Thursday, February 17, 2011

Fifth Week

It is now Fifth Week, meaning I am well over half-way done with my tutorials! I have only 3 primary and 2 secondary tutorials left, and then it is on to the post-term. I have been doing pretty well still, with some time management failures but lots of good fun to make up for them :) This past weekend was Lisa's birthday. To celebrate, a bunch of us pooled random food and left-overs for a delicious smorgasbord lunch. We enjoyed nachos, hummus, sloppy joes, french fries, and veggies! This was perhaps my favorite meal ever, as I love to eat random bits of all my favorite things at once :)

Here we are before the feast.

After lunch, we climbed the tower of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. From the top, we got to see the beautiful city of Oxford--and it was actually sunny! It was so wonderful to be able to see the city from up high on such a gorgeous day with a bunch of friends. After the tower, we went to G&D's, a local ice cream chain. I split a brownie Sundae with Michelle, and it was delicious! On the way home, we took the opportunity to take cliché British phonebooth pictures. Some locals gave us odd looks and made judgmental comments about us being tourists. We loved it. Overall, this was a great day.

After all the weekend excitement, it was time to buckle down and get to work on my next paper due Tuesday. This was quite the task, but it got done. Goodnight, Dracula. Now, I am trying to get ahead of things. I read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde yesterday for my tutorial next Tuesday. Today, I am spending the day in Cafe Nero reading Hamlet. To coordinate with this task, I am wearing my Shakespeare T-shirt and using
my Much Ado About Nothings sticky notes. I feel so festive. Tomorrow holds the reward for my toils: a field trip to Blenheim Palace and Winston Churchill's grave, followed in the evening with a movie night featuring Jeeves and Wooster (even though, yes, it is a TV show). I'm very excited for the day of rest and adventure!

I can't help but mention that God is awesome for sending me here. I can still hardly believe that I get to study in such a wonderful, rich, and beautiful place. Providence has been very good to me, and I will always cherish my time here!

Here are some more pictures from the past few days:

A view from the top of the tower, looking down on High Street.


The dreaming spires of Oxford.


Lisa and me on the tower balcony.


Michelle, me, and the Brownie Sundae.


Me in a classic British phonebooth.

2 comments:

  1. Those views are awesome! And beautiful!
    I was kind of curious about the Tutorials/classes. Do you find that you're learning a lot even if you've read the books before? I was just wondering since I've read all of the books you mentioned so far (except Dracula) and I was curious if you gain a lot of new insight through the meetings with professors and the papers you write.
    Also, have you asked anyone if they Speak American? ;)

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  2. I have not actually read most of what I am studying now. However, I would imagine you could still gain a great deal from studying something you've already read. The tutorial system basically allows you focus on what you are interested, depending on the tutor, of course. You get the chance to dig very deeply into one topic of one work while also gaining a broader understanding of the cultural and historical context at the same time. I love it.

    And no, no one has asked me if I speak American. Haha, good times in HOTEL.

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