"I'm On Top of the World"

Best. Night. Ever. 

Okay, I'll admit, I say that a lot here. I can't help that everything I do is so amazing that it deserves the distinction of best day or night ever.
Austy says that by giving everything that distinction I'm making it mean less, which might be true, but I can't help it. I am have so much fun abroad and it seems like every day tops the last and things just get better and better.

The event in question in this blog is a concert by a band called Imagine Dragons. Now, I'd never heard of Imagine Dragons (other than their song "It's Time" that was covered on Glee) until a few months ago when Libby said "This band I like called Imagine Dragons is playing at some random pub in Oxford for £5. Want to go?" I love music and it was only five pounds, so of course I said yes. Caitlin and Austin ended up agreeing to go as well, and we all decided we should probably listen to some of their music first to see what we were getting ourselves into.

Good news, we listened to their album on Spotify, and I fell in love. Every single song on their album "Night Visions" is amazing. Usually bands have one or two dud songs on LPs, but not Imagine Dragons; every song is gold. So needless to say, I was getting pretty excited.

And the situation just kept getting better and better. The show as moved to the O2 Academy, a better concert venue and a much more convenient location, and the class we have on Wednesdays was cancelled so we didn't have to worry about getting to the concert on time. It was shaping up to be a really great experience.

And it didn't disappoint. Of course there was the opening band to get through (not exceptionally good but not terrible) and the awkward waiting where everyone wants to save their spot in the crowd, but there's nothing to see yet, but that expected at pretty much every concert, so I won't penalize the night for that.

As we stood and waited, talking amongst ourselves, a girl approached us and asked "Are you guys American" we replied that we were and talked about where we were from and why we were in England. Their motives for asking us soon became clear "Yeah we're from Utah. Imagine Dragons actually went to our school. Isn't that so cool?" They wanted to tell someone about their connection to the band, and opening the conversation by talking about what we have in common--America--sounded like a good idea.

You could tell that they were pretty pleased with themselves that they were from some of the band members' school, and it is cool, but they also gave off the vibe that they were better than everyone else because of it. They asked us if we were fans and spoke high and mightily about "how good they are in concert". Libby heard them later remark to one another about the crowd: "Do you think most of these people even know who they are". As a fan, they should be pleased that so many people showed up, and even if they don't know the band, they should be pleased that they're gaining new fans. I really don't like holier than thou "we knew them before they were famous" fans.

Side note: at one point during the show they were all chanting "BYU! BYU!" to try and get their attention (I'm assuming that's the school they all go to in Utah) and Imagine Dragons just replied "We love you more," obviously thinking they said "We love you! We love you!" I did feel a little bit bad for them that this didn't work out, no matter how annoyed I was with them.

As we waited for the show to start, this massive group of Americans next to us just got more and more annoying. I get that they were excited, but they were jumping around and acting ridiculous and the show hadn't even started yet. Let me clarify: the show hadn't started yet and I was already getting elbowed in the ribs by the girl next to me. Not okay.

Finally, Imagine Dragons were preparing to come on. Now, as I'm short, I can't see much of the stage, but I did see a massive drum on one side of the microphone, and a smaller drum on the other side. I have to say, I'd never seen this in a concert before. "Is the lead singer a drummer?" I asked Libby. She didn't think so, at least not primarily. And when Dan Reynolds, the singer came out with his earpiece and wire taped to his face so they wouldn't fall out, I knew this was going to be a really good concert.

They didn't muddle up the concert with a lot of talking, but when the lead singer Dan Reynolds did talk, it just made me love the band even more.

"This is a new shirt" he announced to the crowd. "I don't think I've bought a new shirt in months, but I really wanted to impress you." So adorably awkward.
"I can't remember where I got it," he continued.
"Primark!" Some people in the crowd shouted, laughing.
"I don't know what that is, is that a really bad place to shop?" Dan replied. "I think it was somewhere like... Saints?"
"AllSaints!" the crowd shouted, seemingly pleased with his shopping choice.
"Your fashion is so much better here than in the States," he said, met with cheers of agreement. "We're just a little behind. Give us some time and America will catch up." 

At one point he looked out into the crowd and smiled, an amazed look on his face.

"Can I make a confession? We've been wanting to come here for a long time." Cheers from the crowd. "And when we planned this European tour, I thought maybe like, 5 people would show up.  I didn't know you knew us over here. This is amazing. Thank you."

And the music. The music was amazing.  Standing a few rows of people back from the stage, situated left of center, we were right near one of the main speakers. It was so loud. I could feel myself loosing hearing in my left ear.  The bass was pumping in my heart. It was everything you want a concert to be, and more.

And let me tell you, it's a good thing his earpiece was taped to his ear. If it wasn't it probably would have fallen out during the first song with how much this guy jumps around when he performs. You could tell he was truly feeling the music he was singing. It was a part of him and he was a part of it. And this is what made it an amazing concert.

Sometimes when you go to concerts they are fun, but it's almost like just listening to the cd, or unfortunately a less talented version of the songs on the album. Imagine Dragons are not afflicted with this problem. They didn't perform the songs as they're recorded in the studio, they performed them how they would sound best live. He engaged the audience to sing along at key points in the songs and his energy gave the crowd energy. The drums on either side of the lead singer were used throughout the concert as he played them to create a musical experience that got the whole crowd into the music.

My favorite song of the night was one of the first ones played called Radioactive. Here's a video of the song being performed live. This isn't my video, and it's not from last night but their performance style is pretty much the same as the way it was sung last night. Enjoy!

As the concert was coming to a close, the lead singer said "We have just a few more songs left in our set, but we have some good news" to which someone from the audience replied "you're doing them all again?" This got some laughs and I realized that if they did perform them all again I would have loved it. Sometimes at concerts by the time it is over you're ready for it--you've heard the songs you wanted to hear and your feet hurt. Yes my feet hurt and I heard pretty much every song I knew, but I wouldn't have minded them doing the same songs over again. If Libby had said to me "Amy, Imagine Dragons are performing here again tomorrow, I would be there in a heartbeat. That's how amazing this show was. The good news was that they are touring in Europe again in April, and this doesn't really help me, but I think they're planning another American tour, and I'm sure I'll be there when they do. 

