procrastination

i'm supposed to be finishing my paper right now. instead i'm uploading pictures and emailing others, as well as writing this blog. oh well.

what has been exciting the past few days? well, my DAD is here! he has come to charlbury the last few years with this program and decided to come again this year. i was very excited to see him (as well as the delicious things and clothes sent by my mom and sister of course). he came thursday and is staying with marion and andrew, and they nicely invited me over for dinner to catch up with him. then we had our valentines day party! we decorated the church with streamers, candles, red and white balloons and tables covered in red cloths and had a mini bar and cinnamon hearts. we all read poetry, sang songs or told stories about love, or lack of love, and members of the community joined us as well. it made for some good times.

friday we had our first exam in shakespeare. yikes. it wasn't so bad, actually. afterwards ree and i made happiness brownies and we had brownie sundaes with our study group. i think brownies can make pretty much anything better. after staying up too late and falling asleep on my bed with my books i decided to just let the exam happen. luckily it turns out i absorb well, because my exam wasn't horrible at all. saturday afternoon my dad took about half of us on a lewis and tolkien walking tour of oxford, and we got to see places they lived, worked and studied. it was really neat to walk the path where c.s. lewis changed his mind about becoming an atheist and turned back to God after a long time rejecting Him. anyways, after that, we went to the lamb and flag for a cup of tea and some warmth, then went to see a play called cloudcuckooland, an adaptation of aristophanes' the birds. it was a children's production but the whole group was practically rolling in the aisles we were laughing so hard. it was hilarious. high-spirited, the 18 of us invaded a pizzeria and spent the night laughing and eating.

a few of us decided to be martyrs and take the train while the others got rides home in cars. we sat and talked about hopes and dreams and passions while we waited about an hour for the last train home, and i discovered that earl grey is much better than it sounds. usually i drink english breakfast or orange pekoe. actually i have started drinking tea by the bucketload, as opposed to the occasional cup at home. enough about tea. we were all a little sad about having to walk up hill a long ways in the bitter cold home, and then, lo and behold, there was our saviour marion waving from her car! it was the most wonderful thing i'd ever seen. needless to say, our group of weary travellers were excited.

yesterday i went to church in the morning with my dad, had some of the 18 pounds of tuna pasta salad i for some reason made, and then went to blenheim with my dad and marion and andrew to walk the grounds and see the gardens. it was a wonderful day. although at the end of it, i think my legs had enough from the past few days for quite a while. last night, after a shower and a power nap, rebecca and i booked hostels for the first two nights, and i found a 3-day itinerary we are going to loosely follow. i also found lists of the best things to do for free, as well as days you can visit museums for free. it turns out that the last sunday of the month is free to visit the vatican museums! bonus! i also made a list of things in roman holiday i have to do, like sticking my hand in the mouth of truth and eating a gelato on the spanish steps. i may also become a princess and run away with gregory peck, and then have champagne in the morning at a road-side cafe. ahhh. but seriously, i'm so excited for this trip!

and today i'm supposed to be working. oh well. i have three days.

famous last words.