This weekend (as usual) was more or less consumed with writing my essay (the last one involving Walpole, it least as a political figure)); and, as last week, the 2500 word goal turned out a 3900 product (no, 2500 was not a guideline from Dr. Kilburn - I simply set it as a decent goal to have for each Primary essay).
However, I was not too busy reading and writing to make it (twice) to church at St. Mary the Virgin (the University church; in medieval times, Oxford University was entirely contained in the old Norman [11th century] cathedral. Coincidentally, Cardinal Newman was Vicar there at one point, and among notable attendees were the Wesley Brothers). The service was liturgical (its a High Anglican Church) and a marked contrast to the low churches (St. Andrews and St. Ebbes) that I had attended. I enjoyed the service, and appreciated the depth in the liturgy and hymns we sung (and the scholar in me loved the Latin). That evening, the same church had a massive choral evensong (like, 200 people in the choir; 14 different college choirs combined); thatwas amazing to hear - and we also got a pretty good (if debated, at least among SCIO students) sermon from the Bishop of Lincoln.
I had tutorials again, and they seemed to go well (Dr. Bell has now taught me both truth tables and tableau in logic).
That about sums it up.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Chess and Reading
You'll find it no surprise that the better part of my week (as usual) was spent reading in preparation for my next essay; this is only the third essay of the term, and I'm already about half way to the page count I racked up last semester; no class back home will feel like alot of reading by the time I'm finished here.
Beyond reading, the main event of note from the past week involves an old pastime of mine: chess. There are several of us living here at the The Vines who enjoy the Game of Kings, and with three of us at about an even skill level, we get some fun games going. Tuesday evening, myself and one of the other guys from here decided to go and pay the Oxford Chess Society a visit, and found that we liked, and - when homework permits - will go back. There were people there of all different skill levels, and it was an enjoyable evening.
That's about all that has happened recently - I've done some work here at The Vines, and some at the Bodleian, but my tutorials have manged to keep my fairly (but not overwhelmingly) busy.
Beyond reading, the main event of note from the past week involves an old pastime of mine: chess. There are several of us living here at the The Vines who enjoy the Game of Kings, and with three of us at about an even skill level, we get some fun games going. Tuesday evening, myself and one of the other guys from here decided to go and pay the Oxford Chess Society a visit, and found that we liked, and - when homework permits - will go back. There were people there of all different skill levels, and it was an enjoyable evening.
That's about all that has happened recently - I've done some work here at The Vines, and some at the Bodleian, but my tutorials have manged to keep my fairly (but not overwhelmingly) busy.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Bells and Essays
Since Friday I have been mainly working an essay (one that turned into a 3500 word monstrosity); Saturday was devoted to reading, Sunday evening and Monday to writing.
I did, however, find some time to go to church and evensong Sunday during the day. Church was at St. Ebbes, an Anglican low church; it felt similar to church at home (escept there was actual wine for the Eucharist - and pretty decent wine, at that); the preaching was good, and the worship effective. I prefer it to St. Andrews, and unless I visit another one I like better, will probably go there regularly.
For evensong, I visited St. Giles - a high church Anglican church. There, they were having a special bellringers evensong, which meant we got to hear a handbell choir (which was pretty amazing). I enjoyed that service as well, and very well may go back.
As a last note to all you tea drinkers back home (Mark & Angie especially) - an interesting tidbit from Jonathon Kirkpatrick (one of the Junior Deans here, a student at Baliol College, and a proper English gentleman by any measure); when you get tea with milk, put the milk in first, then the tea - it tastes better that way (and is a proper English way of doing it).
I did, however, find some time to go to church and evensong Sunday during the day. Church was at St. Ebbes, an Anglican low church; it felt similar to church at home (escept there was actual wine for the Eucharist - and pretty decent wine, at that); the preaching was good, and the worship effective. I prefer it to St. Andrews, and unless I visit another one I like better, will probably go there regularly.
For evensong, I visited St. Giles - a high church Anglican church. There, they were having a special bellringers evensong, which meant we got to hear a handbell choir (which was pretty amazing). I enjoyed that service as well, and very well may go back.
As a last note to all you tea drinkers back home (Mark & Angie especially) - an interesting tidbit from Jonathon Kirkpatrick (one of the Junior Deans here, a student at Baliol College, and a proper English gentleman by any measure); when you get tea with milk, put the milk in first, then the tea - it tastes better that way (and is a proper English way of doing it).
