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My final toast.

It’s been over two months since I’ve been back from Oxford…whoops hi again. After Sweden, my brother and I went to London, took a bus tour around everywhere, attended an Ox v. Cam boat race, then toured around for a final time in Oxford. That’s all there is to say about my remaining time there…minus all the feels that come with goodbyes.

I’ve thought long and hard about my final post, and whether there would be one at all since it’s been so long. I was also hesitant because I wasn’t sure whether I could sum up three great months adequately in one post. Blame my lack of eloquence/mastery of colloquialism…or blame Oxford. For being such an incredible, indescribable, and magical place. My words are as limited as my memories which are as limited as my time spent there. And it’s all really a shame.

I came to Oxford on a huge struggle bus (and I'm not talking about the Tube/Megabus); weather was depressing, food was tasteless, everything was expensive, homesickness kicked in, and for some reason everyone walked around everywhere all the time and I hated it. However, I think it got me to appreciate the little things. Like great company, warm beds, Wifi-less bonding time, home-cooked meals, old buildings, quiet night strolls, and an overall sense of independence.

So, Oxford, thank you. I fell in love with your culture and your people. Though I’m not an adventurous person (as I warned everyone in my very first post), thank you for allowing me to see the silver linings that’ll forever glisten in my thoughts. You’ve stolen a piece of my heart, and I ask kindly that you keep it safe. Because I intend to come back for it.

Cheers x

#jesus college shout out #i miss you #the end

Mal-brö, Sweden & Bro-penhagen, Denmark

I'm clever, I know.

So here are a few key moments from my trip to Malmö, Sweden and Copenhagen! It was great because I was able to meet up with the broski after not seeing him for months. We were hosted by my mom's friend from her flight attendant days (thus my mom literally has friends from all around the world...it's quite awesome); she and her family were so kind and accommodating. Our trip was short, but we managed to do quite a lot.

Our trip included visiting the university town of Lund, where we got to peruse a lot of colleges under great sunny weather. Eating was great...it had been a while since I had a sit-down family meal, so I found that to be very significant and heart-warming. Made me sort of miss my own family...crazy, I know. We also got the chance to frolic around downtown Malmö. Which was cool. Malmöhus, or the Malmö Castle, was the first castle of the country. But at one point it was also a hospital, and a prison/torture chamber, and the location of serious plagues...it was a very odd museum with all sorts of collections. I think it even had an aquarium being restored there as well.

Anyway, here are some pictures collected of all the places we went to downtown!

This is a collection of two days-worth of touring southern Sweden. Unfortunately, the next day we had to fly out to London. But before our flight, we had the chance to tour around Copenhagen for a few hours. So we took a canal tour; among all the important buildings, we were able to visit and pay tribute to the Little Mermaid (cue "Part of Your World"). After the tour, we made our way over to the castle, watched the changing of guards, and toured the inside where we got to learn about the royal family. Also got a chance to look at some shops surrounding the pedestrian street (which I didn't know was a thing until I got to Sweden...). Then, after much scavenging and reorienting, we were able to sneak in a Danish meal and ice cream before our flight! I'd say in the condensed time we had, we got an adequate taste of Copenhagen (many many many thanks to Sonja!)

So yeah, that was my trip over there. Definitely wished I could've stayed longer...but it only gives me more reason to go back there (and hopefully with the rest of my fam. My mom hasn't seen her friend in years!).

AH ALMOST DONE WITH THE BLOG!

So Saturday night the galpals and I went out to the Strip. It's where the music is bumpin' and the people are out - the nightlife of Albufeira. Though there weren't many tourists around yet, we did get to party with the locals. It was also odd to see children there, since the legal drinking age is 16. Regardless, it was a lot of fun, and I totally recommend it. I just wanted to document somewhere that I picked up a side job while abroad. It was really cool.

#drank #mango daquiri

Portugal Post 2 - Day Trips to Lisbon and Loulé

Hi hey hello, everyone - I'm alive!

