7/16/2010- Oxford

7/16

This was the last day of classes. Pretty sad, actually. It was our last full day in Oxford. Read on.




I haven't mentioned this before, but my dormitory at Oxford had five floors, and I just happened to be on the top one. The stairs leading up to them were very steep, and I realized that I went up and down them a LOT, so I started timing my trips in order to see when I'd have to leave to get to meals on time and such. Today, I went up the stairs 9 times and down the stairs another 9 times. 45 flights of stairs up, 45 flights of stairs down every day. That was my exercise while at Oxford. :)



< This is a picture of the stairs from a bird's eye view... I thought it looked cool. :)





In Writing class, we read our stories out loud. Mine ended up being about 2 typed pages, with the title "Escape." Check it out!

Escape
The dark-colored bandana concealing her hair fluttered in the wind as she stepped out of the plane arriving from Athens. The scratchy fabric itched my fragile skin. I found myself wishing for limbs. Anything would be better than just a tail.
We were at an airport. I flew up and down as she walked, her high heels clacking annoyingly. I let out a quick accidental hiss of frustration and recoiled at the sound. She reached her hand backwards towards my friends and I, found me among us all, and squeezed my neck tightly.
End this life, I wished sadly; though I knew it would not be fulfilled. My voice would never be heard. I writhed around in pain, trying to break free of her grip.
She let go. Relieved, I lay down obediently, though I hated it. I hated my life as a slave.
She adjusted her dark sunglasses and marched up to the immigration check, cut to the front of the queue, and filled out the form, her pen flying down the page as if it were a boisterous storm cloud in a stormy night sky. She knew her character well, though it wasn’t even close to the reality of her situation.
I peeked at the words through a tiny tear in the bandana. She just filled out some random nonsense on the card, but I couldn't help imagining myself answering some of the questions on the card truthfully.
Age?
Lost count.
Birthday?
Somewhere around 50 B.C.E., though I can’t be certain.
I hated those things already.
Race?
Snake. I guess I’d fall under “Other.”
Yes, I know. Scream all you want. But I’d really appreciate it if you’d just deal with it.
She cleared her throat, reapplied her lipstick, handed the form in, and walked through the doors without uttering a single word.
I bounced against the other snakes, my fangs scraping at my scales in agitation. My “friends” and I didn’t really get along, but we were fellow brethren: living the same stressful lives, thinking the same horrible thoughts, hoping it could all stop. It was a mutual feeling; one we all knew was present. We all dreamed that one day we’d be free through death, rid of Athena, who brought us here in the first place, and of Medusa’s harassment. She knew we didn’t value our lives, though she constantly abused us, reminding us of our plight, our struggle to remain compliant to her orders.
Medusa was hurrying to the baggage claim area, though she was never in a hurry. You never have to rush if you’re thousands of years old, especially if you have more thousands left to go.
She went up to a man at some sort of a reception desk at the corner of the room. “Where are my bags?” she demanded, her voice still heavy with a thick Greek accent, “I’ve been waiting for hours.”
His eyes left his work. “I’m sorry, miss, you’ll have to wait for your luggage in the claim to circle ‘round.”
That response didn’t please Medusa, little did. She drew him to the side. “Can I speak with you privately?” It was more of an order than a question, especially because her voice was rising, giving way to a threatening tone.
“What’s going on?” His face betrayed fear and his voice quivered as he followed her to a secluded part of an airport hallway.
“It’s over,” she said, scoffing softly as she tilted her sunglasses down. Our cue.
I hated this part. If we weren’t vicious enough, we’d be punished, going through so much pain that we’d shed our skin.
She threw back her bandana and I slithered up with my brothers. Twisting, turning, spiraling, spitting. I wondered if there was a split second in which our victims saw our wrath before their death. They could never understand our masked misery.
We watched him suffering through a spasm of fear, hearing the cracking sound of stone hitting stone, colliding together, and shuddered to ourselves as the shell came together before his face.
No sign of life remained. Poor mortal. All that was left was the horrified expression depicted on the stone face; its parted lips and wide eyes: though they were rendered emotionless, nonexistent.
With the slap of a single hand, the figure shattered into pieces and disappeared into thin air.
I dove into the masses of snakes, hiding from the scene. Though I could still sense everything, distantly…
The problem with Greek mythology was that most stories ended in tragedy, I thought to myself, but what if tragedy is the only way to escape from our dilemmas?
I pushed deeper and deeper through the crowds of snakes, stretching myself as far as I could go, closer towards her neck. I crossed over the other snakes to her arm. She didn’t seem to notice. I had never seen her before, not without her disguise, but I knew that I must in order to destroy my depression, for the life I led wasn’t worth living.
So I jumped, and just glanced at her face for a moment, all of her hideous features glaring upon me, just for a second, and then a sense of dropping.
Falling; down, down, down. And I never stopped.


