Back in Oxford

Well it's night time in Oxford. I dropped Elliot off at the airport around 3:30PM... It was so sad. It was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. I know that it's only a couple months apart but it was still so hard after having such a wonderful time. I miss him so much already!

We had a really great time in Ireland :) I will never forget it! I still can't believe we are engaged! It seems like a dream! Not too much planned for the next couple days. I have a meeting with my advisor on Friday evening so I will hopefully find out about my tutorials then. I will keep you up to date on anything exciting!

All's Well That Ends Well

Well our travel week has come to an end, and I couldn't have asked for a better time! Ireland is truly a country full of nice people and interesting places. We went to Howth (pronounced Hoe-th). It's a little fishing village just to the northeast of Dublin. The views off of the cliffs were amazing! Elliot managed to convince me to climb down one to the beach below, and let me tell you it was no easy feat! I am afraid of heights (afraid from falling from them anyways) so I didn't particularly like the idea. It wasn't so much the going down as it was the coming back up. But I managed to get down and it was well worth the journey! It was absolutely beautiful! We got down and there were a few other people walking around on the little beach and we saw sealions! I have some good pics of them on the blog :) We met a dog named Buzzy, he was a black lab. We originally thought he was with the group that had gone down before us but they said that he wasn't theirs so he followed us around for a good part of the day. He would dig up rocks and then nudge them towards us so that we would throw them and play fetch! I must admit he was rather cute! He made me nervous because he would climb down on the cliff pretty far! Overall it was an amazing trip and if I have the chance I would definitely go back!

Today, before the flight, we went to the Dublin Zoo. It was a nice visit, not crowded by any means. We saw fighting rhinos, baby peacocks and tigers! There was a cute little tiger cub running about in the enclosures! I got some good pictures of the animals and it was a good way to spend the last day in Ireland. I had a great travel week and I still can't believe that Elliot and I are finally engaged! It seems like such a dream! I'm still walking on air :)

A rare occurence in Ireland

Well today we got to Ireland. The flight wasn't awful but people kept moving our bag from the overhead bin because the flight was so full. We landed in a little under an hour. The weather was actually nice for Ireland, considering they say it rains 99% of the time. We got to the hotel and checked in, it's very nice! We went into Dublin and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. We walked around for a bit and went into a casino/ arcade place.

We got a cab back home and then walked down to the Bay. My parents called as we were walking around to just check in and see how we were. After we hung up Elliot asked if I knew why they were calling and then got down on one knee and asked "Will you marry me?" It was perfect! I couldn't have asked for anything better! Not that it is the most important thing, but the ring is gorgeous! I am so lucky to be in love with someone so great.

It has been one of the best days I can remember :) I'm so excited!

Waiting!

So sorry I haven't posted in so long. It has been a week full of writing a paper and organizing a presentation. It went well and the paper has been handed it so it's nice to have that off my shoulders.

Elliot is now at the airport waiting to board his plane to come over! I'm so excited I can't wait :)

I cracked one of the door frames today with my elbow... Walking down the stairs there is a lip that I touch on the way down, it's above my head, and as I brought my arm down I nailed the door frame.... It still hurts :( On the bright side my cold has seemed to diminish in intensity, which I am oh so thankful for. My nose is a little sore from blowing it for the last 3 days but otherwise good. Well I'm going to try and read for a little bit then head to bed! Have a great weekend!

Busy, Busy, Sick

:sigh: Well today has not been the best day, but not the worst either. I was awaken this morning around 5AM to hear a very low flying plane. I ran to my window to see what was going on but couldn't see anything; it was very loud and kinda scary.

Today was the last day of lectures which was nice, the last several were done by the same lecturer and he was very animated so you could actually pay attention! Sometimes it's a little daunting trying to listen to people with a British accent talk, they talk quite quickly and sometimes use words you aren't familiar with. For example: when talking about consecutive years they don't say nineteen ninety-seven and ninety-eight, they just say nineteen ninety-seven eight. So that was hard to keep up with sometimes.

My paper is essentially finished, just adding a few bits in here and there. I'm already at 11 pages so I can't add too much into it. I'm not sure if there is a way of posting it on here without actually putting it in a post, but if I can I will so that you guys can read it (if you are bored or interested).

