A Few Updates

It has been far too long since I have written! I hate when someone sends me a link to a blog and then they don't update it, so I apologize to any who share these sentiments!

Let's see ... a lot has been going on. I've met with my tutor twice now (and will again today), written two rather long essays (the first one he liked, the status of the second will be found out today), and read numerous books on the social and political background of The Lyrical Ballads and Ngugi wa Thiong'o's choice of language in A Grain of Wheat. I've been reading for the past three days straight. The procrastination tendency is slowly going away as my schedule fills up.

On that note, I've joined the University Chorus (a non-auditioning mixed chorus), and we're singing Beethoven's Mass in C, which I coincidentally sang last spring. I met a few people, and I'm really looking forward to how it'll turn out. I also attended yoga the other night - definitely to become a new weekly habit. It's 5 quid though, but since I've been way below my budget for the past two weeks I'll indulge myself. I also want to join the knitting club, which I've heard is a great place for bonding and gossip.

The service aspect is going very slow. People take forever to respond, and everyone's so busy that the classes I wanted to participate in for the local young adult homeless population are often cancelled or rescheduled. Oh well. I emailed other people about things to do, so we'll see how that goes.

Our group took a trip to Bath and Stonehenge this Sunday (pictures can be seen on my Facebook - I'll post several pictures on here when my internet stops being spotty). Bath was beautiful; Stonehenge was fascinating but there's only so much looking at rocks to be done. Nevertheless, it was a good day.

This post hasn't been as detailed as I'd have liked, but alas, my lecture starts in 33 minutes and it takes 27 to get there, so I must fly!

Oxford Traditions

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in two Oxford traditions - the bop, and formal dinner. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of either event. When there's another bop, I will most certainly post pictures!

Bop: a "bop" is a themed dance/party hosted by the college. People dress according to the theme, make their way to the college bar, and proceed to dance and drink and talk (or scream due to the loud music). Since I didn't know anyone there besides Paul, my trusty Magdalen sidekick and fellow Visiting Student, it was slightly awkward at first. Going up to random people and introducing yourself wasn't as easy as they made it sound. Everyone already knew one another, so making the first move was slightly intimidating. I got used to it though, and met one girl who introduced me to everyone she knew who was there. Granted, I could barely hear their names over the noise pulsating from the speakers, but perhaps one or two will remember my face at a given point in time.

It was a somewhat surprising experience, as well. I was, to be honest, expecting people dressed in relatively tame costumes corresponding to the theme ("vintage" according to our student liaison officer but "60's and before" according to everyone else) drinking wine and beer and chatting over quiet music. NOT. Everyone's costumes were inventive and flashy, girls were dancing on the bars, rugby players stripped to their underwear in the middle of the dance floor, people indulging in drunken makeout sessions draped themselves over the couches lining the room, and everyone was absolutely wasted. I was surprised at the striking similarity to parties in the States, not that I necessarily should have been, as college students are college students. Nevertheless, it was still surprising. And fun, after a few glasses of the house cocktail to soften those inhibitions...

Formal Dinner: The next evening was formal dinner, during which students and faculty dress nicely, put on their formal academic gowns, and go to dinner in the great hall. The Visiting Students at Magdalen (myself, Paul, and two other young men who have been there since last term) met in our academic advisor's office beforehand and proceeded into the dining hall where we were seated at long tables. The important faculty and select graduate students filed in to a table on a raised platform at the front of the room as the rest of us stood to honor their entrance. The chaplain (?) banged something on the table, and suddenly a choir began to sing from a balcony on the opposite end of the room. Their song was brief but devastatingly beautiful, not to mention in perfect pitch and harmony. A few words were said in Latin, and dinner was served. Waiters brought our plates and took them away. We indulged in a three-course dinner consisting of a simple broccoli and parmesan quiche over salad, turkey (or duck?) in delicious gravy with creamed peas and pearl onions, and a delightful berry cheesecake, followed by coffee. The faculty then filed out (again, as we stood), and we exited into the college bar for some drinks and conversation. It was a rather lovely evening.

