The Final Frontier
06.22.06
Infiltration. Make money at any cost.Today was by far my favorite of Dr. Bergstrom’s lectures. It was on the Russian Mafia, and everyone knows that hearing about an organized crime unit and their ruthlessness is semi-Hollywood (but no embellishments) and a form of entertainment. He talked about money laundering through various means, whether it was the Cayman Islands or restaurants and movie theaters. He defined organized crime as “groups engaging in political/economic VIA illegal means”. It’s funny, because I guess I’ve always assumed that all different ‘regional’ mafia were all generally similar, but apparently the Russian mafia is way more intense and ruthless than other mafia cells, like the Italians. Apparently, California used to produce and distribute a report on crime that had detailed commentary on organized crime; the last report that was prepared a couple of years ago An interesting fact about a vacation spot I think I have visited with my family on a cruise... the Cayman Islands, is that while the population is only 36,000, there are over 60,000 banks and trusts, as well as $800 million in assets on the islands… impressive! One more fact for the hopper is that at least a whopping 3 million people are employed by crime organizations. Wow!
On a more personal note, I cannot believe that today was the last day of lecture. It honestly feels like we were sloshing through the rain, confused and with all of our luggage—desperately trying to find George Street. This has been the experience of a lifetime, everything I expected and more. Just the opportunity to hear worldy perspectives, live in flats in Jericho, meet loads and loads of international people, and travel from European city to European city. I am so grateful that I was able to go on this trip, and it has changed quite a few of my outlooks on life, people, politics and friendships, and I am glad, because transformation is always good.
Next stop: Maybe London tonight, and then I leave for Nice and Geneva on Sunday!
Oxford makes me drink too much
06.21.06
It has been brought to my attention that we might be in fact living on an island… Unfortunately, England lost last night… which I guess means more drinking! It was a wild night, but for some reason it was free drinks from friendly people everywhere I went… not bad. However, I definitely paid for it this morning… there was not enough coffee, water, or aspirin to cure what last night left me feeling like.
Dr. Bergstrom’s first lecture, on the Politics of Thailand was somewhat appealing, mostly because it is all news to me! Dr. Bergstrom is really visual, animated and descriptive. So when he was describing the current crown prince’s ridiculous and haphazard lifestyle, or when the king was mysteriously killed, I was extremely entertained. I did learn some things that pieced previous information I had known, together. For example, I did not know that Thailand’s old school name is “Siam”. Not as educational, but interesting, was the recollection of if someone of royalty, etc is caught being “naughty” (I’m still not 100% sure what his definition of that is) then they are placed in a velvet body bag and beaten to death. The fact that 75% of the country is one religion (Buddhism), is a big deal. It just merely means that there is less conflict since there is a significant majority. My favorite part of the lecture was when he was talking about Thailand’s current King and how lucky they are to have him as a ‘ruler’. Interestingly enough, the king’s parents were traveling/working in the States, so when the mother went into labor, the current United States’ President declared a whole floor of a hospital “Thai territory”, so that the king could be technically born in his own country.
Good news is that Dr. Bergstrom’s second lecture was on the Politics of India—something I was interested in hearing about. India is fascinating to me… India accounts for one-sixth of the world’s population (right behind China), and it is the fourth largest economy in the world; I think that is absolutely amazing! Unlike the United States, India’s history goes far back, almost 5,000 years. I love the United States more than anything, but I will say that for traveling sake, I find it so interesting when visiting Europe, and hopefully in the future, India and the Middle East—the amount of history that is behind these countries. The United States has under 300 years of history, which is nothing compared to India. Even here in Oxford, it is mind-boggling to walk around this city, or even sit in a classroom that is part of this 800+ year old, world-renowned university and imagine who was there before, what events it endured, etc.
While I thought Dr. Bergstrom’s talk on India was interesting, every day this week he has somehow mentioned his paper or thesis that was on an Indian Viceroy… and today he talked about it once again, and it was so redundant… oh well, you win some and you lose some.
Bob spoke on United States and British Foreign Policy. He basically said that they have somewhat similar foreign policies since the creation of the Monroe Doctrine. An interesting comparison he made about the countries is that while England is often viewed as an island, he said that the United States is ultimately one, too. Not geographically, because of Canada and Mexico, but geopolitically because Canada and Mexico are not a threat to us. I didn’t know where he was going with it at first, but after explaining it, I understood the concept that he was relaying to us.
