the city of the dreaming spires

this revered place of education actually has its quirks. like professors donning regal academic gowns revealing hidden desires to be batman, and getting drunk (they call it getting pissed here) and dancing with their students in the college bar, or stumbling along the streets of oxford with ruddy faces.

calling professors by their first names have never been more refreshing. the same goes for seeing a familiar name in the lecture list, having read his/her books before. witnessing the genuine passion and fervor of the professors in their subject of choice. drinks with the professor who lives next door.

it seems so eclectic, so incoherent, so random. a victorian style college next to a red brick one. wooden staircases and stone-walled tunnels leading you to computer rooms. benign and smiling college nurses and welfare officers offering free condoms, with the promise of condom machines scattered in college in future.

days filled with lectures and tutorials, alternate nights of partying and staying up to rush essays. the professors promised us a minimum of 40hour work weeks, the seniors promised us 5. philosophy books written with symbols, numbers and proved using calculus.

being told by a guy that i need to moisturize more. lingo mistakes such as being "picked up" and actually crowd surfing.

i sometimes feel lost.

but then my friends pull me through it. "come on, lixin, let's go out and play. it's all right if you don't drink, lotsa people don't." "i love chinese food, teach it to me sometime, will you?" and cocooned in my room, on the rare occasions that i actually close my door, the warmth and privacy of talking to my family, seeing a fuzzy image of my green wardrobe and the smiling faces of my father amd brother, makes me feel so at home. having endless conversations with you, dear, and laughing at your funny faces. meeting up with fellow singaporeans in oxford. chatting effortlessly in singlish -- "your intonations are just so varied! it sounds so cool!" exclaimed my british friend.

i think i just might make it.

london =)

ahh i'm in love. (sorry abiel, you have to share a little bit of your place with london now =P.)

my first view of london already swept me off my feet. street lamps dotted alongside the arteries of london, as pin-sized lights moved busily. half the city was lit -- it was just 5am. cocooned in my seat, london seemed such a warm and inviting place to me.

well, i got it wrong on one account. as i stepped out of heathrow a cool blast (and i mean blast) of air greeted me. despite my thick jacket i invariably shivered. when i spoke, a light mist appeared, even though the sun was shining. absolutely surreal. i saw trees clothed in flaming red, and clover-shaped leaves lying on the floor, enid-blyton like. flowers of every colour were blooming side by side, framing quaint cottages.

and then there is the architecture. where do i even begin? let's just say it's just awe inspiring. the houses of parliament and tower of london are definite must-sees, as is the colossal british museum.

oh i found my main carbohydrate source -- strawberries and blueberries. they were so sweet! i almost regelated (i'm quite the spelling is wrong, but abiel refuses to help me check the spelling, choosing instead to -roll on the floor laughing- bleah.) sweets, but then i discovered starburst fruit chews and maynard wine gums. and let's just say, with marks and spencers and 1 pound+ family block chocolates, i am in bliss.

surprised there's nothing about shopping yet? well i hadn't shopped at all! (yes, hold on to your glasses) but i saw -holds breath- topshop zara gap h&m dorothy perkins harrods clarks accessorize next urban outfitters mac harvy nichols shelleys marks and spencers david and goliath and a million other fos-like shops. yay is an understatement. (ok ok the reason -- i'm travelling with my dad, and i should do the serious stuff first like touring around before shopping, no? haha)

yup, i better go. it's 6am here, i have stonehenge and bath to go to! will post pictures sometime. take care and be good! =D