I'm going to wrap up my Portugal trip by telling you about the two places we visited - Lisbon and Loulé. On Friday, we took a day trip to Lisbon. It was a bus commute of about 3ish hours, with our tour guide rotating information in English, German, and French. I was quite impressed, but unfortunately couldn't for the life of me retain much information. Because I was on a bus, and we began our day early, I slept for most of it. Maggie, my blogger-in-crime, on the other hand took wonderful notes, and generously shared them with me. I won't use them...but instead shall refer you to her blog yet again: http://78scheer.wordpress.com/

Here are some pictures from the first half of our day tour. First stop was the Church of the Jerónimos Monastery, where people came to pray before long voyages. Across from it was the Monument of the Navigators; apparently exploration and discovery were all the rave back then (didn't they help find America?). After sneaking in a gelato-run and nearly missing our bus (as we were running, with gelato in hand, I couldn't help but point out how silly we looked....#AmericanTourists), we swung by the Tower of Belém. Did I mention it was a beautiful day? Yeah, that too.

The next half of the bus tour was my favorite part; we were given free time to frolic as they dropped us off in Rossio Square. Where did we go first? To eat, obviously. We shamelessly wandered around looking for the cheapest restaurant with free Wifi, and we seemed to have hit the jackpot. The place was called Navegadoors, a sushi/pizza cocktail bar. You know how Power Rangers had their megazords that combined together to make one, ultimate, supreme fighting machine? No? Well, basically, they combined three awesome things under one roof and it was awesome.

We also took an insane number of ridiculous photos. Because walking around in a European country in such nice weather with such great friends parallels so well with the movie, I'd like to think we had a Lizzie McGuire moment (trying to versify my references to boys and girls, you're welcome). Basically, we thought to take snapshots with and around everything - posed and candid, ridiculous and smoldering. We're very diverse models, with impressive portfolios. I'll compile that at the end...because our photoshoot continues onto our second place...Cue Loulé!

So, we went to a gypsy market on an early Saturday morning. After nearly missing our bus (again), we bounced around the many vendors. I bought a scarf, bracelets, and food overall. I ate a churro stuffed with chocolate. A moment of silent please for the death of my arteries. Anyway, there were many markets scattered in this small city, we went to an indoor one with lots of foods, and an all girl's school was singing and dancing. It was all very busy and hectic, but lots of food, so no complaints.

I also had this really yummy, small glazed pastry cake thing....It was really good, and only a euro! Shout out to Taylor for all the action shots (no, I don't actually eat like that).

While we're in the topic of flattering pictures....

The world just isn't ready for us.

#i woke up like this

Portugal Post - Pine Cliffs Resort at the Sheraton Algarve Hotel

So, the Oxford Programme for Undergraduate Studies sent us an email in the middle of term with an opportunity to book through them accommodations at the Sheraton Pine Cliffs Resort in the Algarve. In America - at least through my own experience - Portugal isn’t high and mighty on the to-go places in Europe. In England, however, it seems like everyone goes here! It’s apparently fantastic in the summertime, with nice beaches and whatnot. The resort we were staying in is perfect for just that…except we were staying in late March due to limited travel time - whoops!

Despite the weather, we managed to have a fantastic time. The room we stayed in was nothing short of fancy, and the resort was beautiful and interwoven with a golf course.

Oh, did I forget to mention that we stayed here for free? Yeah, that was pretty dope. This was because OPUS gave us the opportunity to make promotional videos/submit blogs to advertise the Oxford Programme and show off what it’s like to be here. So guess what I contributed? Yep, you’re right. This blog! [Awks]ford is going places, guys. You can find our stuff at http://www.oxfordprogram.com/students/testimonials/

