Greetings, England- Day 23: Cambridge and the Botanic Garden

So, today is another day of intensive walking and adventure! Who's up to some trekking? Me, myself, and I, apparently!

I was woken up by my host dad at eight in the morning. We had breakfast, I changed, and he took me to the nearest bus station around their house in Milton Keynes. I am going to Cambridge!!!

Greetings, England- Day 22: Farewell, Oxford and Going to Cogsworth (Is That So?!)

I sighed...
It is 8 o'clock in the morning, and I didn't bother to go for breakfast. The revelation itself was too hard to digest already.
Today, when the alarm set off, it was 6:10 a.m. I urged Fran to wake up and the rest of the moments passed by with little exchange of words. I insisted on helping him carry his luggage downstairs. Outside the reception of the bus of his group, his bus leader greeted him and acknowledged my presence. We stood side by side as silence lingered between. When he was about to leave, he said goodbye and I pulled him into another tight hug. No, I didn't cry; the hug itself conveyed everything. We had fought, we had shouted; we hadn't spent a lot of time together, but he is a dear friend indeed.
Fran, you are irresponsible, arrogant, annoying and are a troublemaker; but I will miss you.

The sunrise in the early morning.

Thinking of all the other goodbyes I am about to make later gave me shivers. I had handed out my keys and got the 30 pounds of the deposit back. Thus, the next time I shut my door from the outside might be my last time ever to enter the room. Determined to stay as long as I could, I am staying in, typing and keeping myself busy on the Internet. The warden said that we have to leave the dorm before ten in the morning so that the domestics can clean up the room for the coming new-comers.
~~~
It is nine o'clock now. On second thought, I might as well leave the room now. Maybe I can still spend some time with my friends. And also that it might sound braver if I walked out by myself instead of being asked out. Might. I am going to check all the drawers and cabinets again in case of anything I have forgotten to pack, and with a possibly vulnerable look, I am going to leave the dorm.
Later.

Because of the books, I have a big extra weight to carry with myself.

~~~
I am now on my host family's car now. They are going to take me to another place for some more touring. Those I can save them for tonight, just typing to wrap up the whole deal with St. Clare's.
I packed my things (three heavy bags ugh), hesitant of unsure about leaving my dorm. Twenty-one days can form a serious bond. With a couple of more pictures, I left Staverton Road, the place I had called home for three solid weeks.
I walked into the corridor next to the reception. My host family said that they would arrive at about 10:20. I spent some time sitting there with a blank mind; some time walking around in the corridor. I saw some of my friends also waiting. They also gave me hugs, and I seriously asked them to let me know if they were going to come to Taiwan anytime. I hope they do.

The corridor I am going to miss from today.

About 10:15, I walked out to the sidewalk and I heard my host dad calling my name. I took a deep breath, looked at the exterior of the building with a last longing glance, and followed him to the car. It was a sad parting, and I wished one day I would be here again.

Farewell, my dorm.

