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.

Bath

Mom and I have spent the past few days in Bath, a primarily Georgian city (1700s) with Roman ruins. Bath has the only natural hot springs in Great Britain, and the Romans discovered this in the 1st century AD. They built a large complex of baths using the hot springs. Today, you can tour these remains, which we did. Much of the original Roman architecture is intact. There is also a new spa that is separate, which also uses water from the hot springs.

The Great Bath, from up above. Green is the water's natural color.

The Bath Abbey.

Hot springs overflow, used since the 1st century.

The Great Bath, the largest of several baths in the complex.

Mom.

Mom and me.

Me.

We also went on a tour of the city of Bath, most of which was built in the 1700s. The architecture is very uniform and beautiful, and was created from limestone mined nearby. It is Palladian style, and the city was largely designed by one architect, John Wood, and his son.

A building along the Pulteney bridge that is in need of a bit of help.

The Pulteney bridge with the river Avon beneath it. It was built to look like the Rialto bridge in Venice.

The Royal Crescent, a series of houses and flats that are incredibly expensive. Built in 1770.

One end of the Royal Crescent. The stone becomes dirty over time and must be cleaned.

A theater in Bath. 

Mom in front of a hotel on the river Avon (sadly not ours).

Winchcombe and the Cotswolds

We've spent the past few days in the Cotswolds, which are essentially a range of hills and farmland in southwestern and west-central England. There are many small towns in the Cotswolds, and we've stayed in one called Winchcombe. It is a lovely countryside village with approximately 4,500 people. Originally, most people in the area did farming and raised sheep for wool, but now there's obviously a variety of types of work. The pace here is much slower and more relaxed than London, so we have just been doing lots of wandering and some shopping.

Most of the houses are a specific style and made of stone, as shown here. They are unlike anything I've ever seen in the states, and are very beautiful.

This evening, we actually met someone who builds these stone houses. He is the one in charge of laying the stone. Sometimes, the builders simply receive large blocks of it, which they must then cut themselves! All of the new houses are built to look like the old ones, some of which date back to the 13th century.

Earlier today, we did a short 5-mile day hike just outside of town. We walked through fields to get to a burial site from the early Neolithic period called Belas Knap. It is approximately 5,500 years old, or dates back to between 3,600-3,500 BCE. We were not initially planning to do the hike, but one of the archaeologists who worked on the site actually stayed at the same bed and breakfast we did, and she insisted that we see it. 

The walk was fairly wet, as it was raining on and off the entire time. Fortunately, being Seattlites, we are quite accustomed to rain. 

The footpath up to Belas Knap. Perhaps not the best trail signage I've ever seen...

We were prepared for rain.

Winchcombe from above. This was one of the less rainy portions of the trip!

Mom and me in front of Belas Knap, the burial mound.

Mom at one of the entrances to Belas Knap. The mound wasn't completely hollow, but it did have a few entrances. These were excavated in the 1800s.

The Tower of London and Buckingham Palace

I have seen so many diamonds the past two days. With the queen's Diamond Jubilee this year (celebrating her 60 years on the throne), it seems as if every historic site in London is showcasing as many diamonds as possible.

Yesterday, we went to the Tower of London. We saw traitor's gate, where Anne Boleyn and others entered the Tower to be imprisoned. We wandered through the various towers within the complex, where prisoners were kept. Many prisoners carved messages on the walls, which have been preserved. Finally, we saw the crown jewels, including the one currently used by the queen. They were magnificent. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures inside the exhibits, but I took some outside.

The Tower of London.

Traitor's gate. 

The part of the complex that holds the crown jewels.

Mom and me with the London bridge in the background.

Today, we went to Buckingham Palace and saw the State Rooms. It was very crowded but definitely worth the trip! Each room had beautiful art--paintings, sculpture, porcelain vases, furniture, etc. It is impossible to explain the magnitude, and of course no pictures were allowed on the inside. But here are some of the outside.

Front of the palace.

In the back of the palace.