the naked chef.

today has seemed to go by the fastest out of all of our oxford days thus far. i finally figured out how to make the television work so that i can watch the news with my breakfast, yet i still don't know channels so i don't know where to actually watch the news. hopefully i can figure it out soon. today's class was interesting. we covered neolithic and some egyptian art and architecture, but there really wasn't much that i hadn't already learned in classes thus far. however, i did learn something that makes me want to go into cultural preservation even more. when i was in high school, i had learned the great pyramids were covered in a layer of polished limestone, however i was never told that the limestone was covered with inscriptions. apparently during the muslim invasion of egypt sometime around the first or second century ce, a leader of the invasion recorded the fact there were the carvings on the pyramids' exteriors, however he felt that what was said was not important for "if it was truth, it was already in the koran, and if it wasn't true to the koran's teachings, it needed be to be destroyed". they then used the limestone they ripped from the pyramids to construct a mosque, destroying the precious subject matter before it was ever documented. no one will ever know what the pyramids once said, and they might have held information as to how the pyramids were constructed or if they ever held any invaluable information. this, combined with learning that the new museum in berlin refuses to return the bust of nefertiti back to the egyptian government outrages me. this is solely due to the fact the museum claimed the piece was too fragile to be moved, yet they put in in a traveling exhibition just months later. the small things like this make me want to ensure that the legacy of our international culture continues on and is preserved for years to come. dr. collins and i were talking a few mornings ago about a cave discovered in tibet housing many never before studied treasures of the buddhist faith, primarily books and wall paintings, but they are kept from being extracted by a militant group of people. the world deserves to know the beauties which enhance it, and one day i hope to make a difference in the future of preserving our culture.

after class today i went back to the flat for lunch and to clean, only to have stumbled upon another great bbc show. it is like steve irwin's old show, except it's exclusively about fishing. before i nodded off to sleep, the host, a man with a strong british accent and a personality to match, was in vietnam catching the largest freshwater fish he has yet. a five hundred pound stingray. it has made me appreciate the beaches back home and it's tiny stingrays. it looks like i'll no longer get to use that as an excuse for not wanting to swim at the beach. as i said before, i dosed off, but i had every intention of running when i woke up. however, it is a very good thing i was not able to due to time. in came part one of our excursion for today. punting.

now one may be confused as to what punting is, i know i was when it was first told we would be going. punting is like riding on a gondola, except it's bigger. and harder. and much funnier. we split up into four boats, barry and carley, me and josh, duckie and cleo, and steven and zach. we had not even made it under the bridge before we all turned ourselves sideways, and i being the passenger laughed uncontrollably while josh, the pole wielder, attempted to get our boat turned the right way and going straight. unfortunately, we never really mastered it until we were finished, and we never made it to the thames river. we did however have quite an adventure resulting in me having sore arms and abs from paddling the tiny oar trying to help us stay straight and an idea for the next ast/chi phi mixer. it is so hard to begin to convey josh and i's journey down the tributary, but i can try. we crashed into many boats, row boats, crew boats, crew boats for st. hilda's college, other punting boats, and we even collided with the shore, duck nests, and the side of bridges. luckily, we laughed through everything, and the ducklings and swanlings would swim right up to the boat urging us to continue forward. we'd stop, sometimes intentionally, sometimes trying to turn the boat the right way, and watch the cricket games and practices on the field beside the river, talking to the kids, helping retrieve cricket balls that had fallen into the river, and laughing with them as their friends intentionally hit the balls back into the water. it was after all these things though that i met my new best friend. she was three years old and named anna. she was with two older couples whom i'm assuming were her grandparents, but all she wanted to do was talk to me, giggle, and wave. even when their boat passed ours and she disappeared under the bridge, she turned around smiled and waved until all i could see was her little hand. out of everything that happened punting, her contagious personality will probably be my favorite part of today.

punting ended and we began the journey to find dinner. dr, collins really wanted italian food, and we ended up stopping at the one restaurant i promised i'd make it to before i left oxford. jamie's italian. as in the naked chef jamie oliver. not naked as in no clothing, but naked as in all natural and healthy foods. we had a short wait before we were brought to our tables, but the food definitely proved to be well worth it. before my meal came i ordered a glass of organic chardonnay, di puglia, that was a great first organic wine experience. dr, collins ordered two bottles of montepulciano d'abruzzo, an amazing red wine from italy, for the table to have with dinner. i started my meal with a "my favourite humble green salad" which had a yogurt and fresh parmesan dressing with a few chopped mint leaves accenting its flavor. i also had a bite of carley's "smokey mozzarella arancini", a fried rice ball stuffed with cheese and mushrooms. by these first two tastes of food alone, i knew i was in for a treat when my dinner came. then it was in front of me, a beauty unlike any food before, "scallop and squid ink linguine". i only got the small portion, and it was almost too much to eat. the linguine noodles were very thin and black in color due to the ink, but the thinnest sliced, most tender scallops were layered into the pasta creating a perfect pairing. and only when i thought it could not get any better, out it came. dr. collins had let us order desserts, and i had the perfect slice of tiramisu. it was so rich i gave most of it to barry, but it was unlike the traditional tiramisu i've always known. this one was drizzled with honey and had grated orange zest on it giving it a special hint of flavor. not only did i get the privilege of trying all of these amazing dishes, our group is big on sharing, so i was able to try a special cinnamon pasta, a cheese and asparagus risotto, amazing baked cod, and buffalo ricotta ravioli. i also got to sample the ricotta and honeycomb cheese desert and the raspberry and chocolate brownie. i haven't eaten food this rich and filling in a long, long time, and it completely hit the spot. the naked chef restaurant also brightened our day by providing us with toilets in the restrooms made by the crapper, yes crapper, company. it was the perfect ending to the perfect day.

on a last note, here are the beautiful flowers i stopped to pick after my run yesterday. the pink orchids are called sweet pea's, there's queen anne's lace, and i'm not sure of what the small yellow flowers are. i added a morning glory to the collection now. but i took this picture in the daylight without it, but these wildflowers still speak beautifully without it.