And on this week's edition of Food Network, we present...

British food and drink.

Now, normally I would have added a plethora of exclamation points points behind that sentence, but British food just doesn't inspire that sort of confidence. Don't get me wrong, I'm far far away from starving. Its just a slight disclaimer before we move on.

To be honest, I don't know all that much about what normal British people eat, seeing that I live in a house of all Americans, but there are a few things that stick out that you might enjoy (or not enjoy) hearing about:

1. Fish and chips. Well, this one is obvious. How much more British can you get? However, I have not seen this meal at McDonalds yet, so perhaps its on the DL right now. I don't like seafood, so while this might be the top of the list, its not the top of my list. While we on the topic of McDonalds, you might be surprised to hear that its a rather classy place here in the UK! I've seen some with really nice plush chairs. Oh, and chips? Those are french fries. The word for American chips is "crisps."

2. Potatoes: Literally, the staple of every British meal. I have not had one yet that does not have potatoes. Granted, they do a good job with them without smothering them in cheese. In the grocery stores, there seems to be a whole aisle in the produce section devoted to potatoes, so yeah, its a British thing.

3. Scones: The word "scone" is automatically associated with tea, which of course is automatically associated with England. 'Nough said.

4. Sausages: Also called bangers. The Brits appear to eat quite a lot of these, but I was rather disappointed. Despite the fact that nothing here is spicy or has seasoning, you would think that their sausage might have a little bit of kick like all sausage does, but nope! Its about as bland as meat can get(:

5. Thai food!!!! Yeah!!!! Their one ethnic food that can have some serious flavor. Yum, this is definitely a fav.

6. Potatoes

7. Digestives: Before you go all crazy on me, just wait. These are cookies, and no they are not supposed to help your digestive system, otherwise I would prescribe them to everyone. Once upon a time people thought these "biscuits" (thats what they call them) actually did help you in, ah, that area, but time proved them wrong. Now, they coat them in chocolate or toffee and they are simply delicious.

8. Cornish pasties: No, not pastries, there's no "r" here. These pie-like pasties are stuffed with something similar to stew and make a delicious lunch on a brisk day.

9. Potatoes. Yeah.

10. Chocolate. Cadbury chocolate. I will never look Hershey's square in the face again after eating all this delicious chocolate. Let me tell you, God knew what he was doing when he created British chocolate makers.

Anyways, that was the quick tour of significant British foods. As you can see, potatoes do rather well.

Life as an Oxonian

Perhaps blogging is not my strong suit because it appears that I have difficulty posting even once a week! My apologies. Instead of posting more about Italy, since it was almost a month ago, I think I'll skip to what life is like now as a regular, Oxford student.

  The Oxford year is divided up into three terms (similar to trimesters): Michaelmas (my current term), Hilary (after Christmas), and finally Trinity (after Easter). Each term is only 8 weeks long, but trust me, no one wants them to be any longer(:

    For those of you that aren't aware, Oxford (and Cambridge) are among the only universities left in the world that still utilize the tutorial system, aka. one-on-one student-teacher sessions. (Yikes!) Each student has two of these tutorials, each of which meets for 1-2 hrs a week and requires an essay. Before you go on to say, "Oh how easy!" let me tell you otherwise... Unlike American universities, where the teacher gathers the information, presents it to you in lecture, and then tests you on it later, an Oxford student basically performs all of these tasks in addition to being a student. Sometimes, if the tutor is nice, he or she will provide you with a booklist to answer your essay question. Others simply rely on you to find the right books and right information and make a cohesive essay. Thankfully, as a science major many of my books are textbooks, but for many of my English major friends their booklists each week can be 5-10 books long!!

    While it is extremely rigorous to have only three days to read all your sources and write an Oxford-worthy essay (my last one was 18 pages long...), it is also very rewarding. We go so in depth into our topics that our comprehension and knowledge-base expands dramatically each week. And when you have to format your ideas into an essay, by default they become ingrained into your memory. Being able to have a discussion with your very, very, very, very knowledgable tutor is also pretty fantastic(: My two tutorials are immunology (the study of the immune system) and the sociology of death and dying. (Between the two, my readings can get a bit morbid...)

