Thanksgiving in Paris, part 1

Bonjour from Paris! I am currently visiting my aunt (my father's sister), uncle, and cousin in the city of light. They invited me to spend an American Thanksgiving with them, and of course I could not refuse!

I arrived on Wednesday, and soon after my arrival we climbed the Eiffel Tower just as the sun was setting. On Thursday, my aunt and uncle had to work, so I wandered around Paris by myself. I saw Notre Dame, the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris and one of the most famous examples of Gothic architecture in Europe. It was constructed from 1163 to around 1240. I wandered around the cathedral, lit a candle, and prayed. It was very relaxing!

After Notre Dame, I went to an English bookstore called Shakespeare and Company. My friend from Oxford, Sophie, recommended it to me, and it was incredible! It is a small building absolutely jam-packed with books. Upstairs were small reading rooms and a piano.

After the bookstore, I met up with my cousin Daniel, and we climbed the Arc de Triomphe. This is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz, and it remains a rallying point for French troops. It offered beautiful views of Paris from the top.

Yesterday, my aunt and I went to the Palace of Versailles. It was fairly cold and rainy, so we did not spend too much time in the palace's vast gardens, but I did get to see the many fountains. After walking around outside, we toured the palace. I have never seen so much marble in my life! The palace is full of red, white, green, and blue marble, and many of the doors and works of art are gilded with gold. It is incredibly extravagant. Apparently, with its construction, Louis XIV wanted to show the world the depth of France's wealth and power. He was definitely able to do that. Perhaps the most moving part of the tour for me was walking through the Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, thereby ending World War I.

In front of the Eiffel Tower at night.

Locks on the Pontes de Artes.

The Pontes de Artes.

The Seine.

Notre Dame. It is its 850 year anniversary, so there is construction of some sort going on.

Joan of Arc statue.

Shakespeare and Company bookstore.

So many books!

Me in front of the Arc de Triomphe

View from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

The French flag (an artsy shot for my friend Doris).

The back of the Palace of Versailles.

The front of Versailles.

One of the bedrooms in Versailles.

The Hall of Mirrors.

The queen's bedroom in Versailles. I wish my bedroom was this shiny...

In front of the gate to Versailles.

Why I love Oxford

MANY apologies for not writing for a few weeks! I contracted a virus which lasted over a week and then got food poisoning, and then had a ton of work to make up because I was sick for so long. While I was sick I didn't do anything exciting or blog worthy so I have waited until now.

The title of this post is "Why I love Oxford." I want to preface this by saying that no place is perfect, Oxford included. Everything is very expensive, and the library system (while enormous) can be a huge pain to maneuver. But in this post I am going to talk about the great things about Oxford.

About a week ago, I was walking from my dorm to my college, Mansfield. As I walked down one of the less busy roads, I encountered two students slowly cycling next to each other. I wondered why they were moving so slowly--many cyclists here are absolutely fearless and fly down the streets. As I got closer, I realized they were discussing international relations during World War II. Evidently, one of the students was taking a politics course about this and was educating his friend about it. They spoke in earnest about how many of the international relations strategies from WWII are still used today.

This experience sums up what I love best about Oxford--everyone is genuinely interested in learning and loves talking about what they study. Conversations often effortlessly turn into discussions about academic ideas and concepts. Since arriving here, I've learned so much from my peers simply from talking with them. The other night, I went out for ice cream with some Oxford third-year students and our conversation topics ranged from life after graduation to hiking to gendered history.

All Soul's College on High Street. One of the few days with blue skies!

With friends Alex and Sophie at a black tie event at college.

Reading Hegel. What an atrocious book cover!

Magdalen Bridge

High Street with the Radcliffe Camera (RadCam) in the background.

The walls of Magdalen College.

New College, which is not actually so new! (Established 1379)

Entrance to New College.

Erasmus, the Mansfield cat.

Broad Street with Trinity College.

The Sheldonian Theatre.

Halloween and my scout Kat

Hello everyone! I am officially half way done with this term, or trimester. Each term is only 8 weeks long, so only 4 left to go! School is going really well--I feel like I've found my stride in terms of the work load, and I really like both of my tutors, Philip and Sebastian. Last Wednesday I had to ride my bike to my Philosophy of Religion tutorial and it was pouring rain. I was completely drenched by the time I got to Philip's office! But he offered my tea and coffee, and I got to enjoy some quality coffee (much better than the instant I've been making) during our meeting.

This week I'm reading Hegel's Outlines of the Philosophy of Right, and for my Philosophy of Religion tutorial I'm reading about teleological arguments regarding God.

Last Wednesday was also Halloween. I didn't celebrate too much, although I did go to formal hall, which was Halloween themed. For dinner we had carrot soup, lamb, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, and a chocolate tart. It was delicious. A lot of people dressed up and it was an overall great time.

Now, a word about my scout, Kat. A scout is someone that cleans the dorm I live in. My scout's name is Kat, and she is so kind. Once a week, she vacuums and cleans my room, and just generally checks to make sure I'm doing well. She is always smiling and cheerful and it always brightens my day when I see her. She also motivates me to tidy up my room before she comes, which is no small feat.

I'd like to give a special shout out to Sharon, Mrs. B, and my aunt Debbie who have all recently written to me about my blog! I'm glad you're enjoying it, and any other readers please feel free to email me.

My friend Hyerin dressed as Hillary Clinton from the site "Texts from Hillary"

Halloween formal hall with Esther, Hayley, and Gavi.

Hyerin and Emily at formal hall.

With my friend Sarah, who also goes to Wellesley. Photo credit Hyerin P.

One class's reading for one week. Photo credit Christina P.