Now for the down side of my day. I woke up this morning feeling a little tired and my nose has been running like mad all day. I'm really not sure were this little cold came from, but of course it's here just in time for travel week, hooray! NOT!!! I'm drinking water like a fish (yes, I know fish don't actually drink water) to try and flush out my system so I won't be all snotty for travel week.

On the up side, I bought the season of House on Itunes and watched the season premiere! I'm so glad I can actually watch it while I'm here, sure I have to wait an extra day but it's well worth it!

That is where I will leave you for now. I am going to go rest and try to get rid of this cold. Have a great day!

Paper

Well good afternoon there! Today has been very busy for me. I had lectures this morning until about 12:30 and then we had a meeting with our group from GMU to discuss our presentation schedule for next week. I got home a little before 2 and have been working on research and my paper since! I have included what I have completed so far, any suggestions or questions can be directed to my e-mail address Jwinderw@gmail.com

It is no secret that September 11, 2009 profoundly impacted the world, not just New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. While the attacks took place in the United States of America, Western Europe too felt the pain of the events and would later experience their own terrorist attacks in 2004 in Madrid, Spain.[i]  The United Kingdom was not spared and dealt with terrorist attack in 2005.[ii] Consideration of public opinions towards the Muslim world is especially important in Europe, where roughly fifteen million Muslims live.[iii] The goal of this paper is to consider the terrorist attacks and the effects they had on people of Muslim faith. It will provide a background on terrorist events in both the United States and Europe in order to provide context for the claim that public sentiment towards Muslims did change after the various terror attacks carried out across the West. Public perceptions of Muslims have been affected by the terrorist attacks carried out across the West, the media portrayal of Muslims as extremists, the influx of Muslim immigrants into European countries and the United Kingdom, and the lack of Muslim integration within the areas they immigrate to.

            The events of September 11, 2001 took place in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.[iv] It was the deadliest attack by foreign terrorists on mainland United States.[v] Four different planes were hijacked that day, two were flown straight into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one crashed into the Pentagon just outside of Washington D.C. and the final plane crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attacked the hijackers.[vi]  It is not hard to imagine that such a horrific act would leave an impression upon the country assailed, but the world as a whole was dramatically affected by these events.

            Foreign terrorists did not spare Western Europe and the United Kingdom.  On March 11, 2004 commuter trains in Madrid, Spain were targeted by al-Qaeda. One hundred ninety-one people were killed and almost two thousand were injured.[vii] The attack on London, England occurred on July 7, 2005 and fifty-two people were killed.[viii] The attackers targeted the underground metro system as well as public transit buses.[ix] Each of these attacks gained international media coverage immediately.  The attacks occurred during an era of twenty-four hour, seven days a week news coverage channels such as CNN and Fox News. The attacks were visible across the world from the United States to Australia.[x] In the days and weeks following the events in the United States, the United Kingdom and Western Europe, Muslims were not yet targeted. The media focused all of their attention on the victims, the attacks themselves, and what the possible reasons for such actions were.  It did not take long, however, for the winds to shift and for the Muslim population around the world to become al-Qaeda’s scapegoat.

            According to a report publish in 2007 research conducted in one week’s news coverage found that ninety-one percent of articles in national newspapers about Muslims were negative.[xi] London’s Mayor, Ken Livingstone, called the findings a “damning indictment’ and went on to say “the overall picture presented by the media is that Islam is profoundly different from and a threat to the west.”[xii] It is clear that Muslims are not being justly represented in the media, and being unfairly categorized as a threat to Western society.  In the study only four percent of three hundred fifty two articles studied were positive.[xiii] The analysis showed that other world views or opinions were not mentioned in the articles and that facts were often simplified, distorted or exaggerated.[xiv] It is apparent that the media has had a extreme impact on the way the public views Muslims overall.

The negative light in which Muslims are cast has a profound affect upon local communities. Since the terrorist attacks across the West, Muslim youth feel that they are unfairly treated and are targeted by police.[xv] People frequently have the notion in their head that it is not possible to be both British and Muslim and this causes frustration for younger Muslims as well as for Muslims in general. This same report found that the dominant view is that there is no common ground between the West and Islam, and that conflict between them is accordingly inevitable.[xvi] Another finding listing in the executive summary of the report is that the tone of language used in the media if often emotive, immoderate, alarmist or abusive.[xvii] One of the most profound findings of the report was that the coverage is likely to provoke and increase feelings of insecurity, suspicion and anxiety amongst non-Muslims.[xviii]Taking the findings into account several recommendations for changing the way that Muslims are depicted in the media are suggested: creating a code of professional conduct and style guides about the use of certain terminology, recruit more journalists of Muslim heritage so that a more accurate account of the views of Muslim communities can be represented, and that the news organizations take complaints regarding distorted coverage of Islam and Muslims seriously.[xix] Another point of contention in the public’s perception of Muslims is the ever-increasing immigration of Muslims into the United Kingdom and Western Europe.