I also had the honor to travel and explore Portugal with these fine chicas bonitas. Our first night in we all helped to make dinner, and drink some freshly juiced orange juice. It was excellent. The following Friday we hosted a GNI (not to be confused with a GNO, but rather a girls-night-in) with wine, cookies, ice cream, pizza, and a movie (See: Horrible Bosses, 2011). Because channels and shows in English were limited, most of our time en la casa was spent watching Cartoon Network (by that, I mean just Taylor and I watched Cartoon Network), or listening to the music video channel (Cue: Talk Dirty - Jason Derulo). One day we went over to the lobby where they provided us free access to gym, pools, hot tubs, and sauna. Obviously we picked hot tub and sauna, and bonded over hot-tub-talk. We sort of did sauna. Who knew it’d be so hot? There were also cats hanging around near our place. Taylor named them; our favorite was Ginger.

Here are some other miscellaneous pictures taken whilst frolicking around the resort:

A few notes on this place:

Buy oranges off the street, right outside the resort! They’re 1 euro for a huuuuge bundle of them. We had a juicer where we were staying, so freshly squeezed orange juice was a staple to our meals. And it was delicious.

There’s a chocolate lady that comes at sporadic times (at least unbeknownst to me) during the day to give us chocolate. Don’t get too excited, it was dark chocolate.

Bath robes. So great.

More to come on Portugal!

#tralala

Won't you say you love me too

So I have a confession to make…

I’m not sure if any of you have noticed (or have really cared to notice), but I’ve been drafting very scarce, skimpy blog posts towards the end of my travels. I’d like to say it’s because I was too busy having a fantastic time, taking it all in before I had to head back to America. This was partly true, but many times I found myself sitting in front of my computer, cringing to try and click to my [Awks]ford blog and update it. I just couldn’t do it.

When my brother was a toddler, he would watch Barney and get so wrapped up in the episode. So much so, that when Barney began singing the ending song, “I love you, you love me…” he would cry. He plopped from the couch, to the floor, and just sobbed…it was all very dramatic; Jolo would cry for the remaining duration of this song (lol, what a loser. Just kidding…this is what he gets for never reading my blog).

He did so because he knew that this song meant the episode was over. And I guess - in a way - writing these final blog posts was my Barney song. It meant that my episode here in England was over, except unlike Barney we couldn’t just stop, rewind, and play it again (who remembers VHS?!).

Anyway, I apologize to everyone (or no one) who reads this. But this leaves me to my next confession…

Though I didn’t blog, I began in Portugal to do the unthinkable, the antiquated, and the absurd - I wrote. Everyone else in my house was journaling…writing their experiences down in notebooks and whatnot. Because I didn’t have a laptop with me, and wifi was well out of my reach (aka a 15 minute walk to the lobby), I decided to try it. But on little scraps of paper because I’m an amateur journalist. Anyway, don’t fret! I have some jotted notes of my times in Portugal, Sweden, and Copenhagen. As well as my time with Jolo in London…there’s just so much to catch up on.

So I won’t say any goodbyes yet; no conclusive endings or reflections until I’ve showered you with the many details and idiosyncrasies of my travels. That’s a promise.

Alright, so here’s to documenting the beginning of my end.

#sigh

Well...

I owe a lot of posts to this blog. I've just finished my trips from my travel break, and now I need to pack everything for my journey back home-home. America home. Yikes. Currently lying in bed moping around....staring at all things, doing no things. This is my update for now. I'll probs do most of my writing when I get back to the states. But I'll try and sneak in a few before I leave. No promises. Xoxoxo

#hi everyone

I look ridiculous taking a selfie this late at night in the lobby…but I’m here in the Pine Cliffs Resort at the Algarve! It’s seriously so nice here. I’ll do my best to keep you all posted [with my posts…lol get it?].

#portugal 2014

It was me!

…what was you? Sorry I didn’t realize I had a message until it showed up on my phone!

Are we by chance talking about the mysterious pink rose?!

And the plot thickens..

Uhmm...

Hi, hey, hello! I’m currently in Jesus College, all packed and ready to leave for Portugal! Then to Copenhagen/southern Sweden asjdfkla

So I guess I’ll finish my Paris post…in Portugal. While still keeping you up to date on Portugal! I don’t have my laptop with me, but I’ll make it work with whatever business center they have.

