Today is November 5th (for a few more hours anyway) which is Guy Fawkes day in England. Guy Fawkes was some dude who attempted to blow up Parliament hundreds of years ago and failed. This happened on Nov. 5th...so, Remember, Remember the 5th of November! Apparently, there's fireworks, burning effigies, and random bonfires in the park. Of course, today is a Thursday, so while there have been fireworks exploding around town, the real party will be held on Saturday night at one of our local parks. We do, you know, live in Oxford where the majority of us are scholarly and brilliant and need to do actual work in the middle of the week :) I'm really looking forward to my first (of many!) Guy Fawkes park bonfire, even if I don't really understand it at all.
Went on a 'ghost tour' with the International Students thingy on Monday night. Was not so much a ghost tour as it was an historical tour of Oxford, at night, when everything was closed and it was FREEZING. But, ended it in the pub drinking Fruli (love.) with two of my favourites. All in all, a good night and it gave us a little time away from studying for....
Our first exam, which was yesterday. To be fair, we really only have 2 exams this term: Marketing (yesterday) and Editorial (which is 90% proofreading...and I LOVE proofreading. Seriously, I do it for fun. Really). Now, don't go thinking this MA programme is a joke, cause believe you me it certainly isn't. Along with our two exams we have a major group project for each course (that's 4 total) due in at the end of term. These projects are: Marketing Plan, Editorial Proposal, Major design of 24 pages of a book...and something else that I should probably be remembering right now for Production.
Anyway, point is that we had our marketing exam yesterday. Last week was 'reading week' so no lectures, but tons of events to attend and lots of emailing trying to get group appointments together. Oh, and lots of people freaking out and studying hardcore for this marketing exam. I felt really good and prepared going into the exam...afterwards, slightly shaken, but all in all I'm sure it's fine ;) After the exam itself, we had about a 15 minute break before we had to meet up for our marketing seminar sessions (blah). 5 of us took this as an excuse to run to the closest flat/dorm room and do shots of Jaeger to congratulate ourselves. I love Uni.
We also, of course, had to celebrate the end of the exam by going out and getting ridiculously drunk. Hit a pub, then went to an Oxford Uni College pub (as I have two lovely friends who either attend or attended Oxford Uni and can get us in). Vodka and diet coke for 1pound70? Hell yeah. Afterwards, we hung out in the cemetary of the college for a bit and then went to the Purple Turtle. A club...apparently Wednesday, although free to get in, is like weird, american punk music night. Kind of a fail...but overall a good time. Met up with a bunch of others from the course and debauchery insued, as normal.
I'm still finding moments in the day where I stop--look around--and say, "I'm in freaking ENGLAND!" I don't know if this will ever stop really. I don't know if I want it to. I don't ever want to go back to the states...I don't think I could actually live in the states again after this. Everyone said that backpacking around Europe would be life changing, and while it was amazing and I'm still so freaking proud of myself for actually doing it (alone, I might add) it was always overshadowed by the fact that I was starting a Master's degree in England after. Now, i'm in week 6 of term one...and yeah, this is definitely the life changing event. I may even not come home for Christmas...kidding. Ticket is purchased and I'm coming, even though I really, kind of don't want to. Sorry :)
Picture above is from inside the St. Edmund's (Teddy Hall) College cemetery. I'm sitting next to someone important, I'm sure.
