Only 6 days till I fly home and 1 week till family camp =) I am struggling with all the mixed feelings of loving Oxford, but also being so ready to be home. This has been so incredible and I can't believe its ending. We wrap up and I say goodbye to everyone on friday ='( But, I cannot wait to go home! So I thought I'd share just a few things that I love about both.

Things I will miss:

• being surrounded by old, beautiful things--the streets, the buildings, the books, etc
• my kindred spirit, Kristina =')
• british accents
• the new building quad at Magdalen and my tree
• Jane Austen discussions
• Bus reader boards
• Stephanie Downing, one of the funniest, most amazing people I know--please move to Bellevue =)
• Magdalen's dining hall
• going places connected to so many favorite authors
• Radcliffe Camera! All of the Bodleian, but especially the Radcliffe
• having a Bod card
• nerding out all the time with good friends
• English gardens
• earl grey
• culture that was made for me: plays, bookshops, the Ashmolean Museum
• amazing Magdalen hot chocolate every morning for breakfast
• pedantic breakfast conversations

Things I can't wait for:

• my family
• Ross and Ida
• Mexican food
• late night Starbucks
• late night anything!
• my own bed and shower
• driving!!
• Kirkland waterfront (especially now that Jaunita Beach has reopened)
• talking to my parents whenever
• family movie nights
• being able to plug more than one thing in at a time
• pay checks
• redoing my room with Sarah
• Wednesday farmer's market
• family camp and friends =)

*please note that these lists are not nearly comprehensive, just a few on the top of my head

"I am not afraid of you," said he smilingly.

- Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice

So I got my book list for fall quarter and, while there will be a lot of reading, I am very happy.

Most exciting are the books for my class on the novel:

- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (I've been wanting to read this for a while)

- Hard Times by Charles Dickens (which I've read and loved)

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (also read)

- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (another I've wanted to read)

So, at least in that class, it should be a quarter of loveliness!

Jane Eyre has been on my mind a lot lately. I watched An Education this weekend, which incorporates a lot from Jane Eyre. Then my good friend Stephanie shared this proposal story with me. They are both really good friends of Stephanie's and they have the cutest story. Warning, you may want tissues:

The Date

7/30/2011

How we got engaged

The couple went to see the film Jane Eyre (based off of Charlote Bronte's novel of the same name) earlier in the year, and Leslie thought it would be a nice summer read. It had taken her forever, but dear Mike had heard her talk about best parts for hours on end, and listened to her quote the most amazing lines. Friday, July 29, Leslie finished reading it and felt incredibly accomplished

Saturday the 30th the couple worked out and then went their separate ways. A friend of theirs was in town, and so for the first time in a month Leslie was not expecting anything to happen. As far as she knew, she would be in her pajamas all day until the boys were hungry.

Leslie had mentioned earlier that she needed some milk and after texting Mike with, "I'm bored." after four hours of mindless facebooking, Mike said he would come pick her up. She proceeded to get ready, expecting nothing, and walked into her kitchen to see his car in the driveway. She lives in a renovated attic and has a stunning deck overlooking the backyard with wood steps. Leslie walked out on the deck, and noticed he wasn't getting out of the car.

She walked down the stairs and met him halfway (now, dear reader, imagine the sun shining on a summer's day at approximately 5:30 in the afternoon, simply beautiful) and he handed her a copy of Jane Eyre with the greeting, "this is for you!" Leslie gave him a hug (still both on the stairs) and noticed his heart beating abnormally. Then he said to open the front cover.

There he had written the line from when Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane in the novel, along with other snippets of the most romantic verses.

The inscription read:

"I offer you my hand, my heart, and a share of all my possessions...I ask you to pass through life at my side--to be my second self, and best earthly companion. My bride is here because my equal is here, and my likeness. Leslie, will you marry me?"

She said yes.

Ah! I just love it! Hope you have a beautiful day!

A new adaptation of The Great Gatsby with Leonardo DiCaprio (Gatsby), Carey Mulligan (Daisy), and Isla Fisher (Myrtle Wilson)?? Yes, PLEASE!