Friday, January 18, 2008
Reading
Yeah, the title says it all; I've pretty much been reading straight since I last updated you all (as well as attending a few lectures). I suppose the only other thing of note (beyond the 3 near 4 books I've read since then) is the genesis of a Bible Study here amongst the men of The Vines (really everyone - we meet the other SCIO guys once a month).
I've another essay due Monday, so I will depart now for the land of 17th century English politics.
I've another essay due Monday, so I will depart now for the land of 17th century English politics.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
London and Tutorials
Its been a few days since my last update, and so I will curtail my Walpoling activities (yes I do have Walpole sitting by my desk at the moment) for a little while and give you chappos an update. I will try to be more regular - perhaps look for these thingees on Teusdays and Fridays, although I may include some randomness to keep things interesting.
We'll start out with London, which consumed my entire Saturday. The trip started with us running to reach the bus stop in time to get on the same bus as Johnathon and the people from the Crick Road house (the other house where SCIO students are lodged). Safely aboard, we went to marble arch, where Simon and Johnathon lead a brisk walk through the American embassy, past Grove Park and the aristocratic part of town, down to Buckingham Palace, St. James, and through the government areas - where such sights as Whitehall Palace, Westminster Abby, Westminster Cathedral Parliament, Downing St., the Foriegn Office, and the Exchange where all pointed out.
Finally, we reached Trafalgar Square, where we spent about an hour and a half (far too little time) touring the National Art Gallery. From there, we grabbed the tube and took a tour of Old London (the medieval part of the city), starting at the monument to the Great Fire and ending at St. Paul's Cathedral (with a side trip to see the White Tower [London Tower] and the Tower Bridge; London Bridge of course is in Arizona), where we participated in the Evensong service (and got to hear their world-famous choir). After service, we went and ate at a nice inn in Chinatown, before returning to Oxford (getting back around midnight). That was London.
The other thing that happened (the one that kept me securely fastened to books on the Revolution of 1688 and thus not updating here for a few days) wass meeting my tutors and getting aroundd to my first essay
My primary tutorial is in British History from 1685-1830; the tutor, Dr. Matthew Kilburn, is an extremely knowledgable fellow; I met him on Friday, where he assigned me an essay on the Glorious Revolution, which managed to consume my weekend until it was due Monday. I like the course, and while it will be far more reading and writing than any other course I've done (perhaps equal in reading load to my entire from last semester, and with twice as many long essays, although none of those killer exams).
My secondary tutorial is in Introductory Logic; the tutor, Dr. Jordan Bell, not only is an expert in philosophy, but he is an extremely personable and friendly man. We met in his office, and were able to have tea as we worked on validity, consistency, formal logic jargon, and truth tables. This course won't have much reading, but I have a list of logic exercises as thick as a book to keep me busy. We've decided to ignore the 1 hr. set time for tutorial meetings, and we may schedule an extra meeting; this course is especially reminiscent of homeschooling, because we have no set curricula - its basically going to go as far as we can take it.
That pretty much covers whats gone on the last few days; I shall leave you all now, I've an appointment with a Cornish Pasty coming up, and would hate to miss it.
We'll start out with London, which consumed my entire Saturday. The trip started with us running to reach the bus stop in time to get on the same bus as Johnathon and the people from the Crick Road house (the other house where SCIO students are lodged). Safely aboard, we went to marble arch, where Simon and Johnathon lead a brisk walk through the American embassy, past Grove Park and the aristocratic part of town, down to Buckingham Palace, St. James, and through the government areas - where such sights as Whitehall Palace, Westminster Abby, Westminster Cathedral Parliament, Downing St., the Foriegn Office, and the Exchange where all pointed out.
Finally, we reached Trafalgar Square, where we spent about an hour and a half (far too little time) touring the National Art Gallery. From there, we grabbed the tube and took a tour of Old London (the medieval part of the city), starting at the monument to the Great Fire and ending at St. Paul's Cathedral (with a side trip to see the White Tower [London Tower] and the Tower Bridge; London Bridge of course is in Arizona), where we participated in the Evensong service (and got to hear their world-famous choir). After service, we went and ate at a nice inn in Chinatown, before returning to Oxford (getting back around midnight). That was London.
