Goodbye England :(

Well..... I have been avoiding this post as I still do not want to accept the fact that I have returned to America. Hmm. Well anyway. In my last week in England I did some last minute bonding with the people I met there. I miss you all so much already!!!! Its really strange to me that I had no emotion other than excitement when I left America but leaving England I'm pretty much all sad and a teeny-tiny bit excited to see some people. Now, I don't mean that to be offensive to any of my lovely friends and family in America (aka my blog readers) but I'm just very sad to see the end of this adventure. On my last Wednesday, I went to London! First I visited the Tower of London which, as I expected, was amazing!!! I loved just walking around thinking of the other people who have walked there before me as well as of course the extraordinary historical connections. Then I went to Camden Market and haggled with a man over a dress :) great fun, everyone should try it haha me and my beautiful eyes got him down to 8 pounds! I could totally see my mom there twenty years ago!! Hampsted Heath was my next stop, such a beautiful neighborhood! I absolutely adored all the little shops. I stopped at this little cafe there and had the most amazing quiche lorraine tart thing soooo good!!! Then I met one of my friends from school in Leicester Square.We went to this adorable little cafe in Soho... she'll have to remind me of the name sorry :) We then saw..... LES MISERABLES!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me tell you, that was probably one of the most amazing shows I have seen in my life. My favorite character, as I expected was Eponine, I posted a video of her singing On My Own. It was an amazing night and a great way to end my visit however much I didn't want to leave. Thursday I had some people round to say goodbye. It was really sad for me but I guess that's the way life is! As of now, I am just thankful that I had the opportunity to meet all of them and hope to see them again in the future!! Friday, I left really early to get to Heathrow which actually wasn't that busy! My flight went well and I was glad to see my family when I got off the plane :) I had a lovely Christmas with my family in Minneapolis and then returned to good old Iowa. It has been... interesting to say the least. For example while walking to the library, a man yelled at me for being on the pavement haha good times, good times. I did have an excellent time at my baby sister Cora's fourth birthday though! As well as being reunited with some of my best friends in Nevada :) I've been doing lots of shopping, sleeping, baking, and ukulele playing haha so not much has changed. Today is New Years Eve day and I'm looking forward to welcoming in a new year and whatever blessings it may bring. So in the words of my father happy hogmanay and Slainte Mhaith or in other words: Happy New Year and good health :) I do believe this could possibly be my last post so thank you for joining me on this wonderful journey and I look forward to hearing from you all soon. Look out for my potential new blog :) 

xx Emma 

A Cup of Tea Solves Everything?

Yesterday I was meant to go to my friend's house in the afternoon and then go to the cinema with the girls but it didn't happen. At ten in the morning my Uncle Stuart called to tell me that my Uncle Charlie had died during the night (this fact has yet to be confirmed as my family has communication issues). So, as a distressed seventeen year old girl often does, I called my mum. Even though I think it was about two in the morning her time. She, like the lovely mum she is answered :) (love you mum!!!) She then told me that my Great Auntie Moira had had a stroke on Friday and suggested that I ring my Uncle Wally to see if she was alright. So I called him and asked how Auntie Moira was and he said, 'Oh didn't you know? She died last night' So at this point I was quite an emotional wreck and called my mum back wooooohhhh it was well shocking. So then I had to ring up all my friends and tell them I didn't feel up to going out. But one of my friends came round to cheer me up :)  later that night Heather's nephew and neices stayed the night. Today I was feeling much better and went to town with some friends for some last minute shopping and tours of Oxford. Tomorrow I'm going to see Les Miserables in London with one of my friends (Do you still read my blog Rosa??) I'm also going to the Tower of London and Camden Market and Hamsted Heath. yayyyy :) Its ridiculously close to my last day. In moments like these I like to stop for just a moment and think about all the amazing opportunities I've been given over the past few months. Although the loss of my Auntie Moira and Uncle Charlie has affected me greatly, I'm extremely thankful that I was blessed with their presence even if it was a short time. And sometimes, all you really need is to sit down with a cup of tea and look back on what's been truely important...
Love to you all
xxx Emma

Last Days of School... :(

I am coming towards the end of my stay in England which is making me quite sad. On Thursday I went to London with my history class. We visted the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. It was nice but the bus ride home was probably more fun :) We looked at the Renaissance pictures in the National Gallery but some of us also went and looked at some of the Van Gough's (like the sunflower picture!!!) At the Portrait Gallery we saw the Tudor portraits but also went to see some of the other ones the the mold of the mans head made out of his own blood!!! Friday at school was really sad for me. I had to say goodbye to everyone and it was horrible. But I guess its okay because now its so easy to keep in touch with people. After school ended I went to Cowley with a bunch of the girls which was really great! I'll miss them all so much!!! Then I came home and got ready for my last English party ever! :( It was really great fun though. Thanks to everyone that was there... you know what I mean ;) haha Saturday I went round to my friends house and had a really lovely time. Grrr its so sad that I have to leave!!! :( Then Sunday I went to town and had a lovely shopping adventure :) time for tea now!! more later
xx Emma

I Solemnly Swear I Am Up to No Good....