We gave theoretical "awards" to each other. My class voted my piece as the most original! :)

In Psychology, we analyzed our personalities. (Haha, that sounds really strange....) Apparently, I am an extravert, slightly stable, I barely give in to social pressure, and I'm in between conformity and determination to be different.
Interesting.
We also played a Jeopardy game. Our team, the Gryffindors (I know, it's awesome, right?) won! The other team was being obnoxious, though. *sigh*

For lunch, I had chicken and chips! Next, we headed over to Leadership and Team-building again. We mainly talked and filled out a quick survey about how we liked the class so far. Most people weren't very enthusiastic, since we play childish games a lot.

In our free time, my friends and I went to Michael's Crêperie. I got a DELICIOUS crêpe with Belgian milk chocolate and bananas! They made them directly in front of us... it was amazing.


< This is a crêpe that someone else got after me. I wanted to take a picture of mine, but I had already taken a bite, so it didn't look that amazing ;)






We also went to Ryman's to get Aubrey a folder,  the Stickershop, and Past Times, where I got a new locket.

Dinner was basically the same thing as lunch. After that, we all got dressed up and ready for the graduation and the dance that would follow.
Graduation was really great. Everyone got a graduation certificate that looked like a college diploma, and several people got prizes if they did well in their classes. Aubrey, Sophie, Diana, Megan, and I all got prizes! :) Diana and I both got the Best Presentation Award for Psychology class as well as the two Noble Prize Winner in the Making Prize for Writing Class!

When we left the graduation, I realized that Metodi had gone! He had already left, leaving us a note on the white board telling us that he missed everyone. Ahh, Teddy.

I wasn't excited for the dance at all. See, there was this guy...
It's hard to explain.
Anyway, it wasn't that bad.
My friends and I mostly hung out outside by a bench. I took pictures, we laughed, had fun, etc.

The Evening Shout came afterward, followed by tears and hugs. It was our last night at Oxford.


~Cora

7/15/2010- Oxford

7/15

After a croissant-filled breakfast, I had Writing class as usual. We edited one another's stories that we wrote yesterday.

Following that, we had more presentations, and our teacher gave us an amazing lecture about Personality. We took a test to see what our personality would be classified as. It was great!






Lunch was pretty horrible. I would have loved the food if it were a different kind. We had lamb and noodles, but they were both mediocre in taste. The only thing I liked was my banana. :)

Next, I went on a tour of the Bodleian Library. It was used for the exterior of Hogwarts Castle in Harry Potter, as well as the hospital wing and the library. Then, we had free time, where we got my friend Diana an Oxford sweatshirt, we went to MooMoo's and I got a delicious Oreo smoothie, and I went to Ben's Cookies once more.

Back at the college, we practiced for the talent show that would take place that evening, and then we went to St. Catherine's, the college that it would take place at, which was beautiful and large. It was also surprisingly modern compared to the rest of Oxford. We went to the dining room, which was about twice as big as ours at St. Peter's, though the food wasn't as good as ours.

At the talent show, a lot of people played piano and sang. I sang a song called Going Through the Motions from Buffy. I don't think I did very well, but I tried to shrug it off. Everyone who participated got a cute teddy bear that I named Teddy. It doesn't sound that creative, but the bear was named after a nickname that my friend, Metodi, had.

I finished my homework in bed, finished my milkshake, went back out for the Evening Shout, and then fell asleep once more. :)

~Cora

7/14/2010- Oxford

7/14

I'm going to skip writing about breakfast, lunch, and dinner from now on unless there is something important to mention.

< Though here's a picture of my breakfast today, anyway. :) Milk, of course. My favorite drink.










In Writing class, we started by writing a popular fairy tale in a different point of view. Here was my response:

Once upon a time.
What a strange way to start a tale, especially one of mystery, intrigue, and enchantment.
It tells the reader much, however. It happened once, not repeated, and the time could be any. It is not specific. Just a time, my friends. We can never be certain of anything. Even if the next few words on the page read, "in the 1800s," of if the title reads "The True Story of Something or Other," where's the proof? It is simply a book, my friends. It is simply a book.

Once upon a time.
What a strange way to start this tale.
And yet it is, my friends -- how strange! -- though yet it is.
They leave my side of the story out every time. And don't you dare get into all of that "supporting character" nonsense. Every character deserves their say. Yes, I'm mentioned in the book. But never noticed, always tossed aside, read over quickly as though it doesn't matter.

The posters all say, "Cinderella," with a pile of ashes, or a gloved hand, or a beautiful ball gown. The glass slipper is another popular one. And Ella's godmother's pumpkin carriage.

Did you really think that the godmother could do all that magic by herself? No. It was all my doing, and no one appreciates it.

Do you know who I am yet? Well, what I am, I guess. My mistress always takes credit for my hard work. It isn't fair! It's not like I can do anything to myself, and I can't walk away. And all of that Bippity Boppity Boo rubbish? Don't even get me started.

