Tokyo Part 1: Art

* This post is a rougher sketch than my past posts. Please accept my apology. My thoughts aren’t coming easily or gracefully to my pen. *

Halloween weekend came and went quickly, because I spent it with a friend in Freiburg. Friday morning, I flew into the small city and met my friend, who studies (and blogs) there through another IES Abroad program. She is just the sweetest thing, and you should check out her bright photos on here. Her name's Layne Garrelts.

When news first broke that Hong Kong was being taken off of our fall break itinerary, many participants in my program were upset and downright mad. Hong Kong is an extremely famous city-territory in Asia and is known for having one of the strongest economies in the East. Beyond that, it is home to both Cantonese people and food, which meant for some in my program, seeing family and friends. We would later come to find out that the Hong Kong trip was being replaced by Singapore.

Besides all the studying and reading and writing and contemplating when would be a good time to get my eyesight checked out again (reading can apparently become a painful activity, proceed with caution), there is always approximately five thousand and one things happening in Oxford, all the time.

A Song To You From Me - lyrics

[Hook] 

This is a song from me for you

Lemme tell you a thing or two

Back back way back I thought I knew

I wised up and you should too.

[Verse 1] 

FOMO - noun. fear of missing out. Anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website. "Even though he was exhausted, John's fomo got the best of him and he went to the party."

Last weekend, I fell in love with Paris. After seven years of French classes and short essays about my imaginary summer in France, I finally got to eat croissants and crêpes in the shade of the Eiffel Tower, stand face to face with the Mona Lisa, and stroll down the banks of the Seine at dusk. Every neighborhood I explored became my new favorite—Bastille, Montmartre, le Quartier Latin, les Champs-Élysées.

I know that Thanksgiving hasn't occurred in the US yet...so this post may make me seem like an overeager person who can't wait to get into the holiday spirit! However, since there is no Thanksgiving celebrated here...the Christmas season has officially started. The start of the season has been marked by the opening of many Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) and Christkindlmarkt ("Christ Child" Maket) locations around the city.