Blogs from Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 45

Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world it's been around for nine centuries!! It's not a seperate campus, the whole town of Oxford is the campus there are colleges and buildings all over the place. Only taxis and buses are allowed in the town, so all the students just ride theri bikes it's beautiful. It has 39 colleges only one is still a women's only college. The college's were set up after the 'town and gown riots' where students rioted because the hotels they were staying in increased their price. Yeah for student activism. You can study anything at Oxford but the only degree you come out with is batchelor of arts. We walked around the beautiful old colleges including christchurch where Harry Potter was shot, saw the Radcliffe camera and the Rhodes building ... read more

It's Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, and I am not spending it with my family back at home. I'm not catching up with all my high school friends either. Instead, I'm here in jolly old England with the most ridiculous group of people I've ever been friends with. Here's the thing though, I think we've become a family. I know it sounds cheesy, but last night was so amazing. Our dining hall at St Peter's College made Thanksgiving dinner for us. Yes it was a day early, but the dining hall was booked for tonight. Oh well. So, it was a delicious meal, but definitely not like home. But what was amazing was being surrounded by the people I've come to rely on as my home away from home. We sat there and ate...and ate...and ate and ... read more

Kelly had impeccable timing in her trip to England. I was feeling a little sad on Halloween and I really was beginning to get homesick. But, her visit in the first weekend of November really cheered me up. I met her and her friend Paul from Madrid in London on Friday night. We saw WICKED (yes, I saw it again) together and it was just as great as before. They added a line to the effect of: Nessarose: What’s in this punch? Boq: Oranges, lemons, and pears! Nessarose: Oh my! It was classic and hilarious. I loved being able to point out things that were different from seeing in September. And it was great to spend the evening with Kelly. After the show, we headed back to Oxford to find a rousing game of Risk taking ... read more

This holiday was a hoot! As the BAMF of the JCR (Benefactor of Awesome Medieval Festivities of the Junior Common Room), I helped organize a lovely Halloween party in the JCR for all of the CMRS students. The party included beer pong, flip cup, and a costume contest. It was so much fun because we basically transformed the JCR and Dining Room into a typical college party. We did a great job decorating and you could hardly tell that the room was our old, poorly decorated JCR. The party was a success and one of my own, Mike from SMC, won the costume contest. He came impeccably dressed as Dr. Philpott, our Senior Tutor. The resemblance was uncanny. Other costumes included: a pregnant nun, a devil (me), a black widow, the Wicked Witch of the East ... read more

In light of the fact that I have officially been in Oxford for one month, I decide to reflect on this experience so far. Admittedly, I haven't done as much educational work as I should or could have, but I've still learned a lot. We have an enormous essay exam on Thursday that I am only beginning to worry about. Sure, I could have been reading and preparing for this all month...but then this month wouldn't have happened the way it did. I'll prepare this week. When have I ever truly let myself down when it comes to school? Honestly, I always get my work done...but in Oxford, I'm learning to be free at the same time. I was quoted saying "Free time scares me" this summer, and it used to be true. I didn't know ... read more