139 Banbury Rd

Okay. The whole "typing on car" thing is making me car sick once again. I am going to leave all the details of the upcoming trips when I get back to my host family's house.
~~~
Hello for the fourth time today. My host family took me to three towns in a place called Cotswolds. I know, it was not how it was spelled in the Heading, right? Yeah. Cogsworth is a kind of clock, the kind that appeared in The Beauty and the Beast. That was the name I heard when I heard them saying "Cotswolds". We went to three towns: Stow on the Wold, Bourton on the Water, and Burford. First of all, Cotswolds is home to a lot of the most historical and bedazzling villages and towns, where all the buildings, no matter new or old, share the same traits: honey-colored brick walls, the same type of roof placement, and it radiated a sense of harmony because of that.

Buildings in Burford

Street sights of Burford.

It was raining when we were strolling around in Stow on the Wold

Houses in Bourton on the water

Also, there is no way you can walk down the street and not see any antique shops. Most of the time we spent in the towns were for them. One after one, every of the shop displays was eyes-drawing in their own way. Especially there were a lot of shops that sell plaques for you to put around in your house, like "man cave, do not disturb or severe injuries might occur" or "It is always wine o'clock", you know, all the classy humor and satires. I like the atmosphere over here as it indeed felt like walking in the towns in the past.

One of the anitque shops

The Small Doors

My host mother said that when the weather is nice, kids would dive into the dinner.

I had a really nice day, overall. But I couldn't deny the fact that I still couldn't get over with leaving St. Clare's, especially when I realized that I had been wearing the badge until I got home since I had my jacket zippers up for the whole day...
This is all.

Greetings, England- Day 21: Last Day of Class and the Excursion to London

Ah...
How unimaginable is this?

Greetings, England- Day 20: Punting and the Unsteady Paces

Today after class, upon stepping into my dorm, one of my housemates, Thilo, the guy who invited me to the Parks a while ago, was about to leave the house when he asked me if I want to go punting with him. It had been twenty days in England already. It was honestly a shame that I hadn't tried punting. Mostly because of the conflicts between my schedule and the time of the activities, so I didn't sign up. So, without further ado, I followed Thilo out the dorm once more, didn't even bother to leave my bag inside.

Greetings, England- Day 19: The Casual Talk and a Presentation on Population and Resources

Today, as foretold as yesterday, I went to the admission office to see the guy named Chris.
I was still somewhat nervous because he was like a director of the school or what. But unsurprisingly, he was trying to convince me into the IB course in St. Clare's, which basically was like a two-year preparation for university. With due all honor, I said no, for I have never thought of leaving Taiwan for such a long term at such age. Also, it would mean leaving my family, leaving my friends, leaving EHP, leaving all the teachers who have been so kind to me throughout my strugglings of different phases of my life, at the age of 16! Not to mention about the high expenses here. True, there would be scholarship, but who knows if it would be enough? It has always been my dream to study abroad, but the dream has also been set to be accomplished in my university years or after university. Never has it been high school times, where life has just started. Trust me, this offer was atrociously tempting, in which I could explore the amazing city as much as I want to, with all subject taught in English, with subjects chosen by my own fancy... But, no, I think this is not going to happen. Attracting or not, I am not going to leave my life in Taiwan so soon. Just look at Lawrence, the guy who had just gone back to Canada to study after a mere two-week spent in Taiwan. He did have a great time, I know, but I could not imagine being so young and abroad and getting nostalgic. I was a nice offer, but I would pass. Afterward, I met Sophie in the hall and she asked me what did we talk about. She said that she understood why I said so, but she also asked me if it was nice to be required like this. She did have a point, though. :D
In the Current Events class in the afternoon, we talked about Malthusianism and Boserup's Theory. It was a topic of population and resources. Malthusianism was offering the idea of controlling birth rate, for he believed that while population growth was increasing exponentially, food production was only growing linearly, which indicated that one day, food production will not be sufficient to feed all human. Here is a small graph to illustrate the idea:

On the other hand, Boserup's Theory was more supportive about the saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention." and hence believes the hypothesis where food production rate will alway be a step ahead of human population with the innovation of technology on agricultural or farming. Another small graph here:

Then, we were put into two groups and everyone has to prepare a small part about either supporting Malthusianism or Boserup's Theory. It was interesting, as our presentations got turned into some small debates...
After dinner, I saw Amanda again. She asked me if I was going anywhere for the evening. I thought for a while, and it struck me that I have to go to M&S for the food I'm going to bring back to Taiwan. I got a whole bunch of snacks. Good luck to me for bringing them home.
