The Union Bar

Finding a place to study in a college town shouldn't be hard. And having a quiet apartment is a nice backup. But because I'm so easily distracted--oh wait let me post a picture.

Studying at the Student Union bar

Getting distracted is easy in the busy town that Oxford is. Today however I took my books over to the Student Union and managed to get some great studying done! 

The Union has a library, lounge space, a bar, and every Thursday hosts formal debates. Today was the first time I took use of the place. On a Sunday there was hardly anyone else there. It was just Cam, Britney, and me in the bar. I'm used to Hendrix where Sundays mean "study ass off cause you didn't at all for the last two days." 

The Union also hosts other events (not just debates). More to come later this month about that. Oktoberfest is in two weeks! And then Halloween, which yes, is celebrated here. I don't think "trick-or-treating" is a thing, but I do think the "spookiness" of the holiday is celebrated. We are planning to go on a ghost tour of the city. I also want to find a pumpkin to carve. Then I'll light it up at night in my window and give my neighbors something to wonder about. "Dear, come to the window. There's a glowing gourd across the way giving me the most evil grin." MUAHAHA!

Blenheim Palace

The whole group with Francis and Penelope (our English dad and mum)

Blenheim Palace

This afternoon we set out for Blenheim Palace with Francis and Penelope. We first stopped to see where Winston Churchill was buried before continuing on to the palace to see where he was born. As with all our past excursions, we couldn't have asked for better weather. We toured the inside of the palace, had a bite to eat, and then wandered the grounds.

The grounds were beautiful! After walking down by the water, we went and explored the "secret garden." (It wasn't so secret because there was a sign pointing to it.) I really want to write a lot about the place, but the majority of the day was just taking in the beauty of it and the fall weather. So here are pictures to replace my lack of words...

In the rose garden

The Water Gardens

As of this evening, I am sitting in my apartment after ordering pizza, watching Lord of the Rings, and eating cookie dough that Britney made to go with the movie. I couldn't think of a better end to the stressfulness of this past week.

I had my first official tutorial on Friday, in which I read my paper aloud to my tutor and then we discussed for an hour. Everything about the situation was stressful to me: writing a paper on a topic that I didn't know anything about to start, and then having to act like I did. Back home I'm used to the system of submitting a paper and then turning my back on it. DONE! PHEW! Not the case here.

In the "Secret Garden"

I left my apartment two hours early prior to my tutorial so that I would have enough time at the library to print my paper. This was a great decision as it took me forever to print. When it failed to print the first four times, the lady at the counter told me I would have to just try from another computer. Finally on the fifth time I tried, she realized there was no paper in the printer. HA! I wasn't the idiot. And I laughed while five copies of my paper then printed from behind the counter.

After paying 80 pence for my paper, I realized that the printer had cut half of it off. I was anticipating the difference in paper length, so I changed my computer settings. However I found it was an unnecessary change and ended up paying another 1pound 20 pence for a second copy of my paper.

By the time I got to my tutorial I was all kinds of nervous. My tutor sat across from me in an armchair and said "Begin." I wanted to be like, "So, just like um read this out loud? And, like you're gonna listen and not fall asleep?" Kudos for his attention span. It was the longest six minutes of my life. When I finished I promptly said, "Um speaking um isn't my um strongpoint um."

I was hoping to just sit back in my own armchair for the remaining hour and listen to him talk, but instead he asked questions. And I was supposed to have an answer? More "ums" followed. Then I was given my next assignment, another paper due next Friday. The reading and writing continues!

Yesterday was also special because it was the anniversary of me becoming a big sister. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BROza, Ian Goza!

Crouch, Touch, Set!

Today the other Olivia asked if I wanted to go watch a rugby game with her, so I paused the paper writing and took her up on it. I couldn't miss the opportunity to see guys in shorts grunt at one another through mouth-guards! Oh hecks no. So this afternoon we walked down to New College and I watched my first match of rugby.

This evening I went to the first meeting of the C.S. Lewis Secret Society. Actually it's just the C.S. Lewis Society...I added the "secret" to make it sound cooler. They meet every Tuesday of the term and students of the University are invited to come and listen to a talk. The talks are not always over C.S. Lewis. There is one scheduled later this month over Tolkien. And the lecture given tonight was on G.K. Chesterton. Afterwards a bunch of the students went to grab drinks at the pub down the street, The Eagle and Child, where C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and other members of the Inklings were fond of meeting. Being the oh so responsible student I am with a paper due in a few days, I passed on the pub and sit here instead writing a blog post. (I'll make up for it later.)

