Off to Oxford!

Although I really like London, this was the day I'd been waiting for all week--my course at Oxford.  Check in started at ten a.m. so I headed out on the nine o'clock train from Paddington Station and enjoyed the hour long ride to Oxford.  Once at the station I met another woman, Trish, who was also bound for Christchurch, so we grabbed a cab and became fast friends.  I was escorted to my room in the Meadows Building and marveled at my awesome luck--the view was fantastic!  During check-in I also met another fellow Jane Austen classmate from Sweden called Helena and the three of us decided to meet up for lunch in the Hall before setting out to wander around Oxford.  We stopped at the Bodleian Library, saw the Radcliffe Camera, and took in splendor of the city.  We had a short meeting with our tutor after dinner and the rest of the evening was a blur.  All I remember after that is going to bed excited to be starting a weeklong discussion on Jane Austen's heroines!

The courtyard at Christchurch

Tom Tower

The spire of Christchurch Cathedral

Courtyard of the famous Bodleian Library

Bringing out the Geek in Me

On my last day in London is poured down rain...I'm talking cats and dogs here!  Alas, I couldn't waste the day so I set out to see an old favorite (St. Paul's Cathedral) and tap into my inner geek at the Science Museum.

I stayed directly across the river from St. Paul's so I took a quick walk across the Millennium Bridge and ducked into the cathedral to get out of the rain.  I had forgotten how incredible the interior of the cathedral was and I thoroughly enjoyed staring at the beautiful mosaics covering the ceiling.  I wish photography was allowed inside so I could have captured some of those beautiful images to share. 

The iconic dome of St. Paul's

St. Paul's in the rain

 As soon as there appeared to be a break in the rain I high-tailed it to the subway and headed off.  Some sort of signal failure occurred on the Piccadilly Line so I was forced to head back above ground and work out a new route to the museum.  It took me awhile, but I figured out how to catch the bus (yep, a red double-decker one) and wound up right in front of the V&A to look at the rooms of breathtaking jewelry that had been closed the night before.  From there it was a quick walk to the Science Museum, which was packed full because of the nasty weather.  I don't love crowds, but I do love science so I stuck it out and wandered around for a bit (I also made some very fun purchases in the gift shop including Erlenmeyer flask salt and pepper shakers and a necklace that spells out "IheartScience" in Scrabble tiles).  Here are a few of the exhibits I enjoyed:

A micromosaic (mosaic made from tiny glass rods) at the V&A

I loved this stack of cars

They had a super cool exhibit on DNA...

Six basic human emotions

The best part of the day was yet to come.  Soon after booking my tickets to London I decided I couldn't go back without going to see my favorite musical--Mamma Mia!  After grabbing a quick bite to eat I headed back to Piccadilly Circus and made my way to the Prince of Wales Theater for the show.  As I waited for the show to start I couldn't help but overhear the guys next to me talking about Korea.  As it turned out my seat neighbors were both born and raised in Seoul and one of the guys still lives here.  I got a good laugh when I noticed that both guys knew the words to every song.  The show was absolutely incredible, a total riot, and two hours of pure entertainment, and one I will most definitely see again!

The sun breaking through at Piccadilly Circus

Love, love, love this musical!!

All that was left to do when I got back to the hotel was pack up and get ready to head off to Oxford first thing on Sunday morning!

Back to the blog...

According to my mom my "readers" are requesting some new content so I decided to spend this evening catching up on old episodes of CSI and NCIS and updating the blog a bit! 


I've been back in Seoul since August 3rd and it feels like I haven't slowed down since.  Next day back I was off to fill the fridge at Costco and Homeplus with some friends.  My new apartment is fabulous (photos coming soon) although it did take a substantial amount of time to unpack and re-arrange until  it felt like everything was in its place.  The last several weeks have been HOT and really humid, so I'm thoroughly enjoying my air conditioned abode and spending a substantial amount of time with my nose in a book while I beat the heat.