With 10 days left in Europe, I feel this Audrey-esque compunction to go get a pixy cut.

Don't worry! I'm not going to. I've been growing my hair out for such a long time and I'm always wishing it was longer... but, it just seems like I'm breaking a tradition or something:

Sabrina (1954) - Sabrina before Paris

Sabrina after Paris =)

Roman Holiday (1953) - Princess Anne when she arrives in Rome

Out on her "Roman Holiday" after her famous haircut =)

So I'm not going to chop off all my hair... but I feel like I should do something. Hmmm... :)

*thanks to Miss Julia for the lovely travel journal ;)

Spider kill count in my room is up to 11, but I just defeated another one--this time in the Bodleian! Not ok! Spiders are not will not be allowed to assail these precious, lovely books. Not under my watch.

[my current location: the Radcliffe Camera, Bodleian Library]

So excited for Family Camp, I can hardly stand it!!! =)

*So* blessed I got to see him perform this live. Breathtaking. This just kills me!

Today I literally tore my room apart to kill the 10th and scariest spider I have yet encountered in my room. I'm telling ya, man, Oxford is not for arachnophobics nor the faint of heart.

He scampered under the far bed, so I was obliged to move everything in my room to find him. When I eventually did, we were practically face to face--less than a foot away-- and he was charging towards me. I have done pretty well so far... but--I'm sorry--I screamed.
I guess I officially need to clean my room. Really, its not normally this bad... everything just got thrown into disarray because of the big black arachnid... yuck!
Well, after cleaning up from this little adventure, it is time to get ready for a better one. Today, a friend and I are going to Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill was born. The palace looks gorgeous and they have award winning gardens we can wander through. Its supposed to be hot and humid today in Oxford--a perfect day for a picnic at a palace =)

In lieu of blogging, I am currently working on a paper. But you can be sure to expect a deluge of goodies on wednesday =)

What does one wear in Paris?? Decisions, decisions... :)

Absolutely in love with this song!

Lacrimosa - Day of Tears by Zbigniew Preisner

(the first 20 seconds or so are silent).

I'm really missing him right now.

"What are men compared to rocks and mountains?"

- Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice

*My younger sister snapped this picture on our way to the airport so I'd have a pic of the mountain with me. I'm so grateful she did. So majestic =')

I only have 22 more days in UK and I mean to make the most of them...

But its kind of exciting to think I'll be back here so soon =)

Date time with Mansfield Park.

"There certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women who deserve them." - Jane Austen

I think this may be my new favorite blog: "Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops"

One example:

Customer: Excuse me, do you have any signed copies of Shakespeare plays?
Me: Er... do you mean signed by the people who performed the play?
Customer: No, I mean signed by William Shakespeare.
Me: .....*headdesk*

You should check it out... you'll probably get a good chuckle =)

Tonight, I feel that I became more British. I had bangers & mash for the first time!

For those of you who don't know (which was me about 3 weeks ago), bangers & mash is a typical British meal composed of sausages served over mashed potatoes and perhaps something served on the side.

A few of my friends and I went to an adorable little bangers & mash place in Oxford called "The Big Bang." It was such a fun restaurant!

First off, they handed us these "menus."

They are actually old books. They've glued the menu inside the book. Loved it.

Oh, and did I mention that the table-top was a collage of old dictionary pages? So cool!

Ok... then they brought out our glasses and drinks. They've frozen a lemon slice inside of the ice cube! Brilliant!

I had an incredible Lime & Lemonade. Just so fun.

Water pitcher. Yah, adorable!

"The Big Bang" specials. Just a few of the amazing sausage options they have!

Look what we found while looking through the dictionary pages on our table.

Just confirmation that tonight was supposed to happen =)

Kristina, eagerly waiting for her bangers & mash

(and looking so cute if I do say so myself =)

My first bangers & mash:

I had 1 venison sausage (venison is sooo good ;) and one lamb and rosemary sausage.

Underneath was garlic and rosemary mash potatoes covered with a rosemary gravy.

