:: Final Thoughts ::

So?

How was the trip overall? That's a good question. Considering I was not looking forward to it when I first left...it ended up going much better than expected. There were a few moments that were very uncomfortable and extremely upsetting but I'm not going to bother focusing on them. Not worth my time at all.

The trip was amazing!!

My Original Goals
- see the beach
- have fish and chips on the beach
- go to the Doctor Who exhibit
- see the Imperial War museum in London
- watch Doctor Who on television the moment it airs
- get a Doctor Who figurine and Sonic Screwdriver

Overall: ACHIEVED!!

Plus, I made great friends!
Went through a volcanic experience.
Went on a pub crawl in Dublin.
Discovered I love cider.
Had a Starbar.
Was impressed with food costs.
Rode a double decker bus.
Lived 4 months without a cell phone.
Went under budget by 300 pounds.
Saw Wicked in the West End of London.
Went to 2 Tim Hortons.
Went to Jane Austen's home, went to Shakespeare's birthplace and grave.
Went inside Windsor Castle.
Visited the pub where J.R.R. Tolkien frequented.
Had fish and chips.
Tried Estonian foods.
Tried Vegemite (never again!).
Went to bars.
Discovered the movie Kung Pow.
Learned about the Estonian musical festival.
Survived English university.
Had a professor bring wine to class to share with the students.
Had the professor invite all students out to the pub after lecture.
Was flirted with.
Went on a ferry.
Took trains.
Went on the London Underground.
Saw the Hogwarts Express.
Touched the Tardis.
Laughed until I cried.

Overall...I give this experienced the highest marks it could achieve. Amazing!!

There's not much else I can say!!


Thank you to those who read my blog and commented. Thank you for supporting me in taking this big leap and thank you for paying attention to my ramblings. I really appreciate it.

I guess this is goodbye!!

:: Julianne ::

Final Week Recap!! [Pt 2]

Day 118
Mood: Bitter sweet
Weather: Slightly overcast but by this point I'm used to it~
Quote of the Day: I believe inputting the song 'Blame Canada' would fit this section well.


So by Thursday my darling flatmate VT was back and it was time to go to Eastbourne for our final day trip. It was bitter sweet. I really enjoyed spending the entire day with the three loveliest ladies in all of Oxford. But it was my last full day with them. Southern Belle, California Girl and VT were the greatest friends I could have hoped for. Even though they decided to roast me the entire day (picking on poor Canadian me) I didn't mind...it only displayed how upset they were to lose me. Though having them continue to proclaim this fact didn't make me feel all too well about leaving the next day.

We took a 3 hour train to Eastbourne. We had to take the London Underground part way through. Thankfully we got a group rate and it only cost us 20 pounds for a return trip to Eastbourne!! That's half the original price!!! Plus, I got to go on the London underground. Well worth it!



The beach was beautiful! There was a pier with shops and an arcade. Needless to say I think there were a few people wasting some of their coinage. I was not one of them. XDD

We also had fish and chips on the beach! This was one of those goals I had set out for myself in going to England.



We also took a bus tour up to the Chalk Cliffs of 'Beachy Head'. (Beachy Head is a skewering of the original name which was French) Eastbourne was very significant during the wars, as a port town across the English channel.

Nice view huh!!

The chalk cliffs are also unprotected, which means the country allows erosion to naturally take place. The beach is protected but not the cliffs. In 1999 20 feet of the cliff fell away. We were told not to get too close to the end. We kinda did. We couldn't help it!!

We took the 3 hour train back and had a blast together. Though once home...we saw something spectacular. Unfortunately I did not get great pictures buuuuuut...

HOGWARTS EXPRESS!!

I don't know if you can make it out...but that, my friends, is the actual Hogwarts Express. They store it in Oxford (apparently) and were bringing it out for filming in London. So yes, I saw the actual Hogwarts Express.

Jealous?

I believe you should be!!

Day 119
Mood: Overflowing with Sadness
Weather: Sunny, warm, gorgeous
Quote of the Day: Insert tears here

This was the day I left my friends...it was full of tears and sadness. It was horrid. That is all that can be said.

I then headed to Watford, my final stop before going to Heathrow.

Day 120
Mood: Sad but a little excited
Weather: Sunny, warm, gorgeous
Quote of the Day: none

120 days in England...and it was time to go home. Family friends dropped me off at the airport 5 hours early. I hung out outside Terminal 3 for 2 hours with three suitcases and a backpack. Have you ever tried to shove all your suitcases in a single stall cause you really had to pee but couldn't leave them 'unattended'? No? I did. It sucked.

