I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Then again, I can. As enjoyable as Oxford is, by the end of term life becomes very routine and less interesting to write about. However, with a long break, a few trips, and a new term, it's time for me to get back into the swing of things.

To start, the trips: First, I went for a weekend in Gloucester with my friend Phill (it's where he's from). Most excitingly for me, it's very close to Wales so I got to spend some time in the country. One day we 'climbed a mountain' (really, we walked up a rather large, steep hill, but it's Wales, so it's a mountain). The next we went to Tintern Abbey, where I immediately geeked out about the whole experience. The only downside of the trip was when I tried Christmas Pudding. That's an English tradition that can stay in England.

I also spent nearly a month at home. It was great to be back in the states and spend some quality time with my family and my friends. Plus, there's nothing better than a life where my biggest decision was what to bake for dessert that night.

And to cap off the whole break experience, I took a mini-break to Amsterdam. I'm glad I went and had a very good time. I mean, any city that's known for art, diamonds, and cheese is a place I want to be. Plus, it's just a nice, clean, walkable city with lots of water. My favorite type of place. The only downside is that I had to leave for Amsterdam basically 4 hours after I arrived from Chicago. Not good planning on my part. Nor was the 7 hour ferry ride. It's just as borring (or more so) as it sounds.

But now, I'm back in Oxford for good and slowly starting to get back into the swing of things. It's nice to be back in class and have a little more structure and schedule to things. The highlight thus far has been Burns Night at Green. Although we celebrated it a little early (it's actually today), it was one of the cooler experiences I've had since I've been here. The night is in honor of Robert Burns, the Scottish poet. But basically, it's an excuse to just celebrate everything that's awesome about Scotland. The night started with a fiddler and a bagpiper walking us into the dining room, dinner started with a poem by Burns, the main course was haggis presented on a silver platter and heralded by a bagpiper, and all of this was followed by singing, more bagpipe, and Scottish dancing. It was fantastic.

And, amazing, I actually liked the haggis. I just told myself it was like a sausage, gave it a go, and found it surprisingly tasty.

I think England is getting to me...