As we walked to the bus after the show that the way I was feeling could be described using lyrics to an Imagine Dragons song: 

"Now take it in but don't look down, Cause I'm on top of the world."

Stay Left

A foggy English morning, an extremely narrow, winding road and the sight of headlights approaching.  

I wish you the best of luck driving in Britain. 

The weekend my parents visited they rented a car so I was able to experience novice driving in England. Not to say that my dad or our family friend John (also here, with his wife) are novice drivers, because they're not, but add in the fact that we have to drive on a different side of the road, that the drivers seats is on a different side of the car and that the roads here are unfamiliar and extremely confusing and you have an interesting experience.

Before this weekend, I don't think I'd been in a car since Peter drove us to our flat the day I arrived in the UK, a month and a half ago. This past month or so I've only really ridden in buses and coaches, driven by experienced English drivers. So riding in the car with my American family driving was a little bit stressful. And slightly scary.

Stay Left. It kind of became a thing to frequently remind whoever was driving to stay left. Not that anyone really ended up in the right lane instead of the left, but it can get confusing when turning onto a road and it's helpful to be reminded that you need to end up in the correct lane. It's also weird because in the US, the easy turn to make is the right turn, and for a left turn you have to wait longer because of oncoming traffic, so I always love it when I have to turn right. Here, it is the exact opposite and we were hoping for left turns.

Wrong Turns. Anytime you drive in a new area, you're bound to make wrong turns, but here, without a GPS or maps on my Mom's iPhone (service was pretty spotty when not in a city) we made quite a few wrong turns. Sometimes because we didn't really know where we were going and sometime because we missed signs pointing in certain directions. In one instance we were accidentally heading towards South Wales, but luckily we were able to turn around. But sometimes it's confusing here as to how to go in the right direction after you've made a wrong turn because exits from motorways don't work in quite the same way.

Roundabouts. Then you have roundabouts. Geeze, they love roundabouts here. Seriously, they're everywhere. We sort of developed the idea to go around the roundabout at least once before exiting to get our bearings. But did we ever really do this. Nope. Should we have? Definitely  There were multiple occasions in which we exited at the wrong point in the circle and had to backtrack. Actually though, we did go around twice on one occasion and if we hadn't we probably would have driven 5 miles in the wrong direction.

No Stopping

Street Signs. We still don't know what half the street signs we saw these past few days mean. We only discovered what this sign meant 5 minutes before they dropped me off in Oxford. We literally saw this sign everywhere this weekend, and didn't seem like these places had much in common. Because they were so frequent, we knew it didn't mean "don't drive here" but we didn't know exactly what it was telling me we couldn't do. Apparently it means no stopping. Huh, didn't know stopping was signified by the color blue.

Leaving Motorway

Another sign we saw a lot was this one. I'm going to be real with you, the first time I saw it all I could think was "no printing". It looks like a printer to me! And then I thought maybe it had something to do with a bridge, like "no driving over this bridge". But then either a.) there was no bridge, or b.) everyone else was driving over it, so it must be okay. What we were eventually able to surmise that it means that you were leaving the motorway. We only discovered this because we saw the image without the red line indicating motorway. But seriously, that wouldn't be the symbol I would use. Just saying.

There are so many signs that will confuse you and some you'll just disregard out of frustration  But if you would like to learn about English road signs before travelling over here, or just for the hell of it, you can consult this helpful guide to UK Road Signs.

Allow Extra Time. All in all, I would recommend allowing a good deal of extra time when driving in the UK, especially if you've never been somewhere before. What seems like it should be easy can turn complicated in the blink of an eye, so don't risk it. I don't even want to talk about the drive to Tesco on Saturday: let's just say it took way longer than it should have taken. We could see it from the motorway, just couldn't figure out how to get there. Can you say frustrating?

Yes, I'd say that's a common descriptor of driving in England, or a new place in general: frustrating  But at least it was an adventure.

Celebrity Encounters of the West End Kind

A few weeks ago I got to meet Matthew Lewis from Harry Potter and Arthur Darvill from Doctor Who. And it was amazing. And really it was all the result of a few decisions that could have easily gone another way. Which of course, I need to explain, so you'll have to wait until near the end to read about my celebrity encounters of the West End kind. 

My mom and I had planned to see a show on the West End from the beginning of my parents trip planning because of my long standing interest in theatre. Ideally, we would have like to see Les Miserables since we saw the US National Tour at the Kennedy Center in DC two years ago and fell in love with it. However, as Les Miserables is a seminal show and currently only playing on the West End in London (no longer showing on Broadway in New York) Les Mis tickets are hard to find and rather expensive if you can find them. Because of this and the the fact that there is an upcoming Les Mis movie to be released in a few months, we determined that we didn't want to pay a lot to see it. 

Because of this, we had to decide what show to see. We decided to go to the TKTS booth in Leicester understanding that we probably wouldn't get Les Mis tickets. It didn't really matter anyway because it was sold out and we had to decide what we wanted to see. Mom had never seen Phantom of the Opera and that really is a classic, but I had seen it on Broadway a few years ago and wasn't especially thrilled by the stage show so I didn't especially want to see it again. We really didn't know what we wanted to see.

A few weeks ago when I was in London I'd seen a poster in a Tube station for the show "Our Boys". It caught my eye because the poster featured Matthew Lewis of Harry Potter fame (Neville Longbottom) and Arthur Darvill from Doctor Who (Rory Williams) two actors whom I admire. When I first saw the poster I had no idea what it was about other than the fact that the characters are army-related given their fatigues in the poster. After I got home I searched it and discovered that it's a comedy about a group of patients in a military hospital.

