Cheers, mates!

This blog chronicles the bloody brilliant, pond-hopping adventures of Kristin Taylor, an English Literature major in the Honors Program at Columbus State University who spent the Fall semester of 2008 studying abroad at the University of Oxford.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Day 5: A London Adventure

Today Dr. Ross, Brandon, and I left the Spencer House at 8:00 a.m. to catch a coach to London. We knew, prior to leaving, that we wanted to see Parliament, especially because Brandon had never been, so after the two-hour bus ride, we hopped on the Tube and saw the Parliament buildings, Big Ben, nearby Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul's Cathedral. We had all the best intentions to go to The Globe to see Timon of Athens, but when we walked out of the Tube to see that the rainy weather of England had finally caught up with us, we elected to check out a couple museums instead. So we headed to the Tate Museum of Modern Art, where I was most intrigued by the Picasso paintings, especially this one entitled The Kiss:

I was first introduced to Picasso's works when I took Humanities in high school, and I remember being really intrigued by his works then. I remember particularly enjoying the art from his Blue Period, such as The Old Guitar Player. Then my freshman year of college, when I had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. with the Honors American Government class, I saw some of Picasso's paintings in person for the first time in a museum there. Then when I went to Spain last summer, I had the opportunity to see more of Picasso's work -- the most famous of which was Guernica. Ever since then, Picasso has held a special place in the artistic corner of my heart. Today proved to be no exception. Dr. Ross looked at one Picasso painting with me, and we discussed it in terms of Modernism and he prompted me to begin applying what I have been reading about Modernist literature in my copy of The Cambridge Companion to Modernism to the painting. I was really starting to piece together, in a more meaningful way, how Picasso's work connects to Modernism as a whole. The particular piece we looked at dealt a lot with fragmentation of the self and how re-connecting with the true, inner-self was possible (to some Modernists, at least) through primitivism, so obviously the piece was influenced by Picasso's time in Africa. It was really exciting to see art and literature and history come together in that way.

After visiting the Tate, we headed to the Imperial War Museum. We walked through the World War I and II exhibits. The third floor had a Holocaust exhibit, which was very effectively put together but incredibly emotionally draining to go through. TVs were set up in nearly every room with recorded interviews with Holocaust victims telling their stories. Each one was so overwhelming. At the end of the exhibit, one man said that it had taken him twenty years to begin talking about the trauma he had endured, and he only began talking when his daughter finally said to him that she knew he had lived through the Holocaust and knew how hateful the Nazis were to the Jews and wanted to know what his experience was. The man said that he realized if he couldn't tell his children, then he could never pass on his story, could never inform future generations about the trauma that had been inflicted upon him and fellow Jews. He realized that failure to tell his story would result in the loss of it and the lessons to be learned from it.

After visiting the Imperial War Museum, we took the coach home to Oxford. We decided we were going to go to the pub for what would be Brandon's and my first English pub experience. Dr. Ross thought it would be fun to go to the Eagle and Child, the pub where C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien used to meet, but when we got there, no seats were available. So we went to the Dew Drop Inn, a pub in Sommertown, instead. I tried Pimm's and Lemonade, a traditional Oxonian drink that Chelsea has told me so much about, for the first time, and I'm a huge fan. Brandon and Dr. Ross partook in fish and chips, but since I'm a vegetarian, I went for a baguette with cheddar cheese and chutney along with some chips (fries) instead. It was a splendid first English pub experience for sure.

Photos from the day here.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Day 4, or Just Call Me "Lance"

So I've gotten this bicycling thing down. It's undeniably better than walking and not as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be. Today Brandon and I biked to city centre, where I bought my much-anticipated hat (a purple wool beret!) for the cold weather. We also stopped by the falafel stand again and mosied through both of the Oxfam stores. Then we came back to the Spencer House and cleaned up our bikes. Brandon, who is a total fix-it man, helped me put a basket on the front of my bike, which works nicely for holding my purse. Then we biked to Sommertown, where Brandon and I did some reading at a Starbucks (and I was able to keep up my tradition of taking pictures at every international Starbucks I visit).


