Oxford is awesome

So, England is amazing. The first thing I noticed on the drive from London to Oxford (besides the fact that everyone was driving on the wrong side) was how earthy everything seems. Lush greenery covers everything. Rather than there being huge expanses of stores and gas stations crowding the roadside, small quaint buildings blend into the overgrowth. As we wound our way through the beautiful countryside we passed through a number of small villages. It amazed me how close the villages are to each other. It seemed as though every time we reached the end of a village we’d be on the outskirts of the next. But I suppose after hundreds and hundreds of years of people populating England, there has been plenty of time to space them out all over the place.

It doesn’t take long to realize that Europeans think about things differently than Americans. Take buildings for example. In America buildings are built to serve a purpose. The builders rarely see the lifespan of a house or whatnot as something which matters beyond the lifespan of the owner. In England and other European countries, however, when someone builds a house, they build it to last. They build it with an integrity of its own and the capability to live through many generations. It is very rare to see a house built within the past twenty years here. Many of the homes date back to the 17^th and 18^th centuries and before. Generation after generation may dwell within an old house. The structures live far beyond their makers. It seems to add a sense of calm and confidence to the small villages dotting the landscape. As Americans, I think we have become so very disposable-minded that even our homes are throw-away. I think things would mean a lot more to us if we made them with the attitude that we are providing them for our grandchildren as well as ourselves.

Anyway… enough of that tangent. The trip’s been great so far. The flight went well, but it was very long and of course I couldn’t get a wink of sleep. We landed at 7am in the London Gatwick airport and rode the bus 2 hours to Oxford. We’re staying in two 150-year-old houses. We haven’t done much except explore a bit as we are all extremely tired. It’s about 11:30pm now and I’m very tired after having been up since 8 yesterday morning, so I think I’m going to head for bed shortly. My laptop is not connected to the internet yet, so I am typing this in a Word document. I think I’ll post it sometime tomorrow.

I’m going to try to keep adding posts and Facebook pictures, but be patient. Also, come up with something to do when I get home from Oxford. I’ll only have from the 6^th to the 11^th of July to do whatever, and I haven’t seen nearly enough of anybody this summer. Ok, everyone have a wonderful day.