So when we were at the TKTS booth and found that the tickets were £30 (down from £45) and were very good seats, I told my mother about it. We didn't know much about the show, only what was on the blurb from the pamphlet at the ticket booth:

"This searingly honest and explosively funny play is based on the author's own army experience. Six young soldiers are killing nothing but time as tehy recover from injuries incurred in the line of duty. Suddenly, the joshing banter and easy camaraderie of this unlikely band of brothers is jeopardised. A dangerous incident and an act of betrayal result in charges of misconduct looming--and as accusations fly, the fighting really starts.  

Fired by anger at the neglect of our wounded heroes and set in 1980s Britain, Our Boys remains as relevant now as it was in 1993, when it won a Best New Play award for its premiere production. This West End revival comes from the creative team behind the international hit Journey's End."

We knew that seeing "Our Boys" would be a risk because we didn't really know much about it other than the basic plot and the fact that it'd gotten good reviews. From the description and its acclaims, it was clear that it was going to be a good show, but whether or not we enjoyed it is a different story. But we decided to take the chance.

And because it was a play not a musical, it was a comedy and if focuses on boys in the military we called my dad to see if he wanted to join us (he went to a military school for uni) He said he would be willing to give it a shot, which made me happy but also a little anxious because it put more pressure on myself since I'm the one who chose it, so we bought three tickets. I was pretty nervous that the show wouldn't be interesting and it would be all my fault (I tend to put way too much responsibility/pressure on myself in this type of situation).

In the end it was a really good decision and we had a really nice evening. My mom, dad and I all dressed up (I opted for boots instead of heels because it had gotten really cold in London that weekend). We took the Tube to Covent Garden and had dinner near the Duchess Theatre where the show is performed. There were at least three other theatres in the area--those for Lion King, Shrek and Mamma Mia--so the Italian restaurant at which we ate had a distinct pre-theatre crowd. Our show did't begin until 7:45 (a quite random time and the latest of the four shows in the area) so even though it was packed when we arrived, by the time we left nearly the entire bottom floor of the restaurant was empty.

We got to the theatre in plenty of time to buy a program and get our seats. When we got there we discovered that the Duchess is actually quite a small theatre by West End standards: less than 500 seats. Our seats were in the 10th row, eye level with the stage. I had never been in a professional theatre of this size so it was pretty cool. A glance at the £3 program told me that the six faces on the "Our Boys" poster are actually the only six actors in the cast. I was excited because we were in a small theatre with a small cast and only one set (a hospital room at the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital and interestingly whenever techs had to come on stage to change the set around or exchange props they were dressed like military doctors; it was a nice touch). I knew that we were in for something special.

The show started on time and for the first twenty minutes or so I was pretty nervous about what I'd gotten myself into. For those of you who don't know, I really do not like potty humor and although I can stand them, I'm not a huge fan of dirty jokes. And the first twenty minutes were filled with a lot of this kind of humor. I was expecting it: it is a show about six injured men stuck in a military hospital and lots of rules and no women after all, so you can imagine what they talked about. Add in the fact that Mick (Matthew Lewis) had just had a circumcision and you can guess that there were a lot of sex jokes. They were quite funny, but I felt some pushed the line, especially with my mom and dad beside me and twenty minutes in I was afraid that this was going to be the entire show. But never fear, after they'd established the reparte of this group of five young men--Mick, Parry (Arthur Darvill), Joe (Laurence Fox), Keith (Cian Barry) and Ian (Lewis Reeves)-- they were able to get on with the development of the story: that Potential Officer Menzies (Jolyon Coy), their new roommate doesn't quite fit in.

One hilarious scene is the end of Act One when the group is playing Beer Hunter, a Russian Roulette type game where one person shakes up a number of beers and mixes them all up. The players then have to pick a can, hold it up next to their head and open it, hoping to just hear the click of the can, but sometimes instead getting sprayed with beer. Combine this plot point with the reparte of the group and some hilarious impressions and you get an unforgettable scene.

What I did find strange about this show was that it had a very slow plot development. The interactions between characters during the first act are hilarious and entertaining but as I watched, I couldn't rightly tell you what this show was actually about other than these five guys hanging out and a sixth guy showing up and kind of crashing their group. By today's standards this would be the set up not the actual plot. It's not until the end of Act I, over an hour in, does a major plot point actually occur. The second act, following an accident in which one of the boys is injured when they are drinking (against the rules) details the investigation of just what happened when Keith was injured and what the circumstances behind it were. Tensions are high as they all face punishment and even expulsion from their respective branches of the military.

The show takes a really dark turn, so different from its hilarious beginnings, at the end when the true nature of some of the characters come to light, people are injured and some even die. It was such an abrupt change in tone that when it ended I felt left in a lurch. But I suppose that was the point. That war can have a terrible effect on people beyond just the physical injuries. And not everything turns out well and good after an injury in the line of duty, even if one physically heals. The show really got me thinking, and I would definitely recommend it. I'd like to see it again even if just to pick up on the intricacies that I missed the first time round.

And the excitement of the night didn't end there. While in the theatre I had looked up the location of the stage door and found a very vague description so didn't plan to pursue it. We exited the theatre and took some picture in front of the theatre and then planned to head home. The prospect of missing out on the stage door was just too much for me though, so I asked my parents if we could just do a lap around the block to see if we could find the stage door. So, exiting the theatre and turning left, we walked all the way around the block and couldn't seem to find it. We turned the corner onto the street the theatre's entrance is and there it was, right in front of me. It was directly to the right of the main entrance.

Because it’s such a small theatre the crowd wasn’t too big and it wasn’t long before actors came streaming out. Cian Barry, Lewis Reeves and Jolyon Coy came out first and I got the first two's autographs on my program. I feel like meeting and getting autographs from actors can be awkward because there really isn't much to say that they haven't heard already. Yes, I could echo what everyone else was saying: "Really good job" or "I loved the show" but that's not very original is it? I did have a short exchange with Cian Barry though, along these lines:

Me: Really good job. The Duchess was the perfect place for this show. I loved that it was just the six of you on such a small stage. It made for a performance that was more...
Cian: ...intimate, yeah, I know what you mean. And that's pretty unusual for a West End production.
Me: Exactly! I loved that about the show.