Anyways, I’ll be off the radar for two weeks - cheers!

----------

UPDATE! BREAKING NEWS!

So I got here waaay ahead of schedule. Maybe like, and hour or two earlier than anticipated. Security was quick and the line was short. The staff are quite friendly. I topped off my British phone because I need data/text because I'm bored at the moment. So hello everyone! :)

Waiting on my flight to Lisbon, then a bit if a wait for my layover to Faro. Le sigh.

#miss everyone #love you

Eiffel in love with Paris! [Day 1 and 2]

Okay, so Paris was over a week ago...I'm doing a terrible job with keeping this blog up to date as my days here become scarce. Just trying to enjoy it as much as possible, I suppose! (Saddle up, this is going to be a long one)

Where do I even begin...let's start with the commute. It was an 1 1/2 hour bus ride to London, then an 8ish hour bus ride from there to Paris. It was quite taxing, not going to lie, considering I was traveling under unideal circumstances (it was late/early morning, I was tired for so many reasons, etc.). But after a humid, muggy, claustrophobic 8 hours - we made it! The place we stayed at was known as Arty Paris. As far as hostels go, it was fantastic. Free breakfast was provided between 6-10 am, our rooms were clean and neat, and the workers there were very friendly! For my first hostel, the bar has been set pretty high...

That Saturday, we just frolicked around the area of our hostel, trying to find a place to eat dinner. Surprisingly everything was closed...at least serving food was not open (but drinks were, of course). Us, being hungry scavengers, walked forever around this little city. We withdrew euros (because oops right "they don't accept our queen") and found this little Italian shop that was selling fast-foodish pasta and pizza. We feasted, then called it a night.

Before I begin what went on Sunday...I must make a shout out to the fabulous Grace Kim for planning, navigating, and putting up with the rest of us/our stupidity. Without you, we wouldn't have had nearly as productive a day. Another thing I had forgot to mention - Metro fares were free in the city of Paris from Friday, March 14th to Monday, March 17th! Why, you ask? Because of pollution! I suppose they wanted more people to take the metro instead of their cars...so in an odd way, YAY POLLUTION. I shall now attempt to recount all the places we went in order...based on the pictures I have taken.

1. The bakery! Seriously, everyone walked around with a baguette in Paris, and we figured it'd be a cheap alternative to snack on this throughout the day...didn't realize how difficult it'd be to order a baguette (there were so many types!) when I don't speak French. The vendors were very nice and accommodating, though.

2. We planned on going to the Catacombs. Except jk there was a huuuuuuge line in the beginning of our day. So we took pictures of the line/of the entrance, and hopped back on to the metro.

3. The Jardin du Luxembourg! Very pretty. The weather was so nice as well - there were boats racing in the fountains, people tanning and hanging out, it seriously was a great sight. Made me want to be a local so I could go there on the reg.

4. Le Panthéon. Though there was some weird white hat of renovation above it, it was still a pretty cool building. Dedicated to the patron saint of Paris, it holds inside the burial sights of some very famous/supercool people (e.g. Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie). There was also a really pretty church nearby....the name slips me.

5. Food! I'm not sure where we were, but there was a small strip of food places and bakeries...ordering food again entailed a lot of pointing, clueless nodding, and awkward smiling.

6. Next stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral...like the one from that Disney movie? With the hunchback? Tangentially, I actually watched that movie over the break before I left for Oxford...it was surprisingly a very adult-film, with commentaries on religion and social class. It was dark, Disney. Trés dark.

7. There was a lot of interesting art and souvenirs being sold on the streets. A lot of things were tempting, but alas I resisted. Some of the street art was really good, though.

8. We swung by this really pretty park before stumbling upon the Love Lock Bridge! I was actually so excited for this because I had heard all about it from friends, Tweets, and Tumblr. So many cute inscriptions; I even saw a few bike locks with names scribbled on them. Made me want to go back there with a special someone someday. Many feels.

