A Gorgeous Day

Oxford Again

Today marks the beginning of classes, although none of mine were scheduled today. The program runs two seminars per student and then two tutorials per student. The seminars meet twice a week for four weeks, the tutorials meet the last eight weeks once a week. I think I'll really like this type of scheduling. This week, I have two classes on Tuesday and Thursday; the rest is completely free.

This morning, we woke up and went to lunch (I think I'm either still jet-lagged or simply operating on a college schedule that I never really adopted before). Today also marks the beginning of our Keble college membership (pictured in my photos). Lunch was...interesting. It's cafeteria meets formal dining. We went through a line to get our food, but then were seated at a rather nice table and waited upon by servers. The food, although a bit dry, was tasty enough :) I think I'd enjoy anything while eating in such a beautiful hall.

I went around with Carlye and Houston today. After buying school supplies (unbelievably expensive - luckily I never leave home without my handy dandy pencil bag!) we went to the News Cafe, off of Cornmarket street, and ordered coffee while reading. Then, after a quick jaunt to a local department store to buy towels, we rushed across town so Houston and Carlye could go to class. I then went to the University Park (beautiful) and read more of Utopia. And then, get this, it got too cool! I was a bit chilly so I had to move inside! I was very happy. And not to mention, I overheard these two older ladies talking about how this afternoon had been very warm. I think it it hit 70 today. I love English weather! We've been so lucky with gorgeous weather ::knock on wood::

After leaving the park, I went to the Keble Library to study. I had to swipe my card to get in and the library was completely deserted, so I sat at a small table and finished Book 1 of Utopia. I've been underlining key passages to stay focused and to look back on later, but in the library I was constantly worried that some librarian, a la Madam Pince, would come up to me and chastise me for harming a sacred paperback book. At any rate, it was divine. I studied for a little under an hour before the 1900 bell rang across the college and I knew it was dinner time. I encountered a little bit of trouble when I couldn't get out of the library. I still don't know what that was about. The door had been locked and I couldn't open it. Fortunately, some of my fellow students passed by and took pity on me standing behind the door, with a panicked expression on my face, pounding on the glass. I believe Mr. Bennet has a quote in Pride and Prejudice that goes something like, "what is our purpose but to make fun for our neighbors and to laugh at them in our turn." Getting locked in a deserted library certainly qualifies me for that, I'd say.

I am absolutely loving my time here. I'm making some excellent friends and seeing wonderful things. I'm growing to love my Jason Elliot quote even more. It really is the small things that resonate as memories to bring together the whole trip. I doubt at the end, I'll remember some of the little things that I've done today. Things like sitting in the park reading Thomas More, or listening to the bell chime 7:00 across Keble college, or even racing across Oxford with new friends to make a class time. I doubt I'll remember those things individually, but I'm so thankful that these wonderful mini-memories will be what makes my trip.

I hope everybody is having a wonderful day! Thank you so much for commenting; I love knowing I'm not sending messages out into oblivion. Love from across the ocean.