Then we waited another moment or two until Matt Lewis came out.  I could feel my heartbeat increase with excitement. We were having trouble with my camera and I was afraid the picture wouldn't come out (and you can't really ask to have another go if you mess up) but luckily there weren't an technological difficulties and I was able to get a picture with Neville Longbottom as well as his autograph. My mom kept remarking on how "Neville" his smile was.

Next out was Laurence Fox, who is actually quite famous as well for his work on the television show Lewis and his marriage to Billie Piper (a successful British actress) so there were people rushing to meet him as well, so I didn't bother. Especially since he came out smoking a cigarette, which really turned me off from wanting to get his autograph. I mean really, you're about to sign a bunch of programs and  take loads of pictures, you couldn't smoke before you came out or wait a few minutes and do so on your walk home. (In the end though, I'm kind of disappointed I didn't get to meet him because I've since become a fan of his work Lewis as well as his music. But I couldn't have known that at the time, could I?)

Out last was the person who I was most anxious to meet: Arthur Darvill (I'm a bit obsessed with Doctor Who, which you'll hear about soon when I post about my trip to Cardiff).   He came out and was signing autographs right in front of the door so I was making my way forward to ensure that I got a chance to get an autograph and a picture. About a minute it, a man (presumably his manager, bodyguard, assistant or something like that) came out and spoke quietly to Arthur and put his hand on his back as though he was going to lead him away. My heartbeat increased. No! He can't leave yet. Luckily, Arthur said "Go on, I'll meet you all at the pub" and the man left. Phew. As it became my turn, my knees were shaking from nervous excitement. Arthur was standing on a ledge and as I stepped up to take a picture, being the clumsy Amy that I am, my foot slipped and I stepped on his toes. Of course. It wouldn't be me if I didn't. I apologize and made some comment about how we wouldn't want what happened in the show to happen in real life (his character's toes were amputated) and he laughed it off. And at least I have a small story to tell about it, right?

Afterwords I was giddy with excitement. I couldn't believe that I had met Arthur Darvill and Matt Lewis. My dad said that when we first got to the stage door he noticed a woman and two girls who were freaking out about meeting someone and he laughed good naturedly at them. He then turned around and realized I was acting in the same way! (I think I might have embarrassed him a little!)

In the end I am so glad that we made the decision we did to go see this show. It ended up being really good and its a show I couldn't see anywhere else at any other time than here and now. It is only playing on the West End, for only three months so it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience this show in that intimate theatre with that band of actors who thrive off each others energy. And I got to meet two of my favorite actors. So I'd say yeah, good choice.

New Places and Familiar Faces

This past week we have gone to a number of places that we've never been to before. Because we cook so many of our meals in our flat to save money, we haven't spent much time exploring the pubs and other restaurants and places to see in Oxford. And I'm determined to change that.

On Tuesday we decided to go out for dinner because Libby, who usually makes dinner on Tuesdays was unable to that night. So, after class we got onto the U1 to head towards the City Centre, no clue where we were going.

We decided to get off at St. Clements instead of heading all the way into the City because there are a number of restaurants and pubs in this area. We'd heard from friends that Port Mahon was a really cozy quintessential British pub, so we decided to try there.

When we walked in the first thing I noticed was the smell. I can't entirely explain it, but it smelled a little bit like stale beer with a mix of something unidentifiable. It did look pretty cozy though, with a fireplace and cushioned benches for seats. On the tables were lit candles sticking out of wine bottled that seemed precariously perched on the tables. I was afraid that with one wrong move it would crash to the ground and the pub, built pretty much entirely of wood, would not fare well. There didn't seem to be any seats available though, so we went down the stairs to what looked a little more like a typical American bar. There were high tables with typical bar stools and it looked more modern than the upstairs. Port Mahon advertises that they get Sky Sports so it would be my guess that this is where people gather to watch football matches.


And then we experienced the awkward situation that frequently occurs when we go new places. How do we order? Is there a menu? Where is my table number and will I need it when I order?  These are all questions that frequently course through my head whenever I eat somewhere I've never eaten before. The answers: order at the bar, the menu is written on a chalkboard, and I never quite got the answer to the third because our time at Port Mahon was shortlived. I'm a pretty picky eater, as y'all probably know, and there just didn't seem to anything I would eat on the menu. I can usually find something, but Port Mahon, which I think is primarily a gathering place as opposed to a food that primarily serves food, only had five main dishes.  They change depending on what ingredients they can get. So the menu just didn't seem to be in my favor on Tuesday. After consulting with Caitlin and Austin to make sure it was okay, we decided to leave and try out another pub.

Our next stop was the Angel and Greyhound, a pub that Caitlin and I have actually talked about going to for a while. We first became fascinated by it because of the messages frequently written on the chalkboard outside the pub to entice people to come in. My favorites: "The only pub in Oxford Inspector Morse DIDN'T go to" and "William Shakespeare, Inspector Morse, JRR Tolkien and Bill Clinton never came here, but YOU can." I quite enjoyed their comical marketing techniques and they succeeded in making we want to go in a have a bite.

Going in, I knew that the Angel and Greyhound was a good choice. It was cozy, but in a different way than Port Mahon. Where Port Mahon was cramped and cluttered, Angel and Greyhound was spacious and warm. It's the kind of pub I can see myself hanging out in. There were tables meant for eating, tables meant for just hanging out with friends, a pool table, an outdoor eating area and it was all arranged in a classy way. It wasn't gimmicky and it appeared to cater to a more sophisticated or professional audience without feeling uppity or fancy.

Caitlin, Austin and I all had hot filled baguettes which were really delicious. Like an open faced sandwich but with a baguette for the bread I had bacon and cheese on mine, Caitlin had vegetables and cheese and Austin had sausage and onions. We all enjoyed our meals; they were affordable and the atmosphere was really nice. Our eating out adventure, though off to a bit of a rocky start, ended up to be a success.

