Tuesday
All the Georgetowners brought our laptops in to be configured for internet connection through the school. As luck would have it, mine was the only one out of 5 that did not have the necessary components to hook to the internet...and because the IT service man...appropriately named Bob, would not be back in until next Tuesday, it would be another week before I would have internet access on my computer. I have to say I was a little dissappointed because I was eager to write everyone, post pictures, and such. Not to mention I would have a paper due the following week which I would need to use my laptop for....this was a bit of a blessing in the end however, as it forced me not to waste my evenings trying to contact everyone I knew as I'm sure I would have done. And a week proved not to be so long with out the internet...though I guess it made my parents anxious to speak to me.
We took a walking tour of Oxford after lunch guided by Dr. Taul, director of International Studies at Georgetown. This was a necessary trip because all of the books I need to complete my essays are located in one of the many libraries throughout Oxford. The Social Science library and the Political Science library are about ten minutes walk from Regents and about ten minutes from each other as well. I became very worried that I might not ever find them again when it came time to pick up my books...but after visiting them frequently in just the past few weeks this has not been a problem.
That evening we all visited The Eagle and Child, which is a pub right next to my college. This was a must for usNarnia and Lord of the Rings fans. The significance of this pub is that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein met here every Tuesday morning from 1939 to 1962 and held meetings with their group of accomplished literary minds of the time, who called themselves the Inklings . The called it the "Bird and Baby" The place has been a pub since 1650!
Wednesday : Meeting My Tutor
This day was gorgeous as it was no longer cloudy and I was happy to see the sun!
I walked by myself to St. Peter's College to meet my tutor for the first time. Regent's does not have a tutor for Political Theory, so it is not uncommon for students to be taught by tutors from other colleges. St. Peter's is much larger than Regent's...it is quite beautiful as well.
I was a little nervous but when he came out wearing a hoodie and sneakers I became a little less uptight about it all. He is D.Phil here so I would guess he is in his mid twenties or so. He maintains high standards nonetheless, and thoroughly critiques my essays. So I expect to improve quickly in my writing. My first 2500 essay would be due in a week, so although I was still adjusting to a new place, I knew I needed to get to work soon.
I stopped by Borders on the way to lunch at Regent's just for a little taste of home.
I walked around Oxford with my friend Ryan after lunch. We went to a covered market area which had an impressive bakery specializing in fancy cakes!
What a cake!
We also stopped by a charity shop (like goodwill) called Oxfam. I was so tempted to buy something but held myself back...realizing that I'll be around here for a while.
At 4:00 the Georgetowners had high tea with Dr. Taul in Georgetown flat at Regent's. We wasted no time in adapting to the English culture regarding the afternoon tea break :)
Guys from Gtown- Tyler and Taylor and Dr Taul
Thursday : Shopping Around
Kristie and I decided to get down to business and buy postcards. Which I have yet to write on despite the fact that I bought them over a week ago. So I do own some pretty Oxford postcards now. We also decided to grab some school supplies! Adjusting to the prices here is still difficult because I have to double everything in my mind...."okay so it says the paper costs 1.50...this means it is3 dollars" I finally managed to settle on which kind of paper to buy and which color binder to get (purple for my gtown roomies). So I was happy to be making my first Oxford purchase when the lady looks at me and says "You haven't signed the back of your card"
not again. How do keep getting myself in these messes? I've been using my card for over 2 years now in America and absolutely no one has ever noticed...and obviously I hadn't noticed either. So, she hands me a pin to sign it...and of course it doesn't work. She hands me another which barely works..but I am determined to get this over with and not make the people behind me wait any loger so I manage to scratch some resemblence of my signature into the back of my card accented with some blue ink here and there. I'm fortunate my purchase amounted to just around 3pounds 50. Otherwise they might lock me up or something...just kidding...but They really don't play here in Oxford.
Friday
Kristie and I bought our undergraduate gowns for Formal Hall, which takes place every Friday night. Everyone dresses up for dinner complete with their gowns and the faculty set at a table at the head of the room called the High Table. It's a neat atmosphere. Since all the students were returning at this point, I was able to meet many more Regent's students.
I got my heel stuck in the drain! Classic Jenn moment.
Kristie, Ryan, and I are decked out in our gowns!
Before formal hall each Friday there is a chapel service in upstairs. This week the Prinicpal of Regent's, Professor Paul Fiddes was the speaker. The theme of the term is Sacred Spaces so he gave an interesting talk on Nazareth as it related to Jesus...it very much pertained to me because the idea of it was how Jesus left Nazareth to accomplish his ministry and break new ground in the religious world....I'm certainly doing nothing like that...but I am in a new place learning a great deal. And like every college student hopefully is doing I'm in a process of sorting my thoughts on many different ideals...so at least breaking new ground in a personal sense for me.
