Bath vs London Wasps

A few Saturday's ago a few friends and I went to a real, live, professional rugby game! We had awesome seats and it was so much fun! Before hand we met at the Huntsman, the pub next to my house. It was 1 o'clock in the afternoon and it was PACKED. And thats what every pub is like on game day.  Its such a fun culture, and there are people of all ages there. We actually saw Andrew, our internship coordinator/mentor there!

Outside of the Huntsman...the inside was just as packed!

We then went to the game..our seats were 3 rows from the field so we had great seats!! I sat with one of the student helpers from Bath University and he helped me with the rules of the game.  I knew some but not all and it was really interesting how they look at it as American football but for real men. 

The Scrum :) 

Marie, Fiona, and I 

Marie, Charlie, and I 

It was so much fun and definitely a cultural experience in England.  They do love their sports, especially 'football' and rugby! 

Keep Calm and Support Bath! 

10 Years

Last night a few friends and I went out for dinner at a local restaurant/pub called Beau Nash for a burger/drink deal.  It was the first night all of us had been out together in a long time and it was so nice to just be out together having a great time.  We got talking, and someone mentioned how 10 years ago we would have never in a million years imagined ourselves in this situation.  Living with people we did not know existed before our program, seeing places so foreign that they seemed worlds away.  Learning and growing in every encounter we have.  Where will we be in 10 years? Will we still be friends? Will all of this be just a distant memory? I would like to hope that this experience will live on with me forever, and the friendships and relationships I make will last a lifetime.  But you never really know do you? In these last 10 years I have grown so much. Heck, in these last 10 days I have grown.  What will the next 10 years bring?

Keep Calm and Think Deep Thoughts

The Dreary and Melancholy Life of Papers...

So its about that time again...paper week.  It always seems to sneak up when you least expect it.  This week I had 3 papers due...two on monday and one tomorrow (thursday).  My two on monday were for my education class and my history of the middle ages class.  I thoroughly enjoyed writing my education paper (I'm not being sarcastic I promise) because it was on the effect of bullying in schools, comparing the UK to the global community and what we can do as teachers to eradicate bullying.  This is an issue I am passionate about, hence why I enjoyed writing it.  My History of the Middle Ages paper, however, was less exciting.  It was on the change in English economy throughout the middle ages.  Riveting, I know.  Those two are done, however, and now it is on to writing about Elizabeth I, which isn't so bad.

Yesterday (Tuesday), I went to Hayesfield, per usual, and first period, I gave a talk to Year 13's (the equivalent of seniors in high school) on Civil Rights in America, from an American perspective.  I talked mostly about how we learn (or don't learn) about civil rights in our school, and the impact in society today. I really think they enjoyed it and I was thankful that they participated in the lesson and asked me questions and it was not just me standing up there lecturing.  I was really nervous, mostly because of our closeness in age and they are quite intimidating, but my cooperating teacher kept telling me how great it was and that the students really quite enjoyed it.

Next Tuesday I will be doing a starter activity with my Year 7's on witchcraft, and my teacher told me I could do anything so I might do Salem witch trials since their curriculum only covers witchcraft in England.  I am also doing a Year 10 history class on Georgian Bath and a timeline activity. I am nervous because that is the class Andrew, our placement coordinator, will be sitting in on! Wish me luck!

Keep Calm and Survive Paper Week

And At Once I Knew I Was Not Magnificent

So it's my spring break and I am spending it in Thonon les Bains, France with my housemate, Marie.  Her parents are French and are living in France for a while, so I am spending break at her house.  We flew into Geneva Friday morning, and the view of the alps was absolutely stunning.  It did not look real. Thonon is 45 minutes from Geneva, and located smack in the middle of Lake Geneva, with the Swiss Alps to the left and the French Alps to the right.

Saturday, we went to Mount Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe.  It was an hour away from Thonon, and the view on the way to the mountain was absolutely stunning.

a picture I took from the car 

When we got to Mount Blanc, we walked around the city, Chamonix, and found an outdoor market, filled with clothes, jewelry, shoes, and food, especially the cheese.  Before coming to Europe, I liked cheese to an extent, but rarely ate it.  But the cheese in France, oh my the cheese. 

only one of the many, many cheese stands 

We wandered around the market, and then decided to get lunch.  We ate outside at one of the many restaurants since it was so sunny and warm.  Since skiing is an option at any of the many mountains surrounding Mount Blanc, there were people in all their ski wear and then there were other people like us, in shorts and tee shirts.  It was spring skiing at is finest. For lunch, I got French Onion Soup, a choice I deemed appropriate.  

