A Month Gone By...

Its hard to believe that it has already been over a month since I arrived in Oxford. I have to start first by apologizing for how long it has been since my last post, it has really been a whirlwind here and I just haven't made the time to do it.

England is still an amazing and awe inspiring place, but I am finally starting to feel at home. Slowly I am getting to know some people here and settling in to rapid pace of tutorial life.

Tutorials are perhaps the most exhausting, terrifying, challenging, fascinating, and rewarding experience I could ever have. It is literally non-stop reading and writing; as soon as one paper is finished the next is looming overhead. At times it is overwhelming, and more then one I have been extremely frustrated by the never-ending workload. Still, when tutorials come around it quickly becomes apparent that it is all worth it. I realize how much I have really learned and how much I enjoy the subjects I am studying. My tutors challenge me to not simply regurgitate information, but truly question and analyze what I have learned. I am not only learning about theories, problems, and ideas, but how these things effect the world of the present.

Although tutorials occupy the majority of my time here at Oxford, other adventures have also been had. With my roommates, we went to a lecture by Geza Vermes, a Jewish scholar from Oxford, who is also a renowned scholar on the historical Jesus. It was an interesting event, and although there was nothing to earth shattering said, it was still interesting to here such well known scholars take on the issues surrounding our knowledge of Jesus as a historical figure.

Later that night, I joined a few OPUS students at New College event called "Bryce's Coffeehouse," an acoustic event started by an American student several years back. It was great fun, and I got to meet a few new Brits while enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. Two amusing aspects of the event were the conspicuous absence of coffee (replaced, not surprisingly by tea) and the overwhelming majority of American music that was played. The best performance of the night however had to have come from an acapella group whose performance included a rap...in German.

Last weekend also marked our first sightseeing/tourist adventure, in which we explored Broughton Manor and Warwick Castle. Our first stop was a private tour of Broughton Manor (Great Room, Right), the ancestral home of Lord and Lady Saye and Sele, which dates back to the 16th century. It was full of history and amazing architecture. Needless to say it was fascinating to learn the history behind this grand estate. Warwick Castle was are second stop which was a huge structure with multiple towers, rooms, gardens, etc. The gardens were beautiful and the the towers offered amazing views of the surrounding countryside and town. The spiral staircases up to the top and back down to the ground were quite a dizzying experience, though it is hard to imagine doing with full battle gear as well. However, the castle was disappointing in that instead of being preserved as a historical landmark, it has essentially become a largely commercialized tourist attraction, complete with countless creepy wax sculptures in almost every room. Still it was fun to play tourist for a day and escape the grasp of tutorials, if just for a few hours. If anything else, Kiley, the Katies and I had a blast chasing the peacocks around the gardens.

A View From Warwick Castle

This last week, I finally got to enjoy the benefits of membership at the Oxford Union. On Thursday we attended the debate on healthcare in which the opposing speakers argued over the motion "This House would rather be ill in Britain than the USA." The debate was very interesting and it became quite clear that both systems have their inherent strengths and weaknesses that politicians and doctors alike are still trying to resolve. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of interaction between the speakers, but as a whole it was great fun. On Friday I went with my roommate Maura to see John Bercow, who is the Speaker of the House of Commons (the influential body of the British legislature). It was a very interesting discussion on reforming the system in the wake of a recent expenses scandal involving many politicians.

This weekend was also full of distractions and fun. On Saturday a bunch of APU students got together for a ghost tour of Oxford, which has been called by many sources Oxford's #1 thing to do. It turned out to be rather corny and ridiculous, but had a good laugh and that was enough for me. Yesterday Kristen, Kiley, Katie Haz, and I went to our first formal dinner at New College with our friends Matthew and Ali. Now I should probably clarify that formal dinner at our college does not entail tuxes and dresses. Instead, students are required to wear academic gowns, which are essentially long black vests, in addition to their normal everyday clothes. It was the "American Superbowl" theme, and although several menu items were genuine American fare, the appetizer of bagels with cream cheese and dill pickles was still a little foreign to me. We had a great time laughing with Ali and Matt, and it was good to experience such a quintessential Oxford tradition.

For the Super Bowl itself, we all gathered at Dr. Martins apartment to watch the game and enjoy midnight snacks of Dominoes Pizza, cookies, and some very interesting potato chips (Dr. Martin accidentally bought a variety pack of Baked Chicken, Smokey Bacon, and Steak and Onion...interesting to say the least). The one thing that was missing though was the commercials, which replaced by some, well lets just call them poor, BBC commentators during each commercial break. It was great fun, probably ill advised, and I was asleep on the floor for all of the 3rd quarter anyways.

Sometime this week I'll post some stuff about some language/cultural differences.
Well, now its time to get reading yet again. Miss you all!

Cheers!

Matt