Eagle and Child

Well, I am sitting here before lecture. It seems like I have a full day of activities ahead of me. After lecture, I think we are going to go watch some cricket, have a debate (spoof on "Should the American colonies get independence from Britain?"), go to an Evensong, and finally go to see Twelfth Night. Afterwards, we're not sure. This is actually the most planned anything has been. I have to say spontaneity is one thing I have learned and become more comfortable with. I haven't had too many plans here, and it's been fun. Usually, at home, I like things to be planned out, so this has been new for me. Anyway, here's yesterday:

Thursday
So, I had planned to sleep in and catch up on sleep, but luckily for me, a fire drill started at 8. Therefore, I had to get up and go to the chapel where a fire marshal told us to get out of the building when the fire alarm went off (I don't know if I would have known to do that; thank God we had him to tell us and wake us up early out of our somewhat comfortable beds). I went back to bed for a little bit, so I guess it wasn't all bad. For lecture, Dr. Jahanpour gave a lecture on Radical Islam, and although he spoke more on the past and present than the future the title says, it was still very interesting. I learned quite a bit about Islam and that part of the world (not that I thought all Muslims were radical anyway). After that, we had lunch, and I had a really cool conversation with a girl from Switzerland (Did you know that Switzerland has three official languages- French, German, and Italian- and each has their own part of the country?), two men from Spain, and one woman from Denmark about languages, the EU, and how the US is seen in the different countries (I apologized for my countrymen when the Swiss girl told me a story about an American who asked her why they built a castle next to the airport). Afterwards, I went to the Social Science library (didn't get lost luckily because it is right down Broad Street with only one turn) to borrow four books for my CFB class paper. The librarians were really nice and helped me with my library card. They also taught me how to use the catalog to find the books I needed. I came back and read a couple of the books (Dr. Palmer told me which chapters were the most important). Then, we had drinks with the director (I think I like red wine better than white, but I don't really like either) where he talked to each of us for a bit. Dinner was another interesting one but much better than I anticipated. First, I ate chicken wings (with a knife and fork -- we were in polite society). Next, I think we had what I thought was quail, but some thought it might have been turkey, with red cabbage (really sweet and not bad) and small potatoes. For dessert, it was some sort of apple tart with nuts and raisins, so I, of course, thought it was good. After dinner, we had a guest lecture on the History of Oxford, so now I know of what some of the pictures are actually. Then, we went to the Eagle and Child, where Tolkien and Lewis wrote their books and drank fairly heavily. Of course, this was the night that I forgot to bring my camera, so I guess we'll just have to go back (which is good because they have a Strawberry Cider I've heard is good). Later, we came back and drank English (snobbish accent included) tea in another girl's room. Then, I called my parents and went to bed.

Observations:
- They are obsessed with the movie Wanted. I guess because of James McAvoy, but I have seeen ads for it everywhere.
- Mom was right. I have to push down really hard on the minute button to get it to work. How do you get the light to work?
- Tourists come in here all the time between 2-5 to see Exeter College, so while I was reading, they took a picture of me because I looked like an Oxford student at work (little did they know that I was just passing time).

Well, I'm off to lecture. I should have a busy day today and tomorrow (Sratford-upon-Avon), but I will probably write around 6 or 7 o'clock EST tomorrow ecause I need to say up and do laundry.