THE END

I have made it back to Texas and have been here for a few months. Looking back at my entire Oxford experience, I say with absolute certainty that it was the most amazing journey I have ever had. I feel that I have learned and taken on so much and I feel prepared for a new chapter in my life. I want to thank everyone who has followed me on this journey. I have enjoyed keeping a blog and strongly encourage others  to do the same. It has been rewarding on several levels. CHEERS!

THE END

Easter Break! Berlin, France, and London

Not even sure where to start. I have done and experienced so much. I started my 6 weeks break with a week in France, a week in Berlin, and the rest in Texas. I choose to go back to Texas because it was so much cheaper. I was spending too much money too fast while roaming the world and needed to recharge. In Texas that is exactly what I did. I spend about three week putting in sprinkler systems with my dad and made a nice sum of money doing it. I got to see my family and friends and it really helped with the home sickness. I don’t think it could have worked out better. But enough about Texas what is of interest here is Paris and Berlin. I will first mention the short day and a half that I was in London. I have already talked about London a lot so I will keep this short. The post in general will be kept short but I will attach a lot of pictures.

London – I stayed in my first hostel this night. A hostel rents out beds instead of rooms. Therefore, I stayed in the same room with 5 complete strangers. They were not strangers for long. We all ended up touring London together and had a blast. They were from Belgium. Here are a few pictures of us touring a museum:

Paris – It’s going to take some effort to make this short. Paris was very busy and very beautiful. One thing I could not help but notice is how it was not as clean as London. The tourist parts were clean but the normal city streets were not as clean. The city also seemed larger than London. I felt like an ant while I was there with tall buildings everywhere I went. A great place to visit! A whole week and I still did not have enough time to see all the incredible sights. Here are some of my hundreds of pictures:

Caption: I took this because I was so surprised at how these building were so big and in                                              every direction for miles!

                             Caption: I was trying to put it on my back... it was not as good as I hoped

 Caption: I asked an elderly man to take a picture of me. I guess he did not like the tower because he cut half of it out of the picture...

                                 Caption: Look at the small windy roads... just like the movies.

Berlin – This was my favorite! Berlin was a big city that felt like a small town. It was not too busy and full of small shops. I knew a girl from Berlin and stayed with her and her mom. Her friends were very nice and I had no problem fitting in. The entire place seemed very inviting. Unlike Paris, where I felt more or less excluded. I got to experience the German lifestyle in a home and this may had been what made it so special. The girl, her grandmother, and dad would all yell at each other from across the street. They all lived so close and seemed like such a close family. I got to see all sorts of things! Here are some pics:

     Caption: These first two photos are representative of a Berlin BBQ... I found this very amusing...

                                 Caption: Breakfast that was made when I woke up every morning.

                                                           Caption: Can you find me?

 Caption: They were giving a show because they were electing a new president. See next photo as well.

                                        Caption: This was the kind girl that let me stay with her.

                                                                      Caption: ZOO

                                                      Caption: About to get on a tour boat.

I am now back at Oxford and it feels much more like home. I think I really needed that break and time back in Texas. I have joined the American Football team, which has been a blast! I hope to get at least two more posts up by the end of my time here. Thanks for following my journey. I hope you have enjoyed it! I sure have!

Only On the Weekend!

A typical weekend is the most random part of my stay here at Oxford. There is a lot to see and do and every weekend holds doing something different. In thinking about the structure of this post I could not help but crunch a few numbers. I have had 6 total weekends at Oxford so far, 2 of which were spent studying endlessly in my room trying to meet deadlines for school work. That leaves only 4 weekends to talk about. Rather than giving a breakdown of each weekend I will talk about what is similar between them and then talk about some of the different things I have done. I will not cover the trips in much detail (that could become a book). However, I will include many pictures.

My weekends do hold several similarities. I have only slept in my room over the weekends. That is to say, I have not stayed anywhere overnight. I mostly sleep in on the weekends probably more than I should and I always have to eat off campus. I almost always have things planned two or three days before the weekend starts. A large group of us have started our own private Facebook page and we come up with ideas and events for the weekend throughout the week. The only other similar things I can think of is how I brush my teeth and take a shower every weekend (this is important, after all!!).

Some of the events I have done include going to a London (I have done this several times). London is a big city (as you probably have guessed ;) ) and there is a ton of stuff to do. We are poor college students and therefore going to London means taking no transportation while there. This means, when I think of London I think of a full day of walking (very different from home). We go and see museums, art exhibits, and plays. We stop and eat at random restaurants and pubs. O and yes we go and see all the “tourist” sites as well.

In addition I have explored around Oxford. It has its fair share of museums and sights. I have gone to a Cabaret and have even adventured off to Stonehenge. So you may be wondering what I am doing this weekend? Well, I get kicked out of my dorm this Saturday for a 6-week break. I will be staying in London for a day (I am really going to know this city by the end of all this) and then I will head to Paris and Berlin. I will try to keep up with a blog but I will have no computer with me. I will be returning to Oxford mid-April to continue another 8 exciting weekends. Here are some pictures, I have included a few captions:


The next 14 pictures where taken in London

Caption: We started the day at 5am and this is the first picture of a street in London

Caption: This huge building was a hotel! It was located in central London

Caption: This (and the next 2 photos) is a train station in London that is the basis of the Harry Potter train station in the movies (we found the stop to Hogwarts)

Caption: This was a museum. We did not get to spend long here but it was really cool (The next two photos are from the inside)

The next six photos are "tourist" spots in central London

The next three photos are of Stonehenge

Caption: The fields were just amazing, pictures do not do it justice.

Caption: Notice how the floors are numbered differently. In the US if there is a "ground" the next floor is 2nd. Here it goes Ground, 1st, 2nd.... This has caused me to go to the wrong floor at least ten times.

Caption: Look at the Flowers! There are even more now. This was taken about 2 weeks ago.

Caption: This was taken right after the Cabaret in Oxford. They did not allow pictures inside the building. If you look close you will see that I am all dressed up. Everyone dresses up all the time.