Yes, yes! I know, I've barely updated with anything substantial recently. I wonder, who is actually reading this blog anyway? My reasons for neglecting to post are simple: a) I'm lazy, b) thinking about my experiences in Oxford and knowing it's come to an end makes me melancholy, and c) I'm really lazy. I will update with other stuff later eventually over the summer if I see fit. But as today is my last day in Oxford, I thought I should put in a few good words.
It is all so bittersweet! Going back home from … well, what is now one of my homes is a big change in itself, and I really don’t like change. I’m so ready to go back but then again I'd much rather stay here. As much as I love NY and everything about it, I prefer the English culture and would rather be a part of it. I feel like I fit in quite well here and there was a sense of familiarity the moment I came here. But that could very well be because they drive on the left side of the road like in Guyana and I was excited about that haha Oh America, you rebels you, doing it wrong! The right side is not, in fact, the right side to be driving on! Bad pun, I know :)
Honestly, though, it just suited me really well and I’ve always known I would fit in with the British much better than the American lifestyle. Not that there is anything wrong with the latter but somehow England + Miranda = magic~ hahaha So I’ve decided that wherever I end up in life, it will certainly involve me coming back to England soon to live here either in London or Oxford and then interchanging my time somehow between those two and New York :) Soon as I graduate from university next year and adult life falls into place!
Needless to say, my year here has just been wonderful and I would not change it for the world. I have no regrets about deciding to come here at all and I must give credit to Fairfield University for having such a great programme in the first place. Personally, this was not just a study abroad experience; this was a life lesson that taught me to be more independent and confident and made me more determined in going after the goals I set for myself. This is perhaps the greatest challenge I have taken on by far and the impact it has had on me is something that will certainly go on to shape my future and stay with me for the rest of my life.
I will miss many things about Oxford. I will miss the old fashioned buildings with the narrow staircases that are ever so English. I will miss the academic atmosphere in the midst of the city center that is teeming with tourists. I will miss the odd, unpredictable weather that has made me ill numerous times, including now. I will miss my little room that I have made quite cozy over these 8 months whose walls are now bare and is a bit depressing. I will miss the joys of having no exams. However, I will NOT miss the all-nighters I have pulled! I will miss my weekly chips and curry from the vender down the road. I will miss the fact that Keira Knightley lives across the street from me though I have yet to see her enter and leave the building.
I will miss getting excited whenever I walk past the Oxford Playhouse and acknowledge that this was where Maggie Smith got her start as an actress and knowing that she grew up in and lived in Oxford for many many years so that alone makes this city epic by association :) And I blame Oxford for my sudden emergence of wholehearted admiration for her that's led me to watch nearly all of her film work. And this is not bad thing whatsoever! I was actually able to make a pilgrimage to her childhood home! I do hope the owners didn't think I was some stalker taking photos of their house!
More importantly, I will miss the few wonderful people I have met and grown to love and think of as family because that is what they are. And If anyone knows me well, they will certainly know that when I spend a certain amount of time with people, I get attached and never want to leave them behind.
© Peter Power
And, quite possibly most of all but don't tell the others or they might get jealous, I will miss darling Bess, who is wonderful and funny and silly and happens to look a bit like Katharine Hepburn which I’ve just realized! She’s been such a helpful and supportive person during my time here from Day 1 in all aspects and we’ve had some fantastic times together, in particular, her hugging me on our first meeting even though we didn’t know each other, our tea parties in which we succumbed to uncontrollable laughter, baking cakes in which she refused to let me help her, wine parties in which she took care of me when I had too much, and much more, the memories of which I’m going to take with me forever!
© Tom Nailor
All I can say now is that I’m very grateful to have had this opportunity. It's been such a blessing! And I must thank Mother and Daddy for letting me come! Parents: One must remember to be good to them :)This whole experience in Oxford has been AMAZING. JUST ABSO-BLOOMIN-LUTELY AMAZING AND MUCH MUCH MORE!
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