On a completely different note, my once fabulously waterproof boots have unfortunately sprouted holes in the heel. I shall have to purchase new ones. I suppose that's what I get for buying £17 boots. Oh well.

Off to dinner in the hall, and then to read more of William Wordsworth's "Lyrical Ballads."

Oh! My reading list for the remainder of the semester:

19th Century British Literature: Lyrical Ballads, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, David Copperfield, The Moonstone, selections from the works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christina Rossetti, and Heart of Darkness.

"Global Literature": Grain of Wheat, 100 Years of Solitude, something from a Chinese author, Midnight's Children, something by Derek Walcott, Death of the King's Horsemen, and Season of Migration to the North.

Along with various criticisms and lectures to attend. I'm excited :)

Random Observations

Do me a favor while reading this blog. Imagine it being spoken in a soft British accent, narrating as I walk the streets with my hands in the pockets of my unbuttoned black peacoat, skinny jeans, and black leather boots, hair billowing in the wind. That's what was in my mind as I composed this blog while walking back from my extensive errands today.

Today's to-do list took me to the Magdalen College library, the English Faculty Library (which unfortunately closed 20 minutes before I got there), the Bodleian Library (the Bod, after an accidental detour into a nearby college), the market to purchase bananas and crumpets, the pharmacy (or the chemist) to purchase nail polish remover, and back to my flat. So far today I've walked almost 3.5 miles, and have yet to walk another two. I love it. And no, that isn't sarcasm.

Wandering the streets of Oxford results in sensory overload. The cold bites at my cheeks and chin (though today the snow and ice are all gone - no more slipping for me!), the wind whistles in my ears, cars and bikes fight for the right of way on the roads, enormous buses zoom by so closely that I am surprised no one gets hit, and people of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities bustle up and down the sidewalks, intent upon reaching their destination before anyone else. Not to mention the juxtaposition of architecture that is hundreds of years old with extremely modern shops - it still fascinates me. Errands are exhilarating, and exhausting.

I must say, what most British women lack in exquisite beauty, they make up for in impeccable dress. I have seen perhaps four or five women dressed poorly during the week and a half I've been here. Expensive (or at least, appearing expensive) boots, patterned tights or black leggings, tweed shorts, layered dresses or long sweaters, skintight skinny jeans (extremely rare - everyone wears leggings or tights - how they don't freeze is beyond me), dangling necklaces, elaborate scarves, hats pulled low over hair that looks fresh from the catwalk, and perfectly applied makeup. I consider myself to be a relatively (emphasize the word relatively) fashionable dresser and I look extremely plain next to all of these fashion models. It's amazing.

A few things I've noticed that have surprised me in their similarity to American culture (perhaps Western culture?): women are rarely seen driving if a man is in the front seat, the homeless are overlooked, "excuse me" is a typical response after accidentally bumping into someone, children are doted upon, hot topics are treated delicately in most cases and in others result in loud arguments, men stare at attractive young women, and store clerks are extremely friendly and helpful.

A few things I've noticed that have surprised me in their difference from American culture: waiters and bartenders are not tipped (or are tipped very little), eye contact on the street is highly avoided, people are less willing to forgive mistakes, several people have a beer or wine with most lunches and dinners, the word "quite" is interpreted as "less than" (so saying a meal was "quite delicious" or a lecture was "quite fascinating" means that the meal was less than delicious or the lecture boring), the elderly are respected for their knowledge and experience, ad caring for the environment (i.e., recycling, vehicles with eco-friendly emissions, reuse of plastic grocery bags, disposing of rubbish properly, etc.) is second nature.

Interesting, no?

Title?

The computer doesn't want to let me upload pictures. I will try again tomorrow.

Um ... what to write, what to write? Let's have a mini vent session first, and then I'll continue to the rest of it.