3 hours prior to boarding I dropped off my suitcases, paid the fee for a second bag and used up some of the leftover cash I still had on me. Then I lounged in the airport, bought 5 magazines and lunch and just chilled. It was okay, nerve wracking. I didn't want anything going wrong.

I boarded the plane and then realized...

I didn't want to go home. At all. I wanted to stay. Luckily I didn't cry but I was really upset upon take off.

I arrived back home at 6:00 pm local time. About....11:00 pm England time. I got through customs with NO QUEUE!! Yeah, arriving in London I had the same situation. No queue whatsoever. It was awesome. I picked up my bags, came out and...

No one was there. There was no one there to greet me. I had to stand there for 15 minutes before my parents and sisters finally showed up. I then cried cause I was happy to see them and gave my mom a big hug. We went out for dinner and I fell asleep at 9:00...2:00 am. XD





And thus concluded my trip to the UK!

I can say for sure that I will make it back one day. Hopefully with family so that I can show them around. There's a sense of pride there. I usually end up talking about England a great deal and irritating the people around me but...it was a big part of my life for 4 months and I couldn't simply shut up about it.

As for my goals?

Tune in for Part 3!! Final thoughts!!

Final Week Recap!! [Pt 1]

Oh my goodness I'm already back in Canada. It feels really surreal. Feels like I never left at all and at the same time...England in still in my heart. It feels like the entire adventure was a dream. One of the best dreams of my life.

I remember back to January and debating if, because of finances and such, if I should even go on exchange at all. I'm glad I did. Despite every stressful occurrence it was the best experience of my life. I don't even care about my eventual grades. I made friendships that will last forever.

Buuuut~ I should recap my last busy week in Oxford and around.

Sooo~ Here's a post about my trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Day 115
Mood: Thrilled
Weather: gorgeous ~
Quote of the Day: "The train leaves at 5:40." [Sorry...if you're not one of the 4 you'll never get this]

I did do a post on the same day I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon but I never recounted the trip. Southern Belle and I waited for a train and then went to the sleepy little village where Shakespeare was born. SB has got to be one of the coolest people in the world. She knows she's nuts and isn't afraid to show it. See the thing is, everyone is crazy. Everyone is weird and if you try and hide that you're not fooling anyone but yourself. SB, like myself, recognizes the craziness in herself and isn't afraid to be totally nuts in public. It's awesome and really makes you feel good.

So we caught the train, arrived in SUA and went to the place of Shakespeare's birth.


Well, it's assumed to be his place of birth. No one is really sure so we didn't pay the ridiculous money to go in. Instead we had lunch and went to speak with ghosts at a haunted house [a real one btw].


It was quite the scenic area to be honest.

We then went to a definite place where Shakespeare was actually located, his grave. There were the parish records of his birth and death to view as well as family graves. It was amazing. To think I had been within arm's length of Shakespeare's actual body!

His grave is the one on the right, the one on his left is that of his wife.

Mind blowing!!

There were some weird sayings on the ground like: 'watch that pidgeon' and such but there was one that seemed very well placed.


We were indeed. The last 5 days of my time in England had begun!!

Coming up next:

EASTBOURNE!!

May 17/2010 :: Romeo & Juliet are Not in Love

Day 115
Mood: Thrilled
Weather: gorgeous ~
Quote of the Day: "Alas poor Yorick!"

Today I visited Stratford-upon-Avon. It was the birth place of William Shakespeare and it is also his final resting place. It was a beautiful and quiet little city. My camera doesn't want to download pictures to my computer fast enough so instead of posting pictures and just breezing things over...I'm going to talk about something I think is important.

Shakespeare's most famous play, "Romeo and Juliet", is not a story about the passions of true love.

And the fact that most people see it as thus makes a mockery of the story itself. It is not a story about true love, it is the story of the stupidity of teenagers.

Let me start off by giving everyone a brief history lesson of the Tudor period. William Shakespeare was born into common life. He was not a noble, he was a common man. And common people had a very distinctive way of behaving and thinking. The marriage age of the Tudor couple was approximately 25 for women and 29 for men. This is because it was seen as beneficial to patiently wait until the man had a stable job and enough money for a house to properly support a family before marrying. The only people who married as remarkably young ages were the nobles. How foolish they must have looked to the commoners, marrying off mere children simply because they had the money to do so.

