European Escapades

So Im sitting here, on a lovely terrace looking out into the darkness which in daylight would be ocean. I haven’t written in a long while. A long long while. In fact the entire second half of my term at Oxford is a mystery to you. But not to me. To me it is a compilation of memories. And too many to try to recount to you. At least not here. Not now.

So I have been travelling a bit here and there throughout the term...London, Dublin, Edinburgh and day trips to various towns just outside of Oxford. But my official European Adventure began exactly one week ago. Three days in Paris: Napoleons grave, Eiffel Tower, Pantheon, Luxembourg Gardens, Arc de Triomph, Champ-Eyleses, Notre Dame, Bastille, Louvre. Four days in Rome: EVERYTHING. Seriously. Coloseum, Vatican City, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Vittorio Emmanuel Monument, Pantheon, and every Piazza there is haha...just to name a few. We just got dumped in Naples today and b-lined it straight to the Isle of Capri. It is absolutely breathtaking. Lively. Lush. Friendly. Natural. And as typically Italian as you can get. We are staying at a B&B called Il Tramonto. And Ken and I basically have it all to ourselves! Everyone else who had reservations had to cancel due to flights being cancelled thanks to the freak volcano eruption in Iceland contaminating all European airspace. Anyway the weather is beautiful here. The air smells green. The water glistens. We are at the top of the island so we have a panoramic view of the whole island. Again I don’t want to leave. Really I don’t. Tomorrow we will begin our Caprese escapades. The rest is yet to come...

I almost feel ridiculous crunching two months of my life into two short paragraphs but a little is better than none right? Plus the details are all in my journal anyway. And anecdotal stories are always better told in person anyway. But for now enjoy this view... and BE JEALOUS. And yes. I took this picture.

X's and O's

This post interestingly comes at the proper time...considering valentine's was but 2 days ago. However, this is not the reason for the post. Ever since I got to Oxford...everyone puts an x or multiple x's at the end of texts and emails... I always thought x was kisses and was a little concerned by this expression of affection especially from people I did not know that well. but then I just thought they were very friendly and affectionate and figured maybe I got it mixed up and the X is actually the hug. nope.

Just now I got an email confirming my requested tickets for an event at the Union Society. The guy...who I dont know and have never met...signed the end of an email with an x!!! so i thought to myself...there must be something im missing here. i just looked it up. and looky here what i learned. makes much more sense now. considering only luv-stricken junior highers or old cutie pies.... and well i guess my dad too....use XOXOXOXOXOX as a mushy sign of affection. not necessarily the case here.

{Where did the custom of putting Xs and Os at the bottom of a letter come from?
The first mention in literature of XXX for kisses at the bottom of a letter was in 1901, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The X itself is very old.

The custom goes back to the early Christian era, when a cross mark or "X" was the same as a sworn oath. The cross referred to the cross of Calvary and the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, Xristos.

Even as little as a hundred and fifty years ago, not many people could read or write. The "X" at the bottom of a document took the place of a signature. They would kiss the "X" as a crucifix or bible was kissed to emphasize the importance of the mark. It was this practice that lead to the "X" representing a kiss.

There isn't much known about the beginnings of the "O". It is a North American custom. The "O" represents the arms in a circle around another person. Arms crossed in front of you do not mean the "X" as a hug! The "O" is the hug.} taken from hugkiss.com

So there is my cultural fact for the day. x

Distracted. and Nostalgic.

So im sitting here at my desk. its dusk. im working on MCAT review. trying to study. feel productive. but just a little distracted. so this is going to be in no way eloquent. just my thoughts.

times are good. life is great. but right now i am nostalgic. mostly i miss my long hair. yeah weird right? but i do. its almost my birthday. 1 week. feb 21st. im going to london that weekend. but im sad that i dont get to celebrate my golden birthday (21 on 21) with all of my friends and family. i have also been looking at pics from my 20th birthday last year. we went to disney land. also the weather was marvelous. i was able to wear jeans, a tank top and reefs. im jealous. of my last year self. its cold. i miss being able to just throw on clothes. not have to layer and layer and layer.

i also just miss apu family. the familiarity of at least recognizing everyone you see. always going to the same building. the same professors. the same coffee shop. feeling connected to people simply because of the APU bond. dont get me wrong. this has been an adventure. i LOVE meeting new people. but i miss really knowing people. and being known. being able to look someone in the eye and knowing that they understand. and know exactly what you are thinking and feeling. i dont think about this stuff much since everything here is so exciting and new and lovely.

i realize it when i look at pictures of friends. of things and happenings at apu. thank you facebook. i also realized it when i went to the house of a friend of a friend and the style of decor, clothing, hairstyles even were similar to friends at apu. its a different culture here. a culture of clean shaven men and twill. of boots and scarves. of academia and drinks. its just different. and i love it. but im nostalgic for the emotional amenities of apu. of home. the dress. the food. the culture of people. the weather. the little things you dont really think about but nevertheless enjoy. the one thing that i do cherish here more than anything else is time. my time has been precious. and exorbiant. enough for everything that i want and need. a slower pace. more sleep. people. walking. places. looking. listening. writing. reading. expressing. absorbing. holding on. letting go. feeling. experiencing. learning. knowing.

much of this time has passed since my last blog. many experiences. social. academic. spiritual. personal. cultural. but recounting specific events for you i dont think is as meaningful as relaying my inner journey. i felt compelled to share what was going on in my head and my heart. even though my MCAT review book is lying open in front of me, glaring. waiting for my return.