This is all for today.

Greetings, England- Day 18: A Peek into the Weston Library and Some T-shirt Buying

Today, between classes, Sophie said that someone in the admission office wanted to have a chat with me. It was about the essay I wrote, she said, he only wanted to have a casual talk.

Greetings, England- Day 17: Psychology Classes and Acting Workshop

The last week in St. Clare's starts... NOW!
For this week, we have humanities as our topic, and the subject I chose was psychology. Before class, I was studying my timetables and saw the name of our teacher: Christos Halkiopoulos. It was pretty obvious a Greek name, as I have been listening to Greek songs. I grabbed my phone and typed in his name.

Greetings, England- Day 16: Working since Brunch and One Last Slope

What a morning!
It was 9:30 when I woke up since I had forgotten to set the alarm for weekends. Today I had no plans, so it didn't really matter.
However, I needed to soothe my empty stomach, didn't I? Therefore, I trudged myself up to Summertown and tried to hunt myself some brunch (figuratively, of course).
I ended up in a diner called "Joe's Bar & Grill", where I shyly asked for a table for one (well, this is the first time ordering in a restaurant on my own...)
The interior of the diner was relaxing, to say the least. There were a lot of people inside, but it wasn't noisy. Quiet jazz played in the background, in rhythm with the waiters' roaming around, taking orders and delivering dishes.
After what seemed like an eternity of deciding what to take, I chose a set that looked like a normal British breakfast, with scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, bread, and sausages. I also asked for a cup of Americano.

This is probably the most relaxing morning I had had for a while!

Oh, and there was one thing that I hadn't mentioned. I brought my laptop with me, just to start with the essay I was supposed to finish by the end of today.

My brunch was awesome, although a bit salty, and I got a not bad start-off for my essay. I wanted to make my essay persuasive, and I really have to make good choices on my words.

Then I spent more than three hours in my room being unproductive. 

I was tired! And lazy... 

This had to stop, I decided. So I went to Sugar House, the food center of St. Clare's, to get some drinks, food, and the motivation to be productive. Wow, food really does have an influence on mind work because right in Sugar House, I had finished an 80 percent of the composition! By the time for dinner, I, with a satisfied smile, pressed the "send" button.

Much to my surprise, I got my reply from Ms. Sophie right after I finished dinner, saying that she would take a look at it tomorrow.

I just realized that I haven't been talking about my roommate a lot. It's not like I don't like him, he is nice and I like him pretty much, just that I don't have many chances of mentioning him.

His name is Francisco, and he is from Spain. He has two sisters and one brother. He was really polite on the first and second day, so I had a really nice first impression of him. But after the second day, he proves that he could be annoying and pranking if he wants to. A trouble maker, to be more precise. Fifteen years old he is, but more responsibility should be seen in a guy like his age. Otherwise, he is a really nice guy.

Today marks the end of the second week of my life in St. Clare's, and even though I miss my home, miss Taiwan dearly, I wish not to go back so soon! 

Alas, like every roller coaster does, an excitement must have an ending. But there is one more big lump ahead of me, the ride isn't finished yet. 

No way am I not going to enjoy the thrill of it.

Extension Work from Ms. Sophie Howells

Essay description: What are the challenges facing the Arctic? Evaluate possible solutions to these issues.

Greetings, England- Day 15: Madame Tussauds and some Intensive Walking Tour

Today is excursion day!
Being fully booked, I couldn't go to the River Thames or the Westfield Shopping Center, and there was only one left, the Madame Tussauds and the Oxford Street.

Greetings, England- Day 14: Extra homework and Oh, DEER!

Extra homework...
Sounds ominous, doesn't it?
However, I was grateful!

Greetings, England- Day 13: A Day of School Activities and Just Keep Faith

The experiment for today also gave me a hard time. It was about soils. We first got a basic understanding of soils from a video and some handouts, then we as a whole class have to see if different kinds of soils with different textures have a direct influence on the rate of infiltration, percolation, and the amount of water retention.

Greetings, England- Day 12: Photosynthesis and Interviews

IT looks like these days are going to have weather patterns like this: Cold in the morning, when you don't want to get out of bed, but you have to because you have to get ready for classes and when you have just decided that you are going to put on a jacket, and the sun goes up. Nevertheless, you go out with your jacket on. A while later, the sunlight intensifies and it was unbearably hot so you have to take your jacket off. HOWEVER, the wind started to blow, and your teeth chatter with an audible sound.

Greetings, England- Day 11: More Classes and Rain

It was cold.
As the teachers were saying, the temperature really dropped. It was so cold that I overslept, comfy in my blanket. I woke up twenty minutes earlier than usual, and the queue was too long for me to wait. Therefore, I skipped breakfast.
