Some Splendid Snowy Scholastic Summaries on SuperBowl Sunday

As promised, here's an update!

First fun item on our agenda for the post today: SuperBowl Ahora Mismo. We're staying up to watch it well into the early morning hours due to the time change! I am currently in my living room, watching a live streaming of the Bowl of Superbness with Katie (Manassas, VA), Tom (Frankfurt, IL), Andrew (Lynden, WA), Jessica (Mechanicsburg, PA), Christina (Antioch, CA), Katie (Wheeling, IL), Esther (McDonough, GA) and Christy (Lusaka, Zambia). So we have a little bit of everything represented! We are chilling on couches, kind-of doing homework, eating onion rings and Digestives (which are amazing British tea cookies), and watching the game :) Needless to say, the British would have really no reason to care greatly about the American Football SuperBowl, so we're doing what we can!

Our awesome raging party.

Secondly, the other day I visited Holy Trinity Church where C.S. Lewis is buried! It was pretty chilly that morning when my two friends (both named Anna :) and I rode the 20 minute bike ride to get to the church - about 28 degrees! (which isn't bad, but since we were biking, the wind chill is killer). It took a bit to find the church because it's down a small dirt path off the main road, but we figured it out, and it's beautiful, as you can see! There's a small sign pointing in the general direction where his grave is, but it still took about 20 minutes to find it. I loved that it took so long to find, though, because it wasn't flashy or anything...just a simple grave for a man that wouldn't have called himself extraordinary.  I'm really enjoying studying him so far; my tutor is amazing, and I love discussing him and his contemporaries each week.  So far, I've only read The Great Divorce, but I read George MacDonald in the beginning, and then this last week I completed the Hobbit, since Tolkien and he were so close :)

Second of all, it SNOWED!!! Yes, indeed it did! Yesterday afternoon there were snow flurries, which eventually gave way to full on snow which, in turn, coated Oxford with about 5 inches of snow :) SO fun. We all ran outside and began an epic snowball fight. My friends from Chicago, New York, and the east coast in general definitely had me beat.  Within the first 5 minutes, snow was in my hair, ears, down my back, and on my face. So pleasant. I think I held my own pretty well, though. Kidding.

 Victoria, Elisabeth, Tom, and Audra

 If all the snowflakes were candy bars and milkshakes...

 Christy, Melisa, and Me

 Roomies :)

 This is where I live!!!

 The road I commute on every day and Shannon!

 Happened upon this little guy: pretty accurate depiction of a standard British visage

 Cornmarket Street in Oxford

Another fun event, I FOUND REESE'S! There was a confectionery shop that had an American section, and lo and behold! A piece of heaven waiting to be purchased. £1 later, and I was SET!

Also, fun fact - the grocery store where I buy most of my groceries, Tesco, had Hot Cross Buns on sale! Like the song! I also found out the history of them - so interesting; seems that they were originally just sold on Good Friday and Christmas because the cross symbolizes the resurrection, but now they're sold year-round! They still said "Happy Easter!" on them, so they're probably still baked more often around this time :)

Ok, some differences that have accumulated :)

• Creche = Daycare.  This one confused me a bit - I'm gonna have to say that daycare makes more sense...'cause it's in English...and it's England...
• This one has a photo:

Can you notice the differences in cars here vs. the US? It's a draw depending on opinions.

• To Let = For Rent. AKA sign will say "This house is To Let" rather than "For Rent." This one was tricky.  However, since "let" can have many different definitions, while "rent" has fewer, I think we know which one is the clearer option. USA for the win.

Current Score, my friends: England made up for it with snow SO, it's around: England: 11, USA: 6.

This next week I'm reading G.K. Chesterton, what up! I'll let you know how it goes! Love you all!