My apologies that this post lacks pictures.
Today is the second day of November. Which is unbelievable to me. This is also the end of "4th week," meaning the term is halfway over.
Because it is midterm, Francis held individual meetings with each of us in the group to give back a grade for our introductory course paper and check in with how our tutorials are going. I was so happy to get an "alpha" on my first paper here and couldn't help but beam the rest of the meeting as I sat across from Francis in his study. He then gave me a "present" which was a copy of his new book that had just arrived from the publisher. Then as I was leaving, I remarked on how I liked his study, especially the original PICASSO that was hanging on the opposite wall. What a cool man. I can't even...
The rest of this week was insanely busy. On weeks that I have my minor tutorial, my time management skills go out the window. Especially this week when I had my tutorials on back to back days. This resulted in getting very little sleep in the last two days. Yesterday I took my computer to Java Co. to complete my paper for my last tutorial. I was cutting it extremely close and the panic and stress began to get to me. This is where I pause to explain the abundance of luck that I experienced this week:
My history tutorial requires a lot of research, meaning a trip to the library once a week, which I hate! The library that has the majority of the books I need is beyond walking distance and requires the bus. I made the decision on Tuesday to take a taxi instead. It was raining, cold, and I was in a time crunch. In my wallet I only had a 10 pound note and coins. The meter was quickly reaching 10 pounds and I started panicking about the cab driver pressing a seat eject button and me getting tossed in the rain. But when we pulled into the parking lot the meter said just under 10 pounds. (My first episode of good luck)
After getting my books, I went back outside to catch the bus. Here's where I realized I was an idiot: I was worried about not having enough cab money...without even thinking about having enough money to get back home. I started practicing my "but I'm a stupid american" pity face as I waited for the bus. Then I dug out all of the change from my wallet and asked the bus driver how much a one-way ticket cost. "2.10," he said. I blurted out, "FO REAL?!"and handed him the coins I was holding: exactly 2.10. (Lucky break #2)
Yesterday was the day from Hades. My paper was due at 2:30 and I was still sitting in Java Co. at 1:50 trying to finish it. I ran up to the library to print it and was having no such luck. So I emailed Penelope hoping to catch her at home. I then sped walked to her house, thinking that there was no way she would be there...or at least not be checking her email. I rang the doorbell and was about to turn away, when it opened and there was Penelope, holding a printed copy of my paper. A lucky break doesn't describe it. This was an act of God, of the Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior, praise Allah! I wanted nothing more than to hug Penelope, but time was ticking and all I could do was say thankyathankyathankya through tears as I rushed off to make it to my tutorial.
When Thursday was over and I was back at the flat, I could finally relax. But after having such a stressful day, I kept thinking about how I should have hugged Penelope. The homesick feeling struck and got me good. This morning I found three letters in the mail from friends which was the next best thing to a hug and exactly what I needed. I hate feeling like I want to go home when I'm supposed to be having an awesome time abroad, but honestly it's completely unrealistic to not miss the good ole US every now and then.
So without trying to make this a post about homesickness, here are some things I can't wait for upon my return to Arkysaw:
1. People that understand my sarcasm
2. My fuzzy brown blanket
3. Camping
4. The sweat pants I forgot to pack
5. Mexican food
6. An efficient washing machine/dryer
7. American TV shows (and the ability to stream them online)
8. The Natural State in it's natural state
9. Driving and listening to music (at the same time, and with friends)
10. Telling stories about my awesome time in Oxford!
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