Slowly it's coming to an end...

Hotty Toddy,

Wow... the last week of lectures is over... now I only have 4 finals left. About half a year ago I wrote 'the days are numbered' - but now it's more fitting than ever. Only 8 days left in Oxford. 8 days on the most beautiful campus in the USA. 8 days with all the people here, with whom I've spent so much time for 4 months. Just 8 days left until the big farewell - with the uncertainty of whether I will ever come back here or see these people again. You can tell I HATE goodbyes... Now everyone is trying to meet everyone, spend time with everyone they know, have a beer or go out to eat. And then you already have to think about who you will see for the last time and when. Next Saturday I will be picked up at 4:45am and we'll take the shuttle to the airport. There will be a 5-6 hour wait for the departure. One by one, everyone will go to their plane and then it's over... Honestly, it's already really sad! Accordingly, the mood at the Farewell Dinner this week was very depressing. Everyone is slowly realizing how short the remaining time is. As a 'pain reliever', we had delicious tacos, cookies, and cake. In addition, awards were given in categories such as 'Best Social Media Presence', 'Who is most likely to move to the USA', 'Best friends', 'Best dressed', and 'Best American Accent'. I am proud to announce that I have also won an award, namely 'Best Ole Miss Spirit'! But I hope so, with all my shirts and sweaters and whatnot :D

Let's talk about some nicer things. About 2 weeks ago, we had the opportunity to observe a football team training. That was really fun and interesting. I would describe the whole thing as organized chaos. You can only dream of having so many players in Germany. You would probably have to merge 3 teams. You can already see the better structures and that everyone knows exactly when to do what.

On the first weekend of Thanksgiving Break, we had our last home game. Unfortunately, we lost narrowly... But the weather was much more 'funny'. About 15 minutes before the Walk of Champions, a black wall of clouds appeared. Within 5 minutes, the weather went from super nice to super shitty. It rained buckets, the wind almost carried away all the tents and pavilions. Everyone just held onto their stuff and sought shelter. We then went to the Student Union and waited there for 20 minutes. Then we thought it was over and went back to the Grove. But no, it started again. This time we sought asylum in a tent, which was already quite crowded. When it was finally over, it got really cold. So we spent 4 hours in a wet stadium, with wet clothes, icy temperatures, and wind. We were soooo cold and we were all super happy when we finally got back home.

Two days later, my Thanksgiving trip with Anna and Michael started. We left in the morning. Destination: ATLANTA. After about 4.5 hours straight ahead, we arrived at our AirBnB at 4pm. A super nice place, 20 minutes walk from all the attractions. Really top! In the evening, we immediately went out and visited the Georgia Aquarium. The largest in the world at the time of its opening. I had already been to the 'old' one about 12-13 years ago, so my expectations were high. And they were met! WOW! Sealions show, dolphin show, whale sharks, manta rays, countless colorful fish and more... If you ever come to Atlanta: Go in there!

The next day, we had a full program. First, the College Football Hall of Fame (a dream for every football fan - including me), a stadium tour at the new Mercedes Benz Stadium of the Atlanta Falcons (a dream for every football fan - including me :D ) and finally a studio tour at CNN. The latter didn't really excite us. The rest: highly recommended. In the Hall of Fame, you get so many great information and it is so interactive - fun for young and old :) At the stadium, we could visit almost everything. We were in the locker rooms of the football and soccer teams, we were on the field, in the suites, and everywhere else. The stadium is really impressive! I would have liked to see a game there. In the evening, we met up with Matt. Matt was my neighbor during my first visit to the USA about 12-13 years ago. We hadn't seen each other since then. Contact was only through Facebook. Accordingly, it was super cool to see each other again! We should have taken a photo :D

On Wednesday morning, we were at the zoo. Why the zoo? Baby gorilla and 2 young pandas (14 months old), and also because we got the City Pass. It was really worth it. The zoo was okay. At noon, we met up with Don and Christöff and went to the Coca Cola Museum together. On one hand, it's of course a promotional event, but on the other hand, you can taste drinks from all continents. That's really exciting. In the evening, we went to an NBA game, Atlanta Hawks vs. LA Clippers. Unfortunately, Atlanta lost and the stadium wasn't really crowded. The atmosphere was a bit disappointing as well. But of course, it was an experience!

Another highlight was on Thursday. The Egg Bowl. University of Mississippi (Ole Miss Rebels) vs. Mississippi State University (Bulldogs). A tradition that has been around for over 100 years. And also away in Starkville. Ole Miss arrived as a complete underdog. It was super interesting to see the tailgating, as it is spread over a much larger area. As a result, people have space between the tents to play football or cornhole. The fans' trademark is cowbells. Why? I have no idea! In any case, these things are CRAZY loud and already annoy you before the game. At first, we had seats in the upper deck, but at halftime, we moved to the Ole Miss block with our marching band. This time, both bands even performed at halftime. Probably also a tradition. The most important thing, however, was: We won! The bells became quieter as the game went on, people left the stadium (although it was a close game). The feeling was awesome! The band celebrated, the fans were happy, and you could see how important the victory was to the team! Last game ever for the seniors, a groundbreaking game for the head coach, and simply a great experience for the fans. The Egg is back!

On Black Friday, we went shopping in Tupelo, unfortunately I was not really successful for once. But of course, that saves money ;) On Saturday, there was college football again in Memphis and the vacation week was already over.

Otherwise, there is nothing special this week. A few sports events (basketball, volleyball), of course, the occasional visit to a bar, and the Christmas tree was set up at the university. My 4 finals are next week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. A bit annoying, but for some subjects my grades are already almost fixed. So everything is chilled :)

I will probably not check in again until Boston or New York. There's nothing new next week except for painful goodbyes.

Greetings from the 21-degree warm Oxford

Franz