So I should be going to bed, but I’m working on internship applications and I started feeling a little guilty for neglecting my blog. If there’s anyone who has actually checked this to see if I’ve posted anything, I’m so sorry it’s been so long! This is a rambling post, since I wrote it in bits and pieces, but it will hopefully give you an overview of what my time in England has been like.
In mid-September the George Mason section of the study abroad group went to London for the weekend. Highlights included the museums (London has so many free museums—it’s my favorite form of cheap tourism), hanging out with other Mason students, and walking along the Thames past Big Ben at night.
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| "Yes, Prime Minister" from our seats on the millionth floor |
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| One of the Trafalgar Square lions (much harder to climb than I thought!) | |
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But far and away the best part was Evensong at Westminster Abbey. My friend Bruce even got us introduced to the
Very Reverend Dr. John Hall, Dean of Westminster, who (to Bruce’s delight) welcomed the Pope on his visit to London last year and (to my delight) conducted the Royal Wedding service this April. Dr. Hall took us behind the altar to show us the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor. My confession is that I hadn’t heard of St. Edward and had no idea what I was seeing, but I know it was a privilege and a rare moment in my London adventures!
The Royal theme continued after a trip to the Canary Islands for our travel break (the closest I’ve ever been to Africa—sniff), when Molly (from Catholic University of America) and I headed back to London to tour Buckingham Palace. It’s only open for August and September while the Queen is in Scotland, so we scooted in on the last tourist day and got to see the beautiful palace (it’s HUGE inside, and so lovely) and Kate’s (tiny) wedding dress.
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| In the Queen's backyard (no photos in her home) |
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| The Royal Mews (horses, coaches and really expensive cars) |
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| Exercising the Queen's horses |
Since then I’ve gone punting (flat boat, shallow river, long pole—it’s not my calling in life, but I stayed dry), tried rowing (again, not my calling, but it’s nice to say I’ve rowed on the Thames—also called the Isis around Oxford), and joined the track team (“athletics”—also not my calling, but it’s fun and if I mess up I don’t have to swim). Really, sports are one of the best ways to meet people, and since everything is a club here, you can join a lot of sports without being very talented. That’s a major difference between American and English universities.
Last weekend my friend Hannah visited—we grew up together, and she’s studying in Italy this fall, so she hopped over during her break. It was so encouraging to see someone from home, and really fun to get to show Oxford off.
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| Oxford Castle |
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| Rowers practicing on the Isis |
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| Hannah! |
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| Slightly unnerving... |
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| Getting to be a tourist :) Alice in Wonderland was written for the daughter of the dean of Christ Church |
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| What happens in Primark (a cheap, British Forever21) when the shoes don't come in boxes... |
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| She was right! (It's a Norman castle.) |
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| Whoops (escapees...) |
Also, October brought tutorials, which I love. Since I have to do my own research, exploration and writing throughout the week, I find myself much more invested in my learning. It’s like I get to write two mini theses every week, except with much lower stakes. I want to stay the whole year, but sadly I need a couple more classes at Mason that aren’t offered here, so it looks like I’ll be back in the states for the spring.
Random observations, English and otherwise:
- Many of the ambulances in Oxford are station-wagon sized (hearse-like?), while the police cars are like little vans. You’d think they would switch that up. But on the topic of vehicles, the bus drivers here are a marvel. I think they have a segment in their training titled, “How to fit your bus through a space narrower than it is.” Haven’t seen a nicked rearview mirror yet.
- I also now know that I weight approximately 11 stone. I stumbled across this odd archaic weight term from seeing tabloids boasting things like “Pauline went from 20stone to 13stone!” I can just see myself running around America, gleefully shouting “I just lost two stones!” I’d get some stares.
- I wrote a book proposal for one of my tutorials (the tutorial is called “Writing for Publication”) and learned that if you’re ever trying to learn about something, pretend you have to write a book on it. You will discover resources you never knew existed. For me, that was a little disappointing, because I discovered someone else already wrote my book. But in the future it should be helpful!
- Lastly, when I’m walking alone at night down dimly lit streets (sorry Mom and Dad), I have a new strategy for looking intimidating: hold anything I have that looks like a weapon (key, umbrella) menacingly, pick up shoulders, and walk with arms dangling slightly away from my body, meathead-style. The upside is that in my attempt to make my arms look muscular I actually feel quite thin. The downside is I probably look like too uncoordinated to fight. Life is a tradeoff, as Dr. Smith (college professor and author of A Freepress in Free Hand) would say.
Well, enjoy your extra hours of daytime back home (I know we get exactly the same amount, but somehow I always get jealous when it's dark out here and still sunny back home). And sorry the pictures are a little lacking, I think I may need to get a smaller camera so I won't be so lazy about carrying it around!