Autumn and running

It is finally autumn in Oxford! The leaves are changing and the weather is very dreary--I can't remember the last time I saw the sun. Most of the trees here are deciduous and are losing their leaves. It isn't quite as colorful as the Massachusetts fall I'm used to, but it is gorgeous just the same!

I notice most of the colors when I go running. There aren't loads of trees in the city center--there are just buildings. But when I run I go to trails--Christ Church Meadow, a wildlife preserve, and various parks, all of which have tons of trees. Below are some pictures of Christ Church Meadow which is part of the grounds of Christ Church College, one of Oxford's most famous colleges.

An interesting note about running: people here like to comment on runners more than they do in the States (at least in my experience). They are generally very supportive. The other day, I was waiting at the cross walk near the end of my run. An older man and his wife were also waiting, and he said to me, "Keep goin!" The day after that, I was nearing the end of my run, and someone said "You can do it, keep at it!" I'm not sure if I just look particularly exhausted so they feel obliged to encourage me, or if they are just entertained by the sight of runners (probably both). But I find it quite motivating.

There isn't anything particularly new as far as school goes. I'm still doing loads of reading and writing. Last week I read Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (not exactly a quick read...) and wrote a paper on it. This week I read John Stuart Mill's On Liberty and will begin writing my paper today. For my Philosophy of Religion class, I am writing a 10-page paper on the question "Assuming there is a God, what is God like?"

Entrance to Christ Church Meadow

Christ Church rugby fields

Some of the many geese that tyrannize walkers and runners.

Possibly the cutest tree ever.

Christ Church meadow with its cows and Christ Church College.

As you can see, the weather has been quite gloomy.

Victory and Formal Hall

As of Wednesday morning, I conquered my two papers for this week. One was due Monday (5 pages), and another Wednesday afternoon (10 pages). I worked nonstop the entire weekend, and felt so relieved when I turned in my second paper on Wednesday for my Philosophy of Religion tutorial. I read the entire paper out loud to my tutor and then we discussed it for the rest of the hour. My tutor, Philip, is very kind and supportive. I was a bit worried beforehand because I hadn't written a philosophy paper before, but it went quite well.

On Wednesday night I went to Formal Hall, an Oxford tradition. Formal Hall is a meal served twice a week for which attendees dress up and wear academic gowns. At the beginning of the dinner, one of the fellows of the college says grace in Latin. Then we eat! Dinner is 3 courses. Last night we had a tomato soup, chicken, potatoes, beans, and a sort of creme brulee/cheesecake dessert. It was a great way to celebrate being finished with my classes for the week! Although I have already started reading for the upcoming week...

In other news, I signed up to run the Paris Marathon in April! My friend Dori from Wellesley convinced me as she will be studying abroad in Paris this spring. Our friend Amy, a recent Wellesley graduate and my Wellesley big sister, will also run with us. I am so excited but also a bit terrified!

Our lovely college dining hall.

More of the dining hall.

Adrea and me at Formal Hall.

Left to tight: me, Michelle, and Adrea, all in our academic gowns!

School, school, and more school

The past week has consisted largely of reading, writing, and trying to create a consistent schedule for myself. I have officially received assignments for both of my classes--Political Thought from Bentham to Weber, and Philosophy of Religion. This coming week I have a 5-page paper due Monday on the political writings of Henri comte de Saint-Simon, and a 10-page paper due Wednesday on the question "Is Religion Faith Irrational?" For each of these I have massive amounts of reading to do before I write the paper.

I had my first class, or tutorial, last Tuesday. I met with the professor (tutor) and read my 5-page paper on Jeremy Bentham aloud. Every paragraph or so he would stop me and ask questions about what I had just read. Why did I think that? Could I think of alternative points of view? Etc. It was nerve-wracking at first but I got less nervous as time went on, and I assume it will be better during my next tutorial.

I have started figuring out a consistent schedule for myself to make sure I get enough work done each day. I get up in the morning and have breakfast/coffee in my room. Then I respond to email and start reading. I read for 1-2 hours and then get ready to head over to the college. I make sure my room is tidy before I leave (Mom I know you're proud!) because someone empties my trash everyday, and she also vacuums once a week. Then I go to the college and eat lunch. After, I head to one of the libraries, the Bodleian, Radcliffe Camera, or Social Science Library, and read for 4-5 hours. Many of the books I have to read cannot actually be checked out, so I have to read them at the library and take notes for my papers. Then I go for a run and then head to dinner. After dinner I come back to my dorm and do more reading!

The Radcliffe Camera, with the shadow of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. Once I was studying in here and a tour group came in and watched all of us study!

The Hertford Bridge, or Oxford's own Bridge of Sighs.

The Bodleian Library, the second largest library in the United Kingdom.

Oxford!

Sorry it has been awhile since my last post--I've arrived in Oxford and have been insanely busy!

Mom and I arrived several days ago, and she was here until Tuesday helping me get organized. The past week has been a flurry of orientation activities--being introduced to the library system (Oxford has over 70 libraries!), college tutors (aka professors), and other students.

On top of all of that, I have been given assignments for my first classes! At Oxford, the teaching system is entirely different from US universities. Classes are just one-on-one meetings with professors (there may be one or two other students as well). Before each class, or tutorial, we have to  read several books/articles and write a paper about them. The papers are typically 4-6 pages long. Then you defend and discuss the paper with the tutor during class. Fortunately, we only take two tutorials (classes/courses) per trimester--one of them meets once a week and the other meets once every two weeks. Despite this, though, I am already stressed about school work! For my first tutorial, I am reading several works by Jeremy Bentham and writing a 6-page paper about them.

I'm afraid I haven't yet taken too many pictures of Oxford. I will take more over the weekend and post again soon. Here are the few that I do have:

My college! The weather is deceptively nice in this picture--now it is raining and cold.

Erasmus, our college cat.