9. The Louvre! I Louvre it! It's great. I'm just going to leave this picture here because it's pretty all-encompassing of my experience here. Plus it was raving on Instagram and Facebook, so I assume it to be a great picture.

Alright, I'm going to stop it here for now. Paris pt. 2 will be posted soon, involving the Eiffel Tower (as the title of this post suggests) as well as my last day in Paris! Until then! :)

#bon bon #oui oui #Paris2014

Humanity does not pass through phases as a train passes through stations: being alive, it has the privilege of always moving yet never leaving anything behind. Whatever we have been, in some sort we are still.

(C.S. Lewis)

#just started group tutorials last week #on cs lewis #he's cool i guess

This is to acknowledge that I've just gotten back from a weekend at Paris. I promise to write about it....at some point.

OPUS Trip 3: Broughton Manor & Warwick Castle

I'm going to make this one quick...considering it's 2+ weeks delayed and I'm terribly behind on updates. I'm also in kind of a craze/tired frenzy today because I just took an overnight back from Paris to Oxford and have yet to sleep due to errands and readings and people (oh my!).

Well if you recall my Union Ball post, I'm a princess, yeah (Answer: yes)? So that Saturday, March 8th, the princess went to her house. Then her castle. I was just so upset that I left my tiara in the carriage/bus.

^My extravagant chariot (ok, I'll stop with the princess bit)! Shout out to Deepak and OPUS for all these great trips, too! And for providing lunches. I really, really like Carol's packed lunches #spicychicken Seriously so sad that this was the last one, but it definitely was a great one.

Broughton Manor: First off, it had a moat. Second, it was huge. Third, it had a moat. My shoes did get super grassy, though. The tour guides were not pleased when we initially walked in.

.....But that was also because we frolicked around the garden/fields/moat a great deal. All of it was very, very green and very, very pretty.

Okay at this point I'm just going to show you glimpses of the interior. Its current residents are the Fiennes family, Lord & Lady Saye and Sele. There have been a few movies shot in the rooms of this manor, all of which I have not seen. You can Google that yourself if you're interested, but it's not really relevant to me and would thus draw away from the authenticity of this post (pfft #lazy).

Anyway, I found it really weird to tour around somebody's house. At one point, we were looking at up-to-date family photos of the residents, and learning about what they do/did with their lives. Then I wondered what it would be like to tour around my own house. My mom would not be please with all the groups wandering around...touching things. Let alone not being fed (because you can't leave the Aquino house without eating!).

Which brings us to Warwick Castle. It was quite touristy, and very family/child-oriented. Nevertheless, I couldn't argue with the great weather and fantastic sights. While there we toured around some museum filled with wax/models of medieval living, watched a birds of prey exhibition, baa'ed at the sheep across the river, and made friends with the local peacocks. You know, the usual. Also, they had a chained up bald eagle and a part of me withered inside because America #freedom

(I'm making up for writing so little on Warwick by producing TWO collages)

Well, that's it for this post. Time to further catch up and write on a few more things. Until then! x

#i'm really dreading the paris post

The greater the subjectivity, the less the imitation. Though perhaps there is always some imitation...In fact, imitation seems to me to create a language in which we says things which are not imitation.

(W.B. Yeats)

#art is not self-expression #but a search for impersonal beauty

Ah, America...you all are big on big.

(British Rob on the BIG U S of A)

#freedom #can't say i disagree #USA USA USA

I like ketchup.

Get it? Because it sounds like 'catch up'? Thought I'd break the awkward silence of my blog with some lame humor....Buckle up, folks. This one's going to be a long one.

