oxford | keble college & updates

i know, i am long overdue for a blog update.

it's been nearly two weeks,

so i apologize.

schoolwork here is more rigorous, even, than i imagined.

in the mere three weeks that i have been here, 

i've read T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland,"

two novels by Virginia Woolf,

James Joyce's Ulysses,

& packets of supplementary history documents so thick 

that i may have killed a tree.

i've also already written three essays 

nearing 2,000 words each

with a fourth one due friday.

so, now i find myself with a pocket of time 

and an itch to provide some pictures of my college at Oxford.

this is the first view that you would see
once you enter the big wooden doors.

keble college is, i believe,

the 4th largest college in the university.

choosing a college at Oxford is, essentially,

very similar to picking out a dorm in the U.S.

the education is uniform across the different colleges;

so the choice is centered around 

the environment that a student is looking to study in.

although, some majors of study are only offered in certain colleges,

which is another key factor in the selection process.

the main quad.

here, you can see the keble chapel clearly.

i have not yet been inside, though, as it is currently being renovated.

my history group tends to meet up for collaboration on that bench.

it happens to be very close to the entrance of the college.

mysterious steps leading to a mysterious location.

exactly what you would expect at Oxford.

this is a dorm for students as well as people attending

various conferences before term begins.

keble bar.

in my opinion, it looks like a futuristic spaceship,

incongruous with the architecture shown in previous pictures.

grassy lawn for lounging, drinking, etc.

i really love the doors here.

i took these photos on a cloudy, overcast day

and was quite pleased with the results.

i know, so many pictures of one place.
it's just so difficult
to capture the essence of its magnificence.
i wish i had the iPhone with its nifty new panorama capabilities.

as a hiatus from all the architectural pictures,

here is my roommate Eunice and me 

on the bench from earlier.

she's seriously wonderful.

just today, i skipped breakfast & lunch (sorry mom!)

to finish up my english paper,

and when she came back to the room and heard i hadn't eaten,

gave me half of her delicious sandwich.

it's so nice to have a good roommate, 

especially when you're so far from home!

okay, these next two pictures are of my dining hall.
honest to goodness,
the first time i walked in, i had to pinch myself
because i felt like i was in the great hall at hogwarts!

yes, we eat here for breakfast, lunch, & dinner.
breakfast and lunch are a la carte,
and for dinner, we just come in, sit down, and have our food served.
i have really been enjoying the food,
albeit we see a whole lot of potatoes.
& the desserts - creme brulee, raspberry cheesecake, tiramisu, etc.
it's a dream.

anyway, my time at oxford has been wonderful so far,
and i still have so much to explore.
next week is our last week of seminars
(two courses taken in larger class settings with other UGA students),
and then, we have tutorials.
these are one-on-one or small group classes
with student & tutor.
i'm really looking forward to that because those classes
[Shakespeare: Selected Works & Sociology of Education]
are of great interest to me in terms of my major
as well as my future career plans.

thank you all so much for the messages & emails.
it would be impossible for me to convey how very much
they truly mean to me.
sometimes, when i feel as if home is a distant place,
i receive these words of support and encouragement
that really lift me up.
look forward to big, bear-y hugs
when i come home! :)

oxford | trinity college, the bodleian library, and city centre

during our first full day of the uga @ oxford program,

we were taken on a tour of oxford itself.

oxford is a thriving, yet moderately-sized town

centered around the

38 colleges

that make up the University of Oxford.

we met up with our enthusiastic tour guide, debbie,

right outside of trinity college.

this past weekend was actually a very significant weekend in the city,

as the university opened many of its colleges

and academic institutions

to the public.

the reason this is such a huge deal is that it only happens

once in years

for many of the venues, such as All Souls College.

& it was estimated that over 60,000 people

would come for this city-wide event.

this is the front lawn of trinity college.

there is an unspoken rule that undergraduate students

are forbidden from standing, walking, & sitting 

on the grass.

we often question which lawns are okay for sitting

and which ones must strictly be avoided.

dining hall @ trinity college.

& now, the back lawn

(where it is permitted to walk on)

debbie and some of our oxford group.

ornate architecture and decor is found all over oxford,

especially these various emblems.

apparently, if you stand fully under this bridge

with your eyes closed,

& make a wish - it will come true.