In Chamonix with Mount Blanc behind me 

After lunch, we took a train that took us up to see the glacier that runs in between Mount Blanc.  We were going to such a high altitude the train took 20 minutes.  When we got up there, the view was absolutely spectacular. While we weren't quite on Mount Blanc, the view was still amazing.  In fact, we were only half way to the peak of Mount Blanc. 

By the Glacier 

After we got back from traversing up the mountain, we got a delicacy I like to call Nutella Icecream. Gods gift to the world. 

It was an amazing, unforgettable day. 

Keep Calm and Eat Lots of Cheese

ps. If your curious about the title of this post, its from the song Holocene by Bon Iver. I highly suggest you take a listen. 

Blenheim Palace: My Summer Home

The day we left Oxford we made a pit stop at Blenheim Palace where the Duke and Dutchess of Marlborough take up residence.  How anyone can live in this place is beyond me. It is honestly one of the most magnificent places I've seen; although I have not seen many palaces in my day, this one takes the cake. 

We started off the day by taking a tour of the palace.  It turns out Winston Churchills grandmother was a duchess of Marlborough, so he spent much of his time at Blenheim and they essentially have a shrine to him, including things from his childhood garments to his letters when he was older to a photo timeline.  The rooms were amazing, and its strange to think that people actually live there. I wish I could have taken a picture (cameras were not allowed inside the actual palace) but there was a dining room that was painted in an almost 3d style and the ceiling looked to be domeshaped when it was actually flat.

After our tour of the palace, we took a train to some of the gardens of the palace, including a butterfly garden and a maze!

We got lunch at a deli and took it to sit in the palace gardens.

My friends and I eating lunch on the palace steps

Finally, we ended the day walking the palace grounds and soaking everything in.  We even found a sheep farm (we all know my mild obsession with sheep.) 

 with all the sheep!

In front of the palace 

Keep Calm and Summer in a Palace 

Sometimes I Study at Uni

I thought abroad could not get any better; then we went to Oxford for the week. Something I didn't know about Oxford is the fact that there is no "Oxford University". We studied at University College but there 38 colleges within the university.  We arrived on a wet, cold Saturday morning, departing Bath around 930 and arriving in Oxford at 11:30. We got our room allocations and were able to settle in, followed by a few housekeeping points from the staff in the JCR, which is the student lounge. After a logistical orientation, we ate lunch in their "Buttery", the cafeteria. This was followed by a welcome and introduction by Dr. Mike Nicholson, a Fellow and Praelector in Russian. He was a funny fellow and constantly made jokes about the "ghosts of Oxford", which none of my housemates or I found very funny (we are convinced our house is haunted; it doesn't help we watched paranormal activity).

The ASE staff then split us up into 3 groups based on our houses (back in Bath).  Two groups went on tours of Oxford then, and the other group had to wait an hour and a half; my house plus our good friends in Nunes Flats had to wait an hour and a half until our tour. Since it was Saint Patricks Day, we thought it only appropriate to get an Irish Coffee.  We went to a bar down the street and enjoyed our Bailey's Latte while we waited for our tour. The tour only lasted about half an hour and Lindsay, the sort of director of student life, gave us great pointers of restaurants, cafes, and shops that are popular amongst the Oxford students so we would hopefully mingle with other students.

That night, my friends and I enjoyed a lovely guinness and fish and chips dinner at the Eagle and Child, a famous pub in Oxford where J.R.R Tolkien and C.S Lewis used to dine, drink, and write! It was delicious, and we instantly felt smarter.

Sunday morning, a few friends and I decided to attend mass at Christ Church, another college in Oxford right next to University College.  We enjoyed the mass, however, my favorite part was the chorale.  It was a 50 boys/men choir and they were absolutely amazing.  Some of the boys could not be more than 11 years old (purposefully, so they can get the high notes that soprano women like myself can hit) but their tone and level of ability was stunning.  It was also Mothering Sunday, Englands Mothers Day, so at the end we all got flowers as we proceeded out.

