Oxford

Pictures: 1) with Christ Church behind me, 2&3) the hall/stairs leading into the Great Hall which was in the Harry Potter movies, 4) the Great Hall (dining hall of Christ Church College), 5) the Alice in Wonderland stained glass window, 6) the Tom Quadrangle and Tom Tower of Christ Church, 7) Christ Church Cathedral of the college, 8) the group with the professor and the tour guide - I cut out one of the guys' heads b/c he doesn't like to be mentioned by name or face online, 9) with the Hogwarts Hospital behind me, 10) Radcilffe Camera building which is a science library, 11) the Sheldonian Theatre by Christopher Wren, 12) in the Magdalen College grounds, 13) the cloister area of Magdalen college, with tower in background, 14) along the Addison Walk, 15) view across the meadow toward the college buildings from the back of Addison's Walk, 16) some pretty crocuses



On Monday (yesterday) my whole class was supposed to go to Oxford where we would meet a guide and have a tour around the university at 11 am. However, Professor Selassie had canceled the trip the day before because he was not informed by the program director as to how we were getting to Oxford, so he thought it was off. Because of this, I'd decided to go on my own on the train using my BritRail (which only takes an hour). The night before we get an email from the professor saying that he was told to buy tickets in the morning when we got to the coach station for the Oxford Express which left at 8:40 am and arrived in Oxford at 10:20 am, thus we should all meet outside the flat at 7:20 am. Given that I have plenty of days left on my BritRail and that I could take the train as opposed to getting motion sick on the bus and wake up at 8 am instead of 6 am, I asked the professor if I could just meet everyone there, which he agreed to. I find the train so much more pleasant and I was able to read the whole way (which I could never do on a coach).

I left the flat at 8:45 to be safe and took the tube to Paddington Station. The Circle Line tube takes forever and I was quite frustrated, as the Piccadilly Line that we live near is always prompt and on time. I was planning on catching the 9:30 train, but I arrived in Paddington at 9:15 so I thought I might be able to catch the 9:21 train which was nonstop; however, there were TONS of people pouring through very narrow doorways to get into the station from the platform, and then lines to swipe our tube passes and go through the turnstiles. I felt like I was back in high school, fighting my way through tremendous crowds of teenagers all going to different classes.

Once I made it through the turnstiles I started to run, dodging people left and right, taking a flight of steps three at a time, and arrived in the massive foyer of Paddington Train station. It only took a quick glance at the times board to figure out which platform I needed because the departure times are listed left to right and mine was the very left hand one. And of course, it was platform 10, and I was near platform 2. So I ran like a crazy woman down the length of the platforms until I got to the turnstiles, at which point I had to present my BritRail to an employee so he'd let me through. However, the employee was busy talking to another man who was having problems with his ticket, and I was practically ready to duck under the gate when he finally let me through and I ran as fast as I could to the train. It's engine was already running, ready for departure when I literally flung myself onto the train, then I had to walk through the first class cabin I'd entered to find a second class one before I could sit down.

Once I was seated I realized how hard I was breathing and my leg muscles were spasming, I also coughed almost the whole way to Oxford off and on. Clearly I 1) am out of shape, and 2) should have just waited for the 9:30 train. lol

The ride was a little less than an hour and I read Bleak House. Once I arrived I made my way (using the map I'd drawn from mapquest the night before) to the Christ Church War Memorial Garden where we were to meet our tour guide. When I arrived it was 10:48, and I couldn't see my group anywhere, so I walked around the garden a little bit and then saw them a few minutes later exiting the coffee shop across the street. Our tour guide met us and told us she'd be taking us on a 2 hour tour of Oxford University.

The University is made up of 38 independent colleges (like our states within the federal government) that all have different names (many religious ones which makes you think it's a church not a college). The university traces its roots back to at least the end of the 12th century, although the exact date of foundation remains unclear. After a dispute between students and townsfolk broke out in 1209, some of the academics at Oxford fled north-east to the town of Cambridge, where the University of Cambridge was founded. The two universities have since had a long history of competition with each other. Disputes like this (which sometimes resulted in death of either townsfolk or Oxford students) made Oxford put gates on their colleges to protect the students and to keep the students in after curfew. There is still little interaction between "town and gown" today.