On Thursday we made plans to hang out with our friend Beth. We usually hang out in one of our flats but this time we decided to go out for drinks. We started the evening at the White Horse, a family oriented pub walking distance from our flat. Though not much of a drinker, I had the drink that I frequently have when we go to the White Horse: the Blue Lagoon. Made with Blueberry Smirnoff, Blue Curacao and Schweppes Lemonade (a soft drink similar to Sprite) it is extremely blue and tastes like candy. So I think it's clear why I like it.

I like that here in England you can go out and casually have drinks when in college. We frequently talk to Beth, who is from Southern England, about the differences in drinking cultures between here and America. Whereas in America college students primarily just drink to get drunk, in Great Britain it's much more casual. People go out for drinks not to get buzzed but just to enjoy the taste and spend time with friends. This is much more my speed.

While at White Horse Beth also buys a J20 Glitterberry for us all to try. Sold only in the winter, Glitterberry is a nonalcoholic drink that tastes of cherry and grape and contains real (edible) glitter. Seriously. It is the coolest thing ever. The drink sparkles and is pretty much beautiful. It's not everyday you drink glitter.

Libby and Beth excited to be at the very front of the bus.

After the White Horse we talked about going down to the Half Moon in St Clements where they have open mic nights on Thursday. When we went in, however, we found that it was extremely small and there wasn't anywhere to sit, or even to stand and have drinks. And it didn't appear that people were planning on leaving anytime soon. Because the current act was just a man playing guitar and not especially compelling, we decided to head down to the Angel and Greyhound since Beth had never been there and it's just down the street.

The sign out front on Thursday said "Help the Greeks, try our olives." Seriously, these signs crack me up. And Beth actually did support the Greeks, ordering a small dish of olives. Caitlin, Libby and I had Rekordorlig Winter cider. Rekordorlig is a Swedish cider company and in the UK cider refers to a hard drink made from apples and other fruits. Their Winter Cider tasted like apple with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon, and Angel and Greyhound serves it warm. It was the perfect to drink in the fall and winter, which ended up working in our favor because there weren't any seats inside and we had to sit outside. But it wasn't too cold outside and we had our hot cider to warm us up, so it all worked out.

On Thursday night we made plans with Beth to go to the Ashmolean the next day. The Ashmolean is a museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford that we hadn't visited yet. And Friday seemed as good a day as any. I'm not always much of a museum person--I like them but I have short attention span so I can only spend so much time there--but I had a good time at the Ashmolean. Probably because we did the entire museum in two hours. One of my favorite exhibits was their European art section of the museum. Even for just a small museum in Oxford they had quite a few esteemed pieces. There was a Rodin sculpture, a Degas dancer sculpture, a few Renoir paintings and even a Van Gogh. I love going to art museums and recognizing pieces of artwork and artists from my Art History studies.

The other exhibit I really enjoyed was about money of the past and present from all over the world. We saw coins from a variety of countries as well as old British and American currency. It also got me thinking: are there fivers and one pound coins floating around with King George's face on it? What will happen when Prince William becomes King. Will the Queen Elizabeth sterling just being to be phased out? It's all quite intriguing  Also of note, a British person asked me if we put President Obama's face on our currency. I guess it's a valid question since they put their monarchy's on their currency, but the idea of George Bush coins and Bill Clinton dollars floating around is pretty funny to me.

After the Ashmolean we went to Vaults and Garden, a cafe that we have been talking about visiting since we got to Oxford. It was the perfect time to go because it was near 4pm which is tea time. Right next to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, the inside of the cafe looked like an old church. Walking into the cafe I instantly understood the name. The ceilings are vaulted and there is a garden that I imagine is quite pleasant to eat in when its warmer outside. Libby, Austin, Caitlin and Beth had a traditional cream tea with tea (Earl Grey for Libby, English Breakfast for the rest) and scone with clotted cream and jam. I had the Amy variation which substituted Hot Chocolate for tea since I don't drink tea.

The scones were delicious. The inside was soft, the outside crunchy, the entire thing slightly sweet. To me, scones taste like a cross between a pastry and an American biscuit and adding the clotted cream and jam makes the taste just sweet enough to make an excellent snack. We got the last scones and the woman in line after me had to wait for her scone. At first I was happy that we didn't have to wait, but after more thought I was kinda jealous. Her scone was delivered to her hot out of the oven and I bet it was even better warmed through.

This past week has been awesome because we've been able to see a bit more of Oxford and visit some places we've been meaning to visit since we've been here. Oxford is a great city--so much to do and a perfect place to live as a student.

Fireworks and Candy Floss

Remember, remember the fifth of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I'd heard this before I'd come to England, but to be honest I thought it was just a line from V for Vendetta (which it is, I'm told, though I've never seen it). But I had no idea that it had real historical significance, and I can't help but wonder if the bazillions (read: probably less than 10) of friends from the US who posted this rhyme as their Facebook status on Monday (the fifth of November, for those following along) actually knew the historical significance either.

Because really, I saw a lot more Guy Fawkes mentions on Facebook from friends from home, and a part of me was feeling pretty self satisfied because I understood what it means, and I celebrated this holiday the British way. But I digress.

As you can tell if you own a calendar, Monday was Guy Fawkes night, but because that's a school  night for all of the primary school children, and a work night for adults, it seems as though it is custom to have the main Guy Fawkes celebrations the closest weekend to the actual day (at least in Oxford) so that meant that Guy Fawkes was celebrated this past weekend, Saturday to be exact.

There was a 'carnival' and fireworks event in South Park just a five minute walk from the Oxford Brookes campus, so it doesn't get more convenient than that. I put carnival in quotations because this was a pretty weak carnival. I don't know if this is because carnivals just aren't as big in England, or it was because it was just a one evening event, but if I was into carnivals, I probably would have been pretty let down. Luckily, as it turns out, I've never really been a carnival gal, so I was merely surprised as a nonobjective observer of the scene before me.

