Post-Hike!
While abroad I have learned a lot, and had the wonderful opportunity to travel. This is a picture of me and a dear friend I was able to meet here, Elyssa. We had just finished hiking a natural reserve, Skomer Island in Wales. This is my favorite weekend of the month so far! The scenery was amazing and we got to see seals in the sea! We also stayed at a bed and breakfast in Milford Haven, Wales and our host ended up being amazing!! I learned how to play bagpipes while there, and got to see Milford Haven’s cute harbor filled with so many sailboats! We also got the opportunity to ride in a car on the opposite side of the road from the US! It was such a wild experience and I learned their roads are very narrow so it is a frightful experience in the beginning, but everyone in Wales is used to it, so it is a drive to the park to them, (literally).
I am excited that classes are almost coming to an end! I have one final left which is tomorrow morning. It has been a wonderful month here in Oxford, but traveling really is exhausting! I am looking forward to being back in Tuscaloosa to see friends and prepare for the fall semester. But it is also a very bittersweet feeling leaving Oxford as there was so much to see, do, and EAT! The food is actually pretty amazing and I unfortunately could not hit all the good looking restaurants I wanted to. But that is ok, I guess I saved myself the calories and the cash!
I truly am not the type of person that enjoys literature, but studying this subject in Oxford has helped me to better appreciate it. I have actually acquired an interest and enjoyment for poetry now. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in one of Oxford’s many coffee shops and analyzing poetry. I feel that my writing has improved from the beginning of the month as well. My professors have been more than willing to help proof read my papers and make sure I have strong arguments within my papers. Their help has reflected in my papers and prepared me for the future with upcoming classes I will take for my career. It is best to make mistakes now and correct them, versus being in my professional career and making a large grammatical error. These are some words of wisdom from one of my professors here.
I highly encourage everyone to get out and see the world! Although we are working our butts off right now on papers, the weekends of travel make up for it. The people we meet and experiences that we get to have are memories we will have forever. Although it is some tough work here at Oxford, I think it is an experience that pushed me to my wits end, but this resulted in me becoming a better student academically. It is a bittersweet feeling to be leaving here in 2 days! I am blessed to have been able to soak these experiences in!