Hello everyone,
It would seem as though I have neglected this blog for far too long again. Rest assured, I will try harder over break to actually post things about my adventures (but I am not going to make any promises :P )
So, Oxford term is officially over and my last SCIO paper has been turned in. I have a lot of feelings that hopefully will come out as we progress through the past month.
As some of you know my roommate, Sadie, and I were able to get tickets to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child last month. I can honestly say that it was one of the best pieces of theatre I have ever seen. The magic was, well, magical. From my theatre background I could deduce how some of the tricks were accomplished, but even for those the speed, agility, and fluidity was astounding. Other tricks completely blew my mind and I cannot conceive of a way that they were accomplished without the use of magic. In terms of the story itself the play worked much better on stage then it did on the page, as most plays do. The actors created some really amazing new characters and breathed new life into some old favorites. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were every bit as wonderful as they were in the books. Scorpius and Albus were also brilliant as were their interactions. I really cannot describe how absolutely brilliant this production was from the costumes, to the magic, to the characters, to the great care paid to even the smallest of details. I laughed, I cried (like actual tears), but most of all I felt like I was home again at Hogwarts :)
After witnessing some of the best theatre I have ever seen, I got to participate in some theatre for myself. Pirates of Penzance was such a fun production to be a part of. My cast mates became fast friends. The shows went quite well after some last second panicking. (Is it possible to have a show without last second panicking?) My friends all came to see me and another SCIO student perform. They were shocked to discover that I can pretend to be a bubbly, giggly, little girl when in reality I would have challenged the pirates to a duel :) This show was quite a roller coaster to be a part of, but I had so much fun that hope to be involved in the G&S production next term :)
The OUPhil concert went really well as well. I miss playing with these people already and can’t wait to play with them again next term. This is easily the best orchestra that I have been a part of and I am loving every minute of it :)
Some of my friends and I had a whirlwind trip to London to see the RSC's production of Cymbeline. It was my first time seeing this show and I really enjoyed it. All of the acting was amazing :)
As an end of Oxford term adventure a bunch of my friends and I went to see Fantastic Beasts together. It was amazing to have a new Harry Potter-ish experience again and to experience the story for the first time. My roommate and I spent a significant amount of time afterwards dissecting the characters and the plot and what these would mean for the future films. Eddie Redmayne was a brilliant Newt and James Newton-Howard’s score fit perfectly within the Harry Potter universe. I am quite excited for the future of these films :)
Continuing on the Harry Potter related train, Christ Church, home of the most fantastic dining hall on campus, held a Christmas Carol themed tea just after term ended. The food was amazing, but the best part was eating in the Hogwarts great hall :) (Of course the friends at tea were lovely as well). All of the Wycliffe hall ladies also had tea at the Grande Cafe, which was the first coffee shop in England.
And with that we have reached the end of Oxford term. I miss my tutorials already. If anything, being a student at Oxford has shown me how much I do not know. Yes, I have learned so much in just these past 14 weeks, but I have also been exposed all of the holes in my knowledge. I am looking forward to next term when I get to discover more holes and hopefully fill in a few. This term I have written 16 essays and papers, which is almost 4 times as many as I had previously written at Gordon. How all of that work got done is yet to be determined. Perhaps next term I will figure it out, but probably not. The final paper was the longest I have ever written, 4043 words that fought against me every step of the way, but I felt very accomplished the morning I turned it in.
One thing I will really miss about this term is how close I have gotten to the 16 other people I lived with in the North Wing of Wycliffe Hall. Each and everyone of them brought a unique and beautiful point of view to our little family. I know it is cheesy and a cliche, but these people were just like family. We laughed together, we cried together, we went to G&D’s for ice cream at 11:30 pm while pulling all-nighters to finish papers together. To say that I couldn’t have survived this term without them would be an understatement. Never in my life have I been a part of such a hard-working, encouraging, God loving community. These people would discuss intense theological concepts over breakfast and then start talking about the amazing new tea shop they had found. I will miss our dinners together, movie nights, and study parties at 8 (SCIO office building).
Thankfully, I get to spend Christmas break with some of my fellow SCIO friends. Alea and I journeyed to Cardiff together for the first few days of break before she headed home. On our first day we attempted a journey to Tintern Abbey, only to discover that it had been taken over by a film crew for the day and we were not able to enter. We then hiked up Devil's Pulpit and got an amazing view of the Abbey and the surrounding valley. The rest of the day was spent in adorable little lunch shop and tea shop trying to avoid the rain.
On our second day in Cardiff we went to the Doctor Who Experience. My desire to be the Doctor has only grown because of this adventure. When you first enter they take you on an adventure with the Doctor through time and space and fight against some of the best monsters. The exhibit hall had many of my favorite characters' costumes. There were also many versions of the Daleks and some weeping angles :) We spent the rest of the day Christmas shopping and exploring the city. I wish we could have had more time there, but we did a lot with the time that we had :)
The next day we made our way into London and said goodbye at Victoria Station. Since I had some time before Rebecca arrived so we could continue on our journey, I went to see the RSC perform King Lear. This was my first time seeing it and I was blown away. The RSC has very cheap tickets, which is helping to fuel my Shakespeare addiction :) Rebecca and I spent the next day together roaming through Notting Hill, yes we found the travel bookshop and the house with the blue door, and then headed off to Stansted airport to meet Josh where the three of us and Elisha all flew to Edinburgh.
I am writing this very late post to all of you from our little flat in Edinburgh :) We have just spent a packed day climbing King Arthur's Seat and exploring all of the Harry Potter inspirational places and the Royal Mile. The views from the top of King Arthur's Seat were incredible, but the climb was slightly terrifying. We had lunch at the Elephant House where J.K. Rowling wrote a good portion of Harry Potter and then explored Old Edinburgh and visited places like Tom Riddle's grave and Victoria Street that served as inspiration for my favorite novels. The Royal Mile was a nice down hill walk from the Edinburgh Castle and was covered in tweed, tartan, and cashmere shops.
l have really appreciated this past paper free week and am looking forward to the rest of break and exploring more of the UK and Germany :) (Also, Josh is here which is pretty great!)
~ Brynn