Made by yours truly :)  

Wow! What a great weekend! I started it out by volunteering at a nature winter event hosted by one of my friend's mums. It was a lot like a Prarie Flower style event (those of you from the Ames area). We helped little kids make star shaped ornaments out of willow branches and then covered them with tissue paper and glue like this one! It was freezing cold though! I swear my toes were going to fall off! But I loved getting to help out and see all the adorable English babies haha. Then I went to South Pacific which was amazing!!!! I've wanted to see that musical for ages. I have inserted my favorite song from the musical which my baby sister Cora just so happens to love as well :) After that I went to a Harry Potter partyyyy whooh! I was Lavender Brown aka Ron's lover in book six! I think I posted about her before maybe? It was my last English party with pretty much everyone in my year (but there's another smaller one tomorrow yay!!!) It made me really sad though :( I don't want to go back to Iowa! Even though I am excited to see all of you. Anyway, in general, it was a great day! Then Sunday, I went to Stonehenge! It was so super! Although, it was horrible weather but I feel like that's practically required for a visit to Stonehenge! Then I went to Salisbury and saw the Magna Carta. I was slightly disappointed though... It was just a tiny bit of paper! But oh well. Then I came home and went to church where we had a little Christmas fun at youth group :) That's pretty much it! By the wayyy, I want a kitten! Fiztig, please don't eat it! I want the one in the picture haha anyway must go!
Love,
Emma xx

Bath Take 2!!!

So last weekend I went to Bath to meet up with one of my dad's old friends Nicola. It was really fun! We went to the Jane Austen house which was amazing. I learned loads about Jane Austen (who just so happens to be my favorite author!!) It was so great to meet Nicola too! She told me loads of old stories about my lovely father :) Then I checked out Bath's Christmas market which was huge! I saw some really good street performers. Then came home and went round to my amazing friend Amrit's house to play some music :) I also thought I'd throw in a picture of me from Thanksgiving :)

Amrit playing me some Jeremy Messersmith :)

Thanksgiving :)

Strikes!

Hiya blog readers!
I've been having a great time! Feeling much better now :) Tomorrow I'm off school again though because the teachers are striking!! It has to do with their pensions being cut. Anyway, I was supposed to be going to London to see the Tower but Heather and I decided it wouldn't be safe because there would be lots of people protesting. So I'm just going to hang out with some friends in Oxford instead :)
xx Emma

Thanksgiving part 3!!!!!!

Hello readers!
Well my Thanksgiving dinner went great!! Thanks to all of the amazing English people who came :) I had roast vegetables, green bean casserole (from scratch!), mashed potatoes, sweet potato souffle, salad, stuffing, squash soup, cranberry sauce, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie!  It went really, really well!!! I was really nervous before but it turned out alright. I'm glad I did it! However, now more Thanksgiving traditions are fulfilling themselves!! I've just missed school because I'm sick!! Which is slightly disappointing but I think it should be okay. I am going to go  back to sleep now though!
Hope you all are well!!
xx Emma

Thanksgiving part 2!!!

Hiyaaa blog world!! At the moment, I am prepping my Thanksgiving food for tomorrow!! ahhhh :) I've just made two pies (the best kinds, pumpkin and pecan!) and cranberry sauce. Now I am making a squash curry! woooh!! I just thought I'd let you know :) I'm really excited for tomorrow!! And I thought of another thing to be thankful for.... Tea when I wake up in the morning (thanks Harounyyyy)!!! I'll let you know more tomorrow.
xx Emma
ps. loved talking to you on the phone mum :)
pps. hope everyone had a great thanksgiving!

THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello blog world!!!! Welcome to the day of my favorite holiday in the whole entire world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness! First of all quick mention, I went to Stratford-upon-Avon last weekend but haven't had time to blog about it. I'll try to get on that :) Okay now. Just a quick little list of my thanks :)

1. My amazing family (Mum, Dad, Heather, Bo, Sophia, Cora, Raven, Grandma and Grandpa, all my aunts and uncles, and my lovely cousins all over the world!) 
2. My super fantastic, supportive friends! (JAMES ANTHONY KLUESNER THE THIRD!!!!!, Miss Chantel Marie, AnaEliza, Aida, and all my amazing new English friends)
3. This amazing opportunity I've had to come to England and Heather and Haroun for welcoming me into their home! 
4. My college acceptance letters!!!!!
5. And all the other amazing blessings that are part of my life everyday. 
6. And a little shout out to Sophia.... "my Aunt Tracy's whipped cream"

I hope that everyone is having a great Thanksgiving. I have to say I am a little disappointed that the Packers won. Jeeze Lions!!! Should have stepped it up! I am now planning my Thanksgiving party (I'm SOOOOOOO excited!!!!!!!!!!) when I should be writing my history essay... hmmm should probably get on that essay so I will update you all soon! 

xx Emma

ps. if any of you had some great Thanksgiving meals, let me know what you liked, inspiration/advice needed!!

pps. I feel that I must post a picture of my Thanksgiving dress after my party. I think it's very cute and suited to Thanksgiving :) haha

Would You Like Some Biscotti With That?

I just had a faaaaabulous day in the amazing city of LONDON! I'm quite proud of myself because I managed it all on my own without any help! Yay me :) first I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum but I was slightly disappointed (when I say slightly I mean extremely) because the fashion bit was closed!!! And it's going to be closed until May!!! So I won't get to see it :( which is what I wanted to see most out of anything there!!! But I did really enjoy seeing the theatre part of it. It was really interesting and I took loads of pictures! OHHHH MY GOD!!!!!!! Sorry for the interuption but I just got into the college that I really, really want to go to! They sent me my letter through email!!! I am literally sooooo happy!!! I also got the Ellen Browning Scripps Scholarship and the Knox Social Concerns Scholarship!!! Anyway haha back to what I was saying :) after that I went to this cute little Italian cafe in Kensington and ordered an esspresso and the man said, as you can see from the title, 'Would you like some biscotti with that? Your eyes are so pretty I feel like you deserve some on me bellissima' Ego boost right there :) so I got some free biscotti to go with my esspresso, go me! Then after that I went to the British Museum which was amaaazing! I love Ancient Egypt soo much it was so cool to see all the mummies  and the Rosetta Stone :) I took the coach back home and some lady ran into it! But everything was fine :) lots of school work to do now!!
Love,
Emma xx

Under Milkwood!

