I suppose I was well aware when I left the states that with me there were sent many well wishes of finding "an attractive boy with a British accent." I am more acutely aware of these wishes now that my friends, realizing I've been gone for a week, are beginning to ask after me. If I had 50 pence for each time I was asked "have you met any boys yet?" I might have a five pound note (which would be worth $10 in the States, but would only buy a chicken pasty and maybe a glass of squash here). The answer to all queries regarding the opposite gender (British or not) is "no." I have not, in the one week that I've been here, met anyone "special" and really have no intention or expectation of doing so. Much as I enjoy British accents and attractive blokes, much as I would love to have one of them buy me a drink at the pub or walk with me through the parks and meadows, that is not the purpose of my semester here. Though there are nine decent American guys living below me (and with me), one is engaged, one is in a relationship, two are pursuing other girls in the program and the rest are, well, it's just not like that and I don't really have any desire for that to change at the moment. Some day (possibly a long way down the road) God may throw a pleasant surprise in my path, until then I have a lot of other things to learn.
Speaking of which I will now adress a large part of the reason I am at Oxford - to study. I am currently enrolled in British Landscapes, a class I take with all the Americans in my program covering British history. It consists of lectures, videos, field trips and three sizable (and stressful) research papers (called essays, in Britain the term "paper" refers to a course, not a project). I have also begun my Integrated Seminar, also taken with Americans, all of whom are English concentrations. This class consists of discussion groups once a week and will culminate in a very long essay (4000 words) on a topic of my choosing. When term actually begins at Oxford (October 3rd, following my break) I will have completed British Landscapes and will begin my tutorials. For my primary tutorial I will study the life and works of C. S. Lewis and for my secondary I will study creative writing. Tutorials consist of me meeting with my tutor once a week (or fortnight - that is every two weeks) for an hour of discussion concerning the essay I have written based on reading list and question that were given the previous week. I will also attend 4 Oxford University lecture series (each consisting of 6-8 lectures), one in relation to my primary tutorial, one my secondary and two my long essay. My tutors will be Oxford faculty members. The students attending lectures will be from an array of Oxford colleges. The college I am attending is called Wycliffe Hall, and is a private hall that focuses on instruction of Christians for church work. SCIO (Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford) is the program of which I am a part. It is affiliated with Wycliffe and so our seminars and landscapes classes take place there. Any questions?
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7 comments:
Only one: have you read the book "A Severe Mercy" by Sheldon Vanauken?
It's really good.
No one has asked Sam or me if we have met any Spanish boys, which we haven't. It's probably on account of Tyler and Anthony. Imagine that! We're still working on making friends with the natives.
Any questions?
Yes, can I have a brain massage? I think I have a knot from thinking about what you have to do.
I'm going to read the book, "Velvet Elvis" by that one dude who does that one video series. This is a particularly valient undertaking, as I rarely chance to read books for pleasure, especially while in different countries.
I hope people stop asking you about men. I suppose most of them do it out of sheer jealousy of not being able to look at Europeans in their natural habitat. I hope this does not, however, keep you from enjoying your long stroll through the zoo of England, just remember A) do not, under any circumstance, get between an English Mum and her brood, as they can become violent, B)never attack the Queen, if you kill her, the whole hive will die, C) do not feed them. They will become a nuisance.
And thank you for your support and love. You're beautiful. A nice spotty girl you are.
I am seeing all my grammar errors and it makes my heart break.
I am seeing all my grammar errors and it makes my heart break.
Why did that post twice? This is tragic. I'm sorry if you thought more interesting people had commented. I can't seem to stop myself.
It's me again. Joy. The reason I have started spelling poorly is those stupid cognates in the Spanish language. For example, Spanish: simbolismo. I don't even remember how to spell it in English anymore.
That's it for comments on this post. I promise.
You must tell me how your instruction on CS Lewis turns out. As I've been going through Mere Christianity I've found the best chapter so far to be on the subject of pride, its worth a read.
It is probably better not to have your mind focused on boys when you have such a great opportunity in front of you, in other words, I approve of your thoughts on the subject.
Velvet Elvis is by Rob Bell.
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