For the science class in the morning, we learned about sampling. We went to a small garden of St. Clare's and made a small estimation of how many species of plants are there in that area. Again. Interactive, Actual experiences, and more discussions. Yes, I did say about the classes, but I meant that as a nice thing, not a complaint! The debates about the Arctic, and the papers we wrote for science classes. The act of a small interview, and the poetry writing about emotions, etc. they are some of the amazing things I would love to dwell on.
It was rainy.
Fluffy (is that even a word to describe rain?), for the whole afternoon, and when it reached the evening, it rained a bit harder. However, I still have the volleyball activity to attend to. "Luckily," the stadium was indoors, so we still got to keep the game going. The first game was nice, for me, for all the other players also had no idea how to play volleyball, so we had a nice time laughing. For the second... With some excellent players, I was actually so horrible playing that I was asked by another player to swap places with him. It was enough of the embarrassment for today, so I went to the bench and sat there until we went back for dinner.
I feel so lazy today, maybe it's the cold, maybe it's the rain, or maybe even both...
That's all for today.
07/11/2017

Greetings, England- Day 10: Science Courses and the Paths of the Oxford Parks

This is my tenth day in England, and I have some tours to lead!

Greetings, England- Day 9: Summertown Shopping and Endless Work

It's a no-school day!
(Well, I would exchange today for a whole set of literature lessons though...)
My roommate had gone to some football stadium, so until evening, I have the whole room to myself!

Greetings, England- Day 8: The Thorpe Park and a Lazy Evening

So, it is the day of keen excitement and sharp amusement!
At 8:45, we gathered outside the activities office and boarded the bus heading for the Thorpe Park.
It was still, a sunny, cloudy, hot day indeed. And just as all the amusement parks are, crowds and crowds of people flocked about the Thorpe Park. Just waiting for the tickets alone, we had stood outside the theme park for almost an hour. Imagine how happy we were when we finally got inside.
Following a crowd of my classmates, we skipped the appetizer and went straight to one of the main dishes: a rollercoaster called The Swarm. And so excited was I to go on all the scary ones that I only managed to remember to take the picture of the Swarm. It was really exciting with all those twirling and swirling in tumbling around. However, it took too long to wait. Therefore, I went and bought the fast track ticket. And you can imagine how smooth things were after that! But since I didn't take any pictures after the Swarm, there is no way you can get an idea of how "amusingly exciting" the rides were. All I can tell you is that it was more than enough of the excitement for today.
I know this is probably a day with the least context so far, but there was too much shouting and laughing on the rides, and I'm exhausted.

Apologies for the lack of details.

This is all for today.
07/08/2017

Greetings, England- Day 7: End of the Literature Week and Oxford's Waterstones Bookstore

Today is Friday, and this is the end of our week of literature...

Greetings, England- Day 6: Countdown and the Mama Mia Musical

Today, in English class, we watched the TV show Catchphrase, a game for guessing idioms and phrases by watching a short animated illustration, for the purpose of getting to know more of the idioms. Some of them even originated from Shakespeare's plays!

Greetings, England- Day 5: Much Ado About Nothing and an enjoyable Night

(Written on 07/06/2017)
Okay, so conclusions first: The show was awesome!!!
Back to the beginning.

Greetings, England- Day 4: The Amazing Lessons and the Preview for Tomorrow

Today was the first of the class: literature and English and critical thinking; sounds like fun!
So I am writing all these after my classes are finished, I am in my dorm, typing on the computer, trying to give as much details as I can manage, and I can first tell you that the courses are literally to my heart's desire!

Greetings, England- Day 3: The Central Oxford and The Blackwell Bookshop

Okay, so for the third day...
THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS TO TELL!

Greetings, England- Day 2: Settling Down and a Nervous Start

Okay, so first of all, I'm going to fill in some details I left out on Day one.

Greetings, England- Day 1: Intensive Touring and a Slight Jet-lag

Wow, everything was so... new.
The signs, the roads, the people, the weather, the buildings, the shops, etc. So much there was to take in that I don't have the time to keep them all in my head!

Epilogue: Good-natured Hopes and Visions for the Future

Alas, as every touching book does, our story has an epilogue.
Today is the school finishing ceremony, yet here I am, on an airplane in Bangkok, await to set foot in England.
It was a pity that I didn't get to spend the last day with the others on the last day, it was also regretful that I didn't have the chance to join some classmates for dinner...
But today, I am happy that had the chance to be with such a phenomenal group of people. Sometimes I find myself speechless when I have to describe 120. Everyone with a different set of talents and that is what makes being in this class enjoyable.
Even though with all the sadness, the story of ours has a sequel. It's called 220, of which the title is yet being given.
I wish all of us good luck and everything turns out nice.
Glad that this didn't turn out to be simply spurring of words because that is what I usually do.
See you.