Just got back from my show! It went really well. I must admit, I was quite scared to perform for an examiner but it was perfect. I'd like to give another round of applause to my fellow cast members on their smashing performance! I have a video of some of the play, so let me know if you'd like to see it, I think I can email it... or put it up on youtube... possibly, I haven't decided yet. oooo I can upload it straight on here! We'll try it out and see if it works. Most of it probably won't make sense because the beginning's missed out but I'll ask my teacher if I can have a copy of the whole show. Ummm... yeah, I'm not sure if that video will work but we'll see! I think it's uploading? Anyway, I'm off to bed! Busy day tomorrow, I'm going to London, BY MYSELF to see the VA museum and the British museum! Mummies and costumes here I come!
xx Emma
ps. thanks to my Uncle Mark and Aunt Tracy for sending me their fabulous Thanksgiving recipes!!
pps. got a package from my mum today congratulating me on my college acceptance letters awww isn't she sweet?! :)

Brr!!!

It is suddenly getting cold in good old Oxford!! I am still refusing to wear my winter coat though haha. Our poor neighbors' boiler is broken! So they stayed at our house for most of this evening. They're so sweet :) Tomorrow is our play! I can't believe it! It's so close!!!! I've spent most of this evening reviewing my lines and practicing my accents. I hope it goes well! I'll keep you posted. Wednesday I'm going to London to see some more museums and have some fun on my own :)
xx Emma

Guy Fawkes/Halloween/Costume Partyyyy!!!!

Wow!! Well this has been a fun week! Let's start with Halloween. Here, Halloween isn't as big but it's gaining popularity. Haroun and I carved a pumpkin, watched some classic Disney Halloween movies, and made pumpkin pie!!! This is the first time I have ever made pumpkin pie, by myself, from a real pumpkin! It was pretty good though, if I do say so myself (it was a rehearsal for the pumpkin pie I'm making for my Thanksgiving party).  I have to say, I did miss seeing my little sisters' amazing costumes!! Sophia was a crayon and Cora was a unicorn, they are sooo cute :) xxx Then for Guy Fawkes we had some amazing fireworks in Heather's back garden, they're legal here!!!!!!!!!!! Afterwards, I went round to one of my friend's houses and we sat on his roof, watched fireworks and played guitar/ukulele, quite fun I must say. Last night, I went to a costume party which was really, really fun!! I went as a leopard and I met lot's of Cherwellians (people that go to a different secondary school called Cherwell). It was quite fun and I enjoyed meeting new people a lot!! Today, I had a bit of a lie and and then celebrated Bea's (Heather and Haroun's dog) birthday!! I just got back from youth group at an adorable church which may well convert me to the Church of England. It's Holy Trinity church in Headington Quarry and it's where CS Lewis went to church and was buried! I've met some really sweet people at church there and I'm looking forward to the nativity play which I will tell you about some other time. Speaking of plays... my play is on Tuesday! We are performing an excerpt from Under Milkwood in the style of Brecht. Hopefully I will get someone to video tape it for me and can put it up online somewhere :) That's all for now!
xx Emma
ps. Planning my first Thanksgiving dinner, any recipe suggestions?

Scotland!! n

First of all SCOTLAND IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I spent the entire train ride looking out the window, literally. Second of all Auntie Moira and Uncle Wally are some of the nicest people I have met in my entire life! I am so glad I got to meet them. From the very second that I got off the train they were there waiting to make me feel at home. I probably felt more at home with them in Scotland than anywhere else. On the first night, I met their son, my dad's cousin Robert and his wife Marie they were so nice and I think that Robert has the Wilson nose :) The next day I went to see my Great-granddad Alex, Great-grandma Emma, and Granddad Alex's graves. It was really sad for me but also quite good for me to finally find that connection. Moira told me lot's of stories about her mum (Emma) and showed me pictures of my dad when he was a baby. She also told me a lot about him when he lived in Kilmarnock. I loved hearing all of the old stories!! They took me to the street where my dad grew up and I saw the house he lived in!! Then we went and met his neighbors who were there when he lived there! They knew right away that I was Alex's daughter and were very excited to see me after all those years. Later that day we went to Kilmarnock Football Club and I got a special treat (which is secret for a while :)) The next day I spent the day learning about Robert Burns! He lived really close to Kilmarnock. I learned a lot about the Scottish hero's life! Then we went to the seaside which could quite possibly be my favorite part of the entire trip. It was amazing!!! I completely adored it. On my last day in Kilmarnock I actually went into town and looked at all the places where my dad might have spent time and then Auntie Moira and Uncle Wally took me out for tea which was really nice. The next day I spent some time looking around Glasgow which was much more of a city than I was expecting! I loved the architecture there. Then I took the train back to Oxford which was horrible! Basically, on the train ride from Glasgow to Wolverhampton (where I was meant to transfer) some kid threw rocks at the windows and so they had to stop and break out all the glass and patch the window. This made the train really late and by the time I got to Wolverhampton my connecting train had already left! So then I had to go through a huge ordeal and took two trains to get back to Oxford, I ended up getting back a couple hours later than I was supposed to and I didn't have a seat on the train the entire time! But I finally made it and got back to Heather's in time to skype with my mamma, Bo, Raven, and my baby sister Phia :) which was great fun!!
xx Emma
ps. check out my next blog for some Guy Fawkes/Halloween stories!! (should be up by Friday? or at least Saturday)

