Things to Remember [Oxford Week 0]

-Choral music at Oxford is transcendent. Listening to voices reverberate on the stone walls? It almost brings me to tears. 

-The bells. Oh, the beautiful pealing of the bells. 

-Apparently "Christ Church time" means the same thing as "Mormon Standard Time"--it just gives people an excuse to start things five minutes late.  

-Remember that boys' school right by my flat? Today they were wearing academic gowns and mortarboards. Like, these were 10-year-olds. They looked like they were playing dress-up. And it was adorable. 

-Freshers Fair = a glorified BYUSA event. 

-My college common room (yes, I have a common room) is always stocked with biscuits. So, former/current Writing Fellows from BYU, the all-important job of keeping cookies stocked is important even in OXFORD. Cookie Captain, you have a noble calling. 

-There is a road close to my flat that has amazing restaurants and cool stores. There's a Lebanese restaurant, some cool-looking Indian takeaways, and a RUSSIAN FOODS STORE. So naturally, I bought halva. And I am soooooo happy. 

-I love running the streets of this city. I love how it is a medieval city and discovering the nooks and crannies of the place. 

-They weren't kidding when they said it rains in Oxford. Because it rains. A lot. Sunshine is a precious commodity. 

-I love afternoon tea. I'm trying to figure out a way to incorporate it into the American lifestyle. 

-"Even if you do not love and are not loved in the way you think you deserve, I say it is better to die trying; it is better to die hoping." 

-I believe that people will be good when given the chance. Perhaps I am overly optimistic. But I figure that the pessimist only has the hollow consolation of saying, "told you so." I would rather fly on wings of hope and risk falling than keep my eyes on the ground and never notice the beauty and light in the eyes around me.