate from writing my papers!


now on to the choir fail. so i've been looking for a choir to join because i didn't want to be in a church choir, so annie told me about a choir at St Catherine's that we could go to...and choir fail begins. we start walking and i don't know where we're going plus i don't have my glasses. so i know this will be an interesting trip. we looked on the map before we left and saw a little bridge over a lake that was a little shortcut, so we head that way. as we're walking, we start to approach serious horrror movie potential. there is overgrown plants everywhere surrounding a street with less and less street lights and when it starts nearing the darkest part of the area, we see this unlit path leading to a creepy 2 foot wide "bridge" we'll call it, with no lights on it of course, and annie was like oh i think that's the bridge we need to take. i was like H@#$ NO!!!! This is why white people die in horror movies. i had flashbacks to the float trip. anyway, so we keep walking and end up getting completely lost, so we decide after a while to juts give up and go home. we have travelled so far south, we are near the OOSC house that is really out of the way of everyone else, so we decide to go to their house and hang out for a while. so that part of the night was good, but overall, it was an EPIC FAIL!!!! We may try again, but next time, we'll take the bus, thank you very much!

jojo