A few friends and I after Mass at Christ Church

That afternoon was surely an interesting one. We went punting to test our skills at maneuvering a flat-bottomed boat along the river with only a long metal pole to assist us.

Let our terrified faces tell the story. 

Monday, one of my classes took us to Oxford Castle, which is now really just a tower, but a historical tower! It was mostly used during the Norman Occupation, but also used as a prison later on, especially during the Civil war in the 17th Century.

On top of Oxford Castle

Monday night, we had a talk by Dr. Leslie Mitchell, a renown historian.  He gave us a talk on "bloody Oxford", and highlighted the rivalry between townie and academia life in Oxford, from the foundation of the university in the 13th century even up until now.  It was a highly humous and informative talk, but right as we were applauding him, the lights went out. We thought it was a gliche, but the power ended up staying off for 5 hours! 

Wednesday, we took a tour of Christ Church, the college, and it turns out that Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone was filmed there! The scene where Professor McGonnagal greets the First Years to take them to sorting takes place on their staircase.  They also got the idea for the Great Hall at Christ Church.

Later that night, we ate dinner at the Turf Tavern, the infamous spot where Bill Clinton "didn't inhale." We got to eat outside on picknick benches because it was so warm out! 

Finally, Thursday, our last full day in Oxford, Fiona and I went to the Bodleian Library to see official manuscripts of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Lewis, Shelley...you name it, we probably saw it. It was amazing. The afternoon was filled with a Civil War walk, led by my favorite professor.  After, we went to the Ashmoleon museum, then had drinks on the roof.

 inside the ashmolean

 one of the European Art rooms 

Having a drink on the roof! 

That night, we had a smart dinner with our tutors and staff.  We had to "dress smartly" as they often emphasized, and it was an amazing dinner.  The wooden tables were covered with white table cloths, candle sticks, all the silverware a person could ever need (I finally figured out which fork to start with) and bottles of wine flowing.  Our 1st course was a goat cheese and pesto salad; the main, free range chicken with tomatoes and beens; finally a caramel coffee mousse.  I cannot explain how delicious it was. 

Sorry for the lengthy post but it was an eventful week....and thats not even all of it! Keep your eyes posted for a post on my summer shack, Blenheim Palace. 

Keep Calm and Drink a Cup of Tea (Or Five) 

The Cotswolds!

Last Friday we went to the Cotswolds, sometimes referred to as the Heart of England, and for good reason.  The rolling green hills matched with the stone architecture of the buildings is a perfect combination.  On our trip, our first destination was Broadway Tower, designed in 1794.  We climbed countless stairwells to finally get to the top, but when we did it looked a little something like this

In front of the Tower! 

 So many sheep farms! 

 Me on the top of Broadway Tower

From the top, you can see 4 counties! 

After we finished exploring the top of Broadway Tower, we walked a mile and half to the center of town.  It was overcast and it had rained a few days before so the walk was a bit muddy. We walked all downhill through fields and the terrain was often tricky to maneuver, but we digressed. 

Frolicking through the countryside on the walk down to the village

Once we finally reached the village, we had to walk another 3/4 of a mile to get to the bus, but the walk was amazing. There were so many cottages made of limestone with fences and gardens and it was so picturesque.  Since we had a fairly strict time schedule, we could not wander around the cotswolds but we did walk through the whole village so we got to see all of the beautiful houses. 

After we took a short busride, we arrived in Bourbon-on-Water for an hour of lunch and exploring.  We were very hungry, so we wanted to go to a small cafe that was not too mainstream so we would not have to wait long, and we found a perfect place.  It was called the Windrush Cafe and it was so beautiful we actually got to eat outside. It was honestly one of the nicest days we've had. And people told me I wouldn't see sun for 4 months, psh.

Fiona, Emily, and I at lunch!

After lunch, we went and sat on the river across the street from the cafe. 

Kate, Me and Emily just hanging out in the River 

Our last stop on our Cotswolds trip was to a garden to see the snowdrop flowers. I felt like I was in the secret garden and we got to explore for 2 hours. The latter half of that, however, was spent in a cafe drinking tea and eating cakes, which was fine with me. 

It was a wonderful trip, and I truly can appreciate why the Cotswolds are known as the heart of England.  Everything was so beautiful and rustic and the rolling hills and farms were just amazing. 

Keep Calm and Pet a Sheep