Berlin

Today is my last day in the UK, and I'm packing and hoping that this all somehow fits into my suitcases and is still under the weight limit... How did the quarter fly by so fast? I'm dismayed, but also so excited to be home!

But before that, a final update on my travels in Europe beckons. Early on Tuesday morning, three friends and I headed to Berlin for thirty-six whirlwind, snow-filled hours of walking, sightseeing, shivering, and shopping. It was amazing how much we were able to pack into one trip, although a lot of that came at the expense of sleep. (At least, as my sister said, being sleep-deprived might help me catch some shuteye on the long flight home tomorrow!) Because both sides of my family hail from Germany way back, I was especially interested in experiencing what this unfamiliar country had to offer.

I found a Berlin that was magically covered in snow, brimming with Christmas markets on seemingly every block, where vendors sold everything from Christmas trinkets to fine artwork and clothes to amazing German meats, breads, and sweets. I realized that much of the homecooked food I grew up enjoying (besides green chile) is at least vaguely German: hearty stews, sausages, mixed vegetables, cobblers and candied sweets. We visited at least four or five Christmas markets over the two days, and I admittedly ate my way through most of them, from trying the different foods on sale to taking the many free samples. With the lights, snow, and cozy little huts, they cut a perfect Christmas picture.

In between market-browsing, the four of us toured some of the historic parts of the city, including the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag. We also visited the recently completed Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a sweeping field full of cement blocks of various heights, arranged in straight rows over undulating hills. This is a monument that must be physically experienced, and walking through it left me choked up. Our escapades on the first day also included Checkpoint Charlie, the former security gate through which officials passed from West to East Germany, and the western portion of the Berlin Wall itself. On the second day, we came face-to-face with the wall in a different way, as we visited the East Wall Gallery on the outskirts of central Berlin. This preserved sweep of the wall, which is now covered with modern murals and memorials advocating peace and understanding, was a testament to how such a hated symbol can turn into a sign of hope, at the same time as it warns us against similar atrocities in the future.

And, really, I felt like much of Berlin was like that. Parts of the city still felt grim and graffiti-covered, and I kept having chilling visualizations of what it must have felt like in the WWII and Cold War days. But it's also a city that's succeeding in rebuilding itself, and many of the stretches of modern street felt brisk and charming. Much of the architecture that remains from the 18th and 19th centuries (or has been restored) is quite impressive, from towers to cathdrals to museums and universities. The Pergamon Museum in particular was stunning, with real Greek, Roman, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Islamic building ruins reconstructed inside huge halls and chambers. After a quarter of thinking about architecture in more technical terms, I was in awe.

With the cold weather, snow, and ice, I was happy to get back to England (which feels warm by comparison!), but also wished I could have stayed in Germany longer. That's for the next trip, I suppose...

A British Thanksgiving

I admit it. Today, Thanksgiving Day, has been one of my most homesick since I arrived in Oxford. It's the first Thanksgiving I've ever spent away from my family - and I'm thousands of miles away from home in a country that doesn't even celebrate the holiday, at that. Today has made me remember all of the small things I miss about New Mexico, and it's been easy to keep wishing that I were back there, if only for one day.

That said, the Stanford-in-Oxford program has many amazing students, and our house Thanksgiving dinner (even if not quite the same as home) ended up being a great success, as well as one I think I'll always remember. Each person brought one dish, no small feat given the cramped nature of the house (bad for so much cooking going on at once!) and its many nook-and-cranny kitchens. I spent most of the late afternoon and evening racing around the house baking cookies and whipping up mashed potatoes, probably making up for the calories with all the stairs I climbed. The air outside was very chill, one of the coldest days in Oxford so far, but the house soon came to feel like a furnace, boiling and swirling with food smells and activity. Finally, once the turkey finished around 8pm and we'd crammed all our hot bodies and steamy dishes into the downstairs kitchen, it all snapped into place.

I was impressed by how good the food ended up being, and toss in a bit of wine and some interesting conversation... ahhhh. It wasn't my usual Thanksgiving, but did achieve the contentment and comforting air that I've always associated with the holiday. Oxford has given me so much to be thankful for, indeed.

Halloween, Stanford-in-Oxford Style!

Some festive pumpkin carving and cookie and pie baking/munching certainly breaks up the tedium of studying.

And check out that jack o'lantern with the Stanford "S"! (Mine is the one on the left, inspired by Oxford towers.)

Ben's Cookies and Other Munchies

To show that not all British food is awful, I give you Ben's Cookies! These legendary Oxford staples can be found in the Covered Market on the High Street, where (believe me) their sweet smell wafts out to tempt all passersby. They're especially amazing when they're warm and gooey out of the oven - yum!

Really, British food isn't terrible - just bland. And overly dependent on certain food staples. Like "chips" (french fries), which I swear the Brits are even more obsessed with than American fast-food chains. And strange pies and so-called puddings (not all of which resemble desserts). And things made out of potatoes. And gravy. It's all a bit too heavy and unvarying for me at this point, which is why I've branched out into cooking for myself most of the time - when I'm not out grabbing cheap paninis and different ethnic foods, that is. Cooking, I find, is a good way for me to unwind, forget my schoolwork, and bond with other Stanford house residents. It's true that the fastest way to the heart is through the stomach, especially where baking is concerned... I do like British sweets, though, for the most part. As well as the tea! Afternoon tea every day at my affiliated college is simply lovely (or splendid? or scrumptious? or what British-sounding word should I use?).

As another aside on the topic of food, I went to my first Oxford formal hall this past Sunday night - partially out of curiosity about the tradition, partially out of hopes that the food would be better. It was, but only slightly. (Lamb? Ehhhh, come on.) By far the most interesting part was the ambiance. I shuffled in with three fellow American students, all of us acutely aware that next to the Oxonians in their formal school robes we were painfully underdressed. Fine dinnerware had been laid out across the tables, and the lamps had been replaced by candles - both of which made the hall even more Harry Potter-esque than usual. As per tradition, we all stood before our seats, glancing awkwardly around until silence fell and the college president and the professors, also decked out in fine robes, filed in to sit at the high table at the head of the hall. Then the college choir sang and we sat down to enjoy our three-course meal. At the end, sudden silence again - conversation fell short as all the students stood and the occupants of the high table got up and filed out of the hall. It all felt so timeless, so... Oxford.

And in honor of Halloween, this Friday's formal hall at Corpus is set to be Harry Potter-themed! So expect a nerdy post on that in a few days' time...