Startford Upon Avon

Today was a high stress day. I pray it is the first and last. After a very uncomfortable morning encounter, I rushed out to the lecture of the day at Exeter College. The lecture was over Modern China and the role China may play in upcoming history. It was very interesting, but loomed over by the very brief announcement that bombs had gone off in the London underground. All the guy in charge told us was that it was turning out to be far worse than first imagined. Now having no tv, radio, or newspaper access readily available none of us had any clue and he left us all worried and with far less information than everyone back home probably had. The irony that you can be an hour and a half away from something so big and know less than those thousands of miles away is very frustrating. We got back to the university just in time for a quick lunch and then set off to Shakespeare's home in Stratford Upon Avon. After a quick bus ride we entered into one of the most beautiful towns I have ever seen. A river runs through the middle of Stratford where people are constantly rowing and tourists have the chance to take their own shot at it. There are beautiful bridges, swans, and flowers everywhere. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre sits right in the middle of the town, next to the river and an amazing park. I love parks in England because they are so open and green, perfect for soccer or laying out and reading. The buildings in the town are very old and display a very traditional English town. Even newer buildings are modeled to appear in the style. We went to the site of Shakespeare's birth and death and then continued to wander in and out of shops for a few hours. Tessa Lindsey and I found a great sweets shop and a very unique Christmas store. After looking at the sites we headed for a store we had seen on the way in with a clothing sale. I know, we are in England at the site of Shakepeare's life, but we are girls and this was a very good sale. No extensive shopping went on though just a couple of items. After this we found a gate that we found led into a beautiful garden where Shakespeare's house had once been and was the site of his death. Before heading to the theatre to see a production of Twelth Night we stopped in at a small restaurant to have our first fish and chips in England. It was very good of course and topped off with ice cream for desert from a sarcastic old man who had more than a couple words to say about my incompetency with British coins. we then watched a pick up soccer game with some guys who are far better at soccer than i could ever hope to be :) The play was quite good but more than a little crude, but I guess it is Shakespeare. One thing that surprised me very much was that they were all in modern dress for the play, whereas we had all been expecting what you see in the movies I guess. It still was a great production though and worth the experience. That night when we returned to Oxford we went out to the Kebob van again. Now this experience is starting to get more and more interesting. We went the other night after going to the very exclusive (though only during term) university club, Purple Turtle. Everyone comes to these vans where you can get burgers, fries, and various other fast food after getting out of the clubs because nothing else is open anymore. Now this particular night I ran into quite possibly the most arrogant male I have ever met and another who was most definately the most rascist. Now the first guy was just outright rude to everyone and was getting on my nerves quite a lot but I rose above it and said nothing although i really think the occassion called for someone putting the guy in his place. The other guy caught me completely off guard because he was actually very nice and very cute and then the talk turned sour when he started talking about race. It was a huge eye opener to realize someone our age could be just as bad today as society was decades ago. Well I must be off to go punting. Will explain what exactly punting is...after I figure it out myself :) something to do with standing in a boat and going down a river with a stick I have heard.