About to depart for Stratford-upon-Avon

Before I jump on the coach to head out and see Shakespeare's home and visit with Jean Luc Picard, I wanted to write a few lines and share a few photos. My social interactions have grown considerably over the past few days, and I have come out of hiding in my room. Not that I was necessarily hiding, but I was definitely leaning more towards the academic side of things, which I believe is okay in itself. I managed to go out on a "ladies night" Wednesday night, and last night I met a couple different groups out at various pubs. The crazy thing about pubs here is that they close at 11pm, which is contrary to normal practice at home. Sometimes we don't even head out of the house until 10pm or later, assuming we will be out until about 1 or 2am. Not the case here. Even a night out at the pubs means you will probably be at home sound asleep not long after midnight.

Anyway, here are a few pics. Excuse me if I don't have all the names down yet. My mind gets a bit foggy when it comes to names, so i may not have a title for everyone in the photos!!!!

Here is the group of ladies that embarked on ladies night Wednesday. We hit a restaurant called "Old Orleans" which specializes in American food. For us, that meant fajitas. Which I guess are Mexican food, but Americanized, then made English here in Oxford. Even after all the interpretation, the end product was quite tasty :)


This my friend Abbi and I about to enjoy our tower o'fajitas. Abbi is just finishing her undergrad degree at Vanderbilt.

After dinner, we all went to a nightclub called Escape. Notice in the photos that it is still light outside - these photos were taken between 9 and 10pm. The sun does not set until late here.

That's the whole group I have been running around with here. Crazy group of ladies!!!

And here are just some random shots from the evening:


The photo above is Jordan, Abbi and myself. Laura - I don't know if you read any of the Chicago gossip columns, but Jordan writes one in some local magazine in your area! She reports on the comings and goings of celebrities and socialites in downtown...


Excuse my double chin in this photo. This picture is one of my favorite type - the arm outstretched self group portrait. I'm straining a bit here to reach out and take the photo. It's a bit cute anyway...


Mandy is on the left, and she is one of the programme's administrators. Then Jordan, Martha, one of the Indian women here (I can hardly pronounce her name, let alone spell it - once I find the correct spelling, I will post it here). In the back is Heidi.

Okay folks, I need to go grab some cash (yet again - I think there is a hole in my wallet) and wait for the bus to Stratford. I look forward to telling you all about the play when I return.

Ciao!