So on Saturday night Caitlin, Austy and I put on our pea coats and our gloves and scarves (mine is a giant Union Jack, perfect for this patriotic British holiday) and walked down to South Park, paid our £6 entry fee and entered the park.

 The first thing that struck me was that the entrance was awkwardly off to the side, the back of the carnival rides (which are forming a circle) facing us.

The first thing I see is that there are two sections: the carnival section with the rides and a few games and what I presume is the more grown up section with food stands, a stage and a giant wooden structure of some kind.

The first thing I feel is the squishy mud and a change in gravity as I almost fall. Keyword: almost. Thank god. Because I just know I'm going to slip in the wet mud or wet leaves at some point when I'm here and the cold and wet Saturday night was not the ideal time or place.

And therefore the first thing I touch is Caitlin's arm as I try my very hardest to not slip and fall as I walk across the massive field to the food section of the event. This proved to be quite difficult because as we walked, the ground just got muddier and muddier and the mud just get slicker and slicker. It really became a struggle to walk anywhere.

The first thing I hear is the booming music coming from the carnival side (truly, we heard it before we even left the Brookes campus) and it is so loud. I can feel my heart pulsing in time with the bass. As we walk closer to the food section, I hear the contrasting of music, because the food section has a stage with a man singing and playing the car. And I'd like to reiterate that these two sections are not far from each other. It was like the pop music of the carnival was competing with the covers of the food section. But it shouldn't be a competition. It's the same event, put on by the same people.

And the first thing I smell is what I don't smell. It doesn't smell like anything. There's not distinctive kettle corn smell or the smell of things frying. It just smelled like air.

After these first impressions I began to take in my surroundings for fully as we walked around checking out everything this event had to offer.

This carnival consisted of a handful of rides, including a few for little kids. No ferris wheel, no swings, no classic booth carnival games. I mean, come on England, step it up. But in all seriousness, it was probably because this was a one day affair and not something that could have millions of pounds invested in it.

It was interesting going to a carnival or fair in the UK because there are certain things you expect of fairs in the US: farm animals, strength-testers, water pistol games, booths selling t-shirts and other various junk items and tons of extremely unhealthy food: funnel cake, kettle corn, deep fried oreos, fresh squeezed lemonade and more. You also expect it to be warm when you go to carnival  so that was pretty different as well.

And the food they were selling, I guess I knew they wouldn't have lemonade and funnel cake, but a girl can dream right? They did have cotton candy, called candy floss here and luckily I realized that before I ordered or else I would have looked really stupid, and I hate using the wrong words here because I'm trying to assimilate. They were serving hamburgers and hotdogs, they had multiple pizza carts and had a few hot drink carts serving hot cocoa, coffee and probably tea. One thing they served here that was quite different from in the States was mulled wine, which I think is a pretty popular winter drink in the UK. They did have a food truck called "A Taste of America" that served Pork BBQ (which kind, we weren't sure), hot dogs and more. So basically all of the American food I hate. It was just interesting seeing their version of carnival food.

By the time we completed our lap around the carnival and food sections, people had started to gather in front of the strange wooden structure. It hit me--they were going to light this on fire. Let me explain: Guy Fawkes day is also known as Bonfire Night because it is tradition to throw effigies  of Guy Fawkes into a roaring fire. I personally think it's going a little too far, but they really hate this guy, so there you go.

So people were gathering to get a good view of the massive fire and we decided to join them. The shows on stage continued. At this point they are on the third act since we've been there. The first was okay, but the last two... just didn't really do it for me, or anyone really. And they both did terrible covers of Ed Sheeran. Bad move. Very few can sing Ed Sheeran as well as Ed Sheeran, so sometimes it's better not to even try. As we waited I ate my candy floss, which made my hand very sticky and unpleasant to stick back into my glove, but it was worth it. I'd rather have a sticky hand than miss out on the deliciousness of cotton candy. Can you tell I have a sweet tooth?

6:45 (the published starting time for the fireworks) came and went with not a light in the sky. There was some sort of reenactment occurring at the front of the wooden structure, but as occurs every time I'm in a crowd of people I could not see a thing. Caitlin would update me and Austy on what was occurring but she  couldn't make sense of it, so we were all pretty lost. And it seem like many people around us knew what was going on either.

Around 7:15 the fireworks finally started. It was a really good show and there were a few types of fireworks I'd never seen before. What struck me though was that they seemed to be very low fireworks. And anytime the fireworks seemed to reach the height I'm used to them reaching, people around us would say "Wow, that one was really high". For a country so into fire safety I was surprised they would allow fireworks to occur so low in the sky, and so close to the trees.

I have to say it was pretty strange watching fireworks and not being able to feel my toes at the same time. The only time I ever really watch fireworks is in July to celebrate Independence Day, so to be so cold while enjoying a fireworks show was a different experience. And fireworks and sparklers, which a few of the people at the Guy Fawkes celebration had (I was quite jealous) makes me think of the Fourth of July. I kept expecting t to hear American patriotic songs. While I obviously know that wouldn't occur, I was pretty surprised that there weren't any British patriotic songs sung or played.

I mean, this is a holiday celebrating the failed plot of a man who tried to blow up parliament killing the King and all of the leaders and hoping to bring the Catholic Spanish government into control. If there's any time to feel patriotic it's now. But I don't think that they are really into patriotic songs here. (Side note: my English friend Beth said that the only patriotic British song she knows in God Save the Queen, which is their national anthem.) But alas, no patriotic songs to be heard.

The bonfire was actually awesome. The stack of wooden palettes had to be over 2 stories tall. The entire evening I was so excited to see it lit on fire. I felt a little pyromanic because I usually don't really even care about fire. But I knew it was going to such a big bonfire that I was super excited to see it. And it did not disappoint. It was awesome. It spread through the wood palettes slowly, the left side burning first because of the wind and slowly spreading to the right side. We stayed long enough to watch the entire stack crumble into itself. Even from as far away as we were, as you can see in this picture, we could feel the heat. My entire face was warm, and every time I turned away my face was assaulted by the cold. It was amazing to be standing nearish to such a strong heat source.

