Wine in Oxford, Tea in Stratford

Hello. I'm back from Stratford and yesterday's journey. It was a lot of fun, but today is all about work. So far, I have been able to neglect working, reading, keeping the nose to the grindstone (which sounds painful anyway), etc., but today, I must work. I plan on reading and doing research for my CFB class paper. I have a few of them read, but I need to read the rest and, if possible, start writing. Luckily, it is raining today, so there aren't too many excuses to do anything else. So as I continue to procrastinate on doing what I should, here is what I could:

Friday
It was nice waking up around 10 again. I feel like I have finally caught up on sleep, so I won't be sleeping that late anymore (until today where I stayed in bed until 10:30 although I woke up at 9:30-- I told you I am procrastinating ... la da da de da ... anyway). I went right to my plenary lecture for the day which was on "The War on Terror" (we seem to be having some really depressing lectures), and it was pretty interesting. Dr. Andrew Stewart talked mainly about how the "terrorists" can be viewed in many ways. George Washington, Nelson Mandela, and several others could have been viewed as terrorists by today's definitions. It all depends on one's point of view. He went on to talk about the specific events in the past that show that terrorism didn't begin on 9/11/01 (or 11/9/01 here ... weird British). After lecture, I went to lunch with the people with whom I was going to the cricket match. Immediately after lunch, a group of about 7 of us sang the "Star-Spangled Banner" to anyone who could stand it in the quad. Many people actually did stop to listen, and some tourists took pictures of us. Then, we went to a cricket match between Oxford and Cambridge at a really pretty park called University Park (we had some wine as well -- still don't like it that much). Luckily, we had an Australian with us to explain the rules because it is a little confusing. Some people say cricket is like baseball, but despite a few common movements and vocabulary, there really isn't a whole lot the two have in common. I think I started picking it up by the end (I still like baseball better). After that, we were supposed to have a debate on American Independence, but almost no one showed up (it was Friday, and I'm sure other people had other things to do). Oh well, we still talked for awhile. Then, we headed to dinner, but restaurants in England generally don't open for dinner before 6 and don't serve after about 9. Therefore, we couldn't find anywhere to eat, so we settled for baguettes (subs essentially) from a French shop. At 6, we went to Evensong, which was cool but I heard that a boys' choir is better (we had an adult choir). Then, John J and I went to see Twelfth Night at one of the college's theaters (which was outside), and because it was cloudy, Ashley, Laura, and Matt decided to go to a Tudor Concert back at our chapel. Twelfth Night was excellent. It was a more modern view of the play, but it was still really good. The acting was really good, and the interpretation was definitely of a British comedy. As I said, it was really good, especially because I have never seen or read the play. Afterward, we went to a dance club with a group mainly from Marshall University. Dance clubs are really not my thing, but I had a lot more fun than I expected. As I have stated previously, I am trying new things while I am here, but I think I might just stick to pubs from here on out (Can you end a sentence with three prepositions? I'm a geek, but I believe we have established that already).

Saturday
This was the day for Stratford-upon-Avon, where William Shakespeare was born. Stratford is a small town that is about a whole three or four streets wide by three or four streets deep. I expected there would be more to see and do, but honestly, there wasn't much. However, I still had a great time. I think people are starting to form little friendship groups (Ashley, Laura, John J, Matt, and I seemed to have found ours) while still being friends with others. It is kinda nice. Anyway, we walked around the city for awhile. We saw Shakespeare's house, grammar school, church (which he may or may not have gone to, but he is buried there), and daughter's house. I took a few pictures of everything. The most fun came when we tried to row down the River Avon (remember, I said "trying"). Now, we were in a group of six and only four are allowed on each boat, and we had three girls and three boys. I happened to be on a boat with the two girls, and guess who didn't row ( :) #; get it? It's me with my goatee). Before anyone yells at me, I have a story. The man in charge of the boats got the first three on there boats and jokingly suggested Laura row the other (our) boat. Well, it turned out to not be so jokingly. He told her to get in the rower's seat, the other girl to get in the back seat, and me to sit back there as well. I immediately said that I would row (the two girls were pretty small and the oars were heavy), but they insisted it was okay. Then, when we tried to switch, the boat almost capsized. Therefore, I was told not to move. It ended up with each girl rowing one oar with me sitting idly (well not exactly idly as I was laughing as we almost hit about four boats and numerous geese/swans/ducks) in the back seat. I really wasn't that mean as we were all laughing, and I have a feeling I wouldn't have been any better (considering my lack of coordination). We continued to walk around Stratford because we had quite some time to kill before the 7:15 play. Eventually, we found a restaurant called the Dirty Duck, but they tried to get us to leave by saying that they were full. As it turned out, they weren't, and they gave us a seat but told us that we might have to leave quickly after ordering and eating (we didn't have to). I had an apple pie for dessert (most of the others had the tiramisu, but I had to compare apple pies). It was pretty good, and it was made with Kenting Cider. You could definitely taste the cider in it. Still, I would say I prefer Marie Callender's Dutch Apple Pie. Following dinner, we went to the theater to see A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Royal Shakespeare Company. It was pretty amazing, but I am glad I didn't sit in the front row (I sat in the third, which was awesome) because the actors (especially Oberon) spat everywhere while they talked, which evidently is normal for Shakespeare. Anyway, the acting was fantastic and was not much ado about nothing (sorry, I couldn't resist). After the play, we came back on the bus and went to bed.

Observations:
- You are not expected to tip in England, and I was told it was actually frowned upon in some places.
- The British countryside is absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures because I just sat there looking at it (maybe I'll take some on the way to Warwick or back to London).
- Fish and chips are everywhere, but I have yet to see Shepherd's Pie.
- Still haven't heard "bloody" or "bollocks" but did hear "cheeky" yesterday.