and all will know the wonder of purple summer

Hello All! 

It has been quite the week! I had a week off from Sean because he had a nasty flu, but it has been a very busy week none the less!

Tuesday was the first trip to London for the week, our group went in to see Twelfth Night with Derek Jacobi as Malvolio! It was a great production in a really neat theatre. It was modernized production that was set at the seaside. It was really really great! The actor who played Feste had a beautiful voice! Overall it was a very enjoyable evening, although we got back to Oxford after midnight. 

The next day, Wednesday, Ashton and I set off on our London adventure to see Spring Awakening! We were so excited I had a ticket for the front row and Ashton had one in the row behind me! Spring Awakening won the Tony for best new show in 2007, so we were really looking forward to it! We got to the theatre very easily and found our seats. About 5 minutes before the show was to start an usher came up to the couple on my right, she said that they had 2 seats left on the stage that they had to fill and asked them to take them. They didn't want them so she offered them to anyone else. Ashton and I (of course) jumped at the opportunity. We rushed out to the lobby to put our stuff in the provided lockers (you aren't allowed to take anything into the onstage seating area) and rush to our seats. After some shuffling around to accomodate everyone we ended up on the front row stage right! I was sitting on the aisle which turned out to be a great experience! The stage seats don't have the best view, you end up seeing things from behind the action or in profile, but it was totally worth it for the experience! There were a couple of instances that I thought I was possibly going to be run over by some of the boys, but I loved every minute of it! 

Tutorials this week have been okay, Virginia Woolf's  novels proved a lot harder to get through than her lectures, but I still enjoyed them. As for C.S. Lewis, evidently Barry changed my tutorial from today to Tuesday, but forgot to tell any of us. Luckily my housemate was first to go this morning and figured it out before I left the flat. 

I had a great session with Sean yesterday. He's been really sick, but he's really missed all of us. I got a huge look and smile when I walked in the door. He immediately put his finger on his nose and stuck his tongue out, to show me he remembered our game and he associates that with me now. He was very cuddley and lovable which always make for fun sessions! His new song is Barbie Girl by Aqua, he knows all of the words, and it is SO cute!

I've had an action packed week! I hope next week is a bit tamer, but it has been a really really good one. Another highlight ths week: Daniel bought his ticket! He's officially coming to see me for 2 weeks in May when he's done with classes! I am so excited for him to be here and to share all of this with him! 

love you all and miss you!

lydia

Half-Way Point

Hello All! 

I can't believe that Hilary is halfway over! I am officially halfway done with my minor tutorial and after Thursday I will be halfway done with my major! The countdown to Spring Break has officially begun! 

Both of my tutorials are great this term. I have a new found love for Virginia Woolf (at least her lectures - I haven't actually read her fiction yet, but I like the lectures a lot!) and C.S. Lewis just gets better and better. Right now I'm reading Till We Have Faces, it's so great! 

The snow is finally gone (thank goodness) and we're back up into the high 30's low 40's. I am so ready for spring weather. It won't get too warm, but I will enjoy being able to get out and walk a lot more. 

I have had some really great sessions with Sean since I last wrote, and we had our first team meeting where I got to meet all of the other volunteers. We are getting more and more comfortable with each other, I get lots of big huggles and smiles. It is amazing to watch him grow and learn - he has such a big vocabulary now! and he repeats EVERYTHING! Our new game is that every time we put a finger on the tip of our nose we have to stick our tongue out. He thinks it is the funniest thing ever and I get to see his big brown eyes! Going to see Sean is my favorite part of the week. It's great to get in with him and play and be accepted so unconditionally. Marijana and Keith (Mum and Dad) are great as well. They are very much like my family here. 

This week is pretty tame - not a lot going on, but that's okay because there is lots to keep me busy next week! Two trips to London to see a couple of great shows!

miss you all!

Snow!

I'm guessing you've all seen the craziness on the news about London being pretty much completely shut down due to an unforseen snow storm! We got snow here - it's been snowing on and off for two days. Yesterday was really pretty (but a little slippery for walking). Today most of the snow melted and was gone, but there is a chance of snow for the rest of the week!

The only downside is that from Friday afternoon (when the temperature started dropping) to Sunday afternoon our heat (and hot water) was not working. Luckily one of our showers is electric and therefore we still had hot showers, but it was the only hot water in the house. That problem has since been solved (we are oh so glad) and we now know how to fix it each time it happens again - so far that's at least once a day. 

I've been to see Sean a couple more times and we are becoming great friends. He is such a great little guy, I am so glad that I get to spend time with him and be a part of his program, and his parents are so loving and kind. I love spending time with them. 

Tutorials are still going well, C.S. Lewis was a little over-whelming this past week (mass quantities of literature) but I survived and now I'm on to Feminist Lit. for Thursday. 

Love and Miss you All!

lydia