Yorkshire

Sorry!! I've been so busy with school lately! I'm so behind on my blogging!! So, York! It was amazing. It was such a beautiful city. I think it's the perfect combination of old and new. There's so much history there but at the same time there's so much great shopping and things like that! On the first day we went straight to the youth hostel which I was really excited about since I'd never gone to one before! Then pretty soon after I got there, my dad's sister, Lily and her husband Phil came to pick me up. Then we all went to a pub in Dewsbury (where they live) and met all of their kids as well as my dad's other sister Lorraine and his mum Margaret. It was really amazing to meet all of them. They were all so sweet to me and it was great to catch up on the past sixteen years of my life haha. It also made it really clear why I look the way I look! They're all like the same height as me and same type of body shape haha but they all say that my face looks exactly like my mum's. The next day I met up with my dad's brothers Charlie and Stuart and also Stuart's wife Dee. Stuart used to live in York so he knows a lot about it and showed us all around which was really fun!! They were soo nice and it was really obvious that they were my dad's brothers. My Uncle Stuart honestly looks just like my dad its so weird!! Their voices are really similar as well! When I was talking to him on the phone it was so surreal because it was just like I was talking to my dad! I spent ages in the minstrel which was beautiful!! Later that night I went back to see their evening service which was... honestly quite awkward because there were only ten people or so there haha but anyway the church bit was amazing!! There was this great museum about the Vikings which I really enjoyed. It was unique because as you went through it it was a Viking village but you also smelled all the smells that they would have smelt haha if that makes sense! I also went to the Roman wall which was really fun but I never figured out how to walk all the way around the wall! It ends for a little bit and I couldn't figure out how to get back on it! The next day I did some shopping in York which was great fun! There are so many great stores there!!  I also found this AMAZING restaurant called El Piano (this is their website http://www.el-piano.com/)  All it's food is 100% vegan and gluten free! It looked like it belonged in New Mexico it was amazing :) while I was in the restaurant I found of that I got into St. Catherine's University in St. Paul!! Later that night I found out I got into Drake University as well!! That was a great day let me tell you!! And then the next day I left for Scotland! (see the next blog for the Scottish saga of my continuing adventures in the frozen north)
xx Emma

Half Term!!

Hello blog-o-sphere!! How I have missed you!! Well I have had some great adventures on my half term however I think I may split it into two blogs. K, so before I headed up to the frozen north land I spent a night in London!! I went to Saint Martin in the Field during the day which was great fun because that's where my mamma and Heather used to always meet up when they lived in London. I also saw Buckingham Palace and all the which was cool as well but the real star was the Katie Costello show!! Oh. My. God. AMAZING! I had so much fun!! Katie and Greg's voices were so beautiful!! I had a great time and got to MEET KATIE!!! Sophia, my lovely sister, you have an amazing surprise waiting for you xxx okayyy umm actually the rest of the half term blog is going to have to wait... because I have philosophy homework haha but tomorrow for sure I'll get it done!!

Custard Creams and Courageous Choral Conquests




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Custard Cream- yummy cookie with frosting

on the inside :) but mine didn't really

 look like that 

I'd like to start off by stating the obvious fact that I like alliteration :) I've had a great week so far! As you may have guessed I made some custard creams!! This was interesting seeing as I still haven't had proper custard creams before but mine were pretty good, if I do say so myself!! I've been doing lots of school work this week. I do love philosophy but it's much more demanding than I thought it would be. The teachers are really great though and my class is really nice as well! I'm really tempted to throw a rock through a window and then when I get in trouble say "It wasn't me! Hume says that the rock being thrown and the glass breaking are just too events that happened really, really close together! I didn't cause it!!" Haha love that :) Drama has been really fun! I'm not sure if I said this before but we are doing the play Under Milkwood in the style of Brecht so it's really strange. It's all about using stereotypes and things like that. It's so intense and also really challenging!! I love it though. In English we are reading Hamlet and Hedda Gabler at the moment. I love Hedda Gabler!! Not many other people in my class like it but I just find it so interesting. In one of my history classes we're learning about the Italian Renaissance and the other we're learning about Elizabethan England. I really love the second one!! It's so awesome :) Anyway, enough about that! Thursday, I tried out for this student led show choir at my school which is kinda like Glee. It went really well :) I sang Count on Me by Bruno Mars (first video) aaaaand I played my ukulele with it!! I also really loved hearing everyone else's voices! Sooo beautiful :) After school I had debate! Sooo fun!! It's quite challenging but really exciting. I like how academic it is! I'm sad we dont have it in Nevada!! Today was my last day of school before half term. I am sooo excited!! I'm going to Yorkshire and Scotland! YES!!! I have literally wanted to go to Scotland for my entire life! I am so excited to meet my family!! Also, tomorrow I'm seeing two of my favorite singers Greg Holden and Katie Costello in London (its the second video) and I am ridiculously excited about it!!! You can ask my amazing sister Sophia, who I am chatting with at the moment :) xxx I spoke to my Auntie Lily and Auntie Moira yesterday and got all of that sorted with them and today I spoke with my Uncle Stuart and got it sorted with him!! In general, I think it will be a great half term!! I won't be posting until next Sunday probably because I'll be travelling but I'll try to keep you updated!

A Great Week and a Trip to Bath!

