Getting to Oxford

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Just when I was getting comfortable, I set off again for Europe, basically taking the same exact route as last time. Flight to Heathrow, train to London Paddington, train to Reading, train to Oxford. Landed at like 8:30 in the morning, and was in Oxford by noonish. Almost too easy, and really didn't have to think about much - moving around like a local almost.

But, that horrible exhaustion set in with force in Oxford, where it really was the middle of the night to me, coming from the States. But I slogged through the day, setting up at Balliol College, in basically a giant room overlooking soccer, or football, fields. Nice place and comfortable.

Today I gave my 20 minute or so talk to a group of like 20 people. Honestly, I'm very unsatisfied by the experience. Whatever. I got up, yammered on, answered a few questions, sat down, and listened to other people do exactly the same thing. I'm not sure what I was expecting. I guess since I've been planning this entire trip around this one moment I set too high a stock in it. Nice to have it done, though, and I am glad I'm here. Quite the experience.

I'm also finding Oxford to be an interesting place indeed (to be as proper about it as possible). Mainly, it's all about the British accent here. It's Queen's English, perfectly proper and perfectly pronounced. The English are perfect gentlemen around here. And, in a funny moment of language differences, I had to follow one of these perfectly accented English gentlemen. This was the only time in my life that I think I could correctly be called a cowboy Yank. It was like I'd ridden in on a horse or something. Not that I was drawling on, or hickish. It's just compared to that Oxford accent, the American accent just sounds so blunt and almost harsh. Down to the earth and to the point. Which is interesting - the accent itself says a lot about the differences between our countries.

Since I wasn't too interested in the afternoon talks, I explored a bit, and mainly realized that Oxford University really doesn't exist. It's all about separate colleges that people belong to. If you ask someone directions to a different college than their own, they usually don't know. Insular here, almost too much.

The conference continues to wind down tomorrow, and I think I'll listen in on a few talks, before heading out to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace.

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Photos

Bodleian Library
A fortress of books. One of the most famous and important libraries in the world.

St. Mary's
One of the many churches at Oxford. Before it was a university, this area was a religious site.

Typical Oxford View
You're basically just surrounded by old, beautiful buildings - like this one, just down from the Bodleian.

Balliol College
One of the great humanities colleges - this is where Aldous Huxley studied, and where many conference events are held.

Christ Church College
Probably the most famous college. An endless list of important alumni studied here.

Christ Church Hall
Look familiar? This is the model for the great Hall in Harry Potter. Great ceiling too - hammerbeam.

Another Hall View
Nice place to have dinner, if you're a student here.

Christ Church Stairway
Also in Harry Potter, but I have no idea in which film. Great fan ceiling. This leads into the Hall.

Tom Quad at Christ Church
Main quad at Christ Church, named for Tom Tower, which you can see.

Nave View of Christ Church Cathedral
Wonderful fan ceiling.