Updates and Oxford!

Long time, no hear from me on this blog. I'm terrible, I know. What can I say, it was a crazy Spring semester. But also exciting.

My last post was just before Christmas, so what have I done since then? Let's see:

- Spent New Year's in London (amazing!)

- Taught a new class and got some undergraduates excited about academic research and writing (please let me teach that class again!!)

- Finished coursework for my PhD. Still have a couple classes I'm taking next semester, but for the most part I'm ready to move into stage two of my program, so now it's time for portfolio papers, preparing my comps list and studying for my comp exam. Because that's not terrifying to think about...

- Wrote a paper about my favorite British YouTuber, well, my favorite beauty YouTuber full stop, Fleur de Force. (Yay for being a rhetoric scholar and getting to write about pretty much anything I want!)

- Got that paper accepted into a national conference that will be happening this fall (super excited about that!)

- Started learning about the theory connected to another new class I'll be teaching this fall.

All in all, feeling like a good, productive PhD student who's making progress in my program, and that's an awesome feeling.

So what have I been doing since summer "vacation" started? Well, if you've been following me on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook, you'll know that I've said a giant "screw you" to the Arizona hellish heat and have run away to Oxford. What can I say, I fell in love last summer and was desperate to come back. So Oxford Summer 2015 started about a month ago, crazy to think I've been here a month already! I've got a nice little room in a flat just outside of town, with the most beautiful large corner window that I can see trees and sky when sitting at my desk. I have a pretty ambitious research/work agenda for the next couple months before I go back, and have already started working on that, but I'm also enjoying cooler temperatures, wandering around Oxford and London, visiting and catching up with friends, and have lots of exciting adventures planned for the summer. I'll try to update the blog as much as possible, but have been Instagram-ing pretty much every day. Although, my picture taking is definitely exceeding what I'm able to put on Instagram so look back here for more pics soon.

I'm definitely enjoying being back in the land of green grass, trees, rivers, walking everywhere, Caffe Nero coffee and frappe lattes, breakfasts at Cote Brasserie, and long walks through Uni Parks. My resistance also cracked and I've become addicted to Primark. Between that and the summer sales that are starting...well, heaven help me and my bank balance!

I think that's all the update for now, but I'll post again soon. In the mean time, here are some pics of my time so far.

xx Andrea

Hello London!

Exhausted from the flight but got my bags and made it to the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station. I'm a happy girl.

View from my hotel in London the first couple nights here. Hotel review coming soon.

The "Home" section at Primark. My saving grace on my first day in Oxford since I needed bedding and towels for my flat.

First of many Primark hauls.

A room with a view. I'm in heaven.

Uni Parks is exploding with flowers right now!

Walking around Oxford saying hello to all my old favorites. This is the Sheldonian Theatre.

Iced latte, scone with jam and cream, and FINALLY got a copy of The Glam Guide by Fleur de Force. Book review coming soon.

Made a friend. He hangs out on the wall in front of my flat.

Duck pond at Uni Parks.

More of the greenery at Uni Parks.

Walking into town along the Parks Road.

Left to right: The Clarendon Building, the Bodleian Library, and the Sheldonian Theatre.

Flowers everywhere! Including growing out of stone walls!

The Rainbow bridge in Uni Parks. 

Some of the architectural details are just too cool. Or weird. Lol.

For the best view of the Radcliffe Camera, you have to climb the tower of St. Mary's. Worth the wait and the £4.

More of the view from the top of St. Mary's.

Back on the ground, looking up at where we had been (right above the clock).

Gorgeous flowers with sunlight peeking through, on my way home the other night.