Time, once again, does not wait, and all of a sudden I am typing my last entry while flying back to Minnesota. Its weird. I can remember as if it were yesterday when I was mounting that flight on September 1st with Matt and Jimmy... completely oblivious to what I was about to experience. Even so, when I look back on Munich, Prague, the Park Lodge, the Foyle Family, the cruise, Galway, and all my other experiences, they seem like they happened years ago. As I sit here and try to understand this "transit state" that I am in, I will update all of you on my last few days in not only London, but Europe as well...
On Saturday morning, I woke to find out that David and Jimmy were planning on going to see Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, and a show ('Wicked') near South Bank. Having already seen Big Ben and 'Wicked,' I told the guys that I really wanted to go to the University in Oxford... and I did just that!
During this whole trip, I had not yet taken an excursion by myself. I wasn't worried, though; I knew the station to leave from, and the trip seemed easy enough. I took the tube to Victoria Station and bought a 13 pound ticket on a bus to Oxford (which leave every 15 minutes). The bus ride took about 2 hours... I slept for some of the way.
Upon arriving, I immediately located the tourist information spot and signed up for a 7 pound tour. After getting some lunch, I met the tour group at 2p.m.
The tour was great. Our tour guide's name was Alaster. He was a graduate from one of the colleges, University (called "Uni" around Oxford... I'll explain the college situation in a second). Alaster had worked for the BBC for some years, and when I mentioned that I was from Minnesota, he told me that he had been there a few times for a convention held by NPR.
Oxford University is a historical yet lively place. It is home over 30 colleges, each which house 500-700 students every year. When applying to Oxford University, one applies to a specific college within the campus (or multiple campuses), a part of why it is incredibly difficult to get in. Oxford gets thousands upon thousands of applicants, and they are starting to move towards a written exam for admittance. While at Oxford, the student remains at the college to which they applied, yet they graduate with a degree from Oxford University. As you may have guessed, there is often conflict between Oxford administration and the heads of the different colleges... a deep-rooted animosity between the two have kept Oxford's history very interesting to say the least.
While visiting Oxford, I was able to enter two of the colleges: Exeter and Jesus. Jesus College was home to many a big name, including famous Lawrence of Arabia. J.R.R. Tolkien attended Exter. The colleges were similar in appearance: a single, four-corridored building with a courtyard- one part of the building being a chapel, the other being a food hall and classrooms (see pictures). The history was complicated and Alaster certainly threw a lot at us, but the trip was, of course, worth it.
I caught a bus back and arrived at the Londoners flat around 8-9pm. This was the last night for a lot of the Londoners, so we decided to make one more stop (for some people, their last stop) at a pub. I ended the night with a delicious kebab... and I was off to bed!
I woke on Sunday to pack quickly and meet up with Ashley and Sam; Bennies and friends from study abroad trips (Sam having been in Ireland with me). The girls wanted to go take pictures at Abbey Road, so Jimmy, Ashley, David, Sam, and I took another trip out to Abbey Road. This time we actually got the picture right! I am excited to have been in it (you'll see that picture soon!).
Afterwards, Sam and Ashley wanted to stop by Notting Hill (apparently some famous place from a chick flick...?? whatever). After Notting Hill, we walked through Kensington Gardens and saw some swans (it was a cold but beautiful sunny day). We walked all the way to Hyde Park and Speaker's Corner. All the way long, I talked up Speaker's Corner, and how much fun it was the last time I had been there.
It did not disappoint. We spent a good two hours there. There was a Bible/Koran-thumping Evolutionist with a cowboy hat, a devout African Muslim, and (our favorite) an African American conservative who still "waved the confederate flag." Jimmy had a great time talking history with this interesting guy, and at the end, he even gave us his business card.
After Speaker's Corner, we took the girls to Camden Town, were I fell in love with a good-priced navy pea-coat (wore it today). The girls were definitely intrigued by the place... its the home of the flea market.
We met the remaining Bennies and Johnnies at a pub for our last night (or so we thought) near the hostel. Jimmy and I ordered Fish and Chips for the last time. I tried the "Old Speckled Hen" which had been so often recommended (it was OK... I think mine was slightly warmer than cellar temperature though). After eating, drinking, and discussing good memories, Jimmy and I said goodbye and headed to the airport.
We could have stayed with the girls at the hostel, but Jimmy and I saw it fit that we spend our last night at an airport and save some money. Thus Jimmy and I stayed up and watched "District 9" at the airport (a great flim) and just ended up sleeping on the floor.
In the morning, we were woken to a rude awakening. In trying to check in for our flight, we discovered that our flight had been cancelled, and that we would be flying out on Tuesday at 8a.m. While it wasn't the best news, we were entitled to a free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a night's stay at a hotel. After ordering a English breakfast in a restaurant (near the floor upon which we had slept), we caught a bus to the hotel. After a few long lines, we finally got to our hotel room.
We showered up, hung out, swapped pictures, and watched movies all day (motivation to return to London was gone.. we just wanted to go home). During dinner, we met up with some guys from the Roman/Greco trip and swapped great stories. Afterwards, we took a nap and got up at 3:30a.m. this morning...
Since then, it hasn't been terrible. The whole flight was put up in the hotel which we stayed at, so the trip back to the airport was busy. This compared NOTHING to the departure kiosks in the terminal, however. The place was a frickin' zoo... it was like a rock concert was supposed to occur at 4a.m. in Heathrow terminal. It took awhile, but we finally got through everything and went straight to the gate. Upon arriving at the gate, we discovered that some of us were flying "stand-by." I was lucky- I had a seat number. Jimmy, along with a bunch of other Bennies and Johnnies, did not have numbers. Even as I type this, I am pretty sure that some had to be left behind for the next flight (which is tomorrow). Jimmy and a couple girls are definitely on the plane right now, but I'm not so sure about the others. A 500 Euro offer was made to give up your seat, but I couldn't even do that... I didn't want to miss Christmas, and I knew Mom wouldn't be happy if I volunteered to stay an extra day.
And so here I am! about an hour or so away from landing in Minneapolis. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody that I haven't seen in awhile. It'll be nice to be home for Christmas, and I can't wait to see my family.
So ends this blog. I wish I could say something extravagant or profound to sum up the experience that I have had since September 1, 2009, but I see that as an impossible task. I return to Minnesota a completely changed man. My outlook on life has changed dramatically, and I can confidently say that I have experienced the best 4 months of my life so far. Those are the keywords, however. "So far." This trip taught me how to truly live, and I hope to take that ability with me for the rest of my life.
Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you've enjoyed it. And... for the last time...
mahalo
Thomas
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