I'm thrilled to be back for year two at Seoul Foreign School.  I love my science colleagues and this year we've added another woman to the team--that makes it 6 ladies and 2 gentlemen:).  I survived another year of teacher inservice meetings and I've had students back in my classroom since August 17th!  Despite the chaos, it feels like I just picked right up where I left off from last year (I think that's a good thing, isn't it?).  I'm only teaching 4 classes of students, but this year that means I have three entirely different courses to prepare for which is a LOT of work!  I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water, but I hope that will get better as the year goes on.  One of the best things about this year is that I have one of my groups of students from last year back for a second year.  We started out the school year feeling a bit like family and I know I can be myself and have fun with these kids while teaching them science.  I'm still learning the names of my other students--poor kids, it's going to take me until the end of September to get everyone's name down.


This year I've decided to add a few new things to the mix in addition to teaching.  Since I love being artsy and crafty, I volunteered to help advise the yearbook (ask me in the Spring if I still think this was a good idea).  I'm still working on my online Italian class and making slow, but steady progress.  I'm so blessed to have a friend on campus who speaks Italian and we're meeting once a week to practice together!  The two of us have started planning a Discovery Week trip to Venice for next May (remember my stitch n' bitch posting from last May?) and we're hoping to get the go-ahead to start recruiting students soon!  I was invited to join a ladies bible study and I'm loving the Beth Moore study that we're going to be working on this year--it's called a Woman's Heart and goes through a good amount of the first few books of the Old Testament.  Most of the ladies started with me here last year and it's great to know I'll be seeing them every week.  In a moment of insanity I also signed up for another online graduate level chemistry class that I'll be working on until winter vacation.  Throw in a couple of sessions of yoga each week, lots of planning/grading, and general survival activities like laundry and grocery shopping and I've got myself a very busy schedule! 


Somewhere in all of this craziness I'm going to try to find time to update the blog with my newest adventures.  At the moment I'm working on posting pictures from my summer travels to China and the UK.  What incredible memories I have from both of those experiences!  Overall, I'm exhausted but life is good (Sono esausto ma vida e buona!) so I can't ask for more.  


In just one week I'll be hosting my mom, dad, and Daniel as they cross the Pacific for the first time.  I'm excited for the family to get to experience my daily life here in Korea and I'm loving the opportunity to play tour guide and do some sightseeing that I haven't had a chance to do since I arrived here a year ago!  Bring on the good times!

Museums and More

So, today I ditched the Windsor plans in favor of spending some more time in the city.  Today was my latest start by far so I didn’t cover as much ground as I wanted but it was still an enjoyable day.  I missed breakfast entirely, but found my way to Starbucks for more homework fun.  The rest of the day I spent meandering around the Victoria and Albert museum.  There is such a great diversity of things to see that one could come back again and again!!  Here are a few snapshots of what I saw...

Taken from the inside courtyard at the V&A.

The main entrance

Isn't this a fantastic chandelier?!

A wall of faces.

Plaster casts of Traejan's Column--I've seen the real one in Rome!

Middle Eastern tile

Since it was still fairly early, I decided to take the long way home by walking from the museum through a part of Hyde Park where I could catch the tube from a different line.  I knew it would be quite a walk, but the distance on the map didn’t prepare me for the length of the stretch I chose.  Thankfully it was a lovely afternoon and I rather enjoyed my long stroll.  I deviated from the road to see the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain (which is quite different than what I expected to see, but still very beautiful) and to snap a few photos.  

The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain (which is more like an infinity river but very cool)

So picturesque!

I really love English gardens

Finally I made it through the park and was underground on the tube before I knew it.  Scrounging up some dinner was more of a task than I’d anticipated.  I was excited to try the sushi restaurant near my dwelling and ordered what I thought would be a delicious roll.  Oh dear, not even close!  The roll was actually a cone and the contents were pretty nasty so I opted for a take away sandwich instead and turned in early.