Some interesting facts about Oxford: students only have three years at the university, and apart from an exam in the middle that checks your progress, there are only exams at the end of all three years. There are days of exams on whatever your major was, and you can pass with a first class degree, second class degree, or a third class degree. If you achieve a first class degree, which is very hard, you can probably get a job anywhere in the world. If you get below a third class, you fail out completely; although I believe they give you one chance to retake the exams. Students also only go to one or 2 mandatory meetings a week - their "tutorials" with a grad student or a professor who lives in the same building. They meet in the tutor's room where they meet one-on-one or in a very small group with the tutor and he/she checks their progress by assigning essays or problem sheets depending on their majors. These are one hour sessions, and they have the chance to ask questions etc, but are not actually taking a class.

There are no mandatory "classes" at all. If you choose to take lecture classes, good for you! If you choose to study your major on your own for three years and take the finals at the end, that's fine too. Most people, of course, need the extra help. There is a lot of one-on-one help available as there are about 19,000 students at Oxford and 10,000 faculty. Also, you must declare a major before you apply to one of the colleges since not all colleges offer all majors; furthermore, you study nothing but your major for all three years. Clearly, well-roundedness is not a stressed point in Britain.

There are many international students attending Oxford. America has more students there than any other international country, with number two being China (which is a change because it used to be Germany not very many years ago). The students are only at Oxford 8 weeks at a time, three times a year. Yes, that's right, they only have 6 months of school a year. And, they only have to pay for living accommodations during the time they are there (however they have to move their stuff out and back in every time because the university rents out the rooms to people visiting for conferences and such). Every student has his or her own room since they are expected to be in there studying a lot.

If you are American and you want to go to Oxford, just to apply you have to have at least a 1400 on the old parts of the SAT, have a 4 or 5 in at least 2 AP exams, and something else that I can't remember. When you do apply, you apply to one of the 38 colleges, and that is your only application - you cannot apply to more than one, so you better hope that you pick the right one! Each college is known for something a little bit different. Exeter College I believe is the one known for its rowing team, and Christ Church College is the one that has had the most students who became prime ministers (out of 25 Oxford students who became prime minister, 13 were from Christ Church College). Some are right-wing, some are left-wing, etc. etc.

So, back to the tour, we started with a tour of Christ Church College which has traditionally been seen as the most aristocratic college in Oxford. It is certainly beautiful and it's Great Hall, built in 1529, (where the students dine) was the basis for the in-studio creation of the Hogwart's Great Hall in the Harry Potter movies. The entry to the Great Hall was used in the first 2 movies where filming happened on-site. This foyer of steps into the Great Hall and the Hall itself were stunning!! Students can eat here 3 times a day for only about £7 per day, but if they want to have a the formal dinner at 8 pm then they must wear their gowns. I'm pretty sure if I went there, I'd go to the formal dinner every night!

Inside the Great Hall there were many portraits including one of Charles Dodgson (alias: Luis Carroll) who wrote Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. He was an shy, stuttering math tutor (we'd say professor) who often spent time with the dean's daughters, especially Alice (since the dean and his daughters lived in the college just like the professors did). They would have been two of the few children living on the premises, and apparently took to Dodgson. Apparently Dodgson would take them to the zoo and out on walks to see animals and things and tell them fantastical stories, which he later turned into his books. Alice's father was the white rabbit, who, despite being dean, was always late. After he left his meal at the head table in the Great Hall, he would exit through a tiny door that had a spiral staircase leading down from it (the rabbit hole). The Queen of Hearts (always saying "off with her head") represented King Henry VIII who had 2 of his wives beheaded. The list goes on and on, and Carroll's legacy remains. There is even a stained glass window in the Great Hall that depicts the face of Alice and many of the characters from the books.

I believe this particular college was started in the 1500s by Cardinal Wolsey before he fell from Henry VIII's grace. After he fell from grace, Henry took it over and named it Christ Church as part of the re-organisation of the Church of England and made it the cathedral of the recently created diocese of Oxford.

Each college has a bit lawn area (like the cloisters in cathedrals) and each has their own chapel/cathedral. At Christ Church Christopher Wren designed the Tom Tower that marks the entrance to the Tom Quadrangle (the grassy area). It rings each night 101 times at 9:05 pm to honor the 101 original scholars of the college. The reason it rings at 9:05 has something to do with them thinking they are better than all the other colleges and some long-standing dispute. At any rate, if a class starts at 6 pm, you don't have to be there until 6:05 when it really starts.

