So, I'm Not a Clubber

this is mostly ranting, so just skip down to the third paragraph if you don't want to read my complaining.

As you may have guessed from the title, i have discovered that the club scene is not for me. Basically all last week Annie and Bernice were set on going to find some clubs in Oxford for us all to go to, so on Friday after our excursion, we got all dressed up for the club and hit the town...not before most of the people did some pre-partying at the house (whose house? ours, of course!). So we head to a club called the Purple Turtle, that we get into for free because we're members of the Oxford Union, and in about 20 minutes, i realized that clubs were not my scene. the music wasn't great and was really loud, there were too many people in a small dance room, and random British guys were being creepy on my friends. So i use the excuse that i need to call my parents to get out of there and go home. i start to get a good sleep going on and then what do i hear? my housemates and...wait for it...3 random British guys from the club. IN MY HOUSE! WTF?!?! It's about 1:30 at this point and i think they'll be gone soon enough and i can get back to sleep. BUT NO! they stay around drinking more, being loud, etc. for the next 2 hours! they don't leave till 3:45! SIGH! no sleep that night.

So yesterday, I think that I'll go to bed early and get a good night's sleep. but everyone comes over to the house and start talking about going to a bar, instead of a club, so we can meet fun people. so we head out and the first place we go to was kind of not our scene and we had a big group of people and a few of us decided to go to a bar while the rest of the people went back to the Purple Turtle. i knew i didn't want to go back to that or any club, especially tonight. so we head to a bar and it was ok i guess, but not exactly what i call a good time. we left and ended up going...of course, to the Purple Turtle. there were more creepy guys hitting on my friends and we had to protect them for a bit then i just sat for a while, cause i was not too happy. i think it would have been a little more bearable if the music was better. when the DJ at a dance club breaks out with Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen (look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about and then picture it in a dance club setting. ugh!), i KNOW it is time for me to go home! so we leave, and apparently a lot more drama happens after i leave, but we'll not mention that on public internet space.

so, bottom line, i apparently don't dig the club scene. Anyway, to happier subjects, England is AMAZING!!! Oxford is even better!!!! the last 2 weeks have seemed like 2 months, but in a good, super good, way! My housemates are awesome and most of the rest of the people in the program are cool too. We've been learning a lot about Elizabethan and Victorian England and we went to some cool places too (Pictures on facebook)! even the Globe theatre for a Shakespeare play! it has been such an amazing experience so far. we have a paper due in 2 weeks and I'm pretty confident about it. i know, weird coming from me, right? but i think it's gonna be a great start to a great year!

it is really weird being away from everybody, but i think i can manage for a while! :P I'm excited the Cambridge people are coming in next week and I'll get to see Joe and Jenna and everyone soon! so it'll be a little better (and i need some time with other people than the 20 i am surrounded by constantly. don't get me wrong, they're awesome, but they are the only people i see every day and i just need a little time with some other people...soon)

i think that's it for now!

Jojo

And So it Begins

Hey everyone,

so my family and I all arrived safely in London and we are settled in our hotel room! I think everything is even more amazing this time around! The family is interesting to be around as always and it seems my sleep patterns are perfect for this time zone. Yesterday, i went to bed at 11:30 and woke up at 7!! Crazy right?!?!?!?!

i went to my first casino yesterday as well!!! i lost 10 pounds : (
we went to the wax museum today and me and my dad stood over in a corner and didn't move and there were like 5 people that came over to see if we were wax or not! lol! it was really funny!
other than those interesting tidbits, not much amazingly exciting has happened so far. i'm already missing friends, but at least i'll be seeing some of them in a little over a week!!

i've only been here for two days, but i've already learned some important rules and lessons:

Rule 1: Stand (and walk slowly) on the right
PEOPLE WILL TRY TO RUN YOU OVER!!!!! there have been multiple occasions where i had to basically jump out of the way to avoid someone walking REALLY fast, so if you're not that person that's running everyone else over, just stay on the right.
Rule 2: Order TAP water (with ice if you can)
if you just ask for water, they bring you bottled water and charge out the wazoo for it! in one restaurant we went to it was 4 pounds and warm! so make sure you make it tap with ice (but they may charge you for the ice).
Rule3: Check and see if gratuity in added in your check already
a lot of restaurants (especially near touristy spots) do this and don't tell you, hoping you'll pay the server their tip twice. check in the menu or even ask just to make sure! and there's no sales tax in most places here, so if the amount on the bill is more than the food you ordered, i would say don't leave a separate tip.

Lesson 1: Don't display your American (or tourist) qualities in a crowded area
you are a better and more obvious target for pickpocketers, people stare and talk about you, and it just makes you stand out (most of the time, not in a good way).
Lesson 2: DON'T CROP DUST PEOPLE IN LINES!!!!!!
really, it's just rude and it makes people want to kill you. there was a guy that did it to us in a line AND on the underground and my sister was ready to take him down! so either just go find a bathroom or hold it till you're not in a crowded place.
Lesson 3: Ask for your check
some places don't bring you your check till you ask for it because they think it's rude to sort of try to force you out by giving you your bill. so if you want to get the check, just ask for it or you could wait around for 30 minutes in an uncomfortable seat in a restaurant that smells funny with people in the next booth that are being annoying and just in an all around uncomfortable and unhappy situation. not that i'm speaking from experience or anything...
Lesson 4: Make sure and check your electrical appliances before you plug them in!
My mom blew a fuse in the hotel room because she didn't get a converter, just a plug adapter. check the back of the power chord and make sure that you know if you need a converter or just an adapter...or you can just blow some fuses and appliances till you figure it out!

Well, that's all i got for right now!

Jojo

Ready to Go

well, i'm all set for my wonderful English adventures. i'm packed up, got everything planned out (i think), plane tickets are printed out, everything's ready.

I'm so sooooo excited! i still can't believe it's actually happening! I get to study in Oxford for a year! AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I'm going over a couple of weeks early to travel some in England and France with my family before they drop me off for the start of my program, so i'll be leaving the country in a matter of hours (about 18 hours to be precise)! hopefully it will be a lot of fun!

For everyone i didn't get to say bye to before i left, i will miss you all and i will be thinking about everyone every day.

Well...Here Goes!!

Jojo



p.s. I have Skype now! joseph.cornelius.johnson
not really sure how everything works on it just yet, but i'll get the hang of it!