Even though this week was pretty much overshadowed by my first six-page case study, there were many adventures to be had! Also, I have given up on attempted conciseness, so you're welcome for the detailed update, just to warn you from the outset.
Here's the basic rundown of awesome/enjoyable/lovely things I encountered this week:
Here's the basic rundown of awesome/enjoyable/lovely things I encountered this week:
~Evensong at St. Paul's cathedral
~Hitting up London tourist spots (Buckingham Palace, Horse Guard's Parade, 10 Downing St., Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Tube, Grosvenor Square, Trafalgar Square, Tower of London, Tower Bridge)
~Geeking out with Harry Potter and Jane Austen references. In London.
~Getting in last minute to see Richard III at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre for SUPER cheap and standing the whole time like back in the old days: legit!
~Having random strangers to explain the story because everyone and their mother is in that play...
~Writing my paper in the quintessential old Oxfordian library
~Realizing your feet are standing where Henry VIII may have stood at one time... O.O
~Dressing up in Tudor-period attire to walk through Hampton Court feeling like a queen (not one of Henry's though...)
~Once again being thwarted in my attempts to go through a hedge maze!
~Jumping pictures
~Having a friendly security guard give me a tour of a crypt and chapel at one of Oxford's colleges
~Boudicca, Foodica, Boudicake, and my dinner group in general
~Rambling through downtown Oxford on a regular basis
~Going to the Ashmolean Museum and crashing the Art History class tour
~Having a personal tour/explanation of a Japanese tea ceremony given to me by a sweet curator lady
~Encountering THE worst and most enthusiastically unimpressed student tour guide EVER
~Walking across the Bridge of Sighs
~Bow ties, flat caps, tweed, Oxfords, examinations suits, knit sweaters, and Oxford style all-around
~Pub time with friends =)
~The first of (I'm sure) many all-nighters
~Being in buildings that are four times older than the entire U.S.
~Getting to know my fellow SCIOites even better
~Submitting my first Oxford paper
(Pardon the lack of pictures for the rest of these. My camera battery died and I perpetually forgot to recharge it. More pics next week!)
My British Landscapes seminars and Philosophy seminar continued this week. I have really come to appreciate getting deeper into British history specifically through the landscape courses. It's made me realize just how singular our view of world history can be. It's slightly overwhelming just how much knowledge is out there, untouched and unsought by the majority of people.
One of our professors mentioned that a previous student in this program described Oxford as the place "where your best is never good enough," and after talking to our professors and completing my first case study (on Romanesque and Gothic architecture and society), that's struck me as very true. We were also asked why we came here to England. For me, I think this is why. We all need to be reminded that our best is never good enough (at least I do)--and not just here at Oxford, but in everything. There is always a way to do better and to BE better. Looking back at the case study I submitted and looking forward to the rest I will have to write, I think this is going to become painfully obvious--but it is such a good thing to go through!
I also want to take a second to thank everybody who helped me in getting here and ever pushed me to be better: Mom and Dad, Justin, Dr. S, Dr. M, Professor B, Pastor S, Melissa, Emmett Kiwanis Club, Mark, Emily, Britt, Grandma, Case and Bep, every single one of my Sea Beggars, all of my church family in Idaho and Cali, and I'm sure I've managed to forget someone... But you know who you are and how you've helped me. I'm missing you all while I'm here even if I am being kept busy. You've all contributed to my being here (or even WANTING to be here) in so many ways, whether with money, encouragement, advice, recommendation-writing, and just through your care for me as a daughter, a student, a sister in Christ, a friend. I want you all to know that I am enjoying my time here in every way possible because of how you've been a part of my life.
So once again: thank you!
Anyway, that's all of my rambling for now. More case studies, adventures, and life lessons coming up next week! Also, I am counting this post as still being within my every-week time frame (even if my week technically passed on Thursday...) so my streak is still running! There is hope for my blogging abilities yet!
The road goes ever on and on,
Dani
~Pub time with friends =)
~The first of (I'm sure) many all-nighters
~Being in buildings that are four times older than the entire U.S.
~Getting to know my fellow SCIOites even better
~Submitting my first Oxford paper
(Pardon the lack of pictures for the rest of these. My camera battery died and I perpetually forgot to recharge it. More pics next week!)
My British Landscapes seminars and Philosophy seminar continued this week. I have really come to appreciate getting deeper into British history specifically through the landscape courses. It's made me realize just how singular our view of world history can be. It's slightly overwhelming just how much knowledge is out there, untouched and unsought by the majority of people.
One of our professors mentioned that a previous student in this program described Oxford as the place "where your best is never good enough," and after talking to our professors and completing my first case study (on Romanesque and Gothic architecture and society), that's struck me as very true. We were also asked why we came here to England. For me, I think this is why. We all need to be reminded that our best is never good enough (at least I do)--and not just here at Oxford, but in everything. There is always a way to do better and to BE better. Looking back at the case study I submitted and looking forward to the rest I will have to write, I think this is going to become painfully obvious--but it is such a good thing to go through!
I also want to take a second to thank everybody who helped me in getting here and ever pushed me to be better: Mom and Dad, Justin, Dr. S, Dr. M, Professor B, Pastor S, Melissa, Emmett Kiwanis Club, Mark, Emily, Britt, Grandma, Case and Bep, every single one of my Sea Beggars, all of my church family in Idaho and Cali, and I'm sure I've managed to forget someone... But you know who you are and how you've helped me. I'm missing you all while I'm here even if I am being kept busy. You've all contributed to my being here (or even WANTING to be here) in so many ways, whether with money, encouragement, advice, recommendation-writing, and just through your care for me as a daughter, a student, a sister in Christ, a friend. I want you all to know that I am enjoying my time here in every way possible because of how you've been a part of my life.
So once again: thank you!
Anyway, that's all of my rambling for now. More case studies, adventures, and life lessons coming up next week! Also, I am counting this post as still being within my every-week time frame (even if my week technically passed on Thursday...) so my streak is still running! There is hope for my blogging abilities yet!
The road goes ever on and on,
Dani
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