I've gotten some questions from a few of you, so here are some answers. Jason Keith and I have been friends since our freshman year at Clemson. He lives here in Oxford working for our government on a 3-year stint - this is a picture of his home. He lives in a town called Bicester (pronounced "Bister") - apparently the British dislike enunciating all the letters in the names they create (hence "Worchestershire sauce"). I'm learning that the pronunciation is usually about 2/3 of the letters in the word. Anyway, Jason was an electrical engineering major at Clemson and has worked for the US government in DC since graduation. He got the opportunity to come here to Oxford and has been here a year now. He invited all of us friends to come stay with him any time - and when I joked I'd just stay for a year or two to take some classes at Oxford, he said he would be happy to "host" me as long as I wanted to stay. When I did some research and found the British Literature Summer Programme online, I asked just how serious he was about allowing me to come over and he graciously agreed to host me for a month. He’s quite the gracious host in every respect, especially since Benjamin Franklin's adage states that fish and visitors smell in three days. I'll be here longer than 10 times Poor Richard's recommended visit length! Jason’s place is great - I get my own bedroom and bathroom! I've really enjoyed getting to catch up with him and see what his life is like here in Oxford.
Today was a low-key day. Jason and I drove out to IKEA in Milton Keynes (a small city near Oxford) and then visited the British version of Wal-Mart where I bought a very European -and inexpensive- shirt (I'll take a picture later). Then we headed off to his department's Independence Day party at his boss's house. Most of the folks there were Americans who work here, so it was a classic Fourth of July BBQ. The only difference was that we had lobster claws and boiled shrimp as an option in addition to the hamburgers and hotdogs. Yum! I enjoyed meeting Jason’s co-workers; it was a good opportunity to socialize with almost 200 people I’d never seen before. =) The party was a big success despite the weather – it didn’t get over 60 degrees today and it drizzled the entire duration of the party. Right now it has been pouring for about 3 hours straight. I keep hearing that the weather will get better. I’ll believe it when I see it! =)Date: Saturday 30 June 2007
Location: Bicester, England
Adventure Status: Low-Moderate: Putting my conversation skills to work was semi-adventurous. I had to answer the same questions repeatedly and fend off those who automatically assumed I was either 1) Jason’s girlfriend, 2) a new hire at the office, or 3) crashing the party =)
Highlights:
- Seeing how much everybody at Jason’s office loves him. Of course that doesn’t surprise those of us who know and love him, but it is still cool to see.
- Noting that IKEA is just as crowded in England as it is in Atlanta!
Thought of the Day: I did NOT pack enough cool-weather clothing. Yikes! And you know, Mark Twain did say that clothes DO make the man since naked people have little or no influence on society. =)
