Nonsequential Moments

This is my house: 8 Crick Road, Oxford. 

Hampton Court Palace as seen through one of the garden hedges. There are a lot of chimneys and that is only a very small portion of the roof. 

Tea and scones at Dorchester Abbey after a beautiful fall day spent roaming the countryside. 

A little piece of fantasy in that countryside. 
Jonathan expertly surveying said countryside. That is the Thames flowing in the distance. 

Dorchester Abbey and adjoining cemetery. 

Inside the Abbey. 

Rolling my eyes at Keaton for taking about 5 identical pictures when I somewhat foolishly lend him my camera in Bath. 
Making trouble in Bath or, amusing ourselves because the buildings aren't doing the trick. 
Mimicking Jane Austen outside of her little museum in Bath; misplaced because she hated it there. I empathize. 

A Grand View

Every day I spend in Oxford I fall in love a little bit more. 

Every hour I spend sitting in the reading rooms of the Bodleian Library the more I wish I had. Especially when the sun is streaming through the windows, illuminating the small stained glass pictures set within. Looking out of them I can see patina laden domes and delicate stone spires. Above me are portraits of great men and scholars, keeping watch over those who follow their footsteps. At my fingertips are every book ever published in the UK since the 1600's. It is amazing that I get to spend my time in so hallowed a place. 

Another room adjoining the library is called the Lower Camera. It is one of the most beautiful rooms I have ever been in and I get to spend the majority of my time this year in that very place. It is a round building with vaulted ceilings and old wooden desks; it looks like something out of a movie. The only problem is that the huge arched windows complete with wrought iron decoration and stone arches cause it to be  bit chill. I was so distracted from my reading the other day because my hands were so cold I had to leave, causing very little actual work to get done. 

I've also been doing a lot of city exploration and coffee shop hopping in the past few days. I want to have an amazing feel for this city before I leave. I visited a hole-in-the-ceiling coffee shop that I had been recommended to and loved it. The walls are all a shocking pink and the windows are lined in an indigo. It too, was cold, so I didn't get to spend a decent amount of time there. I think fall has officially arrived here. The weather has been threatening to turn nasty again, drizzling a little every day. Today I discovered an outdoor market with amazing deals. The fruit and vegetables were all so fresh and beautiful I ended up buying a ridiculous assortment: apples, peppers, garlic, carrots, peaches and tomatoes all for under 6 pounds. 

In other news, I was elected President of the Junior Common Room today. The JCR is our version of student government minus anything political. Basically we just plan outings and activities for the rest of the crew. I've already got a list of ideas and a strong committee behind me, so it's going to be a fun semester! 

Tomorrow is another field trip and then the rest of the week will be spent in class and at the library writing my two papers due next week before our fall break, which I will be spending in The Lake District. 

London Sun

Yesterday was our first optional field trip. This means the itinerary is planned but by no means made to be stuck to. And more importantly, if we get lost, it's our own problem. 

We left Oxford early in the morning- earlier than we leave for class, in fact, on a double-decker that goes straight to London. It was a little pricey at 13.50 pounds for a two-way ticket. Once we got there we took straight off on our walking tour. Jonathan (my JD) and Simon (a program director) would let us stop at certain sites occasionally and give us a small history lesson. We rode the tube, saw a few portraits in the National Gallery, walked past the Tower of London and many other famous places. It was a whirlwind of a day and by the end of it I was hungry, tired, dehydrated but still happy. 

By far the best part of the trip, although I will admit to falling asleep during the service, was Evensong at St. Paul's cathedral. Unfortunately they don't allow any photography so I'll have to leave it up to you to google it and try and see it for yourself. The whole inside is covered in mosaics and dripping in gold. It was positively gorgeous. We were allowed to sit in the choir section, which was quite a treat. The boy's voices were almost haunting as they began the first song. It would truly be an amazing thing to go there on a regular basis. 

The great blessing of the day was that the weather was spectacular. It was mostly sunny and about 60 degrees until around 6 o'clock. I even got the opportunity to wear my sunglasses. I'm looking forward to going back to London to have a more leisurely look around. Maybe then I'll be able to take better pictures and maybe even get to experience a site or two, not just see the outside. 

Field Trip One

Was much more exciting than this post title conveys. It began with an early rise to catch our double-decker coach. This swaying mass of steel and people took us to the Salisbury plain where we saw Stonehenge, Old Sarum and Salisbury Cathedral. 

Old Sarum is an Iron Age fort on the top of a massive hill surrounded by a few formidable ditches. I thought the ruins were rather dull themselves, but the history of the place is interesting if any of you care to follow up on it. 

Salisbury Cathedral is the only cathedral in all of England to be fully built in one architectural style, which is gothic. It also holds the Guinness Record for being the tallest spire in Great Britain. The cathedral itself is spectacular and stunning, but the spire, which we got to climb into, provides an unparalleled view of the surrounding English countryside. It also holds one of the only remaining a copies of the Magna Carta. 