So Ella's godmother starts waving me around like she's waving to her friend. There's this rippling effect that courses through my spine until it reaches the tip, shoots out a spark of exhilarating light out of my head, and makes something magical happen.

It's hard work being me. And people are ignorant, as if I simply don't exist. As if I don't matter in this world. I'm the reason why Ella became pretty again. That handsome guy would have never fallen in love with her. Besides, he only did it because of her looks, and that isn't how a good man should judge a woman.

My mistress has taken me away. Claimed me as her own. I am not to be owned. She is not magical, and anyone can use me and blurt out whatever nonsense they want. I only performed my Mistress's bidding because I felt bad for Ella. I didn't like the ending, anyway.
And they all lived happily ever after.

Please set me free. I'm not in captivity, and I'm not trapped with no escape that I could arrange myself. I'm simply in the wrong hands.

And they all lived happily ever after.

What a strange way to end a tale.

Though I assure you, my friends, that it is not the ending of this tale.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Except for me.

Hope you liked it! In writing, I also worked on plot work and we had a brainstorming session.

It was raining before psychology, again. Maybe it wasn't just symbolic for yesterday.

In Psychology, we each had presentations to share with the class. They included Illusions, Bi-Polar Disorder, Psychopaths, and Freud. Diana, my partner, and I had a presentation about schizophrenia. I'm glad to say that it went really, really well!

After solving some computer issues on my friend's laptop, I had lunch, and then I thought about a short story that I could write for our Writing class assignment.

Then, I went to Leadership and Team-building class. We talked about the basic qualities of a leader (trust, confidence, honesty, assertiveness, commitment, open-mindedness, the ability to listen to others, etc.), and then we talked about decision-making. Though this is all fairly obvious, the following is what we discussed:

Decision Making:

1. Methods:
1. One person
2. Majority vote
3. Everyone
4. Selected, trusted few
2. Factors at play:
1. Time
2. Atmosphere
3. Importance
4. People (opinions, character)
5. Status
6. Leader's Absence
7. Size of group
3. To Keep in Mind:
1. Balance of Power
2. Fairness of the Decision and the Process

Then, we did an activity in which we were split up in groups and we received a sheet listing the materials we would need on a hypothetical trip to northern Canada. As a team, we had to put in order which items we would need to bring with us. Surprisingly, it was actually fairly difficult to decide what items would be needed most desperately.

After the workshop, we had free-time. We went to Ryman's to get a CD for the talent show, we went to Ben's cookies to get delicious chocolate chip cookies (AMAZING! The best cookie in the WORLD!) Look at the picture! >

We got really messy with them, since the chocolate had completely melted. 

My friends and I were laughing about different languages together. My friend Diana spoke Spanish, Sophie and I spoke German, and Aubrey spoke English. Good times. :)

We went back to the college and I wrote the beginning of my story, which you can read in a later diary entry. (Probably 7/16)

After dinner, we went to the sports hall, and I almost finished the first draft of my story for Writing homework. I had tried to sign up for watching Shrek instead, but there were no more spots for the three of my friends and I, so I went to the sports hall with Aubrey. I ended up actually being glad that I could go to the sports hall afterwards, since I had the chance to almost finish my story that way!

Afterwards, we had the Evening Shout, in which Martin, the director, returned lost items and went over tomorrow's schedule.

Before I went to bed, I checked my email and Facebook, finished my first draft of my story, and then tried to sleep- though it was hard because two of my roommate's friends came to our room and stayed there until midnight while I was trying to sleep.

~Cora

7/13/2010- Oxford

7/13

It was raining this morning.
It seems as if it could have been symbolic for something that happened today, or perhaps everything that happened today, but I can't grasp quite what.


Creative Writing: We did work out of our binders in class, studying Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart and studying the usage of good suspense in writing, marking what we liked and what we didn't like next to the poem. We also looked at the Black Book of Secrets and Teddy, my poetic friend I mentioned in an earlier entry (end of 7/9/2010), read a few of his favorite poems aloud.

It was raining during break.

Experimental Psychology: We listened to our teacher give a lecture about what females look in males in terms of attractiveness and vice versa. According to research, one of the best compliments you can give someone about their looks is that they are "average," because the compilation of many pictures of different people together, using the average of many different facial features, comes together in an extremely beautiful person. Something to keep in mind. :) We also talked about a presentation we'd be giving the next day, the display of all of our hard efforts in our psychology experiments we had done.

It was raining when we took a bus to Blenheim Palace.

But when the raindrops lessened, the dew clung to the petals in the flower gardens, creating a beautiful scene.

We took many pictures, especially in Rose Garden, and of course I took the immediate opportunity to do what I love as much as writing:
Talking.
So my friends and I talked about several subjects for hours on end: Harry Potter (AVPM and AVPS, PPP, the books, the movies, Dumbledore, the growth of the main characters, everything), Percy Jackson (the books, and the movies), etc.

It was raining, the trees hidden by a foggy layer of mist.

The Secret Garden was our next destination. I doubt this one had anything to do with the book, but it was certainly another favorite where I took many pictures!