[Yes... I went a little crazy with the rosemary, but it was so good!]

On the side were peas and red cabbage, which I tried, but did not eat. Sorry =/

Oh... did I mention that all of the food and drinks come from local produce?

Tonight was food heaven, not to mention a really fun time!

If you're ever in Oxford, check out The Big Bang. You will not be disappointed.

Ironic, no?

Strange and fascinating...

Today as I was leaving a restaurant, an older gentleman held up his sketchpad to me. On it was a profile sketch of a young lady."Who's that?" I asked.

"It's you," he replied.

Apparently, during lunch with friends, he was trying to sketch me.

Kind of cool. Kind of weirded me out.

I found out that a guy who goes to the church I'm attending knows Marcus Mumford =)

As we were driving through Oxford--actually at a stop light--the weather went straight from dry to a thunder-storm-like downburst of rain. No sprinkles. No warning. Just monsoon force rain for about 2 minutes.

While hanging out at a church friend's flat, he broke out his record player and vinyls. I got to sit around with a bunch of Oxford grads listening to old school ELO and Genesis records. Haha... wow =)

weekend adventures

Well, I hope you have all had an exciting weekend--I definitely have =)

My adventure-packed weekend started on thursday when our whole group went on an excursion, which included a trip to Broughton Castle (filming location for Shakespeare in Love among other movies).

The gardens were absolutely gorgeous!

entrance to the secret garden...

surrounded by beauty: the gardens and Kristina =)

Picnic in the sun across the moat from a flock of sheep.

Kristina and I listened to Pride and Prejudice on my ipod while reading our Jane Austen homework... quite a sublime moment.

This tree reminds me of Jane Eyre

Friday afternoon, I settled in the sunny quad at Magdalen for a bit of afternoon study.

That night, I attended an absolutely marvelous production of A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Oxford Shakespeare Guild. There interpretation was as hilarious as it was creative. An absolutely wonderful night with friends.

Saturday, my friend, Elizabeth, and I did a day trip to London. We took a literature inspired approach to the day and had a marvelous time.

Here is part of Kensington Gardens, the park from which J. M. Barrie got his original inspiration for Peter Pan.

These are two of the "Italian Fountains":

221 B Baker Street

happy girl =)

Probably my favorite literary stop of the day, this is John Keats house in Hampstead. This is the house he shared with Fanny Brawne and it is also where he composed many of his poems including a personal favorite, Ode to a Nightingale.

Today I went to church at OCC and then went out with some new friends from there. They are all so fun to be around.

How was your weekend?

Also, do you know of anything else in London that I should really try to see before I leave? I'd love to hear your ideas!

A group of friends and I went to see Midsummer Night's Dream tonight. Afterwards we were wandering the streets of Oxford and were all rather giddy. At one point, my friend Stephanie says, "No, we're not drunk--we're just high on Shakespeare."

Wow! Favorite moments =)

For those who were wondering... I have officially been =)

Today is a relaxed day to "read and roam." On the docket for todays reading: Sense and Sensibility (of Austen's novels, this is the one I have read least recently--does that make sense??). Anyway, it should prove a fun day with Elinor and Marianne.

Tonight, I shall delight mine ears with the Choral Evensong at Christ Church. Yay for boys' choirs!

ps... Christ Church has hosted a choral evensong in their chapel every night except Christmas nights since the chapel was completed by Henry VIII. That's nearly 500 years. I just can't help but imagine weary groups of people in the 1940's shuffling in to hear the Evensong hoping to forget, just for a moment, the war that embroils their nation and of the blitz that could strike at any point. What a hope that must have been. What a delight I am looking forward to tonight...

London at night: Big Ben, the Eye, and the River Thames

So grateful for friends!

There are some girls here that I have grown so close to, so quickly!

This is Kristina. Oh, and she was nearly crying in this picture because she had just heard Big Ben chime for the first time =)

She is just as much of a nerd as I am--and that is totally a compliment!

Here are several of the girls in the Jane Austen course at our reception dinner at Magdalen college =)

I am so grateful for good friends!