Just went on a walk. I lied and haven't started my work yet. There was a lot on my mind. I think that the weirdest feeling about being here is not wanting to go back home. This whole trip has made me wonder a lot about identity, home, people, and culture are attached. I think I am feeling homesick, I would never admit it, and I miss people, that I will, but being in a totally different world with completely new people, a completely new community has a weird feeling to it. I can't describe it better than that at this time. Just a weird feeling. If you ever watched Arthur and remember the part in the series when Buster went away with his dad flying around the world, then that might help. He was out of the series for a long part of the season, and when he came back everything had changed. He was different, and everyone adjusted as if he were never there. That was my favorite part of the series, and it was kind of sad, too. But I like such things.
I guess I might say that I feel like a foreigner everywhere right now. Now starting to break away from habits I wouldn't have even noticed at home, and developing new ones. I have absolutely no idea what will be the outcome of this type of experience, and I guess that is what makes it most exciting.
I also expect that this feeling will only increase over the time I'm here, so I might promise to be reticent and not mention it again. Even if I do get homesick.
One last thing. I just happen to think of a passage from Tess that might appropriate this situation and put into practice what I should be doing in my essays:
"Moreover, when two people are once parted--have abandoned a common domicile and a common environment--new growths insensibly bud upward to fill each vacated place; unforeseen accidents hinder intentions, and old plans are forgotten".
New growths insensibly bud upward to fill each vacated place.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Hump Day
So, so much to write about! We just got back from watching "A Midsummer's Night Dream", and it was so funny! Great Play! Bottom was the best part by far.
Okay maybe not too terribly much to write about, but I'll stab. Class is going very well. I would like to say I'm learning a lot about poetry, but I shan't be too hasty. We conferenced with our professors about our first response paper, and I will be working on mine diligently tonight to bring it beyond a rough draft. I was a little disappointed with it, to be honest, but I will put all the energy I have stored to make it better. I have to write much and get caught up on my journal entries. Or, at least start those, anyway. After that, I hope that I can start on more papers and FINALLY get to reading the poetry assigned for tomorrow. Again. We're discussing Milton's "Lycidas", and we will be breaking up into pairs to present our interpretations. Now, if I have made it sound too easy so far, I'd like to draw attention to the whole educational program here. Our professors are challenging, impossibly learned, and are pushing us as far as they can. They are Dr. Conner, who actually helped to write SPAMALOT, Dr. Lamb, who went to NYU, I believe, and Dr. Stewart, who is actually originally from here and received his PhD here, as well. Together, they make an unstoppable tri-force of knowledge, entertainment, and hilarity.
Anyway, during a minimal amount of free time today, I went with a couple of our group to the Oxford Museum, forgive me if that is not the right name. There is housed inside Einstein's blackboard where he elaborated on a theory here at Oxford during a debate.
Yesterday, I didn't get to write about what we did. We visited the English countryside and it was amazing. So much corn, so many sheep. As far as the eye could see. We walked on for several miles.
I should probably not neglect all the food I have had either, but I will do it injustice by not recalling half of what I've had....okay....no...I'll work on that later. But it's been good!
A few things I like about being in England:
1. No tipping. No taxing.
2. Everyone has untidy hair, so I fit in.
3. I hardly ever need my sunglasses.
Speaking of #3, the weather here is awesome, being so close to the ocean. I haven't see a clear day since I've been here (I heart overcast weather), and it's always the right temperature.
Didn't do half bad, I s'pose. Wrote more than I anticipated.
Tomorrow we are going to London and staying there for a time.
Oh, and I haven't had a Coke since I've been here. I've been cut off by the culture itself. I'm getting a myriad of headaches, but I refuse to give in as long as the opportunity lends itself. Like Lent all over again.
Pip, pip.
Okay maybe not too terribly much to write about, but I'll stab. Class is going very well. I would like to say I'm learning a lot about poetry, but I shan't be too hasty. We conferenced with our professors about our first response paper, and I will be working on mine diligently tonight to bring it beyond a rough draft. I was a little disappointed with it, to be honest, but I will put all the energy I have stored to make it better. I have to write much and get caught up on my journal entries. Or, at least start those, anyway. After that, I hope that I can start on more papers and FINALLY get to reading the poetry assigned for tomorrow. Again. We're discussing Milton's "Lycidas", and we will be breaking up into pairs to present our interpretations. Now, if I have made it sound too easy so far, I'd like to draw attention to the whole educational program here. Our professors are challenging, impossibly learned, and are pushing us as far as they can. They are Dr. Conner, who actually helped to write SPAMALOT, Dr. Lamb, who went to NYU, I believe, and Dr. Stewart, who is actually originally from here and received his PhD here, as well. Together, they make an unstoppable tri-force of knowledge, entertainment, and hilarity.
Anyway, during a minimal amount of free time today, I went with a couple of our group to the Oxford Museum, forgive me if that is not the right name. There is housed inside Einstein's blackboard where he elaborated on a theory here at Oxford during a debate.