(we'll see about that)

my lovely roommate, Eunice, & me

on cornmarket st.

this is one of the major streets in oxford,

and it contains a mcdonald's, burger king, barclay's bank, and boot's (the drugstore/pharmacy)

this is the restaurant where we ate lunch.

it was tucked away into a small alley,

but it was delicious!

this one is for all you harry potter fans out there.

the building pictured above

is the exact location where several scenes (i.e. the infirmary, the library)

 from the 1st movie were filmed.

also, i learned that emma watson (aka hermione granger)

is currently working towards her m.a. at oxford.

perhaps i will bump into her one day while i'm out and about?

i don't know what i'd do with myself.

getting inducted into the bodleian library.

we nearly had to promise away our lives for these membership cards,

in addition to vowing that we will never try to:

a) bring any books/materials out of the library

b) kindle a fire inside of the library

the bodleian library is amazing.

each day, it receives about 1,000 books to add into its collections.

it is located in various buildings all across town, 

and because it is not a loaning library, you cannot check out its books.

they must be requested and retrieved

before they can be used.

it is a complicated process that i am only starting to familiarize myself with.

after the induction, 

we were free to roam the city!

our first stop was westgate,

which is similar to the shopping malls in america.

primark, primark, primark.

this store basically contains clothes 

that are similar in style to forever 21 and h&m

at the price and quality of walmart clothing.

essentially, it is one of the only stores that we, as students/tourists can afford.

it's very large and carries a wide variety of items,

from shoes to towels to umbrellas.

lastly, here i am modeling a furry hat - just one of the fun items
carried by primark.

the first week of school is nearly over.
it was nerve-wracking and a bit scary, but it all went well.
somehow, i managed to choose the two most rigorous courses
(modern british literature & tudor/stuart history)
with the two most infamous professors of the program.
i have many, many papers and readings ahead of me,
but i intend to approach them with vigor, curiosity, and courage.

p.s. the first picture in this post contains one of the
most famously recognized buildings in oxford.
it is the radcliffe camera,
which is a part of the bodleian library
that is connected by an underground tunnel.

oxford | a grand tour of my current home

is it not completely breathtaking?

aside from the glossy red door & sturdy brick walls,

the University of Georgia seal in the middle truly represents 

the collegiate spirit of Oxford.

our house is located in one of the wealthier areas of oxford

and is just under a mile's walk (at a brisk pace)

to our college's quad, which includes the dining hall & etc.

i was lucky enough to be the first of our group to enter the house,

as i had already been staying in oxford

and only needed to take a taxi for about 7 minutes to get here.

one of the perks of this was getting to photograph

an almost empty house - from top to bottom.

imagine me with a silly grin on running all over the place,

click click clicking away.

& so, here it is!

room 15.

the first thing you see upon entering our room is a bulletin board

filled with important information

(course schedules, room assignments, & significant telephone numbers)

this picture includes

a large portion of our room.

eunice's bed & mine are parallel to each other,

we each have our own desk,

and the window that overlooks the backyard

brings in the perfect amount of sunshine.

another bit of luck that i have had is that there has not been

a single drop of rain

since i got here.

granted, oxford is know for being one of the sunniest places in the england.

i am really appreciating that fact.

this is our mahogany armoir

in which we have hung up our coats in preparation for the biting cold 

of the upcoming months. 

my desk is quite simple,

but that is perfectly fine because i am equipped with my necessities:

laptop

kindle

tour book of europe & maps

jewelry box

hand sanitizer

okay, so this is the view from our room

of the perfectly up kept lawn that is our backyard.

many of the lawns in oxford look like this,

especially inside of the college quads.

your eyes are not deceiving you;

the lines really are perfect.

a bed is a college student's best friend.

so, let me just say that

i love my bed.

it's difficult to see in the picture,

but the sheets have cream-colored vertical stripes on them.

& altogether, it reminds me of something

straight out of a Jane Austen novel.

there are many bathrooms scattered around the house.

all are clean & spacious,

which i am thoroughly delighted about.

computers in the hallway for public use.

my room is the one right across from the sofa at the end of the hall!

the next few pictures were taken near or in the foyer.

our front door from the inside.

the dining room.

the kitchen is wonderful, as well,

with two refrigerators, lots of counter space, & cooking supplies galore.

this is a room connected to the library.

(i have not yet taken pictures of the latter

because a professor was working in there at the time)

an early drawing showing the layout 

of the house & grounds.

the back patio.

a closer view of the pristine lawn.

then, we have the backlawn.

this one does not need to be as delicately treated;

therefore, it can be used with more versatility. 

the back of the house.

lastly, i just wanted to include some shots of the gorgeous flowers

that are currently growing in the backyard.

and the bumble bees, of course!

being able to live in such an elegant & historic house

is a huge privilege,

& i know, one day, i will look back 

and cherish the memories that i will soon be making 

right here within its walls.