The other thing that happened (the one that kept me securely fastened to books on the Revolution of 1688 and thus not updating here for a few days) wass meeting my tutors and getting aroundd to my first essay
My primary tutorial is in British History from 1685-1830; the tutor, Dr. Matthew Kilburn, is an extremely knowledgable fellow; I met him on Friday, where he assigned me an essay on the Glorious Revolution, which managed to consume my weekend until it was due Monday. I like the course, and while it will be far more reading and writing than any other course I've done (perhaps equal in reading load to my entire from last semester, and with twice as many long essays, although none of those killer exams).
My secondary tutorial is in Introductory Logic; the tutor, Dr. Jordan Bell, not only is an expert in philosophy, but he is an extremely personable and friendly man. We met in his office, and were able to have tea as we worked on validity, consistency, formal logic jargon, and truth tables. This course won't have much reading, but I have a list of logic exercises as thick as a book to keep me busy. We've decided to ignore the 1 hr. set time for tutorial meetings, and we may schedule an extra meeting; this course is especially reminiscent of homeschooling, because we have no set curricula - its basically going to go as far as we can take it.
That pretty much covers whats gone on the last few days; I shall leave you all now, I've an appointment with a Cornish Pasty coming up, and would hate to miss it.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sludge and Pudding
Today was an interesting day, to say the least. Orientation is finally nearing its end (not that orientation isn't scintillating, but - as necessary as it is to know what we are doing - it is always more fun to be doing things than it is to be told what one is going to be doing, when the time comes to actually do something.
Today, however, provided a memorable occasion. We went on a field trip to Stonehenge, Old Sarum (an iron age fort used by the Britons, Romans, Saxons, and Normans - it had a Norman Castle, and was where William the Conquerer had the landholders swear allegiance to him before releasing the Domesday Book), and Salisbury Cathedral (that of the 400 ft. spire).
Stonehenge went as planned - we went to go see the mysterious big rocks that have been sitting there for nigh on 5000 years now, as well as the wooden post-holes that have been around even longer (and are currently marked by white circles in the carpark). It was a grey, rainy, blustery English day, but nothing too badd.
Old Sarum, however, provided as formidable for our bus to enter as it was for any number of Romans and Saxons. On the narrow roadd up, as we were crossing the ditch in front of the outer battlement, our bus lost grip in the wheels, and - knocking out a fence - proceeded to try and toss 60-oddd SCIO students and 3 staff members (not to mention the odd driver) into the ditch. It wound up with one wheel off the groundd, rocking precariously (for the 7 of you who might recognize this reference, it was eerily reminiscent of Mom, the Van, and Kentucky). However, Simon Lancaster, our guide, efficiently evacuated us, and soon we were trooping along into the fortress with its castle and cathedral ruins.
There, the wind attempted to whisk us off the battlements, but with the wind and a pleasant rain, touring the area was thoroughly enjoyable. However, our bus was having much less fun, and so we had to go and hire a new one to take us to Salisbury. Getting to this new bus was a rather messy business, involving all 70 of us packing into a little giftshop about the size of the dining room here and waiting, only to go on a log around the circumference of the fort to reach our new vehicle. The path of course was turned to mud by the rain, and the winds and rain only increased. By the time we reached Salisbury, we were a rather bedraggled lot.
Salisbury was more than worth it, however, with its beautiful cathedral, a 220 foot climb to the base of the spire, and a chance to see one of 4 surviing original copies of the Magna Carta.
When the dday ended, we were all wet, tired, and pleased with our trip. Even better, Dr. Rosenberg had pizza and pudding (puddding here meaning desserts of all types) awaiting our return.
To any who is interested, I highly reccomend cordial. Its a great drink, but be sure to dilute it to one part cordial, 4 parts water - any more and it will overpower you.
And now, I have a ship to attend, O Revoir.
Today, however, provided a memorable occasion. We went on a field trip to Stonehenge, Old Sarum (an iron age fort used by the Britons, Romans, Saxons, and Normans - it had a Norman Castle, and was where William the Conquerer had the landholders swear allegiance to him before releasing the Domesday Book), and Salisbury Cathedral (that of the 400 ft. spire).
Stonehenge went as planned - we went to go see the mysterious big rocks that have been sitting there for nigh on 5000 years now, as well as the wooden post-holes that have been around even longer (and are currently marked by white circles in the carpark). It was a grey, rainy, blustery English day, but nothing too badd.
