July 10th/11th: In which I go in and out of my comfort zone

SATURDAY

I was so paranoid that my alarm wouldn’t go off and I would wake up late for my auditions (it was at 10 am) that I woke up by myself around 8 am. I wish I was a morning person, because I really like having time to start the day off right, but alas, I will never be that person, except on rare occasion. My voice teacher Jack would be proud of me, because I destructured on my floor, where I learned that a blonde person with very long hair stayed here before me. So, no more destructuring without a towel underneath me. Got a croissant and coffee from down the street, and visited with other students before my audition. I’m happy to say that after a full night’s rest, I am feeling a lot more social, and after my audition (I did Phebe from As You Like It) a large group of us sat in a circle on the lawn and chatted it up. People are all so friendly! Overall, a lot of wandering around with numerous groups of different people throughout the day.

The highlight was probably the Thai restaurant we ate at, Chiang Mai’s. We read later that it is among one of Oxford’s best restaurants that are hard to find (its’ located in an alley ad up a stairwell). Probably the best Thai food I’ve had. Its’ situated in an old Tudor building that used to be the Oxford police station, and they use a hand-operated pulley to move the food from the kitchen downstairs to the upstairs dining area. After that, we moved to a pub where we could watch the FIFA game for third place in the cup.

SUNDAY

I woke up at 6 am on my own this morning, and ficured I might as well start the day. Around 8 I got out of my room and walked around Oxford, saw the Botanic Garden, and took some pictures. It was really relaxing, and much easier for my directionally challenged self to figure out my way around town without the streets crowded. Of course, that didn’t stop me from getting turned around looking for the church I wanted to go to, and walking up and down George Street a few times. At 10:30 I attended the sung Eucharist at The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, which I really enjoyed! The bishop who gave the sermon looked a lot like Phillip Seymour Hoffman with a british accent. After the service a nice older woman named Leslie took me to get lemonade and introduced me to her church friends.

Met up with Victoria and Maria Louisa to go to a great clothing store Victoria discovered. I told myself that if I bought any thing it would have to be outside of my regular green-brown-grey-blue earth tone and floral/plaid color palate that I seem to have found myself in. Sure enough though, I found a great plaid dress, a black sweater and a floral print scarf. So, no major wardrobe changes for me.

Right now I am at Starbucks taking advantage of the wifi with my new friend Michael. Brian Cox is doing a Q and A with us in about thirty minutes. He was in most of the Bourne Identity movies… maybe I’ll impress him with my family connection? Probably.