I had another excellent week! We're making so much progress in drama, its going to be a really great show but it is coming up a little too quickly... It'll all work out though I'm sure!! On Wednesday, I went out to dinner with Heather, her friend, and her friend's daughter. It was really great!! It was a Turkish restaurant called Barmeze and we had some excellent Turkish food. The friend's daughter, Eloise was the sweetest girl!! I'm glad I met her, we'll probably hang out sometime. Thursday I had debate which went really well I learned a lot of the basics about debating. Friday I got to skype with my mamma and best friend James Anthony Kluesner THE THIRD! I've been thinking a lot about my schedule for when I get back to America. Initially, I was going to take Creative Writing, PE, Anatomy and Physiology, Band/Choir, and French but now I'm thinking that I want to take music theory, AP literature and compsition, band/choir, and an ISU class. Not quite sure though, any input is thoughroughly welcomed. Yesterday, I took the train to Bath which was BEAUTIFL! It was amazing to say the least. I spent a really long time in the Roman Baths which was really interesting to me. I loved being in a place with such an anicent connection. We went to Jamie Oliver's restaurant Jamie's Italian which was really delicious. I got mushroom panzerotti--half-moons filled with brown cap and porcini mushrooms, chilli, ricotta and Parmesan. Sooo yummyyyy! Then I went on the open air tour bus which was really good. I learned a lot about the history of Bath and got tons of pictures! Took the train back to Heather's and then went to a bonfire at one of my friend's houses. It was a good time :) today I'm just doing homework and hanging out :) One week till my trip to Yorkshire/Scotland!!!
xxx Emma

It's Been Quite a Long Time....

Dear blog readers, I am sooo sorry that I haven't been posting recently. I don't really know what that's about haha. So I have a lot of catching up to do!! I think the last time I posted was my dad's birthday? So let's begin there!! The Friday after my dad's birthday we had a day off of school because of a teacher in service so one of my friends had a party!! Her older sister is in year 13 so it was meant to be an evening for us to meet each other and things like that. It was really, really fun and quite exciting to go to my first English party :) It was also really nice because I got to meet a bunch of people in the year above!! That afternoon I also met up with some of my friends at a park in Cowley (an area kind of like Barton but closer to City Center). There's this really awesome tree there that looks exactly like the Jack Johnson tree!! (the one to the right) That Sunday, I went to the Unitarian Church in Oxford. It was really interesting but much more traditional than the Unitarian Universalist Church in Ames. I was surprised by how much praying there was, they even did the Lord's Prayer. It was really interesting though. I went back this Sunday as well and the service wasn't really religious at all it was more of an intellectual lecture. I didn't really follow it but I recognised some names from my philosophy class! I've been walking to school lately because my bus pass ran out and I can't really be bothered to buy another one so I've been getting some extra exercise!! Also, I found a great coffee shop called Cafe Bonjour that's actually owned by a Turkish family I think. They do really great Turkish coffee and pain au chocolat, yummy!! Also, the man that runs it really likes me and we talk about Turkey a lot :) Then this weekend was a Nepalise festival (ahhh forget the name now!!) but it was really great and we went to Heather's friends house and she cooked us this amazing Nepalise meal (she's the one that owns the restaurant Yeti). I also got blessed which was amazing, it was such a calming spiritual experience. Then last night I turned in my college applications finally!! I hope it goes well but for now I'm just glad that I've turned it all in. Now its just the waiting game!! Wish me luck!!
Emma xx
ps. I promise I'll write more now haha xx

The Wild Bride

First of all, another beautiful day in Oxford!!! I only had drama today and then I left school with the year 13 drama class to see the play The Wild Bride. Ohhhh my gosh!!!!! It was so great! I really loved it. It was really strange but at the same time just so amazing. It kind of reminded me of the ballet we saw of the Little Match Girl (Grandma Katie). It was that type of style.

Yes, I'm really bad with computers but here my attempt at trying to show you a little trailer for the show. It doesn't really explain anything about it but I'm really tired now. No school tomorrow!! So, I'll try to write a short description of it or else feel free to look it up yourself. It was a Kneehigh Theatre production.

That's all for now.

xxx Emma

oh! happy birthday Daddy!!!! xxxxx

A Beautiful Day In Headington :)

Everythings been going really well here. I've been really busy with school work though. I had a great time skyping with Heather, Sophia, Dad, Cora, Judy, and Kent Sunday!! It was so great to see all of you xxx. Speaking of my dad, I'd like to wish you a lovely birthday (one day early) I hope you have an excellent day and you should be expecting a call from me and a special surprise I think so check your email!! :) Anyway, today it was amazingly beautiful outside!! Not a cloud in sight and it was about thirty degrees! Sooooo gorgeous!! I went to the park with a friend and I'm pretty sure I got sunburnt. I think this is the happiest I've ever been to be sunburnt haha. I think its supposed to be like this for the rest of the week!! Tomorrow I'm going to a play called The Wild Bride put on by the Kneehigh Theatre. I think it should be really great, its apparently also sort of in the style of Brecht which is what we're studying in drama right now. Friday I'm going to my first English party fun times, fun times :) Time to do some more work!!
xxx Emma
ps. I burnt my finger today making shortbread :(

Warwick

Had a great week at school! Although, I am getting more work right now which isn't as fun. This weekend we're going to Warwick which should be really fun. I will be going to Warwick Castle tomorrow and then Sunday I'm going to mass at St. Mary's church which is apparently really beautiful. They also have four choirs which I am really looking forward to hearing!! Anyway, time to go get ready for the trip!!
xx Emma

One Month In England!!