After the Great Hall we went to the Christ Church Cathedral which was also really beautiful. It was originally built as the Priory of St. Frideswide in the 700s, but the oldest part today is from the late 12th century when the Priory was rebuilt. St. Frideswide apparently fled Oxford when a Prince was pursuing her trying to marry her. Legend says he was struck blind by a thunder bolt, but being such a good person, she restored his sight in return for his promising to leave her alone. A shrine was built enclosing her bones in the Priory church, and remained in the rebuilt church in the late 1100s. However, in 1538 when Henry VIII destroyed the monasteries, her shrine and bones were smashed and buried. They have since been found in a well on the premises, 350 years later, and the shrine was rebuilt and the bones placed inside. There is a beautiful stained glass window above the shrine telling the story of St. Frideswide. It was done by Edward Burne-Jones as one of his early works in the 1850s, and actually features, in the scene of St. Frideswide on her deathbed, a "flush toilet" in the background which had just come out and Burne-Jones was so amazed by it he included it in his art. Unbelievable.

After this we left Christ Church and walked through the streets of Oxford past other notable colleges, including Exeter college where Philip Pullman went and taught. His life there influenced his writing in Golden Compass.

We also saw the Sheldonian Theatre which was built to hold students' graduation ceremonies after University Church of St. Mary the Virgin said the students were too rowdy to hold the ceremonies there any longer. A contest was held for students to submit designs for what the new building would look like, and the winner was a student named Christopher Wren. This was the first building by him, built in 1664. Right across from the Sheldonian is the building that was used as the Harry Potter hospital wing and the Harry Potter library (on the top floor), and is actually part of the Bodleian Library (the main research library of the University and one of the oldest libraries in Europe and is second in size only to the British Library in London).

When the tour ended my group went off to find a burger place recommended by Olivia's friend who went to Oxford, and I started the 2 mile walk to the house of Silvia (my friend Matthew's grandmother). We had arranged that I would come see her after the tour the day before, so I called to let her know I was on my way. I was so glad the day was just beautiful (though still cold) with sun and blue skies, making the walk very pleasant. When I got there Silvia brought me in and we went to the back of the house to the sun room which looked out on her wonderful garden. She said she loved to garden, though it wasn't nearly as nice as it would be in a couple months. She had books piled up everywhere, and I noticed that she was currently reading Vanity Fair. I told her I hadn't read that one yet and she said "Oh then you're in for a treat! A real treat!" It was hard to imagine her looking her 92 years from her voice on the phone - so proper and young sounding. And while she didn't look 92, she did look quite old, but is clearly still has a very active mind and, before she broke her hip 2 years ago, she would bike daily around Oxford. Now she usually takes a cab or bus into the city and walks around from there - still amazing!! She offered me homemade ginger cake (which, how could I refuse??) and we chatted about what I was doing, my major, etc. She said that with the way I am spending my time in England I seem to be a "very smart girl" and I am "going about it the right way." She also recommended that I read Obama's book Dreams of My Father for she said she could not recommend it highly enough, and it was so enlightening.

After chatting a bit she recommended that we go see Magdalen College (where her husband used to be a fellow - this is better than just a professor) and walk around their gardens for there was a new "tree sculpture" she wanted to see. I told her that would be lovely, so she called a cab and it took us the couple miles to the college (pronounced Maudlin College). Each college charges an entrance fee to the public, but she told the guard who she was and he said with a wink "then I guess I'll just have to take your word for it" and let us both in for free. It was such a beautiful college! She pointed out the president of the college's residence, and took me to the chapel where her son used to be a choir boy (choir boys have their own primary schools on location of each college). I also saw their dining hall, and while not as grand as that of Christ Church's, it was still really nice. Then we walked back to the path that goes around the gardens. It basically makes a mile loop around a central meadow, with flowers and trees lining the path and the occasional open green field. She and I walked the ENTIRE loop. I told her any time she wanted to sit down and take a break to let me know, but she never did until the end, when we rested on a bench for a little bit.

During the walk I asked her the names of all the lovely flowers. I learned that daffodils are really called narcissus (which is so much more glamorous), and that the flowers I've been calling "crying flowers" are actually called snow drops, and that the many different colored little beauties I've admired lately are crocuses. I also discovered that the big balls of plant life high up in the otherwise barren trees are sprouts of mistletoe which grow from crevices in tree branches when a bird drops a seed in said crevice.

