Dancing into a Destiny

12:34 AM here in London. I'm not sleepy, though I am tired, so I am updating with a much-needed post.
The homesickness I was experiencing the first month has, for the most part, worn off. I am no longer on the verge of tears every five minutes and isolating myself from everyone, wishing I was back in Texas. I am now, dare I say, enjoying myself?! That is truly a blessing. I have made friends with some of my trip mates here, and become very close to a girl from UMHB named Diana. She is so awesome and been such a wonderful encouragement to me! We are pretty much inseparable these last few weeks, from grocery shopping and preparing meals together to spending day-trips and theater time together. It has meant a lot to me to have a good friend here in London. I am so glad she goes to my university so we can continue our friendship when we head back to Texas!
Today, we took a trip to Oxford. Diana and I poked around in the "Religion" section of a four-story Waterstones, which is the UK version of Barnes & Nobles. I bought a book by C.S. Lewis (appropriate, no?) called The Four Loves and a compilation of writings by John Henry Newman. I want to eventually own all the C.S. Lewis books. My favorite is The Screwtape Letters, followed by The Great Divorce. He was such an amazing man. I love that he was an atheist, and then he found Jesus! So beautiful. John Henry Newman was a leading figure in the Church of England until, causing great controversy, he converted to the Catholic Church because he couldn't deny its truth anymore. On that note (Anglicanism versus Catholicism), I must say that I prefer the Catholic church for this reason: the Church of England was founded by a man who, though devoutly "religious," was ridiculously selfish, worldly, and unfaithful, both to God and his wife. Of course I am speaking of Henry VIII (my personal opinions!). A church founded for that reason I can't help but have a deep seated issue with. I know that the Church's history is very colorful, nowhere near perfect, and often downright disgusting at times in the way it has perverted Christ's message. But I still would rather be Catholic than a part of the Church of England...
After Waterstones, we went to the Tesco and procured sandwiches, rice pudding (not so good; too sickly-sweet), and soda, sat on the Martyr's Monument, and ate lunch. At high noon, we had a tour of the heart of Oxford. Our tour guide, Rob Walters, was quite funny as well as very knowledgeable of his city. All tour guides must be of course. We got to see the inside of one of the 38 colleges of Oxford University, Trinity College. So neat! The education system of Oxford, as well as Cambridge, is incredibly unique: in addition to lectures, which are not mandatory, and can consist of over 100 students per lecture, the student also meets weekly with a Tutor. These meetings are one-on-one! The student prepares an essay each week, and must read it aloud. The Tutor is a professional in the field (no Grad-student TA's at Oxford!). I think that this system is brilliant, not to mention so much more conducive to true learning. It made me reconsider grad programs here in the UK... We'll see ;)
Well, I think I am ready to go to bed!! It is impossible to sleep in the mornings because there is construction going on a few houses over. That means about thirty feet over. They don't mind crashing and banging about as early as 7:30 AM during the week! The walls and windows are very thin here, so all sound travels, even up to my fourth floor room. I often hear motorcycles or talking people in the wee hours of the morning. I do miss the serenity of a suburban neighborhood!! Seven more weeks :)
Goodnight!