So since the ball, I've been really busy. I had two papers due on the same day, with another paper also due within the week (this was last week, just so we're clear). Because it was the end of 6th week, it also meant the end of my Brain and Behavio[u]r tutorial. To be honest, I initially was not happy with this tutorial; I had no background knowledge of the brain, nor did I really care for the biological stuff. In the end...I still can't say I know much about the brain, but neither does research! The quote/moral of that tutorial was "The more I know, the more I don't know." This was because every time I thought I knew something, more studies appear to disprove it, and the debate continues! It's very unsettling, but also very exciting. It almost made research sound cool. Almost.

My last main tutorial is my English Modernist Poets tutorial. These past few weeks I've studied the works and lives of Thomas Hardy, T.S. Eliot, and W.B. Yeats. I like this tutorial because it's...very liberating. I get to choose the focus of my paper, lead conversations in discussion, and think for myself. It's also nice taking some literature credits that aren't in Spanish.

Last Thursday I went to another Union debate on gender: This house believes that gender exists to oppress. Needless to say, there were some interesting arguments for both sides. I don't believe I took pictures of this...I've slowly come to learn that the longer you stay here, the less appropriate it is for you to take touristy pictures/block people's views...especially in a debate I guess.

Friday was another Bop Night, with an international theme! The only relevant shirt I had was one I picked up from London...so I wore a London t-shirt with a beanie and black pants. I guess it was "international" to me? Which makes another statement...that I'm not from here, and thus international! So I could've really just gone as myself. People thought I was French though. I went with it.

I know I make flattering faces...I know. After the bop we went out to the infamous Wahoo, a staple here in Oxford on Friday nights (at least in Jesus!).

Saturday morning I went out with Katie and Taylor to listen to John Forbes Nash Jr. speak. Are you familiar with the Nash Equilibrium? Game Theory? Have you seen 'A Beautiful Mind'? Well...that's all from him. He's kind of a big deal. I'm no Econ expert, but I have had to read up on Game Theory more often than once. In my Social Statistics class sophomore year we got to write about anything for our final paper...I thought it'd be easy to write a paper on the probabilities behind Rock, Paper, Scissors. Nope, there's Game Theory! (I got an A, though, and am actually really proud of that paper)

I was so close to John Nash, look! During his talk, one of the questions (though completely unrelated) was how he felt about his portrayal in 'A Beautiful Mind.' He went ahead to say that one of the actresses won 'Best Supporting Actress,' and though Russell Crowe didn't get an award, the real guy (himself) did (ie a Nobel Prize wut) - so it was okay. What a fun guy. There was a long line due to his popularity, so we stood there for maybe 2 hours? Literally right as we were about to enter though we got cut in line by Senator John Edwards. I'm no politics person, but I definitely recognized him. He was going to be speaking the following day, so I guess he thought he'd slip in and see THE John Nash.

From left to right: John Edwards cutting us in line; J. Nash speaking; John Edwards speaking privately to a group of students (some of whom were OPUS students!) after his talk at the Union the following day.

Saturday night we managed to go out to another Bop (I just can't get enough!) over at St. Hilda's College. Definitely a far commute, but their bar was extraordinarily cheap. We then headed back towards the city and went to a club called Camera. Despite it being packed, I'd say it was a fun night.

Sunday I made it a point not to do anything...literally was so drained from the past few days, especially since I never really recovered from my all-nighters on Thursday and Friday. On Monday I came in to the Department of Experimental Psychology to help with data entry for my tutor's lab. I volunteered a few weeks ago so as to help myself adjust to a routine. Coming in for lab work helped me feel more productive, and got my day going. Otherwise I'd be absolutely content with bumming it at home.. After that, it was steak night at Jesus College! So me and a few OPUS-Jesus students went ahead and ate our 3-course meal...I hold no regrets.

And that brings me to today! It's Tuesday, right? All I plan on doing today is starting my paper that's due Friday. I'll be off to the library for the next few days. I promise I won't be having fun thus there won't be noteworthy things to write about! Just kidding, actually. There's a birthday on Wednesday night, so we will go out then. Anyway, maybe I'll update much sooner than last time? :)

Cheers x

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