It's rather disconcerting to be in a foreign country with absolutely no one I know. I feel uprooted. No, perhaps that's not the right word. Adrift, perhaps? For some strange reason, my introverted tendencies are coming out, and I'm not in the mood to socialize. Why now, of all times??? I can't wait to get a schedule set up, and start making friends within my college. There's a bop (a themed dance) Saturday night - may the socializing begin! On another note, they fixed our heater and our shower, so now four girls don't have to share the same shower, and we won't awaken to a random lack of heat. However, I still don't have my student card, which grants me access to the libraries. The associate students (who take one primary and one secondary tutorial, and have access only to the Bodleian and their college libraries) got their cards yesterday, and have full use of the libraries. Paul and I, visiting students (who take two primary tutorials and have access to the Bod, our college library, and the faculty libraries, as well as having all the privileges of actual students), have not yet received our cards due to a delay from the snow. Arg. Thank goodness I have good ol' David Copperfield to keep me company in the meantime. Great book, but it has taken me a ridiculously long time to read.

Moving on from the complaining.

Oxford University is rather unique, if you haven't noticed. It is broken up into over 30 colleges, which do not specialize in subjects. I have not yet figured out how they place students into colleges. I suppose it's the atmosphere or something like that. Magdalen College (my college) has had the most famous alumni from what I can tell. Other than that, I'm not sure how they're different. To draw a parallel, it is similar to how the United States of America is divided into 50 distinctive states all hailing under the same title. Each student participates in a tutorial. These tutorials involve one or two students conversing with a tutor (quite different from the American idea of a tutor - this is like a professor), reading/skimming numerous books, and writing extensively about their subject.

When I say extensive, I mean extensive. As in, a 10-12 page paper every week. Per tutorial. Not to mention the books which I as a literature student am encouraged to read twice. I had a mini hyperventilating session when I realized this. I knew there would be reading and essays, but I had no conception of exactly how much. I keep telling myself that they wouldn't have sent me here if they didn't think I could handle the workload and excel. Plus, classes are all I'll have to worry about besides my service and any clubs I choose to join. And they're only one hour per week each. So I have lots of time. I wish I had read more before actually getting here. Ah, how I hate the clarity of hindsight.

Their theory of learning is rather fascinating. I very much approve. Bob, the director of OSAP, gave a long lecture about it. They encourage students to gather information from an extremely wide variety of sources, to think deeply on a given question, and write an essay (an exploration, as he called it, not an argument) with discussion points. The tutors put the learning directly into the hands of the students. None of this spoon-feeding, getting lost in the crowd nonsense so typical of American universities. Students study that which excites their intellect, and learn to think for themselves. Yes, my home university encourages this as well, but not to the same extent. Here, you are not penalized for disagreeing with your tutor. You are encouraged to do so. And it's not a surface encouragement; as in, "I tell you to disagree, but if you do, I will look down upon your stupidity for daring to disagree with my own ideas, and twist your argument so that it seems to hold absolutely no validity whatsoever, when in reality I'm too afraid to consider another point of view." I am so excited for this intellectual stimulation.

The Beginning

So.

I've been at Oxford for a total of four days. It has been a mixture of fabulous and frustrating. Let me explain.

My plane touched down as the sun rose over the snow-covered city of London. I gathered my bags, went through customs (there was no one there - strange), wandered around until I found the bus stop, and proceeded to wait outside in the bitter cold for almost 45 minutes while we waited for a bus that usually comes every twenty minutes or so. Seeing as this is the hardest winter they've had in 30 years, everything shut down and was running behind schedule. (Side note [and perhaps the only comment I will make in critique of this new country]: I thought it was rather hilarious that the country basically shut down due to 1 degree Celsius weather and 7 inches of snow. But that is perhaps since I am used to that kind of weather constantly in Connecticut. Anyway.). I caught a bus (with an extremely rude bus driver, I might add), waited around for a taxi, and made my way to the check-in office. This warm and friendly office cheered me considerably. I received my key, found out that I would not have to wait several days to receive ethernet access as they had recently installed Wi-fi in all of the flats, and was driven to my flat (a good 20 minute walk away from the office, and 30 minute walk away from my college).