      Besides the tutorial system, the other unique aspect of Oxford is that it is comprised of about 40 different colleges, each of whom "is vigorously independent of the other and guards their "secrets" jealously" (Our director keeps mentioning this exact phrase every time he sees us, so I just had to use it). Now, each college is not the size of Calvin or Azusa (otherwise they would run into some serious space issues) but there are still sizable. I am part of Christ Church, which is the most prestigious of the colleges. Its known primarily for two things: first, it is home to the dining hall from the Harry Potter films, and second, it is the residence of the most stuck up people in town(:  I have yet to make any good connections with any of them; but thankfully the other students are much more friendly!

                              Here is a view from inside the grounds.

And inside the Great Hall (Sorry, it was dark because we were having formal dinner)

Ok, ok, ok already!

So, after numerous complaints, I decided I had to appease my grandmothers in particular and post again(: Just kidding, I love you two!
But I do apologize for how long its been! School has finally kicked off, and I'm afraid that I was far to busy learning about death, dying and disease to think about anything else. But I'll get back to that...

As of now, I can say that I am a seasoned world traveler. I have been to East Grand Rapids, the West Side of Grand Rapids, the southeast side of Grand Rapids (which is by far the best...) and now... Italy. Which is so similar to Grand Rapids that I could hardly tell I was there. Right.

(You'll have to excuse my comments tonight- I'm in a rather feisty, peculiar mood that comes from being in the library all day.)

Anyways....

Right, Italy.

Well, way back when in September five of my APU-Oxford friends and I climbed on a bus at midnight to begin our long, student-discount-style journey to the beautiful country of Italy! A 6:00 AM flight out was not exactly our idea of a good time, but we were all appeased by the thought of cappuccino waiting on the other side.

One short delay to an airline strike later, we landed in Rome, Italy, known to its lovely, vivacious, and rather loud residents as Roma. Rome, Roma, yes, we mastered that Italian word with ease(: Our first stop was caffeine, our second stop, everyone's (or maybe not quite everyone's depending on why you were invited here) favorite stadium this side of the Atlantic:

The Colosseo

     It once was the home to hundreds of gladiators and not-so-nice lions, now its the giant litter box to about 300 of our favorite feline friends (alliteration was my favorite tool in high school...)

Seriously, how could anyone not think this was cute? 

(Don't answer that, Dad)

Here's another view of the inside. Its pretty run down, obviously, since its so old, but its not too hard to picture all the things that happened here:

I think we all expected to feel a bit differently walking in, knowing what horrible things had been done to the early Christians amid cheering crowds, but those type of feelings didn't really surface for me. Perhaps it was because one felt a touch of irony that the empire whose existence was once exemplified by this pile of stones has now faded to our history books, but the very people who they persecuted walk boldly among the stands. God is certainly good.

Our next stop was the Fontana di Trevi, or the Trevi Fountain! No street leads directly to it, but as you walk closer, you can hear the rushing waters, and then you round the corner, and...there it is!

The deal was: throw one coin over your shoulder and you're out one cent. Throw two coins over your shoulder, and you'll find true love. Throw three coins over, and you'll come back to Rome. Don't ask me how many coins I threw in, its a secret(:

Apparently the Trevi is also a famous for being in the movie Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn. I've never seen it, but my friend Emily Brandt could barely stop grinning. I guess its her favorite movie or something.

We liked it so much we went back at night(:

We ended our first night as everyone in Italy always should: with gelato. 

It just so happened that our lovely church apartment that we were borrowing in Chinatown was right down the street from the oldest gelato place in Italy. Let's just say they used their time wisely: it was the most delicious thing I have ever had(: After Cheesecake Factory Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake, of course.

You were allowed to pick three flavors from among about 40-50 flavors. I think the first night I had nutella, tiramisu, and white chocolate, the second night I had dark chocolate, hazelnut, and white chocolate cheesecake... you get the drift(: 

Trust me, we were actually happy to be eating it. 

And to all who are looking at their calendars for next summer's vacation plans, just think gelato and you'll know what to do.

Anyway, thats all for tonight. More later!