Old Sarum, however, provided as formidable for our bus to enter as it was for any number of Romans and Saxons. On the narrow roadd up, as we were crossing the ditch in front of the outer battlement, our bus lost grip in the wheels, and - knocking out a fence - proceeded to try and toss 60-oddd SCIO students and 3 staff members (not to mention the odd driver) into the ditch. It wound up with one wheel off the groundd, rocking precariously (for the 7 of you who might recognize this reference, it was eerily reminiscent of Mom, the Van, and Kentucky). However, Simon Lancaster, our guide, efficiently evacuated us, and soon we were trooping along into the fortress with its castle and cathedral ruins.
There, the wind attempted to whisk us off the battlements, but with the wind and a pleasant rain, touring the area was thoroughly enjoyable. However, our bus was having much less fun, and so we had to go and hire a new one to take us to Salisbury. Getting to this new bus was a rather messy business, involving all 70 of us packing into a little giftshop about the size of the dining room here and waiting, only to go on a log around the circumference of the fort to reach our new vehicle. The path of course was turned to mud by the rain, and the winds and rain only increased. By the time we reached Salisbury, we were a rather bedraggled lot.
Salisbury was more than worth it, however, with its beautiful cathedral, a 220 foot climb to the base of the spire, and a chance to see one of 4 surviing original copies of the Magna Carta.
When the dday ended, we were all wet, tired, and pleased with our trip. Even better, Dr. Rosenberg had pizza and pudding (puddding here meaning desserts of all types) awaiting our return.
To any who is interested, I highly reccomend cordial. Its a great drink, but be sure to dilute it to one part cordial, 4 parts water - any more and it will overpower you.
And now, I have a ship to attend, O Revoir.
Monday, January 7, 2008
1st update
Hello all
Well, I arrived safely in England, with no major travel travails (although a bit of excitement helping find room for everyone on a train from Birmingham to Oxford). The first day was uneventful - mainly getting here, meeting the jr. deans who will be running the house
where I am staying (for you SAU folks, think giant coed K-house with about 40 people in it), meeting my roommates (who I have gotten along with excellently) and moving into the spacious room (triple the size of my SAU room) we will be sharing. The evening was quite, as we were all pretty jetlagged.
The next day also was spent meeting people and recovering from jetlag, although a few of us did find time to go into city centre and find some of the easier to locate places (most importantly the Bodleian, where copious amounts of time will be spent reading their millions of reference-only books)
Sunday one of my roommates and I did a more thorough exploration of city centre, including stopoffs at St. Mary's (the Oxford University Church, and a most beautiful Cathedral - Cardinal Newman preached there, and the Wesleys attended church there for a while) and Oxford's botanical gardens. Then we went for afternoon tea, followed by a trip to St. Andrews for services there (St. Andrews is an evangelical Anglican church - think garden variety US evanglical church with communion every week. The worship, except one hymn with a pipe organ and an awesome vocal arrangement, was the same style as US contemporary. The message was interesting and well-presented, although the conclusions weren't thoroughly thought through. I'll probably go to the evening service there after tea, but will keep looking for a morning service to go to).
Today was the first day of orientation, and we all went over to Wycliffe hall to met the SCIO (the organization we are here with) staff and learn a bit more about how our stay here will work. Then we had afternoon tea.
The one irritating thing so far has been the internet connection here at The Vines - flaky would be an understatement in describing it. That would be the explanation for why I've not updated anything since arriving here.
See you all later,
Daniel
Well, I arrived safely in England, with no major travel travails (although a bit of excitement helping find room for everyone on a train from Birmingham to Oxford). The first day was uneventful - mainly getting here, meeting the jr. deans who will be running the house
where I am staying (for you SAU folks, think giant coed K-house with about 40 people in it), meeting my roommates (who I have gotten along with excellently) and moving into the spacious room (triple the size of my SAU room) we will be sharing. The evening was quite, as we were all pretty jetlagged.
The next day also was spent meeting people and recovering from jetlag, although a few of us did find time to go into city centre and find some of the easier to locate places (most importantly the Bodleian, where copious amounts of time will be spent reading their millions of reference-only books)
Sunday one of my roommates and I did a more thorough exploration of city centre, including stopoffs at St. Mary's (the Oxford University Church, and a most beautiful Cathedral - Cardinal Newman preached there, and the Wesleys attended church there