It was raining when we went into the café at the palace for hot chocolate and muffins.

We walked back to our larger groups, took more pictures, and talked about the plotline of Wicked. Then, we all got back into our buses and rode back to campus.

It was raining in the bus.

Diana and I worked on our psychology presentation, doing research on our topic and writing a lab report about our procedures, data, etc. We also practiced a song for the talent show from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Going Through the Motions), though we were also going to perform a song from the Phantom of the Opera and went to bed after dinner and the evening shout.

~Cora

7/12/2010- Oxford

7/12

Creative Writing: We analyzed a poem today about Havisham, which I really like and suggest that you look into. We also wrote about abstract thoughts- courage, love, etc. and answer a few questions about them as if they were living entities. I chose Faith, explaining that she lives in a hollow cave far away from all: one has to reach for her to bring her closer, on a journey stressful and tedious. She creates songs for the depressed and she tastes like sweet chocolate chip cookies and milk. Though her mother, Desire, once shared love with her, and though Faith and her sister, Hope, miss her, they have never met again since their birth.
Another prompt was to write a poem about an emotion. I chose confusion:

Help

Ow; stab
Lips kiss
Yes no
What is this
all meaning
full of
how should
why it could
have
who to believe
when to think
pondering
wishing
slapping a face
hard
wishing this place
was different, why
love?
wait,
what?



After a break, in which I played UNO with my best friends and prepared for what I didn't realize would be the trigger of my interest in psychology, something that could forever impact my life.


Experimental Psychology: We watched a short video regarding the Milgram Experiment. The participants signed up for the experiment, believing it to be a memory test. Its real goal, however, was to discover how far people would obey authority.
Please research this topic. It could change the way you perceive humans and yourself- what would you do when confronted in a situation that could end someone's life?
Our teacher also described to us the Stanford Prison Experiment, in which the participants became the roles they were acting as- and they had no idea who they had been.


Onto a more positive (and random) note, free time in the afternoon led my friends and I to many different shops, but the only things I ended up buying were desserts, which were all sadly mediocre in taste except for an amazing chocolate chip cookie that I split with Diana, one of my best friends.

Anyway, after laundry and dinner, Diana and I went to a park, where we sang songs, Diana played football (soccer) and though she happened to be the only girl on either team (some of the boys were doubting her abilities), she proudly scored the only goal.

< At the park, there was a pretty sunset! I loved the strange way the clouds floated in the sky with the colors blending into them... it looked better in real life, but here's a picture. You can't see it very well, but the sky was tinted red, and the clouds faded into the red... it was cool. :)




After a long, hard day, I was ready to go to sleep after the evening shout, and so I did.

~Cora

7/11/2010- Oxford

7/11

After a breakfast of a bagel, sausages, bacon, and a croissant with jam, my friends and I hung out at campus. For psychology, we had to do a psychology essay and questioning session- we wrote and performed an experiment about self-esteem and test grades and went around asking students a series of five test questions and then asking for what their level of self-esteem and confidence was after the test. This provided information that would correspond together and my lab partners and I analyzed the results and wrote an essay about the result.

Free Time: At 12:30, we had free-time. We had lunch at Delicatessen, we bought laundry detergent at Sainsbury's, etc. Then, we went to Alice's Shop, and though we had troubles finding it, we eventually made our way there and I bought a postcard there about England. Then, we continued to shop around until we had to be back at campus, around 5pm. I quickly did my laundry brights, and then I finished writing the essay and graph for my psychology homework.

Evening: Dinner was at 6pm, and following that was the FIFA final- Spain vs. Holland. My best friend and I were rooting for HollSpa, since we couldn't choose which team was our favorite. People there got very involved, and people brought in flags and noise-makers and bought face-paint for the occasion. My friend and I had our faces painted with the Dutch flag on one cheek, the Spanish flag on the other, And a huge HOLLSPA on our foreheads. It was really fun supporting both teams- and we even made up a chanting song! xD




Before I went to bed, I quickly did my writing homework- writing a longer piece with just dialogue between two people. What I did is I just used the previous The Alibi story (which I posted here in an earlier diary entry) and gave it a special twist. Here's how it went:


One Officer, Two Suspects, Fifteen Minutes

"I was hanging out with my friends, relaxed, walking-"
"You were NOT relaxed!"
"Don't interrupt!"
"Just because YOU have an alibi, Sophie-"
"It's the truth, I swear!"
"Those who say they swear tend to be the liars in criminal investigations."
"What makes this a crime?"
"Fine. Tell YOUR story, then. Enlighten us with your stupid lies."
"I was walking down the streets of Oxford and-"
"Being vague won't help, either."
"We were lost! I think we went off a side street near the Covered Market- somewhere around Cornmarket street; could that be right?- but my friend Jessica got us completely lost by trying, and failing, to follow her iPhone's GPS instructions. Confused, we turned around and tried to retrace our steps. My other friend, Sam, wanted to go to a tourist shop. We stumbled upon a stationary store-"
"Oh sure, completely unplanned."
"I bought a notebook- yes, I have proof, both of you- at Ryman's- yes, including the reciept- and I found a jewelry store- what was it called?- and I purchased a green locket- I think I saw it in my dorm room last night...- and headed back to campus, arriving around 5:15."
"Now may I speak? Thank you, officer; finally. They- well, as you say, Mr. Blackwell, she is the only important one-"
"What do you mean, important? What did I do?"
"Defensive tone, just as I expected. I've told you, all of the evidence points to her."
"You're talking to Mr. Blackwell like I don't even exist!"
"She was running-"
"What!?"
"-hurriedly down Cornmarket Street- yes, I admit that that one part of her story is correct.- It was like they- sorry, she - had to do something important. She was telling them to run, and then to sprint as fast as they could. They entered Ryman's at precisely 4:30, as if on a tight schedule, and I waited outside as innocently as I could."
"Innocently?! You were spying on us!"
"They came out with a few heavy bags- far heavier than if they had just bought notebooks- and ran to Past Times, entering the store at 4:45. The locket was around her neck when they left, though I assume there's something different about it-"
"What the heck? I got that thing for fifteen pounds! It was on sale!"
"Again, officer, defensive. Don't you find it peculiar that it took her exactly fifteen minutes to leave one shop and enter the next? And then she just happened to purchase a locket for fifteen pounds?"
"That was just a coincidence, Mr. Blackwell! Don't listen to David!"
"Anyway, as I was saying, she arrived at St. Peter's College at 5 o'clock, another fifteen minutes later! It was as if there was something she couldn't miss. I waited, hidden behind the metal gate, and watched as they rounded a corner around the building. She told them- her friends- to 'Stay there.' I could hear her voice, even though she was attempting to whisper, and a few minutes later, we all heard a scream. Her friends were confused, and she came back soon after. It was a loud, abrupt, piercing scream. The people walking by thought nothing of it, but I knew something was wrong. They checked in at the college at 5:15, after Sophie had gone back to 'see if everything was alright.' Exactly fifteen minutes."
"But what is the significance that I happen to be fast at shopping?"
"You are the only person who can answer that, Sophie Calaway."
"Am I?"
"Sorry?"
"How long did this interview take?"
"Excuse me?"
"I think you know the answer, David Baker."
"What do you mean?"
"Fifteen minutes."
"Not anymore."



That's it! I really like that piece. :)

7/10/2010- Oxford

7/10

Since I knew that we'd have a horrible packed lunch again on the bus, I had a really big breakfast- a croissant, 2 slices of bacon, a bagel, and some jam. :)

Madame Tussaud's: This museum started when Madame Tussaud, who worked in the French Revolution, made wax figures of deceased people. There were lots of exhibits of wax figures of famous people- movies, presidents and influential people. singers, etc. and at the end, there was an amusement park-like ride that explained the history of Madame Tussaud and what had been happening in that era. There was also a gift shop, and though we had limited time, I bought a panini with tomato, basil, and mozzarella so I'd have something nice to eat for lunch.

Regent's Park: We took a bus to a park nearby and stayed there for a few minutes.

Bus ride: Here's what I wrote when I was in the bus:

"It's burning hot here in London; the temperature is over 100 degrees. Our water bottles are nearly empty, with only a few drops remaining. We just left Madame Tussaud's and Regent's Park, and we're on the way to a new museum, but our bus's engine overheated and started smoking. The glass of the windows was fogged, and the whole bus reeked of disgusting gas. We evacuated, and now here we stand, annoyed, waiting for a new bus."

I think that basically sums that part up. We eventually did get a new bus, though.

The Natural History Museum: We had limited time here, which was really sad. I also lost part of my locket here since it broke off.  I went around with my friends in the human anatomy section before we had to run back to the exit. :(

< Here's a picture of the entrance hall.












Parks: The other groups just went home from this point on, but our group's bus from before had to drive back to its shop and get fixed and we waited for a really long time. We went to another park and had ice cream while we waited. I met a new awesome friend there and we talked for hours, waiting. The bus company called us often to delay the time they'd come pick us up at, from "thirty more minutes" to "another hour," etc. Then they told us it would be a lot longer, so....

Subway: We went to go eat at Subway, where I had a ham, turkey, and tomato sandwich and ate our food at a Chinese place nearby.

We got another call from the bus agency that the old bus didn't work and wouldn't be fixed, so they'd send a new one in one and a half hours. By this time we were completely exhausted, so...

Hyde Park: We went to another park. On the way there we saw a man wearing a ladybug dress.
At last there was something that brightened up our moods!

< Hyde Park.

We played Mafia for a while, and then we walked to a different bus from the same company when it arrived.







And guess what?

We were in the middle of London when our. bus. broke. down.
Again.
It wouldn't move.
We parked at the side of the road and exited the bus and waited.