As we walked we also talked about books, reading in general, my family, my childhood and so many things. I enjoyed talking with her so much! She said "Oh you are so lucky to have such a wonderful family! Few people now days have a family like that I don't imagine." I told her I agreed and I am so, so blessed. She asked if I read as a child, and I said yes, frequently because before I could read my parents read to me all the time. She said that was "just lovely!" Later, over tea, she said she'd been watching a program that talked about how children's brains are changing because they are being so over stimulated that they literally can't sit still for very long without changing visual stimulation. I told her I'd read a similar article and we commiserated on the shame of it all. I told her that I couldn't have that problem since I often sat through four hours of Anne of Green Gables when I was only about four years old, and that my mother was very careful about what shows I watched and thus I rarely watched cartoons (the biggest culprits of the constant screen changes). She said that it was really wonderful that my parents were so careful about that and that with so many women working now, many children were just plopped down in front of the TV. I agreed.

I also told her about Brett and his smart-kid boarding school ;) and she said "Oh well he really must be very clever!" and I said yes, he was indeed. She later said, in reference to what I'm not sure, "You all really are quite the clever lot, aren't you?" She was so sweet and I could listen to her for hours, though yesterday I feel as though I talked her ear off, but she was such a good listener it was easy to do. It was nice to have someone to talk to in person who really was interested in what I had to say, and I was very interested in listening to what she had to say. She told me about being in Oxford during WWII, and how they heard planes all the time, but only heard a bomb once because Hitler planned on using Oxford as his headquarters when he took over Britain, so he wanted it preserved. She told me about her husband and about their life in Oxford, and she pointed out where they lived which was right across from Magdalen College. Really a wonderful location.

We saw the tree sculpture - a rather ugly iron thing shaped like a one-dimensional tree. We also saw a field of deer and I got so excited and told Silvia about my Hampton Court Palace experience with the deer there. She said "Oh yes, Magdalen College is famous for its deer." Right...a college is famous for its deer. Haha, that just strikes me as funny. The path we were on was called Addison's Walk and the meadow it surrounds is filled (in the spring) with the flower Fritillaria Meleagris. These flowers grow in very few places, and have been recorded growing in the meadow since around 1785. Silvia strained her eyes looking for any sign that they had started to pop up, but we didn't see any. She says in May the whole field is just awash with mauve flowers, and it is "a sight to behold."

Noteable alumni of Magdalen include T.E. Lawrence and Oscar Wilde (and a ton of others) and this was the college where C.S. Lewis taught.

After our walk, we walked through Oxford (I occassionaly lending an arm since she had forgotten her walking stick and cobbles prove tricky even for the sure-footed) to her favorite book shop, Blackwells. We walked upstairs to the cafe and she insisted on buying me a snack for my train ride home, so I had a low-fat cranberry orange muffin. She asked if I'd like a drink and I told her that I didn't drink tea or coffee since I didn't drink caffine, and really I just drank water. She said "Oh that is good, that is very good indeed. Caffine really isn't very good for you." We sat down at a little table and we talked more. I told her about the Phillips Scholarship and my plans to travel around Europe studying dance and she said that it was such an honor and "you must be good!" I laughed and told her that they didn't actually see me dance when they gave me the grant, but that I simply filled out the application and went to an interview and told them about my plans and then they gave me the money. She said it is such a wonderful thing to do while I'm still young and have no one tying me down. I said that's the same thing my grandmother had said. She actually reminded me of my Grandma Carraway in a lot of the things she said about travel and family and life in general. Once she looked at me across her tea and said "you are very thin, I suppose dancing keeps you fit." I laughed and told her that perhaps that was true, but mainly I was blessed with a very fast metabolism because I ate quite a bit and didn't dance as much as I should, especially here. She said, "Oh I'd like to see you dance, but I guess that's not possible." It made me sad, because though she is like me in that she quite likes to be alone, she must sometimes get lonely and I wished there was a way she could see me dance, for I feel that would make her very happy.

At 4:30 I left for my train, hugged and thanked her, and she said she'd be fine getting the bus back to her house. I felt a sadness upon leaving her, for I had the most wonderful day in her company and a feeling of home. I wished at that moment that I was studying in Oxford instead of London, for then I could see her very frequently. I plan on returning a little later on when more flowers and blooming and I sincerly hope to spend more time with Silvia. I'm sure she has no idea how much she brightened up my week - my entire time here in London in fact. Walking arm-in-arm with the little woman, I was quite happy and content.

I hopped the 5 pm train back to London and beat the rest of the group home by several hours. It was such, such a great day. I'm sure the lovely weather helped my mood as well.

Today I have done nothing but upload pictures and captions to my computer and write these blogs, so I am now exhausted, throughly frustrated with technology, and ready to plop into my bed and read some Bleak House.