After lectures, we went home to read and study. Not a lot of that happened. The weather was cold so we stayed in, even though Nick was trying to have a barbeque at 4 Kingston. So instead, we watched Mexico play Portugal (Mexico lost) in the world cup, it was a fun time, even though Nick and Gus were really upset at their people… haha. Way later, Matt and Jeff started prank calling our house. It was actually hysterical, and then they somehow managed to climb up the side of our house, and our roommate (Azusa Pacific), let’s call her Trumpet, totally freaked out. We apologized for our friends’ ridiculousness, which she was extremely accepting of, well so I thought, but then she went into the kitchen and came out with hot water that she boiled… and tried to pour it out the window onto them, then she ran outside and tried to chase them! I literally had no idea what to say, except for “Please don’t do that” and an inner note to self of her insanity. Needless to say, she really lost it and now I don’t think I’m going to be confronting her about her never doing her dishes…..
Officially Sponsoring the Tide Pen
06.20.06
“China is a sleeping giant. Let her lie and sleep, for when she awakens she will astonish the world.” – Napoleon Well, while my morning technically started off on a good note… we were on time and the weather was nice… I managed to spill coffee all over my white top. I realize that getting something on a white article of clothing is inevitable, but I swear it looked like I took the top off the latte and just started pouring. In turn, I would like to officially endorse the Tide Stain Removing Pen. I got almost all of it out! Now onto bigger and more significant things…
I was so excited for today’s first lecture on The Politics of China. My grandpa talks about China all of the time, sends me articles, etc. He always tells me that China is getting bigger, better and stronger every single day, and that it is already a regional superpower, and that China is well on its way to becoming a superpower in manufacturing, technology, and telecommunications.
Once again, Dr. Bergstrom started with facts and figures to make the lecture more realistic and momentous. China is the third highest trader in the world, has the highest economic growth in the world in the past couple of decades, is the second largest consumer of oil, lastly, in 2004 there were two billionaires in China, and in 2005 there were 10. The exponential growth of China and its quest to take over the world is climbing fast and steady. Some things that he talked about that I think we should be concerned about are: the uneven balance of trade (China sells six times than what they buy from the U.S.) as well as the fact that China is engaged in a major military buildup that goes far beyond its defensive needs. Dr. Bergstrom also touched on how Israel has been selling arms to China—we created and have continually stuck by Israel, I just don’t know why the United States hasn’t made a big enough deal about Israel definitely breaking some agreement I assume that we have with them about selling weapons like that. I do vaguely recall reading something about Rumsfeld around this time last year freezing some shipments, etc. but it just sounds like a slap on the wrist.
Dr. Bergstrom spent quite a significant amount of time making fun of Louis Vuitton… I am quite the collector when it comes to that couture line, but I definitely know that there is a lot of criticism that goes along with “overpaying” for a handbag. However, Dr. Bergstrom forgot to touch on what a ridiculous profit couture companies make, personally, I think it is a marketing phenomenon and I don’t mind being a part of it. But that’s just me! In conclusion, I really enjoyed his lecture on China today, I read or hear commentary on the growing China, and how China is officially becoming a full fledged competitor of the United States every single week, and I was glad to be able to hear various points of views on it.
Our last lecturer was Mr. Le May, who spoke on World War II and its’ effects. I was so excited to hear him speak, because in Tim’s introduction, he said that the lecturer had been a speech writer for Winston Churchill… it was like he was a walking, living, breathing piece of history! However, I could barely hear him, and I don’t feel like he spoke enough about his experience and involvement—which would have easily made the lecture ten times more interesting.
Tonight England is playing Sweden! So we are on our way out to the Victoria to go watch the game, and of course… have some beverages, as well!
Class and Tabloids
06.19.06
Class never goes out of style
Today was our first day back for classes, and the weather was really dumpy! It’s actually raining right now! It’s hard to believe because the weather has been so nice here! Our first lecturer today was Dr. George Bergstrom who actually used to be in the Political Science department at SDSU. He actually gave an interesting talk on the British Class System. I really liked the format of his lecture because he started off by giving a very quick rundown of the intricacy and importance of class in British society, but then followed up with quotes from different sources.Dr. Bergstrom said that “nothing happens without class distinction” in Britain. At first I thought it was somewhat of a broad, maybe embellished statement, but after his lecture, it was proved to be extremely true. It was at first hard to relate, because the United States’ history is nowhere as old as British history. Their class distinction roots back generation after generation, not to mention that their country is run by a monarchy (a class in its own).