In the period following the September 11^th attacks on the United States, Americans were introduced to different versions of Islam, one that was peaceful and one that appeared to be violent in nature.[xx] The violent image came about thanks to media coverage, which showed responses to the attacks in Islamic countries. News stations broadcast images of Palestinians cheering and celebrating the attacks on the United States.[xxi] These images in and of themselves were enough for people to form a negative opinion of Islam and Muslims. But news stations, perhaps unknowingly, took it one step farther. Images of Palestinian suicide bombers targeting civilians were plastered all over the international news community.[xxii]Even Amnesty International added to the problem by, time after time, highlighting human rights violations committed by Islamic governments.[xxiii]It is this continuous stream of negative images and depictions of Islam and Muslims in general that reinforce the stigma of Muslim citizens.

The media plays a significant role in aiding public opinions about Muslims but it is what the media is reporting about Muslims that has a profound impact on attitudes. One of the many “concerns” people have about Muslims in Europe is their rate of immigration.  The rate of intercontinental immigration, as of recent, is unheard of and is extremely unpopular with Europeans.[xxiv]Most people would agree that it is not an easy task to integrate a dissimilar culture into European life, but it seems that Islam is presenting the most critical problems with the transition.[xxv] It is a point of debate whether or not immigration is an important function to the structural or economic wellbeing of Europe, but if it is, the people most likely to come will be from Europe’s southern and southeastern Muslim perimeter.[xxvi]

Worries about immigrants and their children have risen to the surface since September 11^th.[xxvii] People see Muslim immigrants as a threat to their way of life and the culture they are used to. Just 19 percent of Europeans believe that immigration has been good for their countries.[xxviii]And roughly 57 percent say that their countries have “too many foreigners.”[xxix]When asked whether their country had too many immigrants 73 percent of French people said yes, as did 69 percent of British people.[xxx]The unease that many native Europeans feel  towards Muslim immigrants has been aided by the consistently negative media coverage of Islam along with general misconceptions of Islamic culture.  

Migration into Europe from elsewhere has reached staggering levels recently, with roughly 1.7 million new arrivals each year.[xxxi]Halfway through the 20th century, there was a very limited number of Muslims in Western Europe. However, by the beginning of the 21^st  century there were between 15 and 17 million Muslims living in Western Europe.[xxxii]France boasts the greatest number of Muslims at 5 million, Germany falls short with 4 million and only 2 million inhabit Britain.[xxxiii]Unlike many other immigrants round the world, Muslims have broken- or requested adjustments and changes to- a large number of European customs, ideals, and state structures with which they have dealings.[xxxiv] This causes quandary amongst natives because they often feel that their liberties, which they misconstrue as rights, are being taken from them. For example: in the last decade observation of radical imams and mosques has been increased. This is often censured because it is seen as watching people simply because they are Muslim. What this complaint and increased surveillance may lead to is improved study of everyone.[xxxv]

---

[i] BBC News. ”Timeline: Madrid Investigation.” 28 April 2004 .

[ii] BBC News. “London rocked by terror attacks.” 7 July 2005 .

[iii] Sen, Faruk. “Europe and Islam after 9/11.” 15 October 2006. Turk of America

[iv] Paul S. Boyer. "September 11, 2001." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 16 Sep. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

[v] Paul S. Boyer. "September 11, 2001." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 16 Sep. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

[vi] Paul S. Boyer. "September 11, 2001." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 16 Sep. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

[vii] BBC News. “Timeline: Madrid investigation.” 28 April 2004 .

[viii] BBC News. “London Attacks.” 8 July 2008 .

[ix] BBC News. “London Attacks.” 8 July 2008 .

[x] McNair, Brian. “UK Media Coverage of September 11.” Marquette Books LLC. 16 September 2009.