To pass the time, a few of my friends and I sang Mamma Mia songs. Good times. :)

Then, we took a public transportation bus and squeezed in, taking it all the way back to our campus at St. Peter's. We were screaming by the time we got back, and singing like crazy. I remember thinking that one thing I love about Oxford is that you can be as crazy as you want to and no one will look at you twice. xD

Today was a hectic day, but you know what? It was worth it. Our group became so much closer, and I met a lot of people I wouldn't have if we hadn't gone through this madness.

~Cora

7/9/2010- Oxford

7/9

Creative Writing: Today we wrote a piece about getting sick :|, talked about similes, metaphors, and oxymorons, and went outside for a few minutes. We found a leaf from the ground and had to write something about it. This is what I wrote:

Golden like a desert
Fragile as a mother's child
When it's old enough, it
leaves its tree, and
it surrenders to the
wind's strong grasp.
A maze
paths between paths
roads between roads
walking like there's no
endless
walking like you've star
ted to could fall
off
you try to travel a
way, you jump
left and right,
but as any maze,
every leaf
has its beginning,
the birth, the growing,
and its end,
whether torn,
or lost,
or dead,
when use is at its own
ending,
the en
ding of a life,
the un
known world,
not sure what will hap
pen next.


and


They rip, they tear.
What would you think?
If they took you apart?
They rip, they tear.



We also wrote a science fiction piece about aliens coming to the class for the first time. :)


Experimental Psychology: Today we started projects about our own experiment and had skits about the brain, acting out a disease and the rest of the class would guess what part of the brain that disease would come from.

Afternoon: Later on, we went punting. One of our assistant counselors punted most of the way, though I tried at the end and I crashed into brambles. There were two groups of people on the boats as well and they were really drunk and we had to squeeze our boat between theirs.... an interesting experience.


< Punting in a beautiful lake





Evening: We had a balloon debate, which is where we got in groups of two and chose an occupation to support. The aim of the game was to keep your occupation inside the balloon. My friend and I supported teachers, and other groups chose students, the Pope, the US president, and medical examiners. It became a debate about the importance of religion, however, and after the medical examiners won, one of my best friends, whom we affectionately refer to as “Teddy,” read some of his awesome poems the rest of the time. Afterwards, we had the evening shout again, this time talking about our time at London the next day, and we all went to bed, excited for what was to come.

7/8/2010- Oxford

7/8

At breakfast this morning, I spilled my milk and made my whole breakfast soggy.
Figures.

Creative Writing: In small groups, our class looked at a picture and wrote a dialogue (no description, just dialogue) between two people, a girl and a guy, that was awkward and showed what they were doing without writing it outside of the quotes. We also worked on editing our eavesdropping dialogue from the night before and changed it so that they sounded different- unique or quirky- with new evocative adjectives. Hilarious result!

Experimental Psychology: We went over a powerpoint about the brain- its parts, memory loss, etc. and learned about a girl who had epilepsy and had to remove half of her brain and survived the experience. We also learned about a man in history, Phineas Gage, who had a huge brain injury after an iron pipe sliced through his skull. He survived, though, even though it was a while ago and there was a huge gaping hole in his chin and brain. *shivers* We also talked about the controversy regarding Animal Testing.

Bus ride: We had a bus ride since we were going to Windsor Castle. We had a packed lunch with a disgusting sandwich and an amazing-tasting clementine. xD

Windsor Castle Excursion: At Windsor castle, we went inside the palace and explored in small groups. We took lots of pictures as well and saw the guards marching in their uniforms.

Pizza Express: Cheese pizza. xD

Bus ride: I talked to one of my best friends, Aubrey, in the bus about comparing the schools we went to.

Evening: I ran outside in drizzling rain when we got back and became very hyper. :) My friends and I also stood in the queue for evening activities for the next day and went to the evening shout before bedtime.

7/7/2010- Oxford

7/7

I got up a bit later than usual today, but I still was early for breakfast. My friends and I found a great time to meet when there is barely a line and you'll have plenty of time to eat.

Creative Writing: Today we worked on writing from different perspectives. Our first in-class assignment was to write a story from two points of view and then compare them. Here's what I came up with:

An Alibi

I was walking, relaxed, down the streets of Oxford with my friends when we got lost. Confused, we turned around and started walking back, searching for a tourist shop. I bought a notebook with a leaf engraved on it- yes, I have proof- at Ryman's- yes, including the receipt- and I found a jewelry store- what was it called?- and I bought a green locket there as a memory. And we headed back to campus at 5:15.

~~~~

They- well, as you say, she is the only important one- were running hurriedly down Cornmarket Street, like they had to do something important. She was telling them to sprint; run, as fast as they could. They entered Ryman's, and I waited innocently outside. They came out with a heavy bag and ran to Past Times and went back to St. Peter's College at 5:00, like there was something she couldn't miss. I waited, hidden behind the gate, and they checked in at 5:15, exhausted to get there on time.


It's pretty good for the short amount of time we had. It is a short story. After that, we had to write in a certain point of view and then choose one of three narrators: omniscient, unreliable, and stream of consciousness and write about a child being kidnapped. I chose stream of consciousness, and second person, and here is my story:


You are at the park.

You are with your friends, and you're having fun, and you hop on the slide, and you wait for your turn on the swing, and after you get on, you're already bored of waiting, and you get on the slide again, and then you take your best friend's hand, and you bring her to the seesaw, and then you figure out that you weigh the same, so you get off, and run around in circles, and Michaela wants to play tag, but Trisha wants to play hide-and-go-seek, and you like Trisha, everybody does, so you start counting, and when you reach 20, you hear a twig snap, but you know the rules, and you count further, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25... more twigs snapping, and you're almost at 30: 28, 29, and then, you're ready to turn around and tell the person behind you that you found them, but you see his towering figure, and you gasp, and he picks you up, and you punch him with your little fists, and he laughs, and he ties them together, and he runs off with you and covers your eyes.

You are at the covered market.

And you kick your attacker, hard, as hard as you can, and he sets you down if you promise to stay, and you struggle, but you agree, and you run. As fast as you can.

And you are running.


That's one of my favorite pieces of writing so far- not the plot, but just the style of writing. I love second person. :)

Experimental Psychology: We took a trip to Pitt River's Museum. This choice confused me because its exhibit was about biology.... but nevertheless, a very fun experience. :) On the trip there on foot, I did my writing homework, which was to eavesdrop on some people and copy down their conversation. Mine was extremely gossipy. ;)

< Here's a model of a Himalayan Monal, one of the many beautiful things in the museum.





Leadership & Teambuilding: We had a session about public speaking in which we read famous speeches by MLK Jr, Obama, Churchhill, etc. and played games.

Free Time: My friends and I went out to Oxford again. It took us a while, but we found the covered market (the one I refer to in my story above ^) and I went to MooMoo's milkshakes and got an Oreo milkshake. Heavenly. I was in love. I would do a lot to get one right now. I also bought pants, but that's not as interesting.

Evening: After a mediocre dinner, I watched the FIFA match between Spain and Germany, which made me really upset because Germany lost :((. Though I ended up supporting Spain in the finals, which I'll talk about later. In the evening shout, it was announced that we'd get wifi access that night- so naturally I spent the time before I went to bed emailing all of my friends. :)

7/6/2010- Oxford

7/6

At 7:20, we had a planned fire drill. Why we had to do it early instead of sleep in, I had no idea. Anyway, the director told us that from that day on we would be having breakfast at 7:45, much to the annoyance of my peers and I.

Creative Writing: We discussed introducing characters indirectly in our writing- describing their personalities through dialogue, actions, etc. We also described a person we saw in a picture and write about their personality.

My group's character was a girl, probably in her early twenties, at a desk looking frustrated with a heap of money. Here's what we came up with:

-Jessica

-New York University

-20 years old

-stressed, financial trouble, unorganized, irresponsible, yet confident, trying hard

-possibly not good at job, unreliable

-likes shopping

-lives in the city

-active, social, friendly

-worried

-parents wanted to teach her lessons- she was spoiled but now is trying to be independent

-lives in a dorm at university

-dreamer, party person?

-wants to please everyone

-smart, but has too much to do and has a heavy weight/burden

-financial troubles for her have never been so bad- piling up, but didn't find out until now

We brainstormed as a class other questions to develop characters:

Un/Married
Location
Parents
Job
Name/Nickname
College + Education
Debt?
Age
Kids
Relaxed vs. Stressed?
Spoiled?
Outgoing and social?
Friendly?
Irresponsible?
Sleep Habits?
Workaholic?
Relationships?
Dress?
Fight vs. Flight?

Our teacher also gave us a list of questions about what our character would do in certain situations. Below are the questions and our answers:

-How does your character calm down? Coffee ;)

-What does your character do when waiting for a bus? Clicks pen, ruffles through money, reads, shops, daydreams

-How often does your character change his/her clothes? 3 times a day

-What is your character's word for "cool" (wicked, amazing, spectacular, etc.)? Awesome!

-If your character received $1000, what would they do with it? Shop, but she might have problems later in life looking back at her debt...

Now that I think about it, our character was very random and very controversial. We weren't exactly sure about her.... haha ;)

Experimental Psychology: After a short break, we had psychology, where we watched a powerpoint and talked about a project we'd have to do later on.