Dr. Fiddes is apparently quite an accomplished in the world of Baptist Theology. He is one of the primary reasons many graduate students come to study Theology here. So I felt it was a great opportunity to hear him preach. It was very different from the preachers I am used to however...rather than give extemporaneous type of speech he had the entire lecture written out and read verbatim from it for the majority of the time. Dr. Taul informed me that that is very common here...as it is much like performing a monologue from their writings. Other differences included brief tunes in latin after each prayer done by the choir (which consisted of less than 10).
The room was small and there were 20 or less people in attendence I would guess. This made the service uniquely intimate. Some of their Baptist hymns were in tunes that were familiar to me, but the words were not the same. I have also learned that responsive reading is the quickest way to develop an English accent. It is very awkward to be the one of the crowd pronouncing words with obvious long vowel sounds.....like Pree-vail.....when everyone else says preh-vail. The southern slowness of speech does not help- though I'm sure I'm the only one in the room who notices the difference right? It is interesting to hear the different inflections they use in saying the Lord's Prayer...I suppose we all just get accustomed to it sounding one way because that's how everyone else has always said it together.
Saturday : Bop Time!
This night I attended my first Regent's social the Pirates of the Carribbean "Bop" (bop=dance or party) I didn't look much like a pirate....but I did wear black boots and hoop ear rings. It was a great chance to meet the rest of the Regent's students who were excited to see each other after the 5 week break from school .
On the way to the bop we passed several men who were pushing their car (I guess it had broken down or something) on one of the side streets a few blocks from our house. Kristy was talking to our Irish friend Jonny and I didn't really didn't notice them because I see people of middle eastern descent all the time here.... until one of them looked at us and said something like "What are you smiling at American? Go back to America!" Obviously we just kept on walking and didn't let it bother us....though it did shock me a little since that was the first expression of true disdain towards me as an American since I have been here. There were not English, and I'm sure they weren't from Oxford, but it was a sobering reminder that I'm the international student this time...very unprotected from the common prejudices affecting the majority of the world.
Ryan, from Georgetown.
Me and Esther- a Regent's gal in her 3rd year.
Alana from London who is one of my housemates.
Ben! Who thinks pirates must wear feathers.
All the Georgetowners brought our laptops in to be configured for internet connection through the school. As luck would have it, mine was the only one out of 5 that did not have the necessary components to hook to the internet...and because the IT service man...appropriately named Bob, would not be back in until next Tuesday, it would be another week before I would have internet access on my computer. I have to say I was a little dissappointed because I was eager to write everyone, post pictures, and such. Not to mention I would have a paper due the following week which I would need to use my laptop for....this was a bit of a blessing in the end however, as it forced me not to waste my evenings trying to contact everyone I knew as I'm sure I would have done. And a week proved not to be so long with out the internet...though I guess it made my parents anxious to speak to me.
We took a walking tour of Oxford after lunch guided by Dr. Taul, director of International Studies at Georgetown. This was a necessary trip because all of the books I need to complete my essays are located in one of the many libraries throughout Oxford. The Social Science library and the Political Science library are about ten minutes walk from Regents and about ten minutes from each other as well. I became very worried that I might not ever find them again when it came time to pick up my books...but after visiting them frequently in just the past few weeks this has not been a problem.
That evening we all visited The Eagle and Child, which is a pub right next to my college. This was a must for usNarnia and Lord of the Rings fans. The significance of this pub is that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein met here every Tuesday morning from 1939 to 1962 and held meetings with their group of accomplished literary minds of the time, who called themselves the Inklings . The called it the "Bird and Baby" The place has been a pub since 1650!
Wednesday : Meeting My Tutor
This day was gorgeous as it was no longer cloudy and I was happy to see the sun!
I walked by myself to St. Peter's College to meet my tutor for the first time. Regent's does not have a tutor for Political Theory, so it is not uncommon for students to be taught by tutors from other colleges. St. Peter's is much larger than Regent's...it is quite beautiful as well.
I was a little nervous but when he came out wearing a hoodie and sneakers I became a little less uptight about it all. He is D.Phil here so I would guess he is in his mid twenties or so. He maintains high standards nonetheless, and thoroughly critiques my essays. So I expect to improve quickly in my writing. My first 2500 essay would be due in a week, so although I was still adjusting to a new place, I knew I needed to get to work soon.
I stopped by Borders on the way to lunch at Regent's just for a little taste of home.
I walked around Oxford with my friend Ryan after lunch. We went to a covered market area which had an impressive bakery specializing in fancy cakes!
What a cake!We also stopped by a charity shop (like goodwill) called Oxfam. I was so tempted to buy something but held myself back...realizing that I'll be around here for a while.