What I found interesting was when he talked about the English public school system as the “cardinal reinforcer of class”. Until he started to talk about, I totally forgot that the English public school system and the United States public school system are two very different situations! In the United States public schools are run and financed by the government; adversely, public schools in England are exclusive, independent and are definitely not free. I know Oxford is definitely exclusive, but the numbers make it seem even more dramatic. Only 6% of English students go to public schools, however at least half of Oxford freshers are from public schools. It’s a really dominating factor, but I feel like it works somewhat similarly in the States. My school, just like many others really stressed the “college prepatory aspect”, and in turn, our first Senior semester English class was geared around our application essay, interview preparedness, etc. Just like the public schools in England, the private schools in the United States heavily prepare their students to be in the prime applicant pool for top universities. The prime example Dr. Bergstrom used was Eaton. Eaton has produced 18 Prime Ministers, has huge family lineage within the alumni and student body, cultures boys’ accents, etc.
While he did bring up the growing gap between the rich and the poor (which is a big problem we have in the States), I admittingly like exclusivity. I always have my whole entire life. It’s the concept of the have and have nots. Maybe it’s just because I believe that to an extent, everyone can control their destiny. It’s not wishful thinking, I’ve seen it happen. Rags to riches, what a mere set of goals can do for someone, mentors, etc. I get motivational e-mails, and once in a while there is something meaningful, “Where there is vision, there is life and growth, accomplishment, fulfillment and joy. Visualize the very best for your world, and allow your life to follow that vision.”
For lunch we went to this awesome Mongolian Barbeque place. You pack whatever you want into a bowl (the guys showed us space-saving secrets, haha), and then the chef ‘woks’ it for you, and it was only 5.50! So cheap for here! After that we still had a lot of dead time until our last lecture, so we walked around Oxford… I don’t want to admit it, but I started thinking about how I am going to miss this place that I have gotten used to.
Our last lecturer, Nick Thomas, who is currently under contract for The Telegraph, was a nice deviation from the norm. He spoke about all of the different forms of media in England (Press, Weekly Magazines, Radio and TV). It was especially interesting since he is a writer himself. I didn’t realize what a different media “climate” there is in England (compared to the States). England is about one-third of the United States’ population and the whole country is under the same time zone—making the market relatively compact, meaning that everyone watches the same 6 o’clock news and that there is more national coverage. He also shared his point of view as to what stations and publications are “rubbish”—gotta love the British!
The rest of the day has been spent studying. There was a minor interruption because some of the girls who are in our program had stuff stolen out of their flat, but they found out it was by their roommate…. Blah blah blah, the police came… it was interesting for a minute, but no longer (unfortunately)—it gave us a reason to take a break, that’s for sure!
Last, but definitely not least, we finalized our travel plans for the last travel week. We are going to Nice, France and Geneva, Switzerland! I am so excited!! But before, almost our whole group is going to go to London on Friday for the night and go to something called the "Ice Bar"... it's a bar made entirely of ice, and you have to wear a huge parka they give you when you enter.... I'm excited!
Where to find pictures!
I started uploading pictures into
webshots.com instead of where I had them before. So here are the latest pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/csprevot Miss everyone!!!
Cheers
Christina
Link to pictures from Barcelona
I think the Sangria caused me to not take many pictures.... here's a link to the web album: Barcelona, Spain
Royal Surroundings
06.18.06
God Save the Queen We went to Windsor Castle (oldest and largest castle around)… also one of the Queen’s official residences, today. All I have to say is that it is amazing what money and vision can do when building a massive estate/compound like this. Ironically, this weekend is the official celebration of the Queen’s birthday, so it was I assume a little more festive than usual. The Royal Standard flag was up, meaning the Queen was in residence, I looked, but I couldn’t find her—oh well! Unfortunately, Saint George’s Chapel was off limits today for some reason, no big deal. Then we naturally moved on to a close by pub.
