I woke up a bit earlier than usual this morning and ate breakfast and got a shower. I met Dr. Ross in the lobby of our building at 7:20 A.M. and he let me know that he would not be going with me to Oxford. Due to the bomb situation in London, Dr. McCrillis wrote to him that he would prefer that Dr. Ross stay in London, which I can certainly understand. But, Dr. Ross did walk me to the train station and give me directions to Reverend Cooper's church in Oxford. So, I payed 11 pounds and climbed aboard the X90 bus to Oxford. It was a comfortable ride and in less than 90 minutes I was in the beautiful city of Oxford.
Oxford was my kind of town. Quiet. Quaint. The whole city had a nice charm to it that I really enjoyed. I got to Oxford about an hour before the service was to start so I went and walked around. I got a Iced Lemon Muffin that was EXCELLENT. It just amazes me at how good these people are at making dessert. After I finished my muffin I went into Wesley Memorial Church and walked around for a bit. I spoke with a parishioner named Peter who invited me to sit with him. The service was very pleasant and I really enjoyed myself; it was a bit different from our services here in America, but it still maintained many similarities.
At the end of the service, a 95 year-old woman named Ruth who had a lot of spring in her step led me where we all gathered for coffee, tea, and cookies in a gym/hall sort of room. Reverend Cooper came over and introduced a woman to me named Susan Hragh (I hope I spelled her name correctly). She is CSU teacher staying with some students at the CSU Spencer House in Oxford. And here I was thinking the world wasn't small. She just happened to come down and see if Reverend Cooper was speaking and, low and behold, he was. Also, since Dr. Ross wasn't there today, she was able to take his place at Reverend Cooper's house where we went to eat lunch. Before leaving though I also spoke with a man named Leslie Marsh, who said he is a historian on the historical Jesus. Our conversation didn't get much further than that. Everyone else I spoke to at the church was very nice.
Reverend Cooper's wife, Helen, made a splendid meal for us. The opening course was a sort of potato salad, some sort of meat on pieces of bread, cucumber, tomatoes, and a few other items I can't recall. It was all delightful, except that I ended up drinking some sparkling water. It is carbonated water and I must say, it was dreadful. Thankfully (so I didn't have to drink some wine), Helen had set out some Elderflower. It was a type of nectar that, when mixed with the sparkling water, make it drinkable and something similar to ginger ale in flavor. Then, Helen brought out the main course. It consisted of green beans, peas, corn, carrots, boiled potatoes, salmon, and parsley sauce. It all tasted very good and I really enjoyed it. For dessert we had strawberries with gooseberry fool. Delicious. We then spent some time conversing in their sitting room before saying goodbye and having Reverend Cooper take us to the CSU Spencer House.
At the Spencer House I met several CSU students. Three of them were former students of Mrs. Strickland who knew me because apparently Mrs. Strickland had told them I was going to England as well. They were all very nice and I enjoyed speaking with them. They were in Oxford for three weeks and will be leaving on Friday. From the Spencer House, Susan, Mr. Kees (former Vice President of Student Affairs), Rhonda, and I all walked to a bus station and caught a bus to some part of Oxford I can't remember (Center something). We then walked a bit to the Crowley Street Carnival.
The carnival was a collection of vendors, restaurants, musicians, dancers, and entertainers as well as mobs of crowds walking down Crowley Street and having a good time. There was a lot of reggae music and a variety of foods. The signs for the carnival called it a celebration in diversity, and that would be a good way to describe it. You could find anyone of any creed, color, and general appearance at this carnival. It was interesting to see although there was nothing there that interested me, personally. Once we had made our way through the carnival we walked back around to Gloucester Green so that I could catch the X90 back to London. So, around 6ish I got on the bus and rode back into London.
I arrived back in the dorms just a bit ago and I must say that I am completely exhausted. Several of my friends here at the dorms arrived a little before I did from Scotland and it sounds like they had an interesting time. Two of the ladies are not back yet (I don't think) because they got off early at one stop because they wanted to go to the beach. Anyhow, here are some photos of today's trip to Oxford:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8494714@N03/