Yesterday, I didn't get to write about what we did. We visited the English countryside and it was amazing. So much corn, so many sheep. As far as the eye could see. We walked on for several miles.
I should probably not neglect all the food I have had either, but I will do it injustice by not recalling half of what I've had....okay....no...I'll work on that later. But it's been good!
A few things I like about being in England:
1. No tipping. No taxing.
2. Everyone has untidy hair, so I fit in.
3. I hardly ever need my sunglasses.
Speaking of #3, the weather here is awesome, being so close to the ocean. I haven't see a clear day since I've been here (I heart overcast weather), and it's always the right temperature.
Didn't do half bad, I s'pose. Wrote more than I anticipated.
Tomorrow we are going to London and staying there for a time.
Oh, and I haven't had a Coke since I've been here. I've been cut off by the culture itself. I'm getting a myriad of headaches, but I refuse to give in as long as the opportunity lends itself. Like Lent all over again.
Pip, pip.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Dear Anglophile:
I'm so sorry about the crappy quality of writing that I put into this, too. I don't check what I write, and I have so far made posts at like two in the morning. It's painful for me to read, but I really don't care with it being what it is. I'll try to be a better person in the future. No promises.
Back to School; Gala
Today I realized that I'm actually back in school. Amidst all the scenery, I was distracted by the very thought of studying, and even now, it still seems distant. I don't feel like I'm at school, although I'm always processing what's going on all the time, like the readings, history, culture, and the accent. I have a feeling that this impression of mine is susceptible to change and am curious to how it consequently will.
The affect of the accent is a bit different than I expected, and I find it strange to have it around me all the time. Today while I was visiting a few stores, I would mimic the clerks speech and tersely reply "Hallo" or something to that degree. I say tersely because at first I felt like an outcast speaking with as an American. In the oncoming weeks, I look forward to see whether I will continue to try to acclimate my speech or if I will be the rebellious American many of the English folk see us as, according to my interactions and impressions. As an aside, have spent a lot of the day thinking in a British accent purely out of happenstance. We shall see if the seeds sprout.
Class was interesting, as we have three professors amongst us while we sat at a table discussing what is assumed has been read and consumed while we sipped on tea. Spending almost all my social time with the professors has so far been a different and enthralling experience. So much education!
We had our first Gala dinner this evening, which eventually progressed to the Eagle and the Child Pub, the pub where Tolkien and Lewis shared their drafts of The LOTR and The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. Nonstop wild evening.
I couldn't resist either asking a British person their view of The Simpsons, given our sharing of pop culture/political exchanges. I had heard that it was wildly popular in Europe, and I myself believed it was similar in the British sense of humor while satirizing American life. Dr. Lee, a guest of ours at our eatings tonight confirmed both of the views. Refuge! "Oh, we love the Simpsons. They're very much like our British humour, you know, sarcasm n' all. We're only just now getting some of the older episodes. They've been around a donkeyish number of years".
The affect of the accent is a bit different than I expected, and I find it strange to have it around me all the time. Today while I was visiting a few stores, I would mimic the clerks speech and tersely reply "Hallo" or something to that degree. I say tersely because at first I felt like an outcast speaking with as an American. In the oncoming weeks, I look forward to see whether I will continue to try to acclimate my speech or if I will be the rebellious American many of the English folk see us as, according to my interactions and impressions. As an aside, have spent a lot of the day thinking in a British accent purely out of happenstance. We shall see if the seeds sprout.
Class was interesting, as we have three professors amongst us while we sat at a table discussing what is assumed has been read and consumed while we sipped on tea. Spending almost all my social time with the professors has so far been a different and enthralling experience. So much education!
We had our first Gala dinner this evening, which eventually progressed to the Eagle and the Child Pub, the pub where Tolkien and Lewis shared their drafts of The LOTR and The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. Nonstop wild evening.
I couldn't resist either asking a British person their view of The Simpsons, given our sharing of pop culture/political exchanges. I had heard that it was wildly popular in Europe, and I myself believed it was similar in the British sense of humor while satirizing American life. Dr. Lee, a guest of ours at our eatings tonight confirmed both of the views. Refuge! "Oh, we love the Simpsons. They're very much like our British humour, you know, sarcasm n' all. We're only just now getting some of the older episodes. They've been around a donkeyish number of years".
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Arrival
Today, we arrived at Oxford.
We came here after the longest flight I've ever been on, which also concurrently served as the first. The people I am with are a nice group, though, so that made everything go much smoother. I tried watching Ghost Writer and the Hurt Locker on the flight, but failed on both accounts. I did manage to listen to a full playlist of Aaron Copland music, though, and watch reruns from this season of the Office and 30 Rock.
We eventually arrived. I got situated in my room, which came with a fully functional piano. Weighted keys and all. I have a great window view that opens out onto the quad. My room is still really empty and quiet, though.
