Month: January 2010

It’s already Week 2 of Hilary. My goodness; these terms really do fly. I think it’s because we do so much work that we all lose track of time, an then we can’t believe our eyes when we see the calendar. I don’t know; I’m going to have to talk to some of my Psychology friends to determine if that theory has any merit whatsoever. Anyway, whilst the work load has been difficult, it’s been rewarding and enjoyable nonetheless. My first tutorial for Victorian Literature is today; we’ll be covering Henry James’ Washington Square. Yes, this term, I’m dealing with texts that are somewhat earlier than usual. Don’t worry, though; I’m still taking a primary Medieval tutorial and I’m attending a lot of Medieval lectures. For my Medieval Paleography tutorial on Friday, I’m studying the development of manuscripts. As for the lectures, my Old English Poetry lecture yesterday was fantastic! Dr. Sutherland lectured primarily on the subject on which I want to write my senior thesis (oh, yes, that’s coming up next year…). Of course, I’m still attending more modern lectures, too, like TS Eliot for example. As I told my parents on Sunday, my Victorian Literature class reminds me on daily basis that, as much as I adore the Medieval period (and, if you’ve read this blog for the past year or so, you know how much I love that period!), I really just love literature in general, from the ancient/Classical period to the modern day. To all prospective students: Declare an English major. It is the best decision that you will make. I promise. Anyway, enough departmental plugging. I’ve got to return to preparing for my tutorial. Until next time!

-Colleen

I know; I’ve been lacking in witty titles as of late. Please forgive me!

Well, a majority of the snow has melted, and Oxford is bustling once more with students. I really cannot believe that Hilary Term is already here. This term, I’m taking Medieval Paleography as my primary tutorial and Victorian Literature as my secondary tutorial. Medieval Paleography entails studying medieval manuscripts and developing the trait to identify who wrote the manuscript, where the manuscript was written, for whom it was intended, etc. In Victorian Literature, I’m focusing on Henry James (!! That was actually my nickname for a bit in senior year of high school), Thomas Hardy (!!), and the Brontes (!!). If you couldn’t tell, I’m excited for both of my tutorials and the subsequent lectures that I’ll be attending. I’ve enjoyed my six week long break (and now that I’ve said that, I wonder if the number of applications to the Oxford program will shoot up!), and now I’m ready for eight weeks of intensive studying, writing, and, of course, dancing. Yes, dance resumes this week. We have three major competitions in February, so the entire team is practicing diligently to ensure that we’ll win the national championship (and beat Cambridge, of course).

Well, I’m off to begin my day in the Radcliffe Camera. Until next time!

Who else used to watch “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?” I was addicted to that show and my parents bought me all of the computer games associated with it. Anyway, back to the actual reason for this post…

When I landed in London on Wednesday, I wasn’t sure if I was in Boston or London. I’m not sure if you all have heard, but Europe is experiencing a nasty cold spell this winter. I was lucky enough to get out of London when I did (a majority of flights from Heathrow were canceled in the following days after I left), but I was even luckier to arrive in London  when I did. I flew out of Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon when it was a balmy 29 degrees Fahrenheit. I arrived in Paris, and I had about thirty minutes originally until my connecting flight to London Heathrow. Well, there was so much snow in London that that flight was delayed for about an hour and a half. I finally arrived in London about three hours later than scheduled. Retrieving my bags and getting to the Oxford Airline bus went much more smoothly than the last time. When the bus started driving to Oxford, though, the amount of snow seemed more typical of Boston or Worcester than Oxford. Here’s where the fun begins: the bus dropped me off right outside my apartment building. It just so happened that the sidewalks weren’t shoveled and there was about a foot of snow on the ground. I was wearing my cowboy boots, which have very little traction, and I had to drag two filled suitcases behind me. Luckily, I received some help doing that, and now I’m all settled in. The snow does make Oxford look even more gorgeous, though.

The only bad thing about snow, however, is that it tends to shut down an entire city. On Wednesday, I pretty much had just enough time to run to the grocery store to find something to eat. Luckily, on Thursday, the snow wasn’t as bad and the city was functioning. I promptly bought a pair of boots, as I left my beautiful pair of Timberlands at home, unfortunately. I had heard that there was snow but I didn’t expect this much!). But, now I’m all set for the next snow onslaught that is scheduled to hit us all this weekend. Holy Cross has prepared me in many ways for Oxford, but I had no idea that snow was one of the categories!

After three relaxing weeks filled with delicious food, sleeping in, anddriving my car, I’m headed back to England (in about four hours!). I’m all packed and ready to take on at least six more months (it might be longer; details to follow) at Oxford. Now that I’ve experienced one term, I know what to expect with regards to academics and scheduling my time (aka how many ballroom dance classes I can fit into one week). So, I must bid adieu because I’m about to head out the door to the airport.
Until my next post (which will be from England!)!

-Colleen