Everyone got home, called their Dad’s for Father’s Day, and then we attempted to go to a comedy night. I really wanted to go because my roommate from New York (Amanda) was in it, so we went, and then they kept on putting it off, blah blah blah, so Holly and I went to a fantastic restaurant called “The Living Room” and had some of the best food I’ve had in England. The rest of the night will be devoted to studying! What a blast!
Adios
06.17.06
It was a study day all day today! However, it was Donald’s last night in town, so we all went to the Victoria had some drinks, and then went off to Thirst. We had a crazy night after Thirst closed—it included the river, meeting someone who is 123rd in line for the throne (I weighed out my options, and apparently I would never get the throne with him…), Brits asking to hear
our accents, the Kebab Kid, taxis, and finally somehow, home.
Back Home (Oxford)
06.16.06
There's no place like home Doc always talks about when going back to Oxford from another country, it feels like you’re going “back home”. It’s true. In our many hours of transit and waiting in the Barcelona airport, Holly and I just kept on saying how happy we were to finally be going back home. Oxford has definitely become our home for the past couple of weeks—regardless of whether or not all of the locals like us or not, the exchange rate, the crazy food and words that we’ll still never know the real meaning of… Oxford has become a form of a home to me. When we landed in England, we put away our Soduku and knew we were home.
It is so good to be back!! Holly and I ran a million errands all day, did lunch, got some Oxford gifts for people back in the States, and then read and studied. At night we all played cards and watched “As Good As It Gets” until we all passed out from jetlag. Boring day, but glad to be back in the UK!
Viva Barcelona
06.10.06-06.15.06
“No Habla Espanol” Eight of us went to Barcelona for a little under a week—all 8 of us came back… some left with less than what they came with, and some left with more. Fortunately, I am the latter, but it was still an interesting experience for all of us!
We arrived in Barcelona, took a transfer to our hostel that advertised that it was right on the beach… and right on the beach it was, prime location, clean, borderline nice, free breakfast, no curfew, 24 hour internet access and a private bathroom/shower for our ‘suite’ (they call them dorm rooms). We arrived early in the morning, so we got settled, went out to lunch, and some of us went and explored and the rest went and laid out on the beach—the weather was beautiful the whole time we were there (ironically, it started to rain when our flight was leaving on the last day).
Summary style of the trip:
-Saw a bullfight (one of the most interesting, cultural experiences of my life)
-Learned how to use the metro/underground—it was a lifesaver for getting around
-Laid out on the beach (and yes, there were a lot of topless bathers)
-Visited touristy sites, even took a tour bus that took us around to all of the places to see
-Ate at Hard Rock (big deal because they have all of the awesome American food that we’ve been missing)
-Olivera’s purse was stolen on the beach (we were sadly only 10 feet away) and Joey’s wallet was also stolen. Horrible experiences for them both, but we got to visit the U.S. Consulate to get Olivera a new passport—actually a kind of cool field trip!
-Had lots and lots of Sangria
-Saw Flamenco dancing
-Played lots of Gin (thanks to Donald)
-Had Paella
-Had Lobster that we had to crack ourselves… it was quite the spectacle
-Missed our flight back to Stansted… oops-Had a fabulous time, but I’m Spain-ed out for now… time for another country!
Pictures will follow sometime soon...
Stratford Still Hasn’t Changed
06.09.06
"In good company"We visited good old Shakespeare’s hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon, today. I was hesitant about going because I went the very first time I had visited England—and I probably secretly promised myself during that visit that I would never venture back to Stratford. Not that it is a horrible place, but the city is centered around the main attraction, Shakespeare’s birthplace (just as other cities revolve around their main attraction). This wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but Shakespeare’s birthplace is a house, that you ‘tour’ around in attempts to glorify the great playwright, Shakespeare.. when reading one of his undecipherable plays would probably be more of a homage than that. In short, you think the floor is going to fall through, and you are racking your brain wondering how you survived not the first, but the SECOND time to this godforsaken place.
Regardless, being with good company always overrides all negatives! A bunch of us went to lunch, did the ice cream thing, tried to shop (no goods to be had), and found a pub to watch the World Cup. All in all, it ended up being a good time, but now I know that I am really never venturing back to Stratford…. well at least not for now.
Pictures from Almeria, Spain -- 06.02-.06.04
Sorry it took so long to put these up! These are from my first trip to Spain.... Almeria (South of Spain) a couple of weeks ago!