The view from the plane.

Since the cleaning ladies had been snowed in, I was greeted by a disgustingly filthy, though rather adorable, flat. (We've had a series of misfortunes with this flat. We have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small sitting area, and a small kitchen. The shower in one of the bathrooms leaks, and I emerged from my five minute shower into an inch of water covering the floor. Not to mention the horrid smell left by the flat's previous tenants - boys, of course. Over the next few days, we lost heat, hot water, and electricity in our outlets - all of which have been restored. The shower still leaks, so we use the shower in the other bathroom. Unfortunately, the drain is quite clogged, so the innocent showerer is likely to find herself standing in several inches of water after two minutes of being in the shower. The problems will be fixed soon, I hope! We'll manage!). I began to settle in to my room, and met my first flatmate shortly after (Amanda - she's a sweetheart). The two of us, upon realizing that we had not eaten for several hours, proceeded to wander the slushy streets of Oxford, found the local grocery stores, priced cell phones, actually did not end up eating, and discovered that our pretreated suede boots were, in fact, not waterproof in the slightest. The town is adorable. Bustling streets lined by old buildings, with modern shops residing at street level (see the picture below!). Then, dinner and drinks with all of the OSAP (Oxford Study Abroad Programme) people, where we went to a local pub, ordered dinner, and I purchased my first legally alcoholic drink - Kopparberg cider with fruit. Delicious! The people are all wonderful - smart, driven, yet laid-back. I am so going to enjoy working with all of them over the next several months, although only one other person is in my college. I'll explain that in a later post.

Shops in the centre of town.

The next day we sat through several informational sessions, had lunch out, and proceeded to take a walking tour through Oxford. I'm pretty sure my feet almost froze, as the weather was below freezing and my boots and two pairs of heavy socks were completely soaked through. The scenery was lovely. I cannot wait to be inducted into my college. My flatmate and I (our other flatmates had not yet arrived) went to the grocery store, bought three days worth of groceries for 16 quid (about $30 - amazing!), and returned to our flat only to venture out again for a night of socializing at various pubs. I must say, I quite enjoy pub culture. People have one or maybe two drinks, sit, socialize, listen to music playing in the background, laugh, and enjoy themselves. Nothing like you'd find in an American bar, where the intent is usually to get as drunk as possible in as little time as possible and find someone to take home that night. There are a few nightclubs which bear a striking resemblance to American bars and clubs, but far more common are the leisurely pubs.

The next few days were spent socializing, reading, frantically cleaning my flat after being overwhelmed by its grotesque state, hurrying around the town attempting to find cheap, waterproof boots (which I did manage to find, though they have absolutely no traction - I have slipped and slid all down the streets, and only fallen once, something of which I am rather proud!) and to locate the least expensive cell phone provider. For anyone considering going abroad, Skype is definitely the cheapest way to make calls (though you cannot receive them!).

We've been rather stingy with our food money, and thus today at lunch was my first complete meal in several days (don't worry - I'm not being malnourished. Pasta, frozen pizza with vegetables, and crumpets with tea have been the staples of my diet thus far. That will change with the arrival of our fourth flatmate, delayed by weather, at which point we will be able to split the grocery bill four ways). We went to a pub (they have ridiculously cheap food!) around lunchtime for a traditional English breakfast. Unfortunately, they stopped serving it an hour earlier, so instead I had the delicious meal featured below. Yum!

Sunday roast dinner.

It isn't what I expected, though I didn't really have any idea what to expect. I am enjoying myself. The country is beautiful, I'm excited for my classes, and I'm excited to see what the next three months will bring. I'm rather amazed at how easily this "go with the flow" attitude has come to me. I suppose my control-freak tendencies are instead manifesting themselves in the spotlessly clean kitchen and bedroom, not that I mind. We'll see how much traveling I can accomplish, and how much I can learn. I can't wait.