First off, I have to start with this, I HATE THE NEW FACEBOOK!!!!! Sorry, back to my normal blog! So as you can tell, yesterday marked the anniversary of my first month in England. In general, it has been fabulous!! Sunday was great, I'm really getting to know people here. Its soooo fun!!!! I have been getting some more homework in my lessons though. Today I almost finished my college applications. Wish me luck, only a few things left to do before I submit them :) That's pretty much it for now!!
xx Emma

Second Full Week of School!!

Hello! Sorry for not posting this week, school was kind of busy. I really enjoyed my first full week though!! Wednesday I went to a record shop with a friend which was really exciting! The only record shop I've been to before that is the one that's inside the Vinyl Cafe and I don't really think that counts. Anyway, the record shop was really cool. School went really well this week but I ended up dropping one of my subjects. Now I'm only doing four which is what most people do. My subjects are, English Lit, history, drama, and philosophy. I really love all of them. Friday, we all went to Heather's friends restaurant again, it is sooo excellent!! I love their food!! Heather's sister and niece met us there, her niece just got a flat across the street from the restaurant. Today, I went to a food festival in Oxford. It was really amazing!! There was food everywhere!!!! I got a banana toffee ice cream at this super cute stand that was inside an old mini camper (mom you would have loved it, the style was so you!!). I took some pictures so I'm sure you can all see them when I get back. I might go back tomorrow and pick up some tablet (yummy Scottish fudge) or else I'll just make some!! Heather wants me to try to make some yummy sausage rolls or something like that as well. Puff pastry adventures here I come!! If you have any tips let me know :) We just got back from Heather's friend's birthday party, it was pretty fun. Tomorrow one of my new friends is showing me around Oxford. I am quite excited!! :) Hopefully it goes well.
xx Emma

Some Exciting Days of School!

So yeah.. second day! Just as awesome as the first!! I had performing arts which was amazing. Sorry Nevada High School Players buuuuuut the eight people in my acting class are amazing actors. My teacher is really crazy and eccentric but amazing!! We did some improv which surprisingly I really enjoyed and did somewhat alright I think anyway (: and at lunch I got to talk to some people all about music!! It was really amazing!! I also had world development where we'll talk a lot about poverty and things like that. It was kind of funny because one of the first things my teacher brought up was that everyone thinks that America is such a wealthy country but its the most in debt. History was good too! One teacher will be teaching the Italian Renaisance and the other Tudor England, I'm super excited!! Then today I had English lit in the morning which I think should be fun. I also had history again which was good, we watched a British comedy about Elizabeth I. Philosophy was my last class of the day and I loved it!! Its probably my favorite class so far I think. We did our first presentation which my group kinda winged but it went really well so its okay!! We also had a discussion about some pretty controversial topics (Abortion and gay adoption)!! I was really surprised that almost everyone thought they should both be legal! Yay!!!  Time to make pizza!!! (:
Emma xx

First Day of School!!

Hello world! I completely loved my first day!! I met up with one of the girls I met Monday at orientation and she introduced me to all of her friends. One of her friends was also new to Cheney so after the assembly we stuck together because all the new students had to have a little meeting with the head of sixth form. I found out which college I'm in and then got a tour of school. Then I saw some more people I knew from Monday who introduced me to a girl in my next class, Philosophy. So we went off to philosophy and I saw more people I knew! We got assigned a short project and I'm with two really cool guys (: I have two philosophy teachers and sort of two parts of my philosophy class. Today I had double philosophy so one of my teachers taught one of the classes and the other teacher taught the other class. After class, I hung out with the super cool people in my group plus this other guy. When I got home I got to skype with Nolan!!! (: In general, it was super fabulous day! I'm meeting the same girl again this morning for our performing arts class. Isn't that amazing? I get to act for a class!! Its going to be sooo amazing. After performing arts I have world development and history. Time for breakfast!!
xx Emma

Last Day of Summer!!!

Today was my last day of summer! Haroun and I spent it together. We went to Saint Gile's Fair in Oxford today. Saint Gile's Fair is one of the oldest fairs in England and dates back to the middle ages!! Unfortunately, now its just like any other fun fair but being a fun fair it was of course fun (: Haroun and I ate lots of candy floss and went on all sorts of little rides. We had Cornish pasties for lunch which I loved!! No meat of course but we got mushroom, cheese, and onion. They were really, really yummy but I'm still pretty sure that my dad's were better and he's not even Cornish! At the end of the fair, I experienced some more typical English weather aka a huge rainstorm. Haroun and I were soaking wet when we got home so we made some hot chocolate and watched some TV. I'm really excited for my first day of school tomorrow, probably more excited than I've ever been for school but also probably more nervous than I've ever been for school! Hopefully it goes well! I'll keep you all posted (:
xx Emma

Orientation

Today I had orientation for my school!! It was very exciting! I even met someone on the way to school, we were chatting on the bus and exchanged numbers. I love public transportation!! So, at orientation we just kind of talked about expectations and stuff like that, pretty boring. However, afterwards I met some new people!! We all stood around talking while we waited for our time tables and then just happened to continue talking afterwards! We're meeting and walking in to school together (: Tomorrow Haroun and I are going to St. Giles Fair which is a street fair in Oxford. I'm not exactly sure what it is but I'm sure it will be fun! Time to skype (:
xxEmma

Fish and Chips?

