A New Year is Here at Last... We'll See What It Brings 01-01-2009

This last year found me in quite the adventure. I lived in Cohasset, MA with my grandparents, I went to Belize for 3 weeks to work on a Maya archaeological dig, I backpacked around Guatemala and Honduras for a week, helped start a new singles unit in my stake ("the twig"), lived with my great aunt for a time, got accepted into a semester abroad at Oxford, and traveled all over New England.

Usually on New Year's Eve I like to drive around and visit some of the places where my memories took place that year. This tradition made last night very hard for me. The few memories of Utah I have for this year I did not want to revisit, and the memories I have of New England I have been visiting since I got here. So instead I got my traditional Green Apple Jones soda and drove around to some memories two or three years old.

In some aspects I like living the life of a nomad. I get to meet all sorts of new people and friends. I have exciting adventures left and right. Rack up all sorts of new stories to share. But it does make coming home kind of hard. I always think of home as this static place in my mind that doesn't change. A constant in my inconstant life. Its always a rude awakening to find how completely wrong I am. Friends have come and gone, friends dating, friends getting married, friends pasted on - and every new bit of news stabs me because I forgot how volatile every place is in the world, including home.

This new year will continue much the same as the last in the nomadic tradition. I leave in less than a week for England where I will stay until late April. Then I shall return to Cohasset, MA to wrap up my life there and prepare for my sister and her family to move into my old house. After that back to Utah to spend my birthday (finally 21!!!) with family and friends. Probably with a quick trip to California shoved in there and finally, hopefully, most likely, I will then be leaving for an 18 month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So lots to look forward to!

A Day in the Life of... Me 23-12-2008

I am new to the whole blogging/web pages world but a good friend of mine convinced me that it would be the best way for everyone to keep up with me as I begin to travel the world. I am currently on my way to Salt Lake City and in a few weeks I will be heading to a semester abroad at Oxford!

Please be patient with me as I learn the ropes of this big, new, world!

Why the move

Hey Folks!

So I was publishing a blog through my mac but I didn't like how that was working out because there was no way for any friends of family to leave any feedback. I am new to blogging so I need the feedback to (1) make sure someone out there is actually reading this stuff and (2) I want to figure out what is interesting to everyone else. I mean I will definitely tell you all about what is interesting and striking to me, but after I am done with a New England hot dog rant I might need a gentle push to a new subject :)

I have made it to England now and have moved into my flat. I have 3 flatmates one of which is my roommate - Mary. She is from New York and an awesome person! I also have a flatmate named Colleen from Cleveland. Currently she is sitting outside hoping that her luggage will be delivered tonight because the airlines lost her luggage and she has been here almost a week now. The final flatmate is Kiren, a British girl who is currently working on her masters at a college in Leeds, England. 

Our flat is nestled in between the railroad station and the river. It has so much charm even though it is modern. Outside on our balcony I can look out on a small gravel bike path that barely separated the Oxford canal from the river and beyond the river there are grassy wild-lands where birds like to rest. Lots of trees line the river and all this is situated in the perfect position for the sunset. When the sun goes down it turns the river red and the skies purple. 

The mornings are met with a healthy dosage of fog and the sound of the morning trains on their way to London and other destinations all over Britain. The train tracks cut off our apartment from the rest of Oxford which can sometimes seem inconvenient but it also makes it a very peaceful and safe area. It also makes travel very easy, no need for a cab at the end of your journey just pop on down to the end of the block and there's your bed! 

I am officially an associate member of New College, whose name is something of a misnomer. New College was established 1379 and is one of the oldest colleges in Oxford. It is also incredibly beautiful - if you want to imagine what it is like think Harry Potter. In fact Harry Potter wanted to use the New College Dining Hall for the film but New College turned them down because of the inconvenienced and offered instead the use of the cloisters which is where Malfroy was turned into a ferret. In fact, if I want to go to  the evening dinner I must wear my academic robes over my civilian clothing which makes it all look even more like Harry Potter. 

Harry Potter aside New College is one of the most respected colleges and is one of the top three of Oxford. With so much prestige it would be an intimidating college to study at, intimidating until you enter within its postcard perfect walls. Inside the commons room you would find pool tables, a wii, televisions, and vending machines. In a different corridor there is a bar for students surrounded by arcade games and students walking around in pajamas or sweat pants. It seems, it doesn't matter where you study students are students everywhere. 

I guess this will be enough for my first post. Later I will try and copy and paste some of my posts from the last site in. Laters!