Well, I'm one day away from celebrating my one week anniversary in Oxford. I'm somewhere in between the feeling that the time has flown by and that I have been here forever... but nonetheless, I'm glad to have this anniversary. Since my last post, the biggest events that have occurred are my initial meetings with my tutors. The first meeting was on Thursday, when I met with Robert Fletcher. Robert lives VERY FAR AWAY so a group of us who were to meet with him made the hour long hike together. We were greeted by quite possibly the most stereotypically British man I have ever seen. He met us out front of his house in a blue blazer with a red and blue plaid scarf carefully laid around his neck. He is probably in his sixties and seems to be very kind, but also very smart, serious, and uh, just very British. Anyway, he led us around his house and to a shed. This concerned all of us, but we had heard that his shed is his office, and luckily it is actually a very cozy and nicely done shed, though it's a bit weird to have a tutorial in a shed in some man's backyard. This tutorial will be my minor tutorial, which means that I will only see Dr. Fletcher once very two weeks (a fortnight) for my Political Modern Thought course. I'm starting out with a comparison of Hobbes and Locke that is due this Friday, as I wanted to get started right away so that the eighth and final week of term I will have just my major paper to work on so that I can get away to Scotland and see some of my Mercer friends for a day or two.
Yesterday I started the day at Penelope and Francis' basement gathering book for my tutorials. They have a fairly well stocked library for the use of the students in the program and welcome us in every morning for a few hours to have books, conversation, and biscuits. It was really nice to talk with Penelope and Kristin - it puts me more at ease to know they're here for me too. Later that afternoon I met with my other tutor, Christian Glossner. This was a wonderful appointment because first he led a group of us around Oriel College, where he is based out of, and gave us some history. This college was founded by Henry II and graduated many famous graduates, such as Walter Raleigh and someone by the name of Oppenheimer who started what is now the De Beers diamond company. Queen Elizabeth dined in their hall a few years ago and they honored her with what is officially the largest portrait of the queen in existence. So, now I can say I've seen the largest picture of her in the world. Woo! Christian himself is an extremely interesting individual with a LONG list of ridiculous accomplishments and degrees. He was a foreign correspondent for CNN and CBS out of DC for a few years, has two or three different degrees from Oxford, has done work at the higher corporate level, was taught by Bill Clinton, etc. Needless to say, he is an ideal (and dreamy) tutor! This is my major tutorial, which means I'll have a paper and a tutorial every week for eight weeks. My topic is the European Union and Global Political Economy, more or less. We combined a few syllabi and have left the last two weeks up in the air so that I can decide what I want to learn about most. It should be very exciting!
Last night then a few of us went out to dinner and then a group of us girls had a drink at the White Horse pub near my apartment. It was relaxing and a good time, but after such a good day I did end up with a tinge of homesickness. I have been feeling more frequently like myself, but am still having a difficult time adjusting. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers, and I am thinking of and praying for all of you that I miss so dearly! I heard that the Mercer Bears won last night (woo!) and also that the States is particularly chilly and it makes me glad I'm not experiencing negative degrees. Today is actually strangely bright and sunny here, which I am taking as a good sign, though unfortunately it gets dark around four here. I'm off for a day of reading, but please do feel free to email me or Facebook me! Also, here is my address for those of you who requested it:
25 Faulkner Street
Oxford, OX1 1UA
Cheers! (and love),
Suz
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So.. I wanted to tell you about a convo I had a LONG time ago, who it was with I don't know. We talked about how you are such a STONG person and know exactly who you are. This aspect makes you the perfect person to study abroad! I know that you will stay true to who you are but still experience the best parts of Oxford. I know that the next time I see you, you will still be the Suz I know! Maybe that will help you feel a little less homesick... or not, but worth a try!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hope you know that I don't understand HALF the stuff you write! All that government and literature stuff... geez! One day I'll have you read what I learned in engineering classes! ha ha! Well, I miss you and love you!