2 things i do have to tell you about though:

1) St. Aldate's Church has been my joy since the moment i have arrived in this city. the college group is amazing and i have made such great friendships already. it is the hub of my social and spiritual gratification. the people have welcomed me in and i feel at home with them. i make a new friend every time. a friend of a friend. then another friend of a friend. and it just keeps going. going to small group, student night, and just hanging out with friends of my church friends on the weekends. getting to lounge and just chill. just like home. but i guess a little different. they all have accents. irish. and english.

2) i went to my first Union Society Debate last night. it is the most famous and prestigous debating societies in all of england and debatably the world. haha. no pun intended. the debate was entitled "This House believes that the British Empire was a good thing." I went in with an open mind having studied much about the goods and evils of the British Empire in various past history courses. Both sides made a dashing argument. well spoken. funny. brilliant. at times very provocative, bold, even offensive. but its the union. its oxford. these people say what they want. the opposition was exceptional in their counter argument in discussing the fact that good is a moral judgement. etc etc. there were two brilliant opposition speeches that sold me. both made by brits. i voted with my feet like everyone else. there is a door with two sides one for ayes and one for nays. they tally all the votes. i voted nay. not only because i am american. but on account of the 2 brilliant opposition speeches. good is a relative thing. the british empire did good things. and may have had good qualities. but that does not make it good.

thats all for now. wow. that felt. good. all of those thoughts have been floating in my head for far too long. back to. MCAT. bye.

inside of our beautiful church

Outside of St. Aldates Church

St. Aldate's Street

Entrance to the high society, members only Oxford Union . Im a member :)

Inside of the Oxford Union debate chamber

My Morning Run Came Straight Out of a Movie

I was feeling quite out of place last night. A little unsure about somethings that had transpired around me. I just knew something was not right. I felt a little purposeless. So with the advice from two brilliant people (if you couldn't guess...my wise and loving parents), I decided to make myself a schedule for the next day. Which would be today. Wake up. Go for a run. Get ready. Eat some lunch. Go to the Library. Finish my Essay. Check out the dance class I want to join. Go Grocery shopping. Eat dinner. etc. etc. Such is today.

My run. It was exactly what I needed. Leggings. Sweatshirt. Tennis Shoes. Scarf. Mittens. Ipod. It was quite brisk. But perfect. The sun hadnt come out yet. I explored the trail in the woods along the Thames River. It was serene with only a few old river men out and about and the occasional runner. Adele was playing on my ipod. The soundtrack to my thoughts and the bounce in my step. It was scenery right out of a movie. Gravel trail stil wet from the morning mist. Horses nibbling at the green grass beside me. Old houses. Fields of green. Cobblestone and wooden fences covered with green moss. I had no idea where these trails led so I let myself explore. Over bridges. Through the woods. Next to ponds and little rivers. Until I ended up in the "backyard" of Christ Church College. And then...my ipod died. Fortunately. Because I spent the rest of my run listening to the chirping of the birds, the honking of the geese, the breeze through the trees and the drippling of the Thames. And as if to say hello, the sun came out and warmly kissed my face. Soon after, I came to a stop where the trail ended at the Boat Houses where the rowing boats are kept. There was a young man with a red beanie and river boots who knodded good morning. I was looking across the river in the other direction and before I knew it the lad was in a quaint little boat punting across the river to where I needed to get. I wish I could say that I realized it sooner and asked him for a ride across the river since the other side is directly from whence I came. But unfortunately I was too late and he was all the way across. But I ran back to the main trail to get home thinking to myself that maybe one of these days on my morning run along the Thames, I might be able to get one of these charming lads to give me a ride across the river so I can follow the back trail home.

Picturesque. A piece of my Oxford fairytale. Now on to the rest of my day...

Cheers!

Well things have just been ship shape around here. I feel all settled in and those nervous butterflies and uncertain frustrations have seemed to melt away (even though the snow has not). The last couple of days have just entailed a lot of exploring the city (which means a lot of walking) and hanging out with great people! I haven't quite found a rhythm here but it seems as though that'll come once my work starts. But the beautiful thing i think is that there will be no routine--each day will be different, each will have its own adventures and its own challenges. But enough about that. The future will take care of itself. I'm enjoying living in the moment without having a schedule pinning me down and bombarding me with constraints of hours, minutes and seconds.

