the flip flop fiasco of 2005.

today in london there were more incidents on the Underground. everyone (all 77 of us) were hovered around the one tv on campus watching events as they unfolded. the attacks have not changed our plans to go to london this weekend, and the british are showing great determination and resolve in the wake of such tragedy. we are trying to show solidarity with them, as much as we can, because obviously we've all experienced what they're going through now. we are about an hour or so away from london, so it's quite a ways, but people here were trying to reach relatives and friends in london all day to make sure they were safe. gives you quite a perspective on things ... anyway i digress on to today.

okay, new day. fresh start. went to breakfast, and it was the same ol' stuff. not that that's horrible, because it's a really filling bkfst, but sometimes i'd like a little more variety.

anyway, then was the first class. we talked about how britain's economy basically went down the tubes in the 1970s...and i was glad that i wasn't alive (and here) then. apparently everyone was going on strikes and the prime minister instituted a 3-day work week...the miners went on strike during the winter and no one had heat (because of course oil prices were in the midst of quadrupling as well). not a fun period.

then, during international econ, the professor went into a lengthy digression about cricket...one that lasted for about 20 mins. seems like kind of a boring sport...i guess that's why he said you need to have a lot of beer in order to watch it in large quantities. kind of a complex sport, and i think i'll have to go watch sometime to fully understand it. luckily, there is a cricket field (is that the right word?) across the street that gets players almost everyday.

for lunch was lasagna, but it wasn't the kind i think of when i think of lasagna. the meat was all mixed in with onions and peppers and stuff...not bad, but i was just hoping for a more "americanized" version, i guess.

after lunch, my friend andi and i went walking so she could get a cheeseburger at mcdonalds. i got a shake (yum) and we sat upstairs (all the restaurants in downtown have multiple floors). there were these people by us and i couldn't tell what language they were speaking, so i was staring at them like the whole time trying to figure it out. not one of my finer moments.

after lunch number two, we went shopping in the downtown district. there is a small inside mall that houses a GAP, a French Connection UK store, and some things we don't have here. if the exchange rate was 1:1, everything would be normally priced. when you consider that the prices almost double with the exchange rate, it makes you a lot less likely to get anything. we went to this store called NEXT, and it was awesome. nothing was on sale, but on saturday they're having a huge 1/2 off sale that starts at 5am...so i think a couple of us are going to go before going to london. the half off will just make everything seem normally priced to us, which is fine. i did get a pair of flip-flops with the union jack (british flag) on them. they brought the sandals out separately and i tried them on, bought them, and wore them back. when i got back i noticed that the right one was a size 10 and the left a size 11! of course i'd already worn them but i think i'll try to return them on saturday anyway. if not, someone else will be screwed out of a shoe i guess.

after shopping, we came back and no one was here. that stinks because no one has cell phones so you never have any idea where people are or when they're returning! we walked through the park and then i took a much needed NAP!

when i woke up--dazed and confused--we had to get all dressed up for our formal picture. that took about 15 mins and then it was back to change clothes and eat at the BBQ on the quad. we had steak and chicken on stick and potato salad, just like a picnic! it was amazing.

after gorging myself at the barbeque, i just laid on the quad for about an hour and a half listening to people play guitar and such...a very mellow moment.

then it was our grand club excursion...the program assistants took us to the hottest club in oxford, called the bridge. cover was 3 pounds, but it was a good time. i left at about one but a lot of people stayed until 2 or 230. exhausting. my shirt was soaked by the time i left and i had this weird snot-like thing on my shirt, like someone blew their nose in it. anyway, i washed it in my sink, hung it out my third floor window to dry and went to sleep.

now about today...
i am not posting about today now...and i'm going to london until sunday afternoon, so i'll probably have a really long blog after i come back from london. thanks for the comments...keep 'em coming! i know a lot of you read this! ask ?s! okay, enough coercement. you all have a great one and god bless the usa!

practically perfect in every way,

grant