Today I also experienced my second moment of homesickness; the first being when my heat was out and my body hadn't adjusted yet from the Arkansas summer. Today as we were walking back from the rugby game, Olivia asked me if I ever get homesick. While I was explaining how no, I was pushed from the nest at a young age, I love Oxford too much, the world is my oyster, blah, blah...I couldn't help but think in my head how I would much rather be walking with someone that was comfortable enough with silence so I wouldn't have to constantly answer to petty conversation. Then when we got back to the flat, I checked my mailbox and found that the lone envelope was addressed not to me, but to my roommate. OH THE HORROR! Blasphemy! The nerve! Cursed be he that addressed the note! A plague on both your houses!

I might be exaggerating a smidge.

Best Thing Since Fried Bread

English breakfast from Mick's

Yesterday I started the morning off with a full English breakfast. After learning where I was staying, my tutor insisted that I try "Mick's Cafe" which is right up the street and what he described as a "hole in the wall." That's what it was indeed. I probably wouldn't have known it was there, even though I walk past it every day.

I got tomatoes with my plate, Adrie and Cam got beans, and we all had tea. I also had "fried bread" which tasted close to something served at the fair. NOM!  In order to get back to the flat we practically had to waddle. But it was so nice to start the morning off with a hot meal instead of my usual bowl of cereal.

The weather was nice enough to make me want to be outside so after letting our breakfast settle, Adrie, Britney, and I took some books and went to find a place to read. We walked down St. Giles and stopped in a small park. I found it too distracting to read with all the traffic going by, so we didn't stay long. When we got back to the flat, we were on our own for dinner; meaning grilled pb&j sandwiches while we watched episodes of Gilmore Girls.

Reading outside along St. Giles

The evening concluded with the three of us checking off three more pubs from my "pub list." Now that schools have begun term, we noticed a lot more college aged kids wandering around (a large number of people were walking around in togas, but we had no luck in finding out where they were going). We did however get to try our hands at a game of darts.

Today has been spent like every past Sunday that I have spent here: in my pajamas, with the washing machine going, and a cup of tea to accompany my school reading. My fridge has practically been emptied now. I was so proud of myself for finishing a carton of milk before it turned solid. (Food here has less preservatives, which means expiration dates are closer than you think!) Tomorrow we get another installment of our food stipend which means a trip to Tesco AND an excuse to go visit Penelope and Francis!

Shoes, Soup, Skype

Above are some pictures I took as I walked back along the canal path from the store. It's nice taking this roundabout way to go back and forth between town and the apartment. Maybe soon I can post a video of my duck friends that like to walk with me.

This morning I had a meeting with my tutor at 8:45. It takes about 30 minutes to get from the flat to town, so basically this morning was the earliest I've gotten up since camp. I walked to the Jericho Cafe where I met my tutor and he bought me coffee to sip on while we discussed "The History of the Anglican Church." I'm totally ok with this system: the free coffee continues!!!

Right now I'm talking with Emily Estes over Skype. She's a hoot and a half.

Not much else happened today. I was tired from waking up early so the rest of my day included lots of Netflix, tomato soup, and reading about "fairy stories" for my Tolkien course. Penelope brought over some more books for my history course as well as a guitar for me to borrow for the term. (They had an extra guitar lying around and asked if anyone wanted to borrow it...so I took them up on it.) And my new shoes came in the mail from the US!

Tomorrow is Saturday and if we wake up early enough the plan is to go to "Mick's" up the street for a full English breakfast. Here I go talking about food again...

Now I gotta guitar waiting to be tuned, a stomach excited for breakfast, and Emily Estes singing One Direction to me. Word.

Paper 1. Done!

Adrie and I have diagnosed ourselves with "food tourettes." Occasionally we end up sitting together, each of us on our own computer, looking at Pinterest. It will be total silence until one of us gets to a good looking recipe and then yells out something like, "TAQUITOS!" We could do this all day.