Sorry for the delay in blogging, skype is up and running now so I've been quite distracted with it! My skype name is emcarrollwil if you wanna skype ever (: So on Friday we had fish and chips! If you don't know, I am a vegetarian but sometimes I give fish a chance. I was very excited for this classically British meal however, I just could not bring myself to eat more than a few bites. I did really like it I must say but I just couldn't get over the fact that the fish used to be alive! Ahhhh!!!!! I wish I could though really. Anyway, then yesterday I got a new phone! Yay!!! Its way fancy haha I don't know how to deal with it. After I bought my phone we went to this really cute village called Islip, its really close to Barton. Islip is famous for being the birthplace of Edward the Confessor. Who, unfortunately, I don't know very much about! There is a shrine to him in the church which is now an Anglican church. However, it does have this really old tapestry upstairs that has the Catholic Profession of Faith on it. It was beautiful and I just felt a huge spiritual connection there. Then Haroun and I came home and made a giant Victoria Sponge!!! If you don't know, a Victoria Sponge is a two layer sponge cake that has strawberry jam and whipped cream between the layers. Yummy, yummy, yummmyyyyy!!!! We made the cake because Heather's cousin Alaster and his wife Lynne came to stay the night! They live in New Zealand and they are just finishing a three week tour of Great Britain. They are really great, fun, and interesting! Today we went on a picnick at Blenheim Palace with Lynne, Alaster, Heather Haroun, Heather's sister Caroll and her kids Alice and Timothy. This evening I got to skype with my amazing friend Nolan! I've really missed him and it is great to be able to talk so easily! Tomorrow morning I'm going to school for some kind of orientation! I hope it goes well!! Wish me luck!
xx Emma

Oxford On My Own!

Short post now since I just did the one about London! But today I went to Oxford all by myself! Only for a few hours but it was still quite an accomplishment for me. I spent a lot of time going to all the shops on the main shopping street. It was really exciting but awful at the same time because I loved absolutely all the clothes but have promised myself that I won't spend all my money on clothes. I got lost once and asked three people for directions but not one of them spoke any English at all! So then I decided I should just probably figure it out myself! I worked it out so it was just fine. Then I came home and watched Dr.Who with Haroun. Great show!!! Everyone should watch it (: That's it for now
Emma xx

London Darling!

Hello! Well let's just start off by saying, London was amazing! I adored it! Okay, so we started the day on the bus to London which took just under an hour which is great. When I first stepped off the bus, we went to see Big Ben, London Eye, Houses of Parliment, and Westminster Abbey. BEAUTIFUL! Outside the Houses of Parliment were tons of camps set up protesting various things. Many of them were there protesting the war in Afganistan. I must say, to me it was amazing to see all those people protesting. I admire them so much for having that kind of determination, I can only hope someday I will be as passionate about something. After that we walked down to the River Thames. There we met London Louise! We all jumped on a boat and saw the sights by boat tour which was really exciting and gave me an interesting perspective. My, oh my was it beautiful. We saw so many things however, my favorite, I must say, was The Tower of London. I am just so facinated by it! I will no doubt be going back for a tour of it. We ended our boat journey at Greenwich. This is the place where the line is that divides the eastern and western hemispheres. That is why many people come to Greenwich and I did have my picture taken with one foot on each side of the line but I was much more interested in another part of the city. Just down the hill from the line of the hemispheres, in the same park, is Greenwich Palace. King Henry VIII spent many hours chasing deer in the woods there, Greenwich was his favorite palace. It was amazing to think that the very ground I was walking on had once been touched by Henry VIII and his courtiers. Of course, his daughters Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I were both born here as well. While we were there we also saw the Naval Museum which was quite interesting. After Greenwich we went on to Brick Lane. It was amazing! Ramadan started the night before so the area was bustling with party goers in gorgeous clothes! We stopped at a great Indian restaurant where Louise and Heather both used to eat a long time ago. They had some really good curry there! It made me think of Sahib's back in Minneapolis haha I wish he was still open! After that we took a little walk to London Louise's house which is lovely. Its a three story, terraced house in a perfect location! Lousie is amazing and it seems like we have a lot in common! We both love theatre, museums, history, baroque music, politics... the list goes on and on! She's also just a really good person to talk to! It turns out that not only did she know my mum (which I already knew) but she also met my dad! She said of him, "nice bloke, strong accent but very handsome..." haha (: we had some really nice chats. The next day I woke up to some excellent porridge! That's right folks, I know love porridge again! Then we spent the rest of the day at the Natural History Museum haha. My favorite parts were probably the dinosaurs, ancient mammals, and the path of humans. I got to see the skeleton of Lucy!!! For those of you who don't know, when I was eleven I was in a play about Lucy playing the part of Lucy the skeleton! I must say, at the time I did quite a bit of research on her so it was really cool to see the bones in person. I really enjoyed it but I can't wait to go back to London to see some more of the city. Then we had to say goodbye and take the bus back to Oxford :( I can't see why anyone would ever want to leave! (cough, cough, mum and dad, cough!)
Emma xx

Exploring Headington!

Today started as kinda a lazy day (: Haroun and I watched this really great show called Sarah Jane Adventures. If you know Dr. Who, its about one of his assistants after he leaves. Haroun loves Dr. Who and is building a tardis in the sitting room!! It's so cool, I love it! Later on in the afternoon, I tested my bus skills by going all the way to my school. It takes about twenty five minutes or else I can walk, it takes about fourty five minutes to walk. I'm thinking that I will probably take the bus to school and walk home. So, after I found my school I walked into Headington and looked around at all of the shops. It is such a great town! They have some really nice shops and I bought a cute skirt for school from this really awesome store called Peacock Beautique. It has really nice clothes and they're all really reasonably priced! Then I took the bus back to Barton and made cauliflower cheese with Haroun which was quite fun. Haroun a very exciting kitchen partner! Its an early night tonight because tomorrow we're getting on the bus for London! It may be a few days until my next post because I don't think I will be using the computer there but I'm sure I will have plenty of exciting things to share when I get back.
Emma xx