My Guy Fawkes day turned out to be a success. I got to see a fireworks show, eat candy floss and  celebrate a very British holiday with the general public of Oxford. It was a good night, even if I didn't get to hear God Save the Queen.

Oxford Ghosts and Other Holiday Tales

So this week was Halloween and it has been interesting observing how another culture celebrates a holiday that we also celebrate at home. One observation: every non-American person with whom I've spoken about Halloween has said "You guys invented Halloween, right?" I guess I did realize this, but because of its connection to Dia de los Muertos, I don't think about it as really our holiday, but rather a variation of someone else's.

They do celebrate Halloween here, but it's nowhere near as big as it is in America. For starters, for American college students Halloween is pretty drawn out. Even though Halloween was on a Wednesday this year, the middle of the week, in America Halloweekend was the weekend before Halloween. And then Halloween is also celebrated on the actual day as well. And this usually involved multiple costumes. So clearly Halloween is a big deal in America. Here, most people did go out on Halloween but just that one night, and i would assume people dressed up. Though I couldn't say for sure.

I can't really say about whether or not children trick-or-treat here in England because I don't live in a place where trick-or-treaters would actually go, since it's a college residence hall. But it does seem as though going trick-or-treating isn't a given here like it is in America. I mean, in America nearly every single child goes trick-or-treating (well except the Piper children from the classic Disney movie Halloweentown, which I watched with one of my flatmates last night) but I don't think that's the case here.

They also don't really sell very man Halloween decorations. They were selling pumpkins which they do carve here, although they don't call them Jack O'Lanterns. I said that word to one of my British friends and she laughed good naturedly and then said "What did you call them?" Apparently they just call carved pumpkins pumpkins. Where's the fun in that?

I did speak with a number of people from other countries (France, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Japan) about Halloween and most of them said that if their countries celebrated Halloween at all it would be more like the English version than the American.

Maybe I belong here in England, because I've never been especially into Halloween. Okay, that's a lie. When I was a child I loved Halloween because I had (and still have) a major sweet tooth so anything that involved free candy was awesome in my book. But as soon as I was too old for trick-or-treating I pretty much got over Halloween. I don't like scary things, I'm not great as costumes and I don't like to drink or go to big parties, so it doesn't really appeal to me.

We went on a free Ghost Tour of Oxford yesterday where we heard a log of true stories about murders, deaths and executions that took place in Oxford and learned about the legends and ghost stories surrounding these events. More historically based than scary, this type of tour was right up my alley. Its amazing the number of ghosts that have apparently been seen wandering this historic city. After the tour I hung out with some other High Point students for a half hour or so and then retreated to my flat to watch a movie.

The highlight of my Halloween, though? Discovering that what we call apple cider in America is called Cloudy Apple Juice in England. I'd been looking for apple cider all week but here apple cider is an alcoholic drink, so not what I was looking for. My mom brought my mulling spices to mix with apple cider and I've been wanting to use them since she gave them to me. With cloudy apple juice in hand I was able to make hot spiced apple cider for my flatmates which is one of my favorite things about fall.

So, although it wasn't your typical American Halloween, I enjoyed my low key celebration of Autumn.

There are a number of other traditions in the weeks following Halloween as well I don't know if this might have something to do with the lack of widespread adoption of Halloween here in England, but it might explain it.

Yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day, also called Bonfire Night. Although the actual holiday is November 5th (it has historical significance which I'll explain in a moment) it seems as though most of the celebrations were yesterday since the 5th is a Monday. Guy Fawkes was the main conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot of 1606 when he planted gunpowder in the basement of the houses of Parliament for the purpose of blowing up Parliament, the King and everyone else involved in the government so that the Catholic Spanish could take control. Luckily, he was caught before he succeeded and was sentenced to death.

Ever heard the saying "Remember, remember the 5th of November. The gunpowder treason and plot"? That's about Guy Fawkes and his attempt to blow up Parliament. So, every year they celebrate this failed attempt by setting off fireworks, have parties and celebrations and throwing effigies of Guy Fawkes into a roaring bonfire. I'll tell you more about my Guy Fawkes experience later.

The final tradition that is coming up soon is Remembrance Day on November 11th. Held that same day as America's veterans day it is in honor of the end of World War I. At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 the hostilities of war formally ended. Here in England they take Remembrance Day, also called Armistice Day and Poppy Day very seriously.

In honor of all those who lost their life in the line of duty, red remembrance poppies are worn. This is because of the red poppies blooming on many World War I battlefields. Red poppies have been popping up on lapels for the past few days. When I was in London, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing them sold at pub counters, attraction entryways and more, so I have one that I've been wearing on my peacoat. I have seen a number of people wearing them around Oxford (including one of my professors) but I haven't really seen a place to get one. Maybe they started in London last weekend and it just takes a few days for the poppies to reach Oxford.  There will also be a two minutes silence at 11am, recognized all over Great Britain.

I really like that they take this so seriously here. I don't think very many people even notice it's Veteran's Day in America because there aren't very many traditions associated with it that the general public partakes in. Those who lost their lives in war defended our freedom and safety deserve to be recognized and I wish there was more of celebration of their sacrifice in America. Though this is coming from the girl who tears up at baseball games when they play I'm Proud to Be an American and service men and women stand up, so I guess it's not surprising that I feel this way. Anyway, I like the sentiment behind Poppy Day and expect to see more and more poppies around Oxford as it gets close.

One of the things I've loved about being in Oxford is experiencing their traditions that are different from America or just unique to the UK and the beginning of November is rife in opportunities.

Introducing the City As My Own

As I've mentioned in a few of my posts before now, my parents were in Oxford last weekend. Leading up to their arrival, I was a little bit anxious.

