An almost untimely update...

Well, almost two weeks have flown by since the last update (why do I always update during the busiest moments in life?) and the time in Oxford is slipping out of my hands. I really don't have time to write about travels right now (that's this weekend, I'm hoping to finish spring break by sunday night) but I do have time to tell you the few random things on my mind:

1. Oxford: It's sinking in how much I'm going to miss this place. It's been a fabulous year of personal growth, and I really cannot imagine being home right now. I know once I'm home, I'll be happy to be there, but I have very mixed feelings about going home right now.

2. Speaking of going home, it just sank in that I leave the UK in less than five weeks. And I leave Oxford in four weeks. Eek!

3. Friends: I would never have imagined meeting so many amazing people here, and forming the deep friendships that I have formed, but now that I have, I cannot imagine leaving them either. So much can happen in 10 months. Who knew?

4. Composition: speaking of growing and things happening, I looked down at something I was writing out a minute ago (a four voice arrangement of Loch Lomond if you must know) and realized that composition is finally feeling effortless some of the time. I'm learning to trust my own instincts for composing, and that is fairly nice.

5. Student housing phenomena #267: Every single house that contains students only will end up in a stand-off over small things like taking the trash out, buying toilet paper, and cleaning the bathroom. It's not just your own house... it's everyone.

6. Cooking for a person who is nut, gluten, and lactose free isn't as hard as it sounds. Promise.

7. My book list for the summer is going to be really long. Why am I friends with all the English majors?

8. Politics from the 18th century: actually really interesting. I do not care what you think.

9. Using a book your tutor wrote for your tutorial with him: intimidating.

10. My to-do lists have become itemized detailed lists that take up a full sheet of paper. I may be busy. I dunno...

All for now. Watch for a flurry of travel updates this weekend, as well as photos and etc.

Randomness

Okay, here's a link to some random photos, most are from Hilary term, the winter term in Oxford, but a few are from break as well, including the little period that I went home for. :)

Photos

Article

http://doc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/4827.pdf

This link leads you to a neat series of articles on Celiac's Disease that USA Today put on. Good for them!

Celiac Coping

I've been gluten-free for almost a year and a half. That's almost enough time to be good at something, right?
Not so much.

I still struggle when I go out to eat, fearing what I should order. I still struggle when I have people over for dinner, and they want to make something. I have this irrational fear that the world is out to get me occasionally.
I know it's not. I know my friends love me. I know they don't really want me to get sick, even if they do fight over who gets to use the epi-pen if I have a peanut reaction (thanks guys...).

But how do you fit in, when everyone in your social group can just eat anywhere? Eat anything?
Well, they may not be perfect, but I've come up with a few coping techniques:

1. Carry a snack. It doesn't have to be big, but you should have one. I ended up staying at a friends house for several more hours than I expected the other day, I was really happy I had taken along some carrot sticks and hummus to munch on. "Just in case"

2. Suggest where to go. Most people will take suggestions. I did that just recently in London when we were on a day trip. Just quietly steered the group toward a place I knew about. Worked out fairly well, if I do say so myself.

3. Be ready to talk to a cook. I'm still getting over my fear of asking people what is in things. But I've noticed no one else seems to mind when I question someone, so why should I?

4. Play the host/hostess. I've found most people are willing to pitch in a little money if I play hostess and do the cooking. I've also discovered that Mexican goes over well, which is made so easily gluten-free. Plus people can contribute things to a Mexican night super-easy. "Go grab four bags of tortilla chips". Was that so hard? Not for them. And it's much less stressful for me!

5. Visit ahead of time. If I know our group is going to eat somewhere, I try to pop in before the night of the event and ask the wait staff questions. Usually someone can help me out, and then I know precisely what to do, I don't hold up anything, and I don't have to feel awkward. It's a win-win scenario from my point of view.

6. Be honest. I sometimes get so self-concious that I hate talking about my health problems. But when people ask questions, I think it's because they're genuinely curious, not because they're "being nice" or about to be mean. I love it now that I have a group here who knows what's what, because they tease me a lot, and I feel very normal most of the time despite my glaring difference from everyone else.

Continually learning, striving, coping. Wishing I didn't have to, but thanking God I've had the opportunity to learn more about me, and to help others occasionally. :)

Salzburg

So it’s time to start the Spring Break posts. I still have a few trips to catch up on, but I’d rather do Spring Break while it’s fresh in my 

mind. Once I extract some photos from my little brother, I’ll post about London and Oxford while Michael and Mom were visiting.

But for now, let’s start with my trip to Salzburg.

Salzburg was so great, I loved it a lot. From the first moment on the train and we crested a hill and I could see the Alps clearly, to the last morning when I left Salzburg with a little longing. 

When I first arrived around 12:30, the afternoon was clear, bright, and hot. I found my hostel quickly, checked in and got settled in and went to explore the city, map in hand. The first place I ended up were the gardens they used in the filming of the Sound of Music. They’re right across the River Spree from the historic center, and they’re absolutely gorgeous. I easily spent an hour just wandering around and soaking in the amazing beauty. 

It was in these gardens that I saw my favorite sight of perhaps my entire trip, because of how perfect it was.

Bruce, you’re with me everywhere I go. 

After a wee bit more wandering in the gardens I headed across the river Spree to see the historic side of town. The historic part of Salzburg is almost all pedestrian streets, and everything is very “clean” and “neat”. So therefore it ends up having a very safe and closed in feeling, but not in a bad way. It was a really easy city to walk, I’m not sure why tourists think they need to use the tram and bus systems, it’s seems entirely needless to me, unless they’re taking one of those “Sound of Music” tours I guess. I skipped. 

After walking around and getting my bearings in the historical end of town, I decided a lunch break was necessary, and what better spot than on the steps of the fountain in front of the Dom Cathedral (also used in the movie, but way cooler than the movie, and I like Julie Andrews). 

When I exited the cathedral after walking around and oohing and ahhing, there was a guy sitting there playing the didgeridoo... now how many times is that going to happen in my life. The guy in the red shirt is dancing, which is kinda funny, and he sorta looked completely crazy, which isn’t so funny. 

I spent the rest of the day just walking around and soaking up the culture of the place. After awhile I got tired, ran by a grocery store and headed back to the hostel. The other girls in my hostel dorm were super nice, two American students from Paris, and one girl from NZ, who lives in Qatar teaching on a two year project. 

The next day, I got started early by hiking up the hill(mountain) to the fortress. The views were amazing, even if the fortress was a little pricey. I got some of the best pictures of the trip from that fortress. 

After the fortress I went back down and hung out in the Mozart Residenz and Birthplace museums. The birthplace was a ripoff, but the Residenz didn’t do too badly overall. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour through it. 

I was glad I did a combo ticket though and not just the birthplace. :P

After that I went and walked around the newer districts, more shopping oriented (found the 1 euro store Mom!) and just enjoyed the people. After a break at the hostel for dinner, Anne Maree (from NZ) and I went for a walk to see the city at night. I have some amazing nighttime photos, that do NOT do the city justice, it was more beautiful than it shows in these photos.

I also went and posed on the bridge that in the movie they cycle over and across to the banks of the River Spree. 

All in all, the visit was really wonderful, and I enjoyed myself and awful lot during my two days there. 

Full photos from the two days can be seen here!