Birthday Fun

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to give you another quick update. Technically I should be writing my next History paper, but my brain's a little fried, so I'll write a post here instead! It's much more fun!! :)

I had my second English paper due yesterday. It's been a really stressful week at the house. We had class on Monday to discuss the three novels we read over the weekend, and our paper was due on Wednesday. I stayed up until 6 am Wednesday morning writing my paper. The first draft was terrible. So after about three hours of sleep and a trip to McDonald's I sat down and rewrote large chunks of it to consolidate my ideas. I finally printed my final copy at 3:20 pm. Whew! While I might be a bit of procrastinator at home, that's the closest I've ever cut anything. I really like my topic, but I just hope the writing backs it up!

Unfortunately, that kind of sleep deprivation really adds up! I'm hoping I'll have time this weekend to get some rest. The only comforting thing about all this work is knowing that everyone in the house is dealing with the same thing. (Well, it's also comforting to know that I am learning more than I've learned in any English class at Auburn!)

Well, today is my birthday, so I celebrated in true British fashion. (I think? I'm not really sure what they do for birthdays here, honestly.) Anyways, my day had a slow start until lunch time, when I got home and found this waiting for me:

Some of the girls decorated my bed with balloons, cards, leis and British flags. They were really sweet to think of me!

After a short time at the house I decided to go back to City Centre before my History class and do something strange. There's a cookie shop in the covered market downtown called Ben's cookies. And I won't lie, the cookies are insanely good. I think what makes them good is the huge slabs of chocolate that somehow stay mushy in the center of the cookies. That's not the strange part, though. I took my cookie and my history book back to a quiet little spot I discovered. The "spot" is actually an old graveyard on St. Giles road, one of the roads that leads into the city. Actually, St. Giles is the same road as Banbury, the road our house is on. But before you think I'm morbid or gross, this graveyard is so cool. There are benches set out in a circle, and it's very quiet--even though it's on the border of City Centre. It's also directly down a side street from Keble, so it's pretty much the perfect central study spot. I sat there and enjoyed my cookie and then headed to my history class at 5.

Sitting there, I was reminded of L.M. Montgomery's book Anne of the Islands. There's a graveyard in the book that is very similar. "very full and very bowery, for it is surrounded and intersected by rows of elms and willows, beneath whose shade the sleepers must lie very dreamlessly, forever crooned to by the winds and leaves over them, and quite undisturbed by the clamor of traffic just beyond." While the thought of enjoying a cookie and diet coke surrounded by dead bodies is a little creepy, the cemetery is really more like a park than a graveyard. Yesterday I saw someone sitting on a tombstone eating lunch. That's a bit extreme, if you ask me!

After class we ate dinner at the Eagle and Child pub. If the name doesn't sound familiar, that's the pub I mentioned earlier--the one where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkein met and talked. This time I got to go and enjoy dinner instead of just a Diet Coke. I also got to look around a bit more.

Eagle and Child from across St. Giles

Letter signed by C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkein and the "Inklings" saying they've drunk to the proprietor's health. 

C.S. Lewis' signature (third line down on the left)

Next to each of their names they wrote where they were studying. Lewis was a Fellow at Magdalen College. (Pronounced Maudlin. Not Magdalen. People here scoff at you if you say Magdalen)

The Rabbit Room. This is where the Inklings met. I felt the literary atmosphere when I was there :)

Behind this statue is the graveyard where I studied. It's on this little triangle shaped plot of land between two streets. Keble is to the right and the Eagle and Child is to the left in this view. Also to the left is Taylor's deli--where you can get the most delicious caramel squares EVER. 

Hope you are all having a blessed Easter Week! 

Talk to you soon!

Sarah