The idea of my parents coming to visit me in a foreign country, and being able to show them around the city that has become familiar to me is a little bit strange, to say the least.

Since I've never been out of the country and my parents have travelled a fair bit, it was a funny feeling to be able to show them around. Even at school in HPU, I don't spend much time off campus in the city of High Point so the only I could really give my parents a tour of back in North Carolina is the actual college campus which somehow didn't seem like that big of a deal.

So, knowing that my parents were coming to visit got me thinking about where I should take them and what we should do. While they were here I showed them some interesting places in Oxford and they in turn showed me some new places that I just may visit again.

On the first day they were here (and severely jetlagged) I wanted to show the some of the Oxford University colleges so I took them on a mini walking tour down High Street.

All Souls (one of my favorite of the Oxford colleges) is only open from 2pm-4pm during the week so that was what we were working on schedule around. My parents were amazed by the main quadrangle (though it was a dreary day so they didn't get to experience it in the beautiful sunshine that I did) and were intrigued by the chapel.

In the chapel, there are a number of inscriptions and other passages written in Latin on the walls. At some point, but father asked what it said so I jokingly began translating, having absolutely no idea what i was doing. I was basically just translating words to things that they sounded like in the English language, and skipping over the ones that didn't seem to relate to any English word. It was all well and good until as we were looking at something a man, who had been there the entire time) began actually translating it to his wife. He reads Latin. Of course he does. My mom and I were dying of laughter at being caught, especially since I think my dad sort of believed me.

Dining Hall/Great Hall at Christ Church

After All Souls we went to Christ Church, which I haven't had the the opportunity to tour yet. We saw the inspiration of the Great Hall in Harry Potter and I have to say I was disappointed. I knew it was just the inspiration and not the actual filming location, but I was still expecting it to look a little more like the actual Great Hall. We did get to walk up the steps used in the filming of Harry Potter, though, so that sort of made up for it. We also toured the Christ Church Cathedral, and I learned an interesting story when the engineer in my dad asked a docent about the ceiling of the cathedral.

Beautiful section of Christ Church Cathedral

In the 1900s an architect wished to see the attic of the cathedral in order to better understand the construction of the ceiling. When he was led up there by the priest, they found a whole bunch of hay. After testing the hay they discovered what it was from.

During the English Civil War, Charles I had a falling out with Parliament and was expelled from London. He then decided to hold his court in Oxford. So, Oxford was the capital of England when King Charles lived at Christ Church College from 1642 until 1646. During this time, he decreed that all the best hay should be reserved for his horses and his men's horses so he had a whole lot of it brought up to Christ Church and stored in the ceiling of the cathedral. He ended up needing to retreat quickly in 1646 and so the hay was left there, forgotten, until the architect wished to see the attic 300 years later.

After Christ Church we went to the Turf Tavern for drinks so that I could lead them down the narrow passage and make them think that I was leading them to a strange and unknown location. It was pretty fun to see their reactions as we kept walking and the tavern still didn't seem to appear. But in all seriousness, I took them there because it is one of the oldest pubs in Oxford. And if that's not a good enough reason, I don't know what is.

Blenheim Palace

The next day we decided that since we had a car we should explore something nearby to Oxford that we could drive to. I had remembered that Dr. Schweitzer had gone to Blenheim Palace and enjoyed it, so I suggested it to by parents. They had actually read about it on the trip over, and were excited by the idea that that became our plan. What I was surprised about is that it costs £20 to get into Blenheim Palace!

In the end it really was worth it. Blenheim Palace is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and actually has a really interesting history. And it doesn't hurt that it's beautiful. It is also famed as the birthplace (and wedding location, actually) of Winston Churchill. One quite funny Winston Churchill quote was included in the Churchill exhibit: "At Blenheim I took two very important decisions: To be born and to marry." Although he certainly didn't consciously decide to be born there, he did choose to both propose and marry there as it held a special place in his heart over the years. Also, did you know that he was a painter? And that he partnered with Hallmark to create Christmas cards? No, neither did I.

Aside from Winston Churchill, there is also some other history of interest at Blenheim. They had a really fun exhibit about the stories of Blenheim Palace that described the conception and building of the palace and subsequent Dukes through a number of scenes constructed with mannequins  furniture and props and a maid from the first scene (building of the palace) that follows through all the scenes as a ghost). Because she's lived 300 years ago she wasn't up to date on the technology, people or other aspects of daily life in each scene and her reaction to these things was quite comical.

And finally we toured the staterooms which were, of course, beautiful. They had expensive paintings on the walls and many had French design elements because of one Duchess's fascination with Versailles. Most interesting were two or three rooms that had massive hand-sewn tapestries sized perfectly to fit the entire wall--nothing more, nothing less.

After touring the Palace we had a quick snack in the Water Terrace cafe. It was actually quite sunny at this point so it was enjoyable to sit outside. The one thing that sticks out to me about our time at the cafe is that October was apparently the Fabulous Food Festival's "Month Long Celebration of the Magical Pumpkin". I haven't spoken about this one here because I don't really like pumpkin, but my flatmates have not been able to find pumpkin for cooking anywhere. This was so strange because in America we put pumpkin in everything in the fall. We'd come to the conclusion that they just don't eat pumpkin here. So the fact that they were having a monthlong celebration of it was a surprising to say the least.

Blenheim Palace is a place I probably would not have had been able to visit had I not gone with my parents, so I'm really glad that I was able to go with them.

That evening we went to the Red Lion, a really cool restaurant in the city centre, which I've discussed in a previous post. I was really happy that my parents introduced us to this place (they went on a recommendation from their Guest House manager) because I think we'll definitely return there for drinks sometime soon.

All in all it was fun to have my parents here in Oxford with me, and it was a different type of experience to be the one showing people around for a change. Since I've been here I've felt like such a tourist trying to figure things out, but having visitors that know less than me that I appear smart too was kind of awesome.

Anyway, check back soon for more details on my time in the UK with my parents.