Marrying at the age of 14 and 21 was not seen to be 'true love'. It was seen to be irrational and far too quick. Real love was patient.

The other hints are in the story itself.

The setting is Italy, the period is the summertime. Italians were stereotyped as being 'hot-blooded'...that is, full of unnatural lust because of the heat. The English viewed their dreary weather as the perfect weather to keep the soul pure and clean. The hotness of Italy, in their opinion, created orgies and sexual wanderings.

Then we have our characters: Romeo, a man who (at the beginning of the play) pines for a girl named Rosaline...but as soon as he meets Juliet the other girl is forgotten. This is not true love. This is the fickleness of the young heart that cannot focus on one being for long. Juliet is a girl of 14 who is impatient with her family, not at all what a good Christian child would be. All children were taught to respect their elders. It was not a time when 'being yourself' was seen as a good thing. Respecting your parents was much more desirable to audiences.

Romeo and Juliet are not in love. They are in lust with one another. They are impatient children who cannot wait for sex. The reason for their hasty marriage is because Juliet refuses to have sex with Romeo without being married. Romeo is in lust with Juliet enough to agree to this sort of thing and Juliet is so clouded with feelings of 'puppy-love' to go along with things. She has a crush, he wants to do her.

Certainly doesn't look like a true love story to me. It doesn't fit the mood of the times and it certainly gives enough hints.

Problem is that current day feelings are almost the opposite of those of the Tudor period. Children are encouraged to be rebellious against controlling parents, passionate romance is desired and people rarely wait years for marriage.

But the point of the matter is that Romeo and Juliet is not a story about true love. It's a story about stupid teenagers who fell into lust so quickly they got themselves killed.


I think the lessons still stand.

:: Julianne ::

[sorry for a rather 'thoughtful' posting today...I'll be back to brainless picture posting soon enough~]

May 16/2010 :: Doctor Who 5x7

Day 114
Mood: content
Weather: drizzling~
Quote of the Episode: "Let's go poke it with a stick."

In all honesty...I was not looking forward to this episode. I saw the preview and perceived it to be a case of 'memory loss'. I hate things that play with the concept of memory loss. I simply do not like them. I did not like the 'Family of Blood' arc in Season 3 simply because of this reason.

But overall the episode was better than expected. Really nervewracking.

And funny.

[the Doctor sees that Amy is pregnant]

The Doctor: You've swallowed a planet!

Amy: I'm pregnant!

The Doctor: Look at you, you're huge!

Amy: Yeah, I'm pregnant.

The Doctor: Look at you! Oh, when worlds collide!

Amy: Doctor, I'm pregnant.

The Doctor: Oh, look at you both, five years later, you haven't changed a bit! Apart from age, and... size.

Amy: It's good to see you, Doctor.

The Doctor: [pause] Are you pregnant?

I enjoyed the throwback to the ending lines of the previous episode where Amy refers to the men as 'her boys'.

Though the silly girl thinks she's the only one the Doctor trusts. The one he'll tell everything too. Sorry sweetie but there have been great gals in his life. I love Amy to death, she's the companion I would want to be. But she's not the only one.

I know this probably won't happen because RTD isn't head writer anymore...but I'd like Martha to come in and set things straight. He won't love you. He can't love you. Even the Doctor knows this and brings Rory along so the two can reconnect.

But Amy needs the reminder that, in actuality, she's not special.

But overall, amusing episode but not something I'll be keen on rewatching frequently.

Rory: Oh, a poncho. The biggest crime against fashion since lederhosen.

Amy: Ah, here we go. Oh, my boys, my poncho boys, if we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band.

And the ending was brilliant~

The darkness in the Doctor and everything.

:: Julianne ::

[no images, sorry. Not a visually stunning episode. Pretty normal. Either in a quiet town or a frozen TARDIS]

May 15/2010 :: Exams Finito!!

Day 113
Mood: Elated
Weather: the most gorgeous day ever
Quote of the Day: "Boo yeah x2"

So I was waiting for my last exam...

It was so close and yet so far.

Just like how this dog wants the cupcakes...so bad!

But finally this morning it came time to write my exam!

I aced that suckah so bad~~!!

Like this girl, totally acing at parking

And now I feel...

As happy as this wee little octopus baby thing.

Yeah, that great!

May 13/2010 :: 3 Classes Done

Day 111
Mood: pleased
Weather: not too amazing, which makes studying easier
Quote of the Day: "Boo yeah"

One exam done!!

Boo yeah!!




...

That is all!

:: Julianne ::