This morning I woke up in "go mode." My first paper was due today and I still had about 1000 words left to write. I sat down once again at my desk and tried to power through, while simultaneously trying not to panic. Two bowls of cereal, a shower, lots of creeping out the window, and some furious typing later, it was dinner time...and paper submitting time.

Fish and chips, mushy peas, and a pint of cider=YUM!

Once I thought of a better closing sentence than, "Henry VIII should've adopted..." and after emailing our papers to Penelope, we (Adrie, Cam, Britney, and I) celebrated our first scholarly achievement by eating dinner out at O'neills, the Irish Pub where I had the best fish and chips since my time in England. When we were leaving the pub it was raining (crazy English weather!) so instead of trekking back to the flat in the rain, we literally walked across the street to Java Co for some dessert and coffee.

When we got back to the flat (after it stopped raining) we watched the Emperor's New Groove on my laptop...a movie that never gets old to me. (KRONK!!) And that is what brings me to my present moment of having "food tourettes" while sitting across the room with Adrie.

Tomorrow morning I have my first tutorial with John Jackson. We're meeting for coffee. The challenge will be finding the coffee shop, so I plan to leave extra early. I had my tutorial with Barry on Wednesday and absolutely loved it. The image of him sitting across from me in his chevron sweater, boat shoes, and hardly making eye contact still makes me smile over what a cute old man he is. When he asked me why I wanted to take a course on Tolkien, I explained how I was choosing between that and CS Lewis. I was delighted when he started talking about how the two authors are so very connected, having both studied and taught at Oxford, and that we would begin the course by studying both. So really I'm getting the best of two courses! Fun fact: Francis was actually one of CS Lewis' last students. And was on faculty with Tolkien during his last years teaching.

Write, Edit, Repeat

I'm currently sitting in a spot that has become very familiar to me in the last few days: the desk in my room next to the window. Last week I would perch here as I waited for the heat repairman, as it has a great view of anyone approaching the flat down below and provides nice solar heat. Recently this is where I have taken up residence to write my 4000-5000 (I'll prob settle for 3999) word paper that is due on Thursday. I'm also keeping an eye out for the postman and feeling kinda like Harry Potter in the first book when he waits for his Hogwarts letter. Depending on how visible I am to those outside, I could easily be known as the "third floor creeper."

As I work on this paper, I realize how long it's been since I've actually done something for school (besides reading Bleak House this summer). While the others announced they were on word 2000 of their paper, I was still struggling to form a thesis. "Henry VIII" was too broad a subject, according to my tutor, so now I am researching his first marriage and what came before all the reformation stuff. I'll also have to remind myself to edit my opening sentence before I submit my work. I don't think "Henry VIII wanted a lady on the street but a freak in the bed" is really going to be funny to Francis as he grades it.

I just returned from Penelope's house where I checked out two more books to help me write. This morning the whole group went over to the house to have a class on how to study during our time in Oxford. Every two week periods, we will be writing a sum of three essays and it is important to know how to pace the self; something I'm terrible at...obviously, I'm writing a blog post right now. I'll probably get exhausted of writing papers by December, but I'm sure the transition of going back to Hendrix where I'm expected to attend an actual class will be even more difficult.

Now I'm just trying to embrace the way of life where I am (including the way of learning). I think I've mastered the art of getting groceries. I've started carrying my empty backpack to the Tesco so that I can fill it with heavy items like milk and juice and can then walk home practically "grocery sack free." I also discovered the "shortcut" from town back to the flat. Whether it is actually shorter or not, I have yet to time it. It is true however that it is more scenic; a pathway along the canal and then under the train tracks (which I have to physically duck to go under). It's also nice to walk away from the stress of the traffic. To make the other Olivia shut up when she kept going on about the aggressiveness of the traffic, I told her cars have the right of way here, not pedestrians; something I totally made up, but learned today is actually true. I should get more credit for being a genius.

My break time is over now (see, I'm getting better at pacing myself already!) I'm going to put on my new Mumford and Sons album, make a PB&J sandwich (I caved and bought peanut butter), and continue working on my paper about how when you marry your brother's widow, don't expect to have a healthy son to play ball with, or build legos, or...rule a country.

OH! And my dear brother IAN has yet to skype me so I can tell him my woes about the fact that the internet doesn't stream American TV shows. How am I going to know what happens on the final season of The Office?!