Under Stars and Over Seas: Quidditch Pitch and Castle Fair

This past week has been an interesting one. I finished one of my tutorials and will be done with the other two by Thursday, leaving me with no homework for the first time in a while. Instead I've been looking at other parts of Oxford. It's much bigger than I had originally realized, and exploring more of it has been exciting to say the least.

I set out in a direction I hadn't been before last Wednesday, with the determination that I would find the Oxford Quidditch Team. They practice every week at the university park, which was about a thirty minute walk from the flat. The sun made an appearance and it was a beautiful day, so I donned my sunglasses and grabbed my written directions, setting out for the park.

The walk over was peaceful, taking a bridge over the railroad tracks for once, and winding through residential areas and shops. There was one building that was a very vibrant pink color, and another whose front was entirely covered in flowers.

The park was beautiful too (after I'd found it of course. I only got a little lost and I ended up alright in the end so no matter) and I walked past trees and blooming flowers in the sunshine. I ended up walking around most of the park before I found the quidditch practice area. There I sat on a bench and tried not to seem too creepy while I watched them play. It was incredibly entertaining and I enjoyed it immensely. It did get cold as the day went on though, and I did have a paper to finish, so I left after a bit and enjoyed my walk back to the flat.

After that I devoted quite a bit of time to writing my final two papers, one of which was about my hometown, a struggle to write about being so far away. But luckily I know some pretty great people who were willing to email in some information for me and I could finish it up.

Saturday was the Oxford food fair at Oxford Castle, so my roommate and I headed out on a once again gloriously sunny day and bought some mildly expensive hamburgers and crumble (kind of like a cobbler but more messy). After that she had to head to the library, but I wandered around the larger covered market for a bit.

One of the shopkeepers commented on my accent and we got to talking about the differences between Oxford and the United States. He'd been to Boston but not as far out as California, and he seemed amused by the fact that Americans tend to drive everywhere. I replied that I had been amused that the people of England seem to walk everywhere. In the end I bought a few key chains from him and thanked him for being so friendly to me. I've heard multiple people tell me that the British aren't fond of talking to Americans, but I've found that that's not true. As long as you're willing to start the conversation they're willing to talk.

After I finished at the covered market (whose cover was built in 1774 as conveyed to me by the nice shop keeper) I wandered out into more of the city, circling back around to the University Park I'd gone to back on Wednesday. Finding a more roundabout way back to the flat I stayed out as late into the afternoon as I dared, soaking up the sunshine before heading back up and finishing the last of my papers.

Earlier this evening, two of my roommates and I went out to see a play at another one of the colleges. 'The Importance of Being Ernest' (written by Oscar Wilde) is a show I recommend to anyone who has the chance to view it, or even just watch the movie. It's got a very witty sense of humor and the actors did a very good job. We missed the rain during the show, luckily, so the forty minute walk back to the flat was dry.

The next few days will include finishing up my tutorials and scanning and emailing quite a bit of paperwork back home, because as far away as I am I'm still committed to things there. But it's all worth it if I can be here. Next weekend we have a trip planned to visit Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare's hometown, where we'll see a play and visit several historical locations the town boasts of. It's shaping up to be a very exciting trip, and I just hope that the nice weather will return.

With that hope in mind I'll bid good night to cloudy Oxford and good morning to sunny California,

Sam