(Note to self: in the next post, discuss the colleges, and the theory of learning and education Oxford has!)

More pictures to come!

A Quick Update

I'm here. I'm safe. The trip was relatively uneventful. Oxford is lovely ... and cold. I'm meeting lots of new people, getting settled into my flat, and learning how to find my way around.

More details later, when it's not 1:00am. :)

Preparation

I know I said that I wouldn't post more until I actually got over to England (2.5 days - but who's counting?). However, there is so much that I have been doing, considering, researching, etc. that I feel the need to write about it all.

Preparation: For the past three weeks, I've been purchasing clothes, making phone calls, sending emails, and doing a variety of menial - but important - tasks to prepare for my experience abroad. (Side note: it had better be damn worth it. Pardon my language.) I've had to call the credit card company and the bank to alert them that I'll be abroad and that they should not freeze my account when they see a charge at a breakfast joint on Thursday morning. I've had to register with the embassy in London, make numerous copies of my passport and insurance cards, call the OSAP office in Virginia in a panic that my housing deposit would be late due to the forms originally having been sent to Florida and subsequently forwarded to snowy Connecticut, and mailed dozens of forms to lovely England, along with several new passport photographs. Not that anyone really cares - I just never realized that there was this much work involved in going abroad, and I feel the need to warn people :) I have several new sweaters, a new pair of (fake) suede boots, a new peacoat, a baby umbrella, a neck pouch (which I cannot believe I will actually wear - how very "touristy" of me), a hat, and very very thick socks. I have eliminated several unnecessary items from my luggage, and pray that when I begin the packing process on Tuesday, everything will fit comfortably within my suitcase and duffel (duffle?) bag with room to spare. Enough about that.

Classes: I will be taking two classes while I'm abroad. One will focus on 19th century British Literature, chronologically or not. The other will focus on literature from different parts of the globe, studying the effects of globalization on indigenous culture and how it is reflected through their literature. I have one tutor for both of my tutorials. He seems very nice - a Rhodes scholar. Maybe he can give me some tips for my future application (which is contingent upon my liking Oxford while I'm there). Anyway, we've been in contact and I've been planning my classes. I am taking charge of my learning, and loving every minute of it. We've selected (in tandem) six or seven books for me to read before I actually get there, and I can't wait.

My reading list:

• The Moonstone
• David Copperfield
• The Lyrical Ballads
• A Grain of Wheat
• Midnight's Children
• Season of Migration to the North

Service: I've also been researching service sites. With the help of some contacts at Oxford, I came across several potentials that seem to fit my passions quite nicely. The Gatehouse, for one, is an "Oxford-based charity providing food, shelter and company to Oxford's homeless and poorly housed population," taken directly from its website. It is a cafe that serves food to those in need within Oxford, and hosts several events throughout the week. Perfect, no? I could volunteer there several evenings a week. I have to get in touch with the people there, ask a few questions, see if it's what I want to do. There is another site called The Gap. Here's a blurb from the web: "The Gap is a community resources for homeless, vulnerable, and socially excluded people (16+ years) in Oxfordshire. We enable an appropriate move on to independent and sustainable lifestyles for all, thus limiting the impact on the individual, the family, and the community. We provide a wide range of services, advice and support on housing and resettlement, alcohol and substance misuse issues, sexual health issues, mental health issues, and employment and training." Hmm. I don't know how I'll choose. There are also several projects sponsored directly by the university, which would give me the opportunity to bond with people from Oxford. I'll look into those too.

And this blog has been far too long. Next time I write, I shall be sitting in my flat in Oxford, in England, breathing a sigh of relief that I made the trip from the United State to the airport to the study abroad office to my flat safely and without too much hassle. Wish me luck!