More things Oxfordian
After only one full day here, I must say that this is simply an amazing city. I think what I love most about the place is the richness and significance that’s everywhere around you. But before I get too introspective, here’s a quick rundown of recent events. For the next twelve days, we’ll be undergoing a variety of orientation activities before our tutorials even begin. Today at the Chester House (the location of the Oxford study abroad programme) all 70 of us students had a host of helpful seminars. Some dealt in the basics of British culture, another art and architecture, and a third on the basics of the university system. Chris and I, as well as the majority of the students with the study abroad programme, will be students of New College. This particular college was established in 1379, making it one of the oldest colleges, and is one of the largest with an undergraduate body of around 400 students. I encourage you if you’d like to know more to visit the Oxford website to read about this particular college: http://www.new.ox.ac.uk/ A lot of Harry Potter was filmed inside it and in a few days we get to have a formal induction ceremony into the college. Anyway, then after the morning lectures we took a three hour walking tour around Oxford, ending in a pub crawl where we had the opportunity to visit 4 of the most beloved student pubs (pub meaning public meeting place, where most people hang out in the evenings). I learned so much it’s difficult to fit it into words. But here’s a few highlights:1. One of the pubs we visited was the Eagle and Child, the actual pub that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein sat around in and discussed philosophy and theology, and other things we can only speculate about.
2. Our opening lecturer this morning has held a host of different well established positions, including his teaching spot as a Don (professor) of political science at St. Johns College, but before that recently worked at the pentagon. I think he told us multiple stories of conversations with Donald Rumsfeld.
3. For those of you who know him, Chris and I had a chance to visit with Brad Onishi tonight. He lives actually just down the road from me!
4. I learned today that our underground “dungeon” as we call it was actually a WWII bomb shelter. Our house isn’t very wide (in comparison to the states), but it has four floors, and I live at the very top!
5. I (Jen) am a much more adventuresome eater, and I thought some of you might find it interesting that I had a green apple, brie, and mango chutney sandwich and it was delicious! I also had a scrumptious dessert tonight of homemade ice cream and orange marmalade bread pudding. Whoever said British food was bad just didn’t know how to pick good things!
6. I thought this was interesting: at one of the pubs we visited tonight (the Turfs), there’s random trivia/old wives tales as decoration on the walls and one of them claimed it was the pub where President Clinton “did not inhale” illegal substances while he was a student there at Oxford University.
7. Radiohead (the rock band) frequently comes and tests out new songs at the Zodiac, a local pub. They also all met and frequently ate at the Jericho Tavern, the closest pub to my flat!
8. At an outdoor market, I was able to purchase a framed Van Gogh print for 1 pound and was thrilled with my purchase…until I had to carry it all the way back to my flat.
9. FYI: my address is: 29 Walton Well Road, Oxford England, OX2, EA6 and Chris’s address is: 85A Walton Road, Oxford, England, OX2 EA6. That’s just a little subtle encouragement to write if you ever feel the urge. I promise I’ll send a postcard in return!
10. Jet lag is real. Its four in the morning and I’m not even remotely tired. But we have the entire weekend off, which I’m estatic for! I can’t remember the last time I had a free weekend! Our flat of girls is planning on going to high tea tomorrow!
Well, cheers to you all!
-Jen
posted by Jen and Chris at Oxford @ 5:10 PM
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