Month: June 2010

One of my Holy Cross friends, Margaret, reminded me today that we have less than two months before we return to Holy Cross. Um. I’m going to be a senior in less than two months. It seems quite distant (literally and figuratively) since I’m about 4,000 miles away from Worcester. However, I know it’s coming, and I know that August 22nd (the day I move in to my sweeeeeet single in Healy!) will be here practically instantaneously. It’s frightening and exciting at the same time. Senior year is going to quite busy (especially in first semester), but I’m quite excited for it.

Speaking of Senior year (aaaaah!), my research for my senior thesis is going quite well. The libraries at Oxford are quite different during the summer than during term time. Firstly, there are so many more students during term time. It’s so quiet now – like eerily quiet. Secondly, the libraries aren’t open as late, which makes me sad. And, the most devastating difference of all is that the Upper Rad Cam is closed for the summer. I know. I know. The audacity that these brits have sometime astounds me too.

Summer in Oxford is gorgeous, though. The Catholic Chaplaincy is just a couple of feet away from the towpath along the Thames River, so I take my bike out for a ride along the river every morning (sounds quite romantic, doesn’t it?). Luckily, the weather has been extremely nice, so let’s hope that it stays like this for the next five weeks!

On Tuesday, all of my Holy Cross and American friends left to start their summer back in America, and I moved into the Catholic Chaplaincy to begin my summer in Oxford. On Tuesday afternoon, I received text messages from my American friends to let me know that they arrived at Heathrow and were waiting for their planes; Margaret ended hers with, “Well, this is the last time that I’ll be using my British mobile!” That’s when it hit me. My year abroad is rapidly coming to an end. It hit me even more square in the nose last night when I helped Sam pack up his room; he’s moving to London in the next couple of days. Yszi is still hanging around the city to complete some research, but she’s also going back home on the weekends. Lorna is finishing her exams today, and then she’s off back to Liverpool. It’s just weird to watch a city in which I’ve lived for the past nine months empty so rapidly over the course of a couple of days. I will admit that I was wondering whether I made the right choice to stay here during the summer on Tuesday. As my friends talked about eating American burgers, sleeping in their own beds, and driving their cars, I will admit that I was jealous that they get to go home. Suddenly, the wise words of my parents regarding this summer were ringing in my ears. However, I now know that I made the right choice because as I was moving into the Catholic Chaplaincy, I realized that I’m not ready to leave Oxford yet. Although I really wanted to go home on Tuesday (isn’t that supposed to happen toward the beginning of your study abroad experience?), I know that I would’ve been extremely unhappy if I actually did go home. There’s so much more that I want to see and do in Oxford. There are so many books that I need to read for my senior thesis. There’s so much that I still need to explore in England. So, although I’d love an American burger right now, I’m quite excited for the different experience in Oxford that awaits me this summer.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m staying in Oxford until the beginning of August. I decided (read: begged my parents) to stay so that I could get a jump start on researching my senior thesis. It’s going to be a tough transition, since after I leave England in the beginning of August, I have a week at home and then I’m back in Massachusetts to start my senior year. I’m also not going home for Thanksgiving (I’m dancing in England instead), so the next time that I’ll be in Georgia for a prolonged period of time is Christmas Break. Wow.
Anyway, the JYAs have started leaving (one girl on my floor actually left about two weeks ago). Iain left yesterday, and a majority of the other students are leaving early Monday and Tuesday mornings. It’s kind of weird to think that they’ll all be home in a couple of days and I’ll still be here. I’m not complaining – please don’t misunderstand me (especially you, Mom and Dad. I’m not coming home for a while!). I’d be lying, though, if I said that there were times that I wish I was going home within the next couple of days. It’d be fantastic to not have a dishwasher or to not worry about an exchange rate. Yes, I do miss my family and my sugary American breakfast cereals. I miss driving my car and being able to be at destination A in five minutes. Most importantly, I miss my mom’s cooking (see, Mom! I do love you!). Although I miss the comforts of home, I’m excited to stay here for another two months. I’m quite glad now that I took on all of those shifts at Kimball! It’s going to be a different experience in Oxford without the JYAs. Most of my dance friends will be here during the summer, but it will be weird without my American friends. I’m excited for the upcoming summer, though. It’s going to be filled with research for my thesis, trips throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, and dancing. Of course, that means that I’ll be existing on pasta. Mom, maybe you could come over here…?