I'm feeling fantastic! A total 180 from how i was feeling the first day i arrived. i really feel comfortable and im learing my way around. The turning point was sunday. Sunday morning a bunch of us went to St. Aldates church and even some of my housemates who usually dont go to church joined me. The service was awesome! The worship and feel of the church was just like home. Then I got to stroll the city with some of my friends from APU who i hadnt really gotten to spend time with yet. That was also much needed. I then went about my day and that night we had a little movie night at Matt's house across town. Monday was great because I got to take care of some business for my tutorials and then i met up with Alex and Zack and we had some really great conversation on the second floor of starbucks. We talked about life and trust and theology and more life. it was really great. great conversation. great people. Then that night we had a fantastic black tie dinner banquet. We got all dressed up and had a 4 course meal. There was lots of good food and wine (the college has its OWN wine label) and a lot of toasting. each of us gave a toast actually. it was quite the ordeal. My toast was about expectations. I passed along the quote that my little bri bri told me early last semester: "Be expectant, but dont have expectations" and I kind of articulated what that had meant to me and what it is meaning to me now that i am here in Oxford. Then after that the two Abingdon Houses went to the pub down the street and spent a good time taking in and celebrating the fact that we are ACTUALLY in Oxford studying at the prestigious Oxford Univeristy! Yesterday was another fantastic day. I woke up very late and then went to the cafe with a friend. Again, had some great converstation and then proceeded to work on some research. Not going to lie it actually felt good to do something academic (because my tutorials haven't started yet). Oh boy but once it all starts its going to be brutal. But good.

Anyway, not going to bore you with any more details. This is mostly also for me so that I can remember what I did when I look back so i gotta write down as much as i can without getting long winded. But all in all, things are going great. There are some rough spots. But those are learning experiences too. My love to you all. Until the next entry...

PS if you want pictures just look on my facebook :)

Jet lag...ewwww.

Well its 5 in the morning and i cant fall back asleep. So i figured i may as well put my time to use instead of just lying in bed hopelessly trying to fall back asleep. Same thing happened yesterday too--my eyes just shot open and 4am! at least yesterday i was able to fall back asleep til like 6:30. But after that i woke up and went about my day. And if you know me you know that is an exceptional accomplishment because i am NEVER awake that early in the morning.

But anyway...

The first day was not so fun. Jet lag. Exhaustion. A Blizzard. And lots of Luggage. But i was able to see my uncle who lives in London so that was nice! I got settled into my new home (which is awesome!) and after unpacking went into the city center to one of the pubs for dinner. i came home and then crashed! Yesterday was a much better day. After a full night of rest i woke up bright and early to begin my day. It was long, but good. We had orientation all day with the rest of the Oxford study abroad students. It was a day filled with details and we were overloaded with information, but its nice to finally have all--or i guess--most of the facts. AND it was good to see everyone, meet new people and get to catch up with the APU friends here that are in other houses.

SO my house: its really awesome. there are 8 of us total. 3 guys and 4 other girls. There are 3 floors. Downstairs has the kitchen and dining room and 2 bedrooms. The middle floor has 2 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms and the top floor has 3 bedrooms. I live on the top floor and have an incredible view. Its beautiful because I can see all the snow covered housetops. When i wake up super early and its still dark out side, I can see the moon and its gorgeous and at night I can see the colors of the sunset behind the housetops.

Well today's a new day, its almost 8 o'clock and I've already been awake for 3 hours doing various things (skyping my family, returning facebook messages, eating honey nut cheerios in the dark etc). The house is quiet and everyone is asleep but thanks to jet lag I've been wide awake. I have a headache to but I'm sure tylenol can fix that. Anyway...on to a new day.

PICTURES:

The view from my window.

A better shot of my view.

Beautiful aint it?

Christ Church College, Oxford University

(This is my college! The most beautiful of them all)

And so the Adventure Begins...

Well, today is the day. I am soon to leave for the airport to board my 11-hour flight to Oxford, England to do the craziest thing I have ever done in my life. I am embarking on a wild adventure of unknowns and there is no sense in trying to articulate what I am feeling. For the last few weeks I have experienced such a strange mixture of paradoxical emotions which may be summed up like this: Excitement for what's to come, but Nervousness for the uncertainty clouding it.

Anyway, thats all for now. I'm gonna keep this short and sweet, simply sharing little glimpses into my experiences and emotions throughout my journey. I love you all and will miss you tremendously. But, I know that God has me in His hands and will safely return me home to all of you in due time.

With Love and Anticipation,

Narges

...................See you on the other side. Where British accents, rich culture, and the next 4 months of my life reside. Cheers!