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 :)
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