Formally Smashed Dinner at Oxford
06.08.06
“Cheers to school-sponsored drunkenness!” I love that everyone here has to dress up (business casual) for classes everyday. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of jeans and sweatshirts (the functionality is unmatchable)—but I love walking to class, or looking around at everyone and their definitions of ‘business casual’—we’re a classy bunch! Minus the few who think that no one sees that they never changed out of their Rainbows, guys who think their dark skate shoes look like/can pass for leather dress shoes (not fooling anyone), some girls with paired blazers and pants (just because it matches doesn’t always mean it’s a good idea), and a select few who think a Juicy hoody can pass for a sweater (ridiculous). Nevertheless, the old, beautiful buildings that we have classes in and our classy attire really redefines the collegiate environment as we know it.
The topics indicate on our syllabus didn’t look very interesting for today—but actually our first speaker was a kick in the pants. Dr. John Dowling walks in—has the long, frizzy beard—just like a Rabbi or Orthodox Jew. While my stereotype was quickly proved incorrect, it looks like he knows people’s first impressions because he immediately told us how he had studied at Stanford, and that while he is Catholic, all of the people who had contributed the most to his life while he was there had been Jewish.
His lecture on why economies all over Europe are different was interesting because he linked mercantile communities and guilds from years ago to the current booming economies of places like Paris, Oslo, Vienna, London, etc.
Tonight was the formal dinner at New College—it was the craziest educationally intoxicated event I’ve ever attended! They got us all saucy with champagne before we even went to the dinner itself, then we went to the huge hall and had at least a 3-course meal. I can’t remember what the food was (partially because it was unidentifiable), but it was fine, the servers wouldn’t stop pouring wine… it was the beginning of a crazy night. I was sitting across from one of our guest lecturers, Dr. Tudor Jones, he was definitely interesting… telling us about a movie he produced, Angelina Jolie and how awesome Americans are (yes!). Then we moved on to the New College bar (just like SDSU!) and got too smashed to go anywhere else (even though we ended up at a bar soon thereafter). Overall, it was a unique and unforgettable time!
A Decent Proposal
06.07.06
“Start running, carry on, and do more than most.”
Last night was a
late night. Everyone was busy running around like a chicken with their head cut off, trying to arrange study groups – which all just ended up being everyone yapping about everything but our test… until later.
This morning I realized that it’s quite possible that it is the vodka in a vodka-redbull drink that wakes me up, because this morning the plain Redbull was not working its magic!
We managed to get to OSAP, did the whole test routine, with everyone groaning when we went over the long-awaited answers. In relief that our last Spanier test had been conquered, we got some breakfast on the way to the Old Library – all I have to say is that for such an old, distinguished country, England
still hasn’t mastered food—like not even close.
I am so in love with Doc’s lectures, he could talk about anything—and anyone would listen. You can see his love for the opportunity to touch our lives in his eyes, and you can hear his deep-rooted passion in his voice. He started with an African Proverb that I’ve seen somewhere before, that ends with “when the sun comes up, you better start running”. Basically, in the interest of us, the possibility to steer us in the right direction—combining the African Proverb and the words of Churchill, Doc told us to “Start running and carry on…”. Then he told a story about him and Donald, it was one of those unique stories that regardless of how different every person in the room was, it sparked something inside of everyone.
Professor Schuettinger spoke about Churchill, I can’t remember if he quoted Churchill saying this, or if I remember it from somewhere else or another lecture, but one of my favorite things that Churchill said was, “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”
Today was the most beautiful day in Oxford thus far. I honestly think it might have been 80 degrees. After class we went to lunch, got some travel books for Barcelona and Prague, and a Spanish/English phrase/dictionary since we all know how competent I am in Spanish! For the first night in Oxford (nights before tests excepted), my roommate and I stayed in. We watched Father of the Bride, did some reading for our upcoming paper, and hung out with some friends. Wonderful, wonderful day!
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running.”
Pictures! (Thames River & Nights Out)
Pub Crawl!
Roommate!
Pre-Booze Cruise on the Thames
Hayley & I on the boat!
At "Thirst"
Roommate @ I @ 'The Bridge'
Pre-partying with Doc!