At 4:00 the Georgetowners had high tea with Dr. Taul in Georgetown flat at Regent's. We wasted no time in adapting to the English culture regarding the afternoon tea break :)
Guys from Gtown- Tyler and Taylor and Dr TaulThursday : Shopping Around
Kristie and I decided to get down to business and buy postcards. Which I have yet to write on despite the fact that I bought them over a week ago. So I do own some pretty Oxford postcards now. We also decided to grab some school supplies! Adjusting to the prices here is still difficult because I have to double everything in my mind...."okay so it says the paper costs 1.50...this means it is3 dollars" I finally managed to settle on which kind of paper to buy and which color binder to get (purple for my gtown roomies). So I was happy to be making my first Oxford purchase when the lady looks at me and says "You haven't signed the back of your card"
not again. How do keep getting myself in these messes? I've been using my card for over 2 years now in America and absolutely no one has ever noticed...and obviously I hadn't noticed either. So, she hands me a pin to sign it...and of course it doesn't work. She hands me another which barely works..but I am determined to get this over with and not make the people behind me wait any loger so I manage to scratch some resemblence of my signature into the back of my card accented with some blue ink here and there. I'm fortunate my purchase amounted to just around 3pounds 50. Otherwise they might lock me up or something...just kidding...but They really don't play here in Oxford.
Friday
Kristie and I bought our undergraduate gowns for Formal Hall, which takes place every Friday night. Everyone dresses up for dinner complete with their gowns and the faculty set at a table at the head of the room called the High Table. It's a neat atmosphere. Since all the students were returning at this point, I was able to meet many more Regent's students.
I got my heel stuck in the drain! Classic Jenn moment. Kristie, Ryan, and I are decked out in our gowns!Before formal hall each Friday there is a chapel service in upstairs. This week the Prinicpal of Regent's, Professor Paul Fiddes was the speaker. The theme of the term is Sacred Spaces so he gave an interesting talk on Nazareth as it related to Jesus...it very much pertained to me because the idea of it was how Jesus left Nazareth to accomplish his ministry and break new ground in the religious world....I'm certainly doing nothing like that...but I am in a new place learning a great deal. And like every college student hopefully is doing I'm in a process of sorting my thoughts on many different ideals...so at least breaking new ground in a personal sense for me.
Dr. Fiddes is apparently quite an accomplished in the world of Baptist Theology. He is one of the primary reasons many graduate students come to study Theology here. So I felt it was a great opportunity to hear him preach. It was very different from the preachers I am used to however...rather than give extemporaneous type of speech he had the entire lecture written out and read verbatim from it for the majority of the time. Dr. Taul informed me that that is very common here...as it is much like performing a monologue from their writings. Other differences included brief tunes in latin after each prayer done by the choir (which consisted of less than 10).
The room was small and there were 20 or less people in attendence I would guess. This made the service uniquely intimate. Some of their Baptist hymns were in tunes that were familiar to me, but the words were not the same. I have also learned that responsive reading is the quickest way to develop an English accent. It is very awkward to be the one of the crowd pronouncing words with obvious long vowel sounds.....like Pree-vail.....when everyone else says preh-vail. The southern slowness of speech does not help- though I'm sure I'm the only one in the room who notices the difference right? It is interesting to hear the different inflections they use in saying the Lord's Prayer...I suppose we all just get accustomed to it sounding one way because that's how everyone else has always said it together.
Saturday : Bop Time!
This night I attended my first Regent's social the Pirates of the Carribbean "Bop" (bop=dance or party) I didn't look much like a pirate....but I did wear black boots and hoop ear rings. It was a great chance to meet the rest of the Regent's students who were excited to see each other after the 5 week break from school .
On the way to the bop we passed several men who were pushing their car (I guess it had broken down or something) on one of the side streets a few blocks from our house. Kristy was talking to our Irish friend Jonny and I didn't really didn't notice them because I see people of middle eastern descent all the time here.... until one of them looked at us and said something like "What are you smiling at American? Go back to America!" Obviously we just kept on walking and didn't let it bother us....though it did shock me a little since that was the first expression of true disdain towards me as an American since I have been here. There were not English, and I'm sure they weren't from Oxford, but it was a sobering reminder that I'm the international student this time...very unprotected from the common prejudices affecting the majority of the world.
Ryan, from Georgetown. Me and Esther- a Regent's gal in her 3rd year. Alana from London who is one of my housemates.Ben! Who thinks pirates must wear feathers.
2 comments:
Jenn I am going to be your biggest commentor, I can feel it!
That is interesting to me about those guys saying that to you. I was so worried my entire time abroad that someone would say something nasty to me, but they never did. I wouldn't really expect that in England of all places, but maybe that is just me being naive.
thanks for the comment!! now i finally know there are people actually reading. :)
well, i don't think they were from here. they certainly weren't english. most of the english people haven't said anything about america to me at all...though my housemates couldn't imagine the reason of actually owning and gun and they're very concerned about global warming here.
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