Valentine's Day at Galross House

Emily and I!

This weekend I took the bus up to Oxford to visit my good friend Emily who is studying away there for the semester, which is a surprisingly easy and affordable thing to do. Yay for countries that don't rely on cars to travel!  The only trouble came from the fact that it was (predictably) pouring rain and I had to stand at an uncovered bus station for about twenty minutes getting splashed by passing cars. It was glamorous.



Emily took me on a quick walking tour of Oxford, but I'm looking forward to going back with class in April for a few reasons. One, the weather might be better and I can look at the beautiful buildings without trying to withstand gale-force winds. Two, I might be able to see the famous Christchurch fields which are currently the Christchurch lakes due to the immense flooding. What I did see struck me, however, because it is so different from London. The focus on buildings for academia and scholarship result in different design schemes, and even today the place has a kind of "college town" feel to it.

Winner of most unhealthy dinner ever award

It happened to be Valentine's Day when I visited, as well as the birthday of two of the girls who live with Emily (there are nine of them on the program renting the same house together). To celebrate we did what any self-respecting college students would do: we made waffles and went dancing. Of all American foods, I think I miss waffles and pancakes the most. It's not that they don't have them here, it's just that they're different, and usually a snack rather than breakfast material. My first club experience was better than you might imagine, especially after we discovered the "cheesy music" dance floor, which was much more my style.

The residents of Galross House

The trip just made me think about my program and the things that I like about it (most things) and what I wish was different (not too much). Emily's program is just so different from mine. It made me really grateful for the Fraser family that I live with, because Emily doesn't really get the full living in England experience. And it made me wish I could do more cooking. Because waffles are amazing.