Stonehenge was perhaps the most looked forward to site on the trip and the most underwhelming. The stones are extremely large when considered individually, but nothing compared to some of the natural rock formations of Colorado. They are very beautiful though, and I only wish I could have walked among them. A big surprise came when we realized just how close civilization has encroached upon the ruins. A freeway runs just hundreds of feet away from the monoliths. Neighboring sheep graze right up to the fence surrounding the whole site. There was a druid protesting and gathering signatures near the tourist center who I got to meet and have my picture taken with. I have my doubts about the authenticity of his religious claim- he looked more like a Renaissance Festival attendee. He wants the ruins to be freed from the fencing so people can roam between the stones. Interesting fellow, with interesting jewelry. 

The bridge entrance and ditch fortifications into Old Sarum.

The organ in Salisbury Cathedral. The view from a window inside the cathedral spire. 

The spire itself. Yours truly at Stonehenge. 

 

A Glimpse Inside

Roast corn from the Caribbean cooking stand. 
Elizabeth and Abby enjoying some chips at the fair. 

The Union Jack flying high at the fair. 

A Fair Weather Day

I was contemplating starting a running tally of how many straight days it rained here. I had to stop at four because turned out to be rather warm and beautiful. 

Our academic semester started today with a slight orientation and a short video on early British history. I love the way classes work here. We get a coffee/tea break automatically every couple of hours or so. The classroom learning was followed by a treasure hunt (of knowledge) through the city. It would have been a nice way to see some of the main sites I had missed lately, but my group was too gung-ho about winning to be leisurely. After a good 2 hours of walking in large circles around the main city center we retired to our program's offices for another tea time. 

When I felt peopled-out enough, which happened easily enough considering the strong personalities I had in my hunting party, I wandered off by myself in search of some groceries. Unfortunately, I was low on cash and only got a few staples. Looks like I'm going again tomorrow after a trip to the ATM. 

Tonight was the St. Giles Fair, which is basically like a mini-street carnival. I took my new camera and tried it out. I got a few good pictures out of the 200-something I took; practice makes perfect so hopefully that ratio will increase. 

Tomorrow is more orientation and classes followed by Stonehenge and other various field trip sights on Thursday. 

(I'm having trouble loading pictures. I'll try again soon!)

Typical Tea and Rain

The last time we talked I was still waiting to be done with my packing. Well, I have obviously finished that by now. It was concluded fairly successfully, with both suitcases being under 50 pounds. Although I didn't leave enough room to bring stuff back in. I guess someone will just have to visit me and bring an extra one along for me. 

     Anyways, my flight wasn't too terrible. Sleeping was an adventure seeing as how I didn't get the window seat I was hoping for. I even managed to curl up with my head under the blanket and a knee on the chair at one point and fall asleep. Getting through immigration was fairly easy and customs was even easier since there was absolutely no one manning the desks. Both of my suitcases arrived in tact and looking a lot less disheveled than I was. I fell asleep on the bus ride to Oxford, but not until after I had seen a few sheep. 

The only truly frustrating part of the day was waiting for a taxi in the rank at the bus station. I saw quite a few "private hire" taxis pull up and drop people off right in front of me, but no regular taxis. After about 30-45 min standing like an idiot with two suitcases in tow, I finally stepped up to the nearest street and waved down the first taxi I saw. I don't care if that is the custom in Oxford or not; it got me a taxi. 

I arrived at Crick and was welcomed at the door by Jonathan, our Junior Dean (aka RA). He dragged my suitcases upstairs (to the 2nd floor which is really the third floor) for me. I quickly changed clothes and made my way back down to a kitchen already bursting with people. There are 23 of us here, boys and girls, and we all ate dinner together that first night. A few of us stayed up late talking, a practice I hope continues throughout the year. 

I have a room to myself but share a bathroom with 6 other girls. The shower this morning would not spit out a steady stream of warm water but rather alternated between too hot and too cold. The sink is too small to lean over and wash my face in and one of the outlets in my room doesn't work. My hair is also not looking at all like it did 5 days ago when I got it cut. 

 Today was spent walking the city and hanging out at the other program house. A few of us made a side field trip to the Botanical Gardens for "The Magic Hour," a special group of 'installations' put up around the garden to celebrate dusk. It was pretty neat, although there was one exhibit that was basically speakers hung up around the wall which whispered creepy passages of something. It was kind of like Sauron's voice from Lord of the Rings. 

It was raining when I arrived yesterday and has been raining on and off ever since. I kind of like it and have already made good use of both my rain coat and umbrella. And tea has now become not only a luxury and recreation but also a necessity, for it helps ease away the general feeling of dampness that comes during the long walks through the rain. 

This post has been rather long and for that I apologize, but I am just so excited to be here I can't help but want to share all the details with you all. I love it and cannot even fathom leaving. I can't help but like a lot of the people I am living with and am looking forward to a great semester.