Some Oxford Exploration with a New Friend and Saturday Brunch with Some Not-so-new Friends

I'm sorry to have to admit that I'm slacking behind on my personal pre-departure goal of updating this blog at least once a week. I am sorry, firstly, because my neglectfulness regarding my blog might make it seem that it is not one of my priorities to keep all of the people whom I care about back in the States up-to-date on everything that is happening in Oxford, which certainly is not the case. I miss everyone a lot and love getting to share the awesome experiences I am having via the web. Secondly, I am sorry about my lapse of recent blogging because it means that I will undoubtedly forget to relay many of the Oxford happenings from the past two weeks- for which I apologize in advance. In the end, I hope that everyone will forgive the infrequency in posts, because this will probably not be the last time that I go two weeks without writing, despite my best intentions.

As I think is pretty normal for (most) Oxford students, I have been extremely busy with academic tasks the past two weeks. Having to prepare for and attend Japanese classes two evenings a week in addition to my two tutorials really takes up a lot of time. Of course, it's entirely worth the extra time to keep up/improve my Japanese skills, and I'm really thankful that I've been able to have a place in my Japanese classes at the Language Center. My teacher is great, and the other eight students are all warm and interesting to talk with. I'll try to remember to take my camera to the Language Center soon and post some photos of where I have those classes.

I have also still been attempting to attend as many lectures as I can when I have free time during the day. Besides the fact that the lectures are often really fascinating, I have recently benefited in another way from attending the lectures: making a new friend! After a recent Shakespeare lecture that I attended, I met a third-year English student from another Oxford College, Corpus Christi, who has kindly taken to exploring/ introducing me to various Oxford amusements. Last weekend, we went to Oxford's famous museum of art and archaeology: The Ashmolean. And yesterday, we explored the Oxford Botanical Gardens and he taught me how to play bar billiards at a pub near my dorm (photos below!).

View of the Magdalen Bridge from the Botanical Gardens: 

 Lemon tree!

 Even though a lot of the plants have died from the cold, I still think the gardens are beautiful.

 Inside the greenhouses: 

We also took a walk around Christ Church Meadows, which I had previously only seen from the river while rowing.  

 Stefan kindly poses for a photo: 

 Learning to play bar billiards. 

Hence, another great thing about studying at Oxford = the opportunity to make new friends!

And speaking of friends, I got to spend some quality time with several of my Jewell friends this morning. We all met at Karen, Jess, and Mariah's flat, and Patrick coordinated the preparation of a delicious brunch. The cooking was a fun adventure, and it was, as always, nice to spend time with the other Jewellians.
Photographic evidence that my friends can cook and that I can chop tomatoes and onions.

I really like this photo: 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stick around long after breakfast, as I had rowing practice in the afternoon. I'm still really enjoying rowing, and I appreciate the encouraging, laid back attitude of the captains. Also, I have developed a rowing blister on my thumb, which must mean that I am a real athlete, right?!

Other details from the past two weeks:

*My Shakespeare tutor, unfortunately, did not love my essay on The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing, in which I attempted to argue that the relations of the sexes are problematic, because women are foremost used as instruments for men's deceptive plots and their troubles are resolved via marriage arrangements. As it turns out, my tutor didn't see the plays as being quite so problematic. Our discussion, however, was still really fascinating. On the brighter side, my Japanese lit. tutorial on Wednesday went really well. I enjoy our discussions more and more every week, and all of the primary and secondary reading for the tutorial is really intriguing. 

*Especially exciting: I have recently found out that one of my best friends from home, Lauren, is going to fly back to the UK with me in January and stay to visit for a week before term starts! When I told my dad that she was going to come visit, he said that we could use the hotel points that he has accumulated from his work traveling so that we can do some sight-seeing and stay in real hotels! Considering that we were planning to stay in as-cheap-as-possible youth hostels and sleep on buses when we traveled, this gift from my dad is really exciting and so nice! After deliberating with Lauren for a couple days, we have decided to visit Dublin and Edinburgh on our UK adventure, and my dad has already booked us hotels for three nights! Even though it will be sad to leave my family after Christmas, I feel incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity to do some traveling, and I am immensely looking forward to getting to spend quality time with Lauren, while seeing other parts of the UK!

I have sworn to myself that I am not leaving my room tonight until I read the entirety of Shakespeare's Henry V and finish a book of criticism on gender and body in modern Japanese women's fiction, so I should probably get back to my books....

Hope everyone is doing well, and thanks for reading!