Calm Before the Storm
06.06.06
Lucky to not be hungover and happy that it’s another beautiful day in Oxford, we walked over to University church, where our classes are being held today. We got there early, so Doc introduced us to Mark Almond, who had a dead fish, fingertip only handshake! Apparently corroborating an article we were given when we got here, outlining the differences between Americans and the Brits—how a handshake isn’t defining here! Just thought that was interesting…well kind of.
Mark Almond spoke for an hour on “Terrorism” and an hour on “Easter Europe and the EU”. I thought his talk on terrorism was interesting, applicable to daily life and thought provoking however, the last lecture was not as intriguing to me. Mark Almond’s general push on terrorism is basically that it has become a defining issue all over the world, the West in particular. The goal of terrorists being to evoke fear within the society. While that was the case immediately after 9/11, terrorism has become more of a norm (or at least more commonplace in conversation)—but who knows what the next attempt of the terrorists will be and what they will be attempting to accomplish.
Our last speaker was Dr. David Merrell. Kind of bland at first, mostly reading from the paper in front of him and it was on the topic of comparative welfare states. At first, he presented definitions of the three welfare states (liberal, christian, democratic), but finally he went more into depth. I liked how he used us (American students) as an example, it made his lecture more relative. He said that since we don’t expect a job for life, and expect to move around, our aim (in getting a liberal education) is to have a high level of general skills, careful not to really specify.
Sad that I'm missing tomorrow's Nordy's sale, it's like the first one I've missed since.... well EVER!
Okay, off to study for tomorrow's exam!
Booze Cruise on the Thames River
06.05.06
The pen is mightier than the swordAfter getting home from Spain at 4am this morning, you can imagine what a treat it was to have to wake up for class! It was a nice surprise to realize that Oxford’s weather has turned around—it was such a beautiful day today! The first day we could actually wear skirts!
On the way to class, we checked the syllabus/schedule and realized that our first speaker was going to be Srinivasan—the one who spoke last week on African politics. Needless to say, I was somewhat apprehensive, because I wasn’t wild about his lecture last week.
Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed Srinivasan’s lecture on Sudan and Darfur today. He started by announcing that his lecture last week was below par because he spent too much time outlining, as well as the fact that he didn’t speak on a narrow enough scope. Today he spoke about Sudan and I found myself really interested in what he had to say. Sudan has a unique situation for many reasons—one is its geopolitical position… Sudan itself is bordered by about 8 countries I think (that’s a lot!). Secondly, the country is somewhat split—with Arabs in the North and Africans in the South. And what’s right in between then two halves? Oil! The world’s most sought out resource. Quite an interesting situation for Sudan.
We also had a Schuettinger lecture on Reagan’s foreign policy. Bob cracks me up with his stories about him losing a Senate election and how he managed to become a White House Aid to President Reagan – all by being in the right place at the right time. He of course ended with one of his favorite (and of course, true) reminders: “The pen is mightier than the sword”.
After classes, I decided that I really needed to book my first week long trip. My roommate, Hayley and Lauren all going to Italy – but I feel like I’ve bee there too many times, granted it’s because I love it there so much… and I really had my heart set on going to an area or country that I haven’t been to before. I’ve really wanted to go to Croatia, but at first no one from Oxford was really wild about it, then my friend Rob from San Diego, said he would fly out there, too, if I really wanted to go—tempting, but for some reason I didn’t feel 100% about it. Then, I was talking to Olivera, and she said if I didn’t have plans, that I should go to Barcelona with her and about 6-7 of our friends. After a quick assessment of the situation, I had already planned on going to Barcelona for the last week… so why not move it up? I booked Barcelona for the first travel week, yay! I’m thinking I might do some kind of Prague, Vienna, Munich trip for the last travel week, we’ll see!
7pm: Booze Cruise on the Thames River!
So, we were told that we had to be at the river by 7pm sharp because the boat leaves at 7:05, etc etc. We get to the “Head of the River” (pub), and all the staff is drinking… and we realize they fibbed about the time, which was a good call, because no matter how early I try to leave, as a collective group (Walton Well & Kingston Road) we are always arriving a second after we need to be there… or we’re just plain late.