No, I'm not a poseur. Not at all. :) In Sommertown, we also stopped by the bike store so I could get some bike lights, and I wanted to buy a basket for the back of my bike that I could use to carry (reusable) shopping bags, but they were out and told me to come back on Wednesday. I think tomorrow we're all journeying to London to see a play at The Globe, so that should be exciting.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Day 3



Today Brandon and I decided to go around town some on our own. I got to stop by several of the stores in city centre (downtown), like Primark (where I bought some much-needed gloves) and Top Shop and the European GAP. Then Brandon and I came home and fixed up the two bikes that were left here by the previous students. (See the photos here for the funny bicycle chronicle.) We rode them around the block to Sommertown, a very nearby little town with some shops (and LB's, the supposedly amazing Lebanese restaurant I haven't gotten to eat at yet) because I haven't decided if I'm actually going to bike places or not. The bicycle lanes are often shared with buses here, afterall. Tomorrow we're going to ride to Regent's Park so I can get a better idea of what the trek to school would be like.

Phil arrived tonight, and he seems very nice. He's working on a graduate degree at Oxford in preparation for going into the Baptist ministry. (Regent's Park is a Baptist college.) I am ready for the two girls that are coming to arrive, though. I feel way outnumbered by boys.

Well, orientation week ("naught week") doesn't even begin until October 5th, so that gives me a week until classes begin. I plan to do a lot of reading in the books I bought yesterday because I think feeling prepared for my tutorials will be half the battle in making me feel like I'm doing well. I feel like I'm adjusting well to being here though. I remember not feeling as comfortable during my first few days in Spain as I have felt here. I don't know if that speaks to the experience I gained from having travelled before or to my growth as a person in the last year. Most likely, I suppose, it's a combination of both.

Well, I'm off to read or find a snack or something.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Day 2

Maybe I'll get more creative with these blog titles as time goes on because this whole numbering-the-days thing could get pretty old by the time I reach day 75. But in the meantime, day two was a really good day. Dr. Ross showed us around the city some more. We got to see Regent's Park (our college) for the first time. Here Brandon and I are in front of the entrance:


We also saw the Oxford University press, home of the works of so many scholarly crushes. Then we stopped for some amazing falafel that only cost 2.5 pounds! After enjoying our falafel, we went to a mall so Brandon and I could buy mobile phones. And I am happy to say that I do have a mobile here now. Then we went to Blackwell's, a really awesome bookstore that I remember coming to when I was here in 2005. To help me prepare for my tutorials, I bought The Cambridge Companion to Modernism and three of the Oxford Very Short Introduction books: Nineteenth-Century Britain, Medieval Britain, and The Renaissance. After the visit to the bookstore, we headed toward the Spencer house, but along the way we stopped in a little store, where I was happy to discover that England has Magnum ice cream bars -- these amazing little things that I discovered in Spain and have missed since I left. Back at the Spencer House, we all talked a little about Modernist literature and what our tutorial might be like. Then we began our one-hour walk toward The Trout Inn, a quaint little restaurant that sits on the River Thames. Dr. Ross treated us to dinner there, and we all had a great time. (Follow the day in photos here.)

Tomorrow, Brandon and I are going to see about making the two bicycles that are here ridable. Then we're going to hit up Oxfam, where I'll be in search of a good second-hand coat, and I think he'll be in search of some khaki pants. I also intend to visit the European GAP because I want some gloves and a hat. It's already really cool here in the evenings, and on the way home from The Trout tonight, I thought I might freeze. I don't know what I'm going to do once winter really hits.

Also, one of the British students who will be living in the Spencer House is supposed to arrive tomorrow. Brandon and I are hoping (especially as program assistants) that all the other students are really nice and easy to get along with. I'll let you know how the new student, Phil, is tomorrow.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Day 1 in The Ox

So I've arrived safely in Oxford after a very long, sleepless flight. Brandon, Dr. Ross, and I got here around 8:00 this morning, and Dr. Ross only gave us an hour to shower and change clothes before he led us on his tour of Oxford, refusing to let us rest any lest we exacerbate our jet lag. So I got to see a lot of the city today, and I recognized a couple of the awesome bookstores I visited when I was here back in 2005, which was cool. Walking around the city made me start feeling a little nervous -- especially about my tutorials. All these crazy Oxonian kids are already running around in their academic robes, and I'm content with my giraffe t-shirt and jeans, thanks. I'm still waiting on it all to sink in. I feel a strange blend of excitement and intimidation, but all is well.

The Spencer house is really nice, and my room is awesome. I really did get the best room, I think. It's so much bigger than my room at home. I like it a lot. Here's a few photos:





More photos here.

Okay, it's off to bed for me. This jet lag is killer.