Again, sorry for the slow posts. The life of a world-traveller. Golly.... (I wish I were serious)
So I left off with the first week of crazy food and tough tutorial learning. Yes. So let me start from there. [Let me first insert the fact that while walking by a hotel across the street from my dorm, I ran into Annie Lennox.]
So let me give you some background on how the tutorial system in Oxford works--if I haven't already. Then I will work my way into the first two weeks of this personal learning approach. In England, University level is taught on a personal basis. You have what is called a "tutor" or English professor (usually a Doctorate) who you meet with only once a week per class. The tutor gives you a syllabus (I had 2, one was 2 pages with 27 books, and one was 26 pages with excerpts from 30 books), and you prepare based on what he has assigned that week for reading. He will give you a headliner topic which will encompass all of the reading you do for that week, and at the onset of class, you should have written a 9-10 page paper covering the topic in depth using the readings assigned. And this is weekly. We also have planned excursions, which tend to be a part of the English learning system. Almost a field-trip if you will.
So to get more personal, I am taking International Conflict and Common Law. I wasn't intimidated until after my first Common Law class when I learned that my 27 year old Oxford don was quite arguable a prodigy. He is the youngest fellow ever (500 years) at Oxford, and he is the current Dean of Admissions for the Law school here. For him, we will be writing in depth law reviews. Okay, easy enough, thats my subject. But this is British Law. Its like putting your underwear inside out--really confusing. But anyways, so my first two tutorials went well. I met the professors, wrote papers, and got considerably good reviews per my International Conflict prfoessor about my paper--and I quote "You're paper was very good but you have two major problems that you need to address to make this paper scholarly (Doesn't sound very promising, i know). Other than that, you're writing style is way beyond your years and this paper was excellent." So a good way to start off an otherwise intimidating semester.
Again for the past two High Table Dinners (think Harry Potter dining hall, literally), we had meals consisting of Prime Rib, Portabello Mushrooms and Duck, Prawns, etc, with a wide variety of wines, waters, and breads. Sitting at one of those tables with towering pictures of centuries past Presidents and stained glass windows of Alice in Wonderland and chandelliers, you feel quite Kingly. Servants tend to your table and answer any wish you may could muster. Is this real life? Speaking of service, did I mention that my dorm room has a full time maid? I guess they figure that the life of an Oxford student shouldn't be concerned with silly trivials such as cleaning. We'll just send someone in to tidy up, replace linens, make up the bed, and clean the bathroom EVERY MORNING. Awesome. Can I get one of these in Athens?
Finally, let me tell you about my weekend. Okay, so in Athens, we MAY be lucky to make a weekend trip to Charleston or Savannah or Atlanta. Well, in Oxford, we make weekend trips to Holland, Greece, Germany, Spain, Portugal, or wherever your little heart desireth. So this weekend, a few of us packed up and went to Amsterdam. A friend Michelle and I travelled to London by train on Thursday night, and we then boarded another train to a port outside of London called Harwich. We then got ready for a ferry we had booked the week previous. Now I have never been on a ferry, so I had low expectations. A crappy boat with a bunch of chairs where you just sit and wait to dock. Well this ferry was 8 hours, but oh the joys of travelling. So we get to the port, walk through the gates, and we board a cruise ship. No lie. Complete with Mahogany, gold, glass, our own private room, bars, restaurants, shops. It takes off, and we meet tons of people from America, New Zealand, and Holland. What a great experience! It was beautiful, from what we could see. Small mountains made up the coast of England, and the English channel was a surprisingly pretty color. Off into the night we sailed while sitting on the dock talking to our new international friends.
Arrival: 7 a.m. Friday morning with a new time zone and a new scenery. It was beautiful country side with absolutely gigantic white and wooden windmills decarting the plains. The weather was sunny, and the train was docked ready to whisk us to Amsterdam. We arrive, meet up with a group, and begin to see what Amsterdam has to offer. We stayed in hostels; something I've never done. Not quite as bad as stories such as the movie "Hostel," but not the most luxurious accomodations, as you may be in the room with up to 6 people you have never met. On bunkbeds. But relatively cheap. Its a city I've always heard crazy stories about. They sell marijuana at coffee shops--its the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. When you go in a shop to get coffee, you see Latte, Coffee, Americana, Espresso, Joint, Blunt, Weed brownie??? Its weird and it almost felt uncomfortable seeing it. But something new. Speaking of something new, streets were lined with huge picture windows. When you walk past, you may hear a tapping noise, and you turn around to see a scantily clad woman (MAYBE wearing a bra) dancing and pointing at you to come inside. Again weird and uncomfortable. But apart from the oddities, Amsterdam is a really pretty city. There are more canals there than in Venice, and there are many boats and canal cruises going up and down every canal. The city had beautiful architecture, modern rooflines, and historic features. The Anne Frank house was really emotional, and the array of artork was impressive (Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and others). All in all, Amsterdam was an interesting place--very expensive but pretty nonetheless--I've been once, and chances are I'll never go back. But I will say on this same trip I went to Belgium for a day trip to see what it had to offer. I hear good stories but not too much about what is there. But it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The architecture was absolutely amazing. The chocolate? Something like I've never tasted. The handmade laces and tapestries were lining every street window, and the waffles? EXACTLY what they are described--DELICIOUS! I would love to revisit Belgium--it was a beautiful place.
So we board a plane in Amsterdam to London at 7 a.m., and oddly arrive in London at 7:06. Thanks to the time difference, we had a plenty of time to catch a bus from Gatwick Airport and make it back to Oxford before lunch. Time to hit the books. HUGE week of studying and paper-writing ahead, and I'm a day late getting started! Yikes! On a positive note, about 30 of us are going to Spain this weekend. Leaving Thursday night to spend the night in Bristol on the Western coast of England, and flying out Friday morning early to arrive in Barcelona in the morning. It should be a great trip, spending alot of time on the Spanish crystal-clear beaches and white sand soaking sunrays and watching the time go by...
Check out pictures on Facebook throughout the week, as I have several hundred to upload from the travels so far. Thanks for keeping up with the trip--Its been great so far!
PS -- Shout out to Paris (Alex A.) and Brokeback (Emma L).....
Bienvendos a Espana, pero primero Hola Estudiando!
Andrew