We tried a new drink called a “Shanni”—so good! It’s like three-quarters cider (or beer?) and the rest is Sprite/7UP… well to be quite honest, I have no idea what was really in it, but that’s kind of what I was told was in it. We got onto the boat, had food and of course drinks—lots and lots of drinks. Over the course of the three hour boat ride, everyone managed to get tipsy—including Doc, who verbally gave in to canceling the final (we’ll see how that turns out). I had a drunken conversation with Schuettinger about Reagan and Gorbachev, and of course, two of the guys from our group stripped and jumped off the boat into the Thames.
After we stumbled off the boat, we managed to walk to a bar, “Thirst”. It’s amazing how many different people you can meet in a bar in Europe—an Aussie, Brit and Canadian were buying Lauren, Olivera and I drinks. I think they were semi-obsessed with us being Americans, well actually they were, they said so. That’s not usually why people buy us drinks back in the States… All in all, the booze cruise and its continuation onto land was a smashing time!
Alcazaba
06.04.06
We had to check out by 12 – so we slept in (something we haven’t done in Oxford, yet), got ready for the day and then went off to breakfast/lunch. Another language barrier sutation: so we all ordered something different in hopes of getting a couple of edible things. Some of us got sandwiches, muffins, waffles or fruit—it was quite the assortment. Even though the whole trip was so much fun—my favorite part was going to the historical site that I begged everyone to go see, Alcazaba, an Arab fortress in Almeria. It’s size would amaze you, comparable to I assume some ridiculous amount of football field lengths. The intricate streams outlined in marble that ran down the middle of the stairs all along and around the fortress. There were carefully constructed open-air windows in the shape of crowns with crosses. Just walking around the massive fortress, comparable to the acreage of a couple of Rancho Santa Fe or Atherton estates was amazing—especially because it was all built thousands of years ago in 955 BC. It’s insane to imagine that much vision for lavishness that long ago. It was definitely one of the most captivating things of the past two weeks in Europe.
Since it’s Sunday, and almost everything is closed, we went to the beach, had some gelato and just hung out in the sun until we had to grab our stuff from the hotel and hop into a taxi to the aeropuerto. I still can’t believe we did a weekend trip to the south of Spain!! It’s so unbelievable how close to other countries you are from any point in Europe. If there was one really rewarding aspect of this trip (besides good company) was the ultimate realization of how I really want and need to learn Spanish. I mistakenly took French in high school, even though I’ve always known the multiple advantages of knowing Spanish—especially in California. It’s looking like Spanish 101 for me in the Fall!
Fun in the Sun
06.03.06
After taking forever to get everyone to wake up, get ready, and out of the hotel, we went and tried to order breakfast, half of us ended up with hamburgers, and the other half with unknown sandwiches. The weather was so nice, it felt soooooo good to finally be in the sun – so we went to a beach bar, did the Sangria thing again and then laid on the beach for most of the day. We went back to the hotel, showered and went shopping before dinner. So many of the Spanish women don’t do casual. During the day they have classy outfits with lots of accessories, but at night—they all look like prom queens (I’m talking two piece, satin numbers…) It’s like a Latin soap opera! It’s kind of comical. To be quite honest, it seems like they love it here, the lackadaisical way of life—lattes and pastries in the morning, beach, siestas in the later afternoon, sangria, and lots and lots of ice cream.
The shopping was to die for (credit cards still suffering), great selections of flowy, Euro dresses and tops. It’s ironic that the people who spoke the best and most fluent English were the ones who worked at the clothing stores… Then we went off to dinner and had some pseudo-American pizza. Then off to some bar, more Sangria and also free tapas (good thing because we ordered some nasty stuff). We also attempted to order rum and coke, and they brought us coca-cola and then a glass filled three-quarters of the way with rum – it made for quite an interesting evening. We were trying to stumble home, but we finally saw a Sushi place—so we decided to go; because none of us has had any sushi since we’ve been at Oxford (horrible withdrawals). After sushi, we managed to get back to the hotel and pass out from a crazy, fun, but long day!
A Brave New … Almeria!
06.02.06
So, myself and five other people got ridiculously cheap flights to the South of Spain – and if it’s possibly, we paid for what we saved VIA confusion, but it’s still proving to have been worth the madness to get here. First off, we bought Coach tickets for our 3 hour bus ride to Stansted (satellite London airport). 2 girls in our group of 6 literally missed the bus – so things kind of got off to a rocky start. However, thanks to my bright idea of having a cell phone here (more incidents to come later), we were able to make sure they found another means of getting to the airport.
