INDIA!

Leaving for India in three days! So much packing to do. I also started taking malaria pills (you have to start a week in advance and continue taking it until four weeks after you've left the malaria zone). I really hope I don't get vivid nightmares or any of the other very unpleasant side effects listed on the label. In my suitcase I have mosquito nets to hang above my bed, deet bug spray, water testing tablets, guidebooks, a slash and pick-pocket proof backpack, and a brand new camera (an early Christmas gift from Corey)! Thanks, Cor. It's not a digital SLR (too bulky), but a really nice Canon G10 that fits into my day pack.

Here's the itinerary:

Fly from Heathrow to Muscat for a short layover and then on to Mumbai, Delhi, Agra, then overnight on board a train to reach Allahabad, Varanasi, Kolkata, Shantiniketan, then back to Kolkata to depart for Dhaka (Bangladesh).

While in India I'll be visiting the various places that the poet Rabindranath Tagore lived as well as visiting universities associated with him. I also hope I can get access to the Tagore archives at the university. Crossing my fingers.

I won't always have access to internet, so I may be slow in responding to emails.. but, I'll check email/update my blog whenever possible. I'll be in India until the beginning of January and then in Bangladesh until February. I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

Snapshots of Oxford

Here's a long overdue post about my time in Oxford. Despite not having a "fixed" schedule, I've been really busy lately. It's been nice to not have to continually pack and re-pack as I have a flat at the moment. However, my rental period is about to expire, which means I'm about to hit the road again. I leave for India on December 17th with a layover in Muscat, Oman first. But, I'm planning to go to Edinburgh this weekend and then visit Wales (Swansea, Cardiff, Dylan Thomas Center) next weekend.

I love Oxford. The university buildings and pedicured lawns (reminiscent of Wellesley) are gorgeous. But, there's also an intellectual hunger/fervor in the air. There are bookstores galore! Additionally, the university hosts a wide variety of lectures, many of which are open to the general public since Oxford prides itself on also educating the community. I've managed to get special access to the New Bodleian Library to attend two lectures that were part of a manuscript lecture series (one was on Philip Larkin and the other on Shakespeare). The Philip Larkin lecture was given by Larkin's literary executor and was therefore filled with amusing anecdotes. Other than that, I've traveled into London a few times. Last week was Thanksgiving and I cooked my first turkey...by watching youtube! It was stressful and I set off my fire alarm twice. But, the turkey turned out well! I also made pumpkin pie (not from scratch), but with some Libby's pumpkin filling from the international food market store in town.

Here's some photos from around town:

Worcester College Quad

All Soul's College Quad
The Radcliffe Camera
Archway through Bodleian Library to Radcliffe CameraInspector Morse was here! At the Turf Tavern, a university favorite.
Turf Tavern
Trinity College gate
The Clarendon Building
The Sheldonian Theatre