Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I celebrated today by attending two lectures and handing in an essay! Woohoo! But don't worry--we are having our big meal in Kilmorey Hall on Saturday.

Because I have been busy working on the assignment due today, I did not have a chance to up-date you on my trip to Oxford this past weekend. I had a lovely and relaxing two days at Julie and Tim's new place. Since they had Tim's dad's car, we got to drive a few miles out of Oxford into the countryside and take a refreshing walk through the woods. The leaves here are finally changing colors and falling off so it was quite pretty--although, not as spectacular of a color display as western PA! On our way back to Oxford, we stopped at a nice pub for a drink. And then Julie cooked a tasty dinner of turkeyballs! Yum! The next morning (after a glorious night of quiet, uninterrupted sleep) Julie and I went for a walk in the park with the dog (they were dog-sitting for their landlords) before sitting down for our interview (part of my assignment due today). In the afternoon Tim stayed back to do some work while Julie and I did a bit of Christmas shopping. After a delicious dinner prepared by Tim, it was back to the bus station to catch the bus back. It still feels strange to say that I was able to take a bus to visit Julie and Tim in Oxford for the weekend. Julie and I still aren't used to being in Europe at the same time!

In addition to a few photos from my weekend in Oxford, I've also posted the ones I took last Thursday when I took a trip to IKEA with my flatmate Dao. That was another fun outing! And yes, the items they sell here in the UK are pretty much the same as what they sell in the US. I'm sure I will be making a few more trips back during my time at Brunel.

It's so hard to believe that I have less than a month left before I return to the States for Christmas! This term has really flown by. I'm getting a little stressed out about the essays that will be due when I return in January. I want to get them mostly finished before I leave on December 19th so I can relax over the break, but I think I am starting to run out of time. After our British version of Thanksgiving on Saturday, it will be time to hit the books!