The bus ride was way better than expected—well all got our own rows, so we slept most of the time… it was a relatively smooth ride and the three hours ultimately felt like only one – fantastic! We got to the airport, checked in, went through minimal security (don’t they know who I am?), got food and some gross concoction that was supposed to be a smoothie. Eventually, we made our way to the terminal, met up with our previously left behind friends, and waited in this crazy amalgamate of people (no organized line whatsoever). It was like Southwest on crack – open lines, open seating, and only the pay for option for food or drinks on the flight. Of course we managed to sit in the “Everyone has a baby” section… but still, a decent three hour flight.
The fun part of the night was when we took taxis to our hotel, 10 km’s away. We had one piece of paper with our hotel name and address on it, we showed it to the taxi driver, and he showed it to his taxi “associate” (since they couldn’t fit all six of us in one). We file into two taxis, and while I’m not sure how long a kilometer really is… I do know it’s less than a mile… so after 15-20 minutes, I say something to other people I’m with… so with our broken Spanish, we try to reconfirm with the driver that we are in fact going to Hotel Torreluz. He gets all upset, says something about him taking us where our friends are going… after a half hour passes, Deron is freaking out, so we turn on my cell phone and he starts trying to call people back at Oxford, so that they could hopefully look up the address online, but since it’s Friday night, no one is picking up!
We finally get to our driver’s destination of choice, 100 km away! He gets all mad, gets out of the car… and goes to the ‘bathroom’ like 10 feet away from us – no shame! Fortunately, and with ridiculously perfect timing, my roommate Stephanie somehow manages to call us from the hotel! She got the front desk to give the driver directions, and then we started our 100 km trek back. We finally get there around 11pm, and our $25 a night hotel is beautiful! I actually couldn’t believe it, it was definitely comparable to a 4 Star hotel in the states. We went and had a late dinner, which really consisted of a bunch of tapas that we blindly picked off the menu, and Sangria, lots and lots of it…I’m all about the whole “When in Rome” thing.
Barcelona, Spain
I just booked my trip to Barcelona, Spain for next week, I am soooooooooooo excited!!!!
New Politics in the Old Library
06.01.06
“We have seen these people before, and we will defeat them”Today’s events: Map test, 2 Speakers: Sharath Srinivasan (on African Political Reform) and Dr. Neil Pyper (on Democracy in Latin America), Doc on the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy, dinner at New College’s dining room, attempting to stay in the flat for the night but getting suckered into going out, clubbing at the Bridge in Oxford.
Took the map test, did fabulously. The 2 speakers today were more or less semi-painful. The first one, Srinivasan was speaking on African Politics, which I was really interested in learning about but between him spending a lot of his time verbally outlining what he was going to speak about, and his inability to condense his expansive knowledge on the topic, it wasn’t one of the best lectures that we’ve had. The other speaker, Pyper, was almost similar, but was a less confident speaker and it was really hard to listen to him. All in all, I did learn some interesting facts, and both of the topics tied into each other in the sense that Africa (at least the Democratic Republic of Congo) as well as Latin America are both having their first elections this year. So it’s a very current topic.
Doc talked about a number of things, but what I got out of it was that the United States is viewed as common, trustworthy, a medium and ‘the balancer’. To the United States, peace is advantageous, it equals hassle free trade, money, globalization, etc. Most importantly in the case of Israel, other countries and specific situations, it is wiser to support the weak, not strong in the light of balance.
Later in the evening, myself and 4 other girls attended New College’s nightly dinner. It was quite interesting!! First of all, they didn’t have our “reservation” and we had these black Oxford vests on, that not everyone else was wearing… which of course induced major staring. However, not only was the dinner good, but it was massive!! It started with bread and butter, then salad, then soup, then the main entrée- along with potatoes and vegetables, and then a quite intricate dessert—bread pudding. It was fun!
Lastly, my roommate, Stephanie and I had been planning on staying in…. but somehow got coerced into going out to “The Bridge”. We of course ended up having the most fabulous time, meeting all different kinds of people, as well as dancing and partying with the ones that we know! Even though we have a flight to make tomorrow (Friday)—I still think it was worth it… hangover and all.