Open Top Buses and New Perspectives

Today marked the fourth day of my solo journey and I’m still alive!  I took a good chunk of time this morning to work on more homework and map out my day a bit.  Since the sun appeared to be shining, I decided to stay in London and take one of those open-top, double-decker bus tours.  I picked up the “Original Tour” bus near Piccadilly Circus, which was much crazier than I remember, and set out for an hour trek through the city with the wind in my hair.  I’ve seen all of the main sights before, but it was fun to see them from a new perspective.  Quick thought detour…when I sat down on the seat atop the bus I instinctively rested my purse on the bench.  Apparently another young person about my age thought I was being rude and meant to block off the seat just for myself so she made a small scene of having to sit, GASP!, in an empty seat behind her sisters and decided that she needed to make a comment about “people who think the whole seat belongs to them”.  Usually I just ignore these things, but this time I decided to turn around and say something.  “All you had to do was ask and I would have been happy to move my stuff so you could sit here.”  “Whatever,” she answered under her breath.  I just laughed when another woman asked if the seat was taken and was happy to have the space.  Oh the joys of travel.  

I have this thing about photographing beautiful windows and doors...

The Wellington Arch

Interesting statue from one side...

...and now the other.

Lord Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square.

Trafalgar Square with the fountains in their full glory!

By the time we made it to Trafalgar Square, it was time for a break from the bus.  I made use of my “hop-off” privileges and decided to make a stop at the National Gallery, after visiting Pret-a-Manger for a snack.  In order to reach the gallery you must make your way across Trafalgar Square which is an open area bustling with tourists and locals.  The tourists flock to the four giant lion statues and most can’t help climbing up on one of the large beasts for a photo-op.  I had my chance during my last visit, so I opted to sit near the fountains and enjoy the mayhem as I ate.  Luckily I got to see the fountains in their full glory!  I also eyed a large ship-in-a-bottle sculpture that sits in the back left corner of the square.  I later learned this was a replica of Lord Admiral Nelson’s ship and a tall column fitted with a statue of Lord Nelson overlooks it.  

Once inside the gallery I found there are literally thousands of paintings in the 45+ rooms, so I opted for the 60-minute overview with an audio guide to help me along.  This gallery houses the second largest collection of Italian art in the world as well as a fine collection of art from other European artists, many who are quite well known.  I don’t pretend to be a great art scholar, more an art appreciator, and I found myself wandering happily around the gallery.  The Impressionist style suits my tastes perfectly and I particularly enjoyed seeing more of Monet, Renoir, and van Gogh’s works.  After turning in my audio guide it was back to the bus for the remaining hour of the city tour.  We crossed the river to the South Bank (where I am staying) before returning to Piccadilly Circus.  

A dragon symbolizing an entry point to the 1sq. mile city of London.

Another dragon tells us we're leaving London and entering Westminster.

On my way back to the hotel I chose a new subway station and walked along the river to see what I could find.  I grabbed a quick bite for dinner, took a short nap, then roused myself enough to walk a whole five minutes to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater to see a performance of Much Ado About Nothing.  I have seen the Emma Thompson/Kenneth Branagh version on film as well as attended a performance at the Ashland Shakespeare festival, but neither of those held a candle to what I witnessed tonight.  The layout of the theater is true to its predecessor with standing room only in the area surrounding the stage.  I had pre-purchased a seat on the first floor (that’s really the second story for my American readers) and had a cozy bench seat one row behind the balcony from which to enjoy the show.  

The Gates into the Globe Theater.

A side view.

The Globe in it's entirety.  I entered the theater through the door in the "tower"!

The play itself doesn’t seem like much when you read it, but seeing the story brought to life by a talented, and very funny, group of actors was magical.  Oh, and I got the shock of a lifetime when I quickly recognized the actor playing Leonato was none other than Jeffrey the butler from the television show Fresh Prince of Belair (I bet you’re rapping the theme song right now, aren’t you?).  Though I felt really sick for most of the show, I was still able to appreciate it as one of my favorite experiences in London so far.  I’m not sure if I’ll follow through with my plans to take a day trip out to Windsor tomorrow or not, but either way I’m sure I’ll discover something new and fun!