We went sightseeing around the town, and saw some wonderful architecture. We were going to go to Christ College (where much of the Sorcerer's Stone and the dining hall was/is filmed), but decided to postpone due to an insane tourist line. We went to a cloister in a neighboring college, though, where a scene from the last Harry Potter was filmed, specifically, where Mad Eye Moony turns Malfoy into a rat. I didn't recall that scene, so I just took my professor's word for it. I'll look it up later.
We ate Thai for dinner. And the rest of the evening is pretty much a blur. I'm exhausted and really should go to bed even though I should review poetry for tomorrow. Haven't slept for over a day though, so I will make that my first priority.
We came here after the longest flight I've ever been on, which also concurrently served as the first. The people I am with are a nice group, though, so that made everything go much smoother. I tried watching Ghost Writer and the Hurt Locker on the flight, but failed on both accounts. I did manage to listen to a full playlist of Aaron Copland music, though, and watch reruns from this season of the Office and 30 Rock.
We eventually arrived. I got situated in my room, which came with a fully functional piano. Weighted keys and all. I have a great window view that opens out onto the quad. My room is still really empty and quiet, though.
We went sightseeing around the town, and saw some wonderful architecture. We were going to go to Christ College (where much of the Sorcerer's Stone and the dining hall was/is filmed), but decided to postpone due to an insane tourist line. We went to a cloister in a neighboring college, though, where a scene from the last Harry Potter was filmed, specifically, where Mad Eye Moony turns Malfoy into a rat. I didn't recall that scene, so I just took my professor's word for it. I'll look it up later.
We ate Thai for dinner. And the rest of the evening is pretty much a blur. I'm exhausted and really should go to bed even though I should review poetry for tomorrow. Haven't slept for over a day though, so I will make that my first priority.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Finished Tess and Packing
Okay, finished Tess and packing for today. Sooo tired. Going to England tomorrow. Gulp. Feels unreal. I refuse to believe anymore until I'm in the airport.
Friday, July 23, 2010
T-Minus One Day
Hello Blogosphere! I have to first admit that I feel a little uncertain about our recently formed relationship considering that not many introductions begin with terms of agreement that say my sponsoring website might have to hand me over to the government after supplying them with ample self-incriminating evidence. I think, then, that I will write like I am writing a journal entry with the insight that someone might be looking over my shoulder. So not too privately. Who knows? It might be just between you and me.
Now, the main plot of this, my blog, is to write about my going across the pond to jolly ol' England. I will most likely use this as a rough draft for my many journals that I have to sketch out, two, actually, and I can use this as easy reference for myself, as well as for, I suppose, others. Not too concerned about the latter when it comes down to it since I am only the least bit aware of your lurking presence.
Icebreakers aside, let us get it on. I'm writing with a five o'clock shadow and sore eyes. (Aye! There's a good, romanticized beginning. Yeah!) I have read voraciously preparing for the oncoming trip, including an inch worth of a poetry packet, novels, a play, and more some more poetry. Specifically, these are Shakespeare's As You Like It, Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess, Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Kennedy's Elegy: The New Critical Idiom, and Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. Happily, almost all of these have one thing conveniently in common: DEATH...or...MELANCHOLIA...or...ALIENATION, and, if you're lucky, DIPSOMANIA. Okay, not really, but that's what it seems like.
Quickly casting all of the others into a corner, my favorite by far has been Brideshead Revisited. With Sebastian, a morose drunkard that talks to his teddy bear because he misses his childhood and hardly relates to his family, what's not to like? That's really just scratching a surface detail, but I'll hopefully delve more deeply over course of practicing this genre.
Okay, being the early AM, I feel I have sufficiently blogged away for my first entry, and, if we are lucky, expect more to come!
Now, the main plot of this, my blog, is to write about my going across the pond to jolly ol' England. I will most likely use this as a rough draft for my many journals that I have to sketch out, two, actually, and I can use this as easy reference for myself, as well as for, I suppose, others. Not too concerned about the latter when it comes down to it since I am only the least bit aware of your lurking presence.
Icebreakers aside, let us get it on. I'm writing with a five o'clock shadow and sore eyes. (Aye! There's a good, romanticized beginning. Yeah!) I have read voraciously preparing for the oncoming trip, including an inch worth of a poetry packet, novels, a play, and more some more poetry. Specifically, these are Shakespeare's As You Like It, Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess, Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Kennedy's Elegy: The New Critical Idiom, and Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. Happily, almost all of these have one thing conveniently in common: DEATH...or...MELANCHOLIA...or...ALIENATION, and, if you're lucky, DIPSOMANIA. Okay, not really, but that's what it seems like.
Quickly casting all of the others into a corner, my favorite by far has been Brideshead Revisited. With Sebastian, a morose drunkard that talks to his teddy bear because he misses his childhood and hardly relates to his family, what's not to like? That's really just scratching a surface detail, but I'll hopefully delve more deeply over course of practicing this genre.
Okay, being the early AM, I feel I have sufficiently blogged away for my first entry, and, if we are lucky, expect more to come!
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