[xi] “Study shows ‘demonization’ of Muslims.” The Guardian. 14 November 2007.

< http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/14/pressandpublishing.religion>.

[xii] Study shows ‘demonization’ of Muslims.” The Guardian. 14 November 2007.

< http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/14/pressandpublishing.religion>.

[xiii] “91% of articles in newspapers about Muslims are negative.” 14 November 2007.< http://www.socialdailynews.com/2007/11/91-of-articles-in-newspapers-about-muslims-are-negative/>.

[xiv] “91% of articles in newspapers about Muslims are negative.” 14 November 2007.< http://www.socialdailynews.com/2007/11/91-of-articles-in-newspapers-about-muslims-are-negative/>.

[xv] http://tvnz.co.nz/content/2960882

[xvi] Common Ground Report p. xiii

[xvii] Common Ground Report p. xiv

[xviii] Common Ground Report p. xiv

[xix] Common Ground Report p. xv

[xx] Brown, William. and Welch, Shyla. "Post-September 11th Perceptions of Islam and the Spiral of Silence" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, New Orleans Sheraton, New Orleans, LA, May 27, 2004 . 2009-05-26

[xxi] Brown, William. and Welch, Shyla. "Post-September 11th Perceptions of Islam and the Spiral of Silence" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, New Orleans Sheraton, New Orleans, LA, May 27, 2004 . 2009-05-26

[xxii] Brown, William. and Welch, Shyla. "Post-September 11th Perceptions of Islam and the Spiral of Silence" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, New Orleans Sheraton, New Orleans, LA, May 27, 2004 . 2009-05-26

[xxiii] Brown, William. and Welch, Shyla. "Post-September 11th Perceptions of Islam and the Spiral of Silence" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, New Orleans Sheraton, New Orleans, LA, May 27, 2004 . 2009-05-26

[xxiv] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 10

[xxv] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 10

[xxvi] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 10

[xxvii] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 12

[xxviii] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 12

[xxix] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 12

[xxx] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 12

[xxxi] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 10

[xxxii] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 10

[xxxiii] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 10

[xxxiv] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 11

[xxxv] Caldwell, Christopher. “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.” P. 11

Mac N Cheese!!!

First of all: THANK YOU DAD FOR MY AWESOME CARE PACKAGE! I am so glad to have some Mac'n'cheese!

Today was less than spectacular. We were forced to go to Hampton Court Palace. Don't get me wrong it was nice but there was no need to keep us there from 10:30AM-4PM. The palace was NOT that big! We got our student access badges and we were all excited to go to the garden maze.. oh but wait, even with our student badges we would have to pay to go through the maze!!!

The best part of the day was going to a restaurant and getting Irish mussels which were awesomely delicious! Other than that I took some good photos and walked around a lot.

Well not much to say and I have to get on to writing my paper and doing some more research! Not sure if I mentioned what it is... Public perception of Muslims in the UK and Western Europe since 2001. I figured I could expound upon that for my honors thesis this spring as well. Have a great night!

Hampton Court

Let's see: today we are going to Hampton Court Palace for the entire day. I'm not sure how big it is but it seems to be a very long trip just to see a palace. Other than that I'm not too sure how much time I will have to update in the next few days, I have a massive research paper to work on and 1 page reflections for each lecture (of which there are still 12 more). So you will have to excuse me if I don't post another blog for a couple days.

Other than that there isn't too much going on. It was one girl's birthday last night so we may do a little party on Friday night to celebrate. Other than that not too much to report, yesterday was pretty cloudy for most of the day but no rain thankfully. I bought a college sweatshirt and 2 t-shirts :) I hope everyone is doing well, enjoy the rest of the work week!

The Aftermath

Good afternoon! Well this weekend was rather eventful! Our bus broke down on the way to London so we had to wait for one to come pick us up. We finally got there and only had a few moments to unpack and rest, then it was off to the Imperial War Museum. It was pretty interesting, but mostly depressing because it was all about war..(I think that was rather obvious given the name of the museum). After that we went down to the National Theater and saw a play called Pitmen Painters. It was really funny and definitely enjoyable. A couple of us walked under the London Eye (the giant ferris wheel) and past Big Ben! Everything looks amazing at night! Unfortunately my camera didn't want to cooperate so some of the pictures came out blurry, but for the most part they look pretty cool!

