Stuck in Customs: What a Great 23rd Birthday!

First of all, thank y'all so much for the wonderful birthday wishes. It is so nice to know that people are thinking of me even though I'm thousands of miles and 6 timezones away! I had an incredible 23rd birthday! In the days leading up to it, I was having some anxieties about turing 23. These didn't necessarily come from my own ideas of being "old" but from my classmates. Most of the people on this trip are rising sophomores, so 18-20. Whenever they asked how old I was going to be, they didn't have to say anything for me to know what they thought when I answered 23. Their faces said "DANG. That's old!" However, I am happy to report that I feel nothing but wiser upon turning 23!
I started off the day with a hearty breakfast-one of my favorite things about this trip so far. It's not Dad's famous chocolate chip pancakes, but does get my days started off the right way. Unfortunately, the fact that it was my birthday did not exempt me from classes for the day! After class, I replied to emails, ate lunch and waited for friends to get out of class. One of the really great things about this program is that we have access to the Bodleian Library while we are here. Emma, Amanda, and I decided take advantage of this and spent the afternoon reading for our classes at the library. After studying, one of the things I wanted to do on my birthday was go for afternoon tea. Emma found a great little place called the Vault, so we decided to go there for tea! We had the traditional tea, scones, jam, and clotted cream, all of which, have become my new favorites! Seriously, I could eat scones, jam, and clotted cream all day everyday if it wasn't so unhealthy!
After enjoying our tea (and stuffing our faces) we returned to Worchester just in time for dinner-great! I ate as much as I could of dinner, but as always, saved room for the cheesecake served for dessert. I like to think it was my birthday cake! My package from Dad also came that day, so I got a sweet birthday card, my forgotten camera cord, and some snacks! The snacks were mostly individually wrapped packages so they'll be great for travel on the weekends. Thanks, Dad!
We went out that night and I had a great time! A lot of people from the program were out so it was fun to get to know more people that I hadn't talked to previously. Overall, it was a very memorable birthday! Thanks to everyone who made it so special! Emma and I are off to Edinburgh for the weekend! Any insight into what to do or see is appreciated!

Scones, Clotted Cream, Jam, and Tea!

It is a tradition amongst my friends to take a picture of each of us pouring our tea during our annual tea parties. Since my new friends were joining me for a tea party, I insisted they join in the tradition!