I had my last tutorial as an Oxford undergraduate (notice what I did there!) today. Coincidentally, it happened to be with the Senior Tutor at Mansfield College, Dr. Lucinda Rumsey, and she asked me what I thought of this entire year. Let me be perfectly blunt: This year has been the best year of my life (yes, I know that I have many years ahead of me, but roll with me, people!). With regards to academics, I’ve been able to study topics in depth with some of the world’s greatest medievalists. Taking a course on Paleography with Ralph Hanna is something about which most undergraduate (and graduate!) Medieval Studies students dream. I’ve been so blessed to work with such amazing scholars who are so passionate and at the top of their field. Now, I’m not saying that the faculty and staff at Holy Cross aren’t at the top of their field and/or not passionate (quite the opposite, really), but the one-on-one tutorial system has provided me with such amazing opportunities to explore these in-depth topics in such a detailed meeting. On top of that, the flexibility of the tutorial system allowed me to choose (and, in some cases, design) classes that I simply wouldn’t have had the opportunity to take at Holy Cross. In case you haven’t noticed, I like the Medieval period. While Holy Cross is great for introduction and intermediate level Medieval courses, I wanted more specialized  courses, which resulted in me taking The History of the English Language, The Age of Bede, Medieval Paleography, Medieval Female Mystical Literature, and The History of the British Isles: 1045-1215. Furthermore, the tutorial system operates very much on what you put into it is what you get out of it. Yes, I guess that you could argue that American universities operate this way as well. But the tutorial system is a bit different, since you literally have to teach yourself (and the tutors are there to tell you if you’ve screwed up or not). In addition, this year has really refined my research and writing abilities. When you only have a week to learn everything about a topic and then condense an argument into 2,500 words, you learn how to refine your writing style. So, this year, the academic side of life has been one of the best years of my life. Every course that I took was engaging and invigorating, and each tutor challenged me and pushed me far beyond what I thought were my capabilities. These academic opportunities that I’ve had this past year will also hopefully serve me well when I begin graduate school applications (*gulp*). But let’s not talk about that, shall we? Let’s just enjoy today and the fact that I’m free from actual school work until September 1st, which is when classes begin at Holy Cross. Then again, let’s not talk about that either!

Yes, everyone, the day has finally arrived! It’s June 15th! You know what that means, right? Today commemorates the…wait for it…

795th Anniversary of the Signing (well, seal-affixing)  of Magna Carta!!!

I know that you have all had this day marked on your calendars for a while; I expect that you all are at your local pubs celebrating. Me? What am I doing to celebrate this momentous day? Well, the celebrations for me started on Friday. My last essay for Hugh was the following question: How far did Magna Carta fulfill the intentions of its makers? We spent a good hour and a half talking about Magna Carta (and, by that, I mean Hugh talked for an hour and a half whilst I rapidly tried to write down the brilliant things that he was saying), so that was a great way to kick off the celebrations.

On Saturday, I ventured to Runnymede, which is the meadow in which Magna Carta was signed. John was at Windsor, and the barons were in Staines; Runnymede is in the middle of those two. The issue with all of these medieval sites to which I’ve been venturing this year is that they’re either a) in the middle of nowhere (i.e., Sutton Hoo) or b) in the middle of a huge highway (i.e. Runnymede). Mom and Dad, if you’re reading this, don’t worry – I’m fine, and I’m always safe. Always. Anyway, there really isn’t anything to the meadows – they’re just meadows, which was fantastic. The weather was actually quite beautiful, so I was able to frolic in the meadows for a bit. There are three memorials scattered throughout Runnymede; one, which was set up by the American Bar Association, commemorates the signing of Magna Carta. Another commemorates those who served in the British Armed Forces. The last one commemorates JFK. Fun fact: The land on which the memorials dedicated to Magna Carta and JFK are actually American territory. So, in essence, I went home for the weekend. But, yes, I was able to visit where the barons negotiated with a) each other and b) King John and eventually where Magna Carta was signed. It was awesome. That’s one of the coolest things about this year – I’ve been able to physically be in the same places about which I’ve studied. Talk about making Beowulf come to life! Field trips are kind of hard to arrange when you’re a medieval studies student in America. Here, though, you just hop on a train and *bam* – you’re at the same place where Raedwald most likely stood.

