A "brief" interlude

It’s the end of September and Oxford weather has set in just in time for me to leave the country for a while. The skies are grey and dreary, but that only serves to enhance many of the city’s charms (like the beautiful old buildings, students on bikes, umbrella clad couples and benches in the parks). After much deliberation and quite a few trips to the laundry room I decided to go on a much-needed and long-avoided jog. How soon I forget the pleasure of a good run. It was misting outside (the weather here being most mercurial) and smelled of autumn. You know that scent of smoking wood and crisp washed air, the smell that conjures thoughts of pumpkins and the feeling of chunky sweaters? That’s the one. The University parks are perhaps my favorite place to commune with God and his creation, what with the aged trees, dripping willows, geese and ducks on the pond, winding paths and rod-iron bridges. My iPod provided fabulous background.

I leave for Rome at approximately midnight (actually it will be later than that, but close enough). I’m not sure how I’ll like living out of a backpack, but it might be rather adventurous. I've received lots of advice and am hoping to implement as much as possible.

Thursday I went to the Imperial War Museum. I walked through the "First World War," "The Children's War," and "The Holocaust" exhibits. Wow. What a lot to take in. I was able to experience walking through the trenches at night, which was a moving experience. I also walked through a model of a British home at the time of the Blitz and a traincar similar to the ones used to transport Jews to concentration camps. The whole day was rather thought-provoking, particularly in terms of what it means to be human and how clearly that shows through when all else is stripped away.

When I return from my time in Italy I'll begin attending Oxford lectures and starting my tutorials (C.S. Lewis and Creative Writing). More on that when it actually commences. I must now catch a bus.