Blenheim Palace and First Trip to Cardiff

Started off Thursday really well by going round to one of my classmates' houses for coffee. She's a bit younger than me but her parents know Heather so she set it up. It was really fun and the girl seemed really sweet and gave me some pretty good advice! Then we went to Blenheim Palace with one of the neighborhood boys. Blenheim Palace is where Winston Churchill was born and its his family's palace, his uncle was the duke there. The palace is also the palace in the new movie version of Gulliver's Travels. It has really really beautiful gardens and lots of good history! I had a great time there! The next morning we left for Wales! We stayed with Heather's friends who were very nice and welcoming towards me. Their house was abolutely gorgeous!! I was in Cardiff which is a beautiful city right by the sea! Today I went to see the ocean! It was sooo lovely! I completely loved it! We also went to a place sort of like Living History Farms for my Iowa readers. Its kind of like a look into the past. It was really great and went all through Welsh history. It featured a traditional Welsh manor house during the Elizabethan era. I really enjoyed it! We saw all the traditional "Cardiff sights" which was nice (: after the three hour drive back to Oxford I'd say all in all it was a pretty good bank holiday weekend! Now its late though! Soooo more some other time!
Emma xx

Days Three and Four sorry for the lateness!

Hello blog-world!
I apologize for missing Tuesday but it was very busy and I was far too tired to update the blog! So I suppose I will start with what I did on Tuesday. I went to Oxford with Heather which was very, very exciting! I guess I should explain this, I'm not quite sure all the names for everything yet but basically I think there's Oxfordshire and then within Oxfordshire there is a bunch of towns including Oxford and the village where I am living called Barton. Now, the other thing is that Barton is a little town so on my mailing address I'm actually in a city called Headington which is much larger and that is where we usually go to the shops and where I will be going to school. Sorry, I bet thats a bit confusing. Anyway, yes so we went into Oxford which is the biggest town in Oxfordshire. I'm not quite sure the population but it seemed to be a bustling city! I enjoyed it quite a bit! There were lots of shops and we looked all around. There's tons of history there which was really interesting to me. One famous spot we went to was a place where three men known as the Oxford Martyrs were killed. The men were Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmar who was the Archbishop of Cantebury at the time. This all happened when Mary Tudor took over as the English monarch after her brother Edward died (Mary is the oldest daughter of Henry VIII, his only child with his first wife Catherine of Aragon). Sorry for the history lesson but I am quite interested by it! We also saw some gorgeous botanical gardens! Later we had lunch in the very pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien sat where writing their famous books. Its been my first pub stop here and I had a ginger beer (unalcoholic I must say). Afterwards, I went to see Heather's school with her. It's quite lovely (: Then Haroun and I walked back to the house and made Heather golden rod toast and meringues for tea! Then I phoned up my Aunty Moira and my Aunty Lily and spoke to them about having a visit!! I am very, very excited! Later, Heather and I talked about travel plans which I'm sure I will update you on them once they've become more final! Okay that was mostly Tuesday! Then today, we woke up early to go this little village called Cumnor because Heather and Haroun needed to see someone there. So, I went for a bit of a wander! My oh my! The town was beautiful! Very, very cute. I saw loads of little thatched houses and things, it was kind of a traditional English village, I took lots and lots of pictures. Later today I went to my school for my official interview! It went very well. Except for the beginning! Apparently, there was a mix up about my appointment! But no bother, I spoke to the head of sixth form and he was quite nice. He helped me quite a bit and answered all my questions. I think I will be enjoying my time there very much!! When we got back, we walked into Headington and then Haroun and I went to the shops and took the bus back while Heather walked their super adorable dog Bea! We had a nice tea but now we're watching a movie so I'll write more some other time. That was pretty much the past few days. Tomorrow I get to meet a girl that will be going to my school next year as well, she's younger than me but still I'm excited! Alright, yes! Movie! Bye!
xx Emma

Dayyy two!

Hello all!
Second day has been lovely as well! I slept far too long this morning I'm afraid, till noon, but I am sure tomorrow will be better; I was tired from the plane. Then we had some excellent brunch, including brie!!! yummy yummy (: I went to look at my new school with Haroun and Heather, it looks very nice. Afterwards Heather and I did a bit of shopping in Headington which I must say is a fabulous town! I'm sure I will have lot of adventures there!! When we got home we had a very nice campfire with some of Heather's friends and went on another walk through some beautiful farmland. I'm off to bed now!
Emma xx

Day One!

Hello blog readers! All though I don't believe there are any of you yet...
Today I arrived at London Heathrow around noon and my flight was excellent! I absolutely adore the scenery here!! So far, I have unpacked and explored Oxford a little. I am really enjoying spending time with Heather and Haroun!! They are really very excellent. The neighborhood is adorable and I am looking forward to meeting more people! However, right now, I am very tired and would like to catch up on the sleep I missed out on while sleeping on the plane.
Good night!
xx Emma

See Ya Later America!!!

Well hello! This is my first blog so I suppose I'll start out with an introduction. My name is Emma and I am seventeen years old. I am from a tiny town in Iowa, USA and in one day I am moving to Oxford, England to study for a semester. I created this blog so that my family and friends can follow my adventures while I'm gone! Tonight is my going away party and suddenly things are becoming a bit more real to me. I'm going to miss everyone sooo much but I'm really looking forward to meeting new people and having some exciting experiences. I leave tomorrow at 9:45 pm from Minneapolis and will arrive at Heathrow at 12:05 pm! Time to get on with my day, more later!
-Emma