August 5th - Perched on the Edge of Chaos

Welcome back to another entry!

Today was pretty interesting. It started with breakfast (as always), which today was strawberries, yogurt, and pain au chocolat. Then, I went to technical communications. At the end of the class, Heather came in to inquire if anyone wanted to take a nice walk over to the Perch, a 17th century restaurant right next to Port Meadow. I decided to go.

We first went to Wesley Memorial Church, named after John and Charles Wesley, the founders of the Methodist movement. They both studied at Oxford and established Methodism in 1729.

While on the walk, Heather told me about all the different buildings as we passed them. She also gave me restaurant recommendations if I ever found myself in the area again. Then, we went into the meadow and enjoyed the rest of the walk.

The Perch

Arriving at the Perch, we ordered some cider and sat on a cozy couch near the fireplace while our lunch was being made. Heather at this time took the opportunity to interview me about my experience in Oxford and give the recording over to myself, my professors, the provost, and my university's marketing department, so you may see me in an ad soon! When our food was ready, we moved to a table in the conservatory. I enjoyed Cotswold Lamb, Pea, and Mint Suet Crust Pie. It was absolutely delicious! 

Here's where my day got interesting... 

We ended up losing track of time and I had to quickly run back to my dorm to change into long pants since we were going to a mosque today for world religions. I looked up the nearest mosque and rushed over there. Turns out, I accidentally went to the wrong one, and to make things worse, I ended up getting trapped inside (I was originally let in by someone with an access card) and my phone battery was nearly dead, so I had to act fast. There were no Wi-Fi networks around to connect to, so I was forced to turn on cellular data to try and ask for help. The cellular data didn't work either (but I was of course still charged a $12 roaming fee for turning it on). I eventually managed to get out and connect to a nearby museum's Wi-Fi, where I learned that I was actually supposed to go to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, all the way on the other side of town! I ran over there, flaring up my knee in the process, and managed to get through the massive security gate they had. I finally made it after navigating the halls to the lecture my group was attending (and I got scolded by my world religions professor).

After the lecture, Richard, our lecturer, showed us the inside of their mosque and took us around their courtyard. Very nice! 

After returning back to the dorm, I read the book chapter on Islam and then went to Tesco to pick up supplies for dinner. Tonight, I made a simple pasta bolognese with jarred tomato sauce, onion, garlic, some Italian spices, and minced beef. Giulianna brought some bread and butter, and shredded some Parmesan to go with the pasta. It was a very nice dinner!

After that, I went back to work on some essays and started writing this post. 

That's it for today! See ya tomorrow!