More medieval nerdery related to Magna Carta will happen shortly, so watch this space.

Now, I’m not going to go into what Magna Carta exactly established (FYI – the 1215 original statement did not, in fact, create English democracy as we know it; that came with the later reissues), but it is a document worth celebrating nonetheless. So go out and show your pride for this document!

My year abroad is coming to a very swift conclusion. I’m not a fan of this at all.

On Thursday, we had the Farewell Reception for Visiting Students. Dr. Cari Morningstar, the director of the Visiting Student Program, and Dr. Diana Wolford, the President of the college, spoke about what the Visiting Students have achieved this year. Then, Dr. Wolford said it – “You are now, technically, alumni of Mansfield College, University of Oxford.” Er.  Whaaaaaaaaat? That’s when all thirty one of us realized how quickly this year is coming to a conclusion. When we all arrived back in September/October, we never thought that June would arrive. But now it’s here. It’s all quite frightening, really. It was a fantastic event, though. Most of the Mansfield tutors attended, and I had a chance to talk with Dr. Diana Wolford. Dr. Wolford was talking to my friend, Hope, and me about our plans for after senior year (please! I can only handle leaving one institution at a time!) As Hope and I expressed our desires to return to Oxford for graduate work (Hope is also a Medievalist), Dr. Wolford told us that they have had some Visiting Students return for graduate work. At that, I exclaimed, “Ah! There’s hope!” Well, quite literally, Hope was there, since she was standing next to me. Never mind – you kind of had to be there.

Since everything is coming to such a rapid close, all of the JYAs are trying to cram in as many fun events as possible. Last weekend, we went punting and had a picnic afterward. No, I did not punt; I think that the pole weighed more than me. Instead, I was a very helpful paddler. Err…yeah. We’ll go with that.

Even more frighteningly, I’m basically finished with all of my work. I had my last tutorial with Hugh yesterday (more to follow on that), and my last essay for Lucinda is due on Wednesday. I already turned in my ICIP project, so I really only have this last essay for Lucinda. And what better way to celebrate the end of my academic obligations than…

AMERICAN-STYLE BLUEBERRY PANCAKES!?!

It’s the little things in life, folks. 🙂

It is already 7th week of Trinity term. Where on earth did my year abroad go? I’m currently writing my last two essays, and I cannot believe that I’m nearly finished with my academic responsibilities at Oxford. For my last paper for Lucinda, I’m exploring how Julian of Norwich comes to accept her role as a mystic despite her previous aversion to mysticism, as influenced by English Christianity’s general distrust of mysticism in general. For Hugh’s last paper, my question is “How far did the Magna Carta fulfill the intentions of its makers?” As you can imagine, after I finish Lucinda’s paper (hopefully in the next two hours), I’ll be in the History Faculty Library researching and writing Hugh’s. Don’t worry; I plan on writing an incredibly long entry about my academic experience at Oxford, but that will have to wait until after Thursday at 5:00 p.m., when I’m officially finished with my papers. This is all going by way too quickly!

Last Sunday, I was running late for Mass, so  I threw on the first pair of shoes that were within my grasp – my Holy Cross flip flops. I personally hate wearing flip flops to Mass; I think this is due to St. Joseph’s Chapel, where everything (and I mean everything) echoes. Anyway, I ran off to Mass in my flip flops, and tried to not make that much noise throughout Mass.

At the end of Mass, the  man sitting next to me stopped me and asked, “Do you go to College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA?” I was quite shocked, since Holy Cross is not that well known of a school in England. I replied yes. He said, “I couldn’t help but notice your flip flops.” He then introduced himself as a friend of several of the chaplains at Holy Cross (specifically Megan Fox-Kelly), as he attended Weston with many of them. As we talked, he informed me that he is now a Jesuit, and he invited me to dinner at Campion Hall with the other Jesuits in Oxford. Moral of the story: wear your Holy Cross flip flops wherever you are, even at Mass. Who knows? You might get a meal with the Jesuits out of it!