Afternoon: After lunch, we had a tour of Christ Church- ONE OF THE FILMING LOCATIONS OF HARRY POTTER! It was an amazing place with beautiful architecture and scenery. A few of the hallways were filmed there and the great hall, where the characters eat in HP, was on campus as well. My favorite place there was the Grand Staircase, though. I couldn't believe I was walking in the sensational Harry Potter staircase! It was an extremely exciting experience.

< That's the Grand Staircase! Sorry, it's not that great of a picture. But that's exactly where they filmed it!

Free Time: Next, we had our first "free time" period, in which we could choose to go around in Oxford with a small group of friends or stay on campus. Everyone almost always chose shopping, though. On that particular day, I bought an Oxford shirt, a necklace (I think...), and a locket.

Evening: Following a small dinner, I watched the FIFA world cup semifinals, Uruguay vs. Holland. I ended up doing my writing homework in the meantime, which was to make up a character. Here's what I came up with:

Autumn Dawn Summers

Born on the crack of Dawn on September 22, 1995, the Fall Equinox.

Mother: Faith Louise Summers, African American

Father: Ryan Carter, Caucasian

Sister: Willow Ivy Summers, 18 years old

Other:

-14 years old

-shy, clumsy, unsure; not teased, but shy by nature

-private school, new kid moving from Palo Alto, CA

-rich parents, nice life

-clever, not pushed by parents

-long brown hair she hides behind

-plays tennis

-violin prodigy

-works hard

-has a cat named Veranika

-wears earrings

-favorite color: lilac

7/5/10- Oxford

7/5

Since breakfast was at 8:00, we had to wake up around 7:15. After we went through the breakfast buffet (which contained cereal, bagels, croissants, sausages, bacon, vegetarian sausages, and potato waffles every day), we had our first writing class around 9:00.

Creative Writing: Our class discussed very short stories (based off of a three-lined, six-word story by Ernest Hemingway). We wrote our own srories, and I came up with three:

Windowdrapes,

when opened:

false light

An empty bed-

A startled cry,

Never more.

The open door

had been left

locked.

Then, we were told to describe a picture of an attic with a man standing in the corner and a tiny bit of light streaming in through the ceiling in three words- the first three words we thought of. We shared the words as a class and found that most people put similar things- cliché things for someone turning away from the darkness, such as "light," "scared," "dark," "alone," "gone," "depressed," etc. However, our teacher told us to dig deeper- to find two new words; my words were "path" and "undecided."

Experimental Psychology: After our half-hour break, we resumed classes at 11:00. We learned about the definition of Experimental Psychology- researching (and therefore learning) topics of interest in psychology and using experiments to solve questions about human behavior and life in general.

Leadership & Teambuilding: Following lunch, we left for the Taylorian Institute, where we had our first workshop, mine being Leadership & Teambuilding. We played games about working together as well as listened to a lecture about communication, authorization, listening, and questioning.

Afternoon: The whole camp split up and took a tour around Oxford, learning about history and becoming familiar with the streets we'd be walking around on during the course.

Evening: We had an activity in small groups where we got to know each other more through a quiz-session about everyday things- such as, "Name at least 20 US States," or "Name at least 30 European countries." Then, we had sign-ups in the Marquee, a huge white tent, for the next day's activities. The Evening Shout also took place, a time when the camp director talked to us about the next day's schedule.

Before Nighttime: Before I went to bed, I finished my homework for writing class, the assignment being to write a one-page (in our journals) story from someone else's point of view, someone not heard from often in stories. I wrote the following:

Streetrat

I scrounge around the asphalt hurriedly, my paws scraping against the scratchy street. My fur, sticky and brown, bushes against the brick wall beside me as I scurry across a large circular gray surface. I sense something approaching me, so I leap away before it hits me. I land on a black plastic trash bag, scavenge, and find the remainders of a peculiar yellow crescent fruit, which I told myself I'd snack on later.

In the shadow of the alley, I peer up at my predator. Human, as I had thought. A human with long, curly, greasy hair carrying a wooden object with strings spanning its sides. He stood still nearby and drew his hand slowly against the strings and music started pouring out, vibrating into a cheerful tune. It was the most lively sound I had heard. I nibbled on the yellow fruit; though it was brown and squishy, it was still delicious.

As the song came to a slow closing, the human dropped two hairy features above his eyes, looked down at his dirty, torn overalls, the color of the sky, and petted the small Labrador puppy at his side. It barked and wagged its tail in delight and drooled on its owner's bare feet, but he didn't seem to mind. He opened his mouth, revealing his few yellow teeth, which were crooked and chipped and crossed each other in every unnatural way and contorted his lips into a smile.

I finished the fruit, including its strange crunchy exterior, and went to the pile of "trash." I crawled up to the top and tripped over a tin can, which came to a crashing fall. The sound echoed around me. I attempted to dive into the dump, but before I could dig deep enough, I was lifted...

That obviously needs some improvement, but I think it was fairly good for a near-midnight writing...

7/4/10- Oxford

7/4

Today, we moved into St. Peter's College. After I settled into my room, there was a reception where I met three friends almost immediately named Mary, from America, Chiara, from Belgium, and Iris, from Switzerland. After eating dinner in the dining hall, we all went to our rooms again. My roommate's name is Emilia, from Italy, and we talked together for a while before we fell asleep, knowing we had an interesting day ahead of us.