Saturday we woke up and had breakfast and then went to Wesminster Abbey. It was gorgeous! But I don't think it was worth the £12 I paid to get in. I couldn't even take pictures! Then we walked to Trafalgar Square which was really interesting. They have a giant column that artsy people get on and do random performances and skits. The lady when we were there was wearing a toilet seat around her neck... weird! We all separated to get lunch after that and our lunch took too long so we missed the British Museum. Then we had free time and we did a little shopping and A LOT of walking around. We went back to the hostel to rest before our group dinner. After dinner a few of us went out and got back a little later than expected. It wasn't the best experience I've ever had, but I guess it could have been worse.

Sunday we all met for breakfast and then went to the Tower of London. We saw the crown jewels which was pretty awesome. Then we were supposed to meet at the bus station at 3PM but some people were late so we had to wait. Unfortunately our bus was extremely late because of some kind of protest that was blocking the road to the station. We got back around 6PM last night, I'm not positive I was so tired.

So on the agenda for today: write papers, papers and more papers... and do laundry. I told everyone this morning that I would like to use it this afternoon and guess what.. someone is using the washing machine.. grrr. Well it's time to write papers! Check out the pictures on the photobucket website!!!

NFL @ Wembley

OK, update! Once I got on the bus Heather and I proceeded to purchase tickets for the NFL game between the PATRIOTS and the Buccaneers @ Wembley stadium on Oct. 25!!!!!!! So excited! We are sitting behind one of the endzones! I can't believe I'm going to see my first NFL game in the UK!

London Weekend

Hello! Sorry it's taken so long to get another post up! Yesterday wasn't a very busy day, we got to sleep in because our tour of the Natural History Museum wasn't until 2:30PM. We all got together and had a snack at The Four Candles. I introduced everyone to this wonderful waffle dessert they have there. Basically it's made up of 1/2 of a Belgian waffle, Belgian chocolate sauce, and 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream! It is sooooo--> good! After that we walked to the museum and found out that our "tour guide" had left. They eventually got us a different one but it wasn't really even a tour. They just told us a little background on the museum and that was it. I'm not too sure what the point of the whole visit was; I felt like I was in the 5th grade again visiting a museum like that and then having to write a paper about it.

Anyways, we are off to London today for the weekend. Here's what we have in store: the bus ride to London (about 1 1/2 hours), a tour of the Imperial War Museum and a play at the National Theatre (Pitmen Painters). For tomorrow we have breakfast at our lodgings, tour of Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, British Museum to see Elgin Marbles, at 2:30PM we have free time and then dinner at some Thai Restaurant. Finally Sunday we are going to tour the Tower of London and then head back to Oxford that afternoon. I hope that gave you some idea of what I'll be doing this weekend. I'm not sure if we will have internet access while I'm there but I'm not counting on it so I may not be able to update until Sunday afternoon or evening.

I hope everyone is well and that things are running smoothly at home, work or school. Today I ask you all a favor: Take just a moment of your day to remember those lost during the September 11th attacks. It has been 8 years since the day that our country was shaken to the core and although time has passed we must never forget what happened that day.

Slow Day

Today wasn't too eventful. I went to my lectures, one of which was canceled. It was rather interesting and though provoking though. It was about John Locke and John Stuart and moral philosophy. It really made me think! :) Afterwards I went back to the house and wrote a paper for every lecture we've had so far. So I didn't do too much today.

The weather today was great, sunny most of the day and warm enough to open the windows without freezing. I spent a lot of the day researching plans for travel week. Elliot will be coming to visit on the 26th so I think we will stay in London the day he gets here and then head to Ireland on the 27th, stay there until the 29th and then stay in Oxford the night of the 29th until he leaves on the 30th. The 26th and the 30th are still up in the air a little bit but Ireland is booked! :) I'm so excited!

Other than that it looks to be a quiet night for me. Tomorrow I have the last 2 lectures for the week. Thursday we have a field trip to the Natural History Museum and then off to London on Friday. Wishing you all the best!

St. Gile's Fair, Lectures, & Groceries

Today was the first day of lectures. I was expecting it to be rather dull but the 2 lectures went by rather quickly and the content was rather riveting. The first one was an overview of the British education system, which seems like it would be an interesting topic to write my research paper on. They have what is called a National Curriculum which basically tells each teacher when, how and what subject to teach. It's quite a novel idea actually. The lecturer today used to be an Oxford don (teacher) previously, but now she is head director of one of the colleges. She has made us all very anxious by telling us that she can count on 2 hands the number of alphas she has given out in 22 years of teaching. Alphas are A's, just for your reference. All this is quite unnerving for those of us who are trying to maintain a GPA for when we graduate, but I guess we will see at the end of term.

After that I came back to the house and waited for my groceries to arrive. Yes, I ordered my groceries online. It was extremely convenient and the delivery fee wasn't too taxing.

This afternoon a bunch of us went to the St. Gile's fair together. They shut down a pretty major road to hold the fair, I believe it lasts until tomorrow evening. Apparently at fairs they have American Donuts, which I'm guessing is our equivalent to funnel cake. And cotton candy is called candy floss here, which in my opinion is just some way of making it sound more hygienic (doesn't work). They had the typical fish and chip stands, along with hot dogs and hamburgers. I'm not sure that the rides are terribly safe considering smoke jets out of them after every use. I think that 75% of Oxford's overall pollution probably comes from this fair.. it's rather nasty.

All in all another enjoyable day. I think my excitement is starting to die down now and I'm really getting comfortable moving about the city. Tomorrow a couple more lectures and then some paper writing. Until then!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Here it is going on 12:30PM and I have been lazing around the flat for the morning. On tap for today: 1) editing and revising my paper due tomorrow 2) mentally preparing for lectures, which start tomorrow 3) Video chat date with Elliot  4) checking out the setting up of St. Giles fair which begins tomorrow and 5) thinking up a topic to use for my 10-12 page research paper due at the end of the month. So far I'm thinking that I might do some kind of comparison between the threats of terrorism in the US and either Europe or the UK, depending upon how specific our professor wants us to be. We are supposed to use the lecture topics as a reference and the terrorism one is near the end of the series.

Last night was rather fun, the play was hysterical. It's called the 12th Night and for those of you who have seen the movie "She's the man," that was taken from the main premise of the play. It was outside in a little amphitheater which was rather chilly but all in all quite enjoyable. I actually got overcharged for my dinner and had to return to the register to ask for my money back (she had charge me £6.95 when someone else from our group got the same thing and only paid £4). I ordered my hot chocolate to be ready for interval (intermission) but by the time I got down there my drink had been nicked (stolen). I then had to cut the queue (line) to talk to the servers, one of which had been the lady at the register previously. One woman told me that a drink has never been nicked in the 2 months they have been doing this and that she would not give me a drink. The lady that had helped me prior said that she would get it for me. In the process of all this I managed to walk past a gentlemen with two coffees in hand, who for whatever reason had decided not to top them, and I accidentally bumped him to which he responded with a kind of huffing and mumbling grumble of disapproval.

After the play most of the group decided to meet a few others at The Eagle and Child, a pub that once served as a hangout for J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. I had a strawberry and pear cider which was rather good. So all in all it was a good night. I must now be off to revising my paper now. Wishing everyone well!

Resting My Feet

It's about 4:05PM here in Oxford, which means it is about 11AM for those of you in the states. After 8 hours of walking yesterday I decided to keep my walking to a minimum today. The morning started out rather sunny and nice, but it has quickly turned to overcast skies with a slight drizzle. Overall my time in Oxford has been enjoyable thus far, people are friendly and the town is lovely. And good news! We found out today that our washer is in fact a dryer as well! So I don't actually have to hang my linens on the line and hope like hell it doesn't rain!!!

I did my second bout of grocery shopping today: online! Yes, you can order your groceries online and have them delivered to your door step! My goods will be delivered on Monday between 2-3PM. This is quite a novel idea and I'm not sure why we don't have such a thing in the states, but I can only guess that it is because we don't have such little towns.

I don't have anything really planned for the weekend, other than going to a play tonight that is held on the roof of the Saïd Business School. If you visit http://www.creationtheatre.co.uk/
you will be able to see the location of the play and learn a little about the company. If it rains they will hold it indoors but otherwise it's outside! How cool?!

I must confess that I am a little homesick, but I feel much better now that I have internet and phone access. Lectures are Monday-Thursday, with an odd field trip thrown in during the week. We head to London for the weekend on Sept.11th and I'm excited to explore the city!

I hope everyone is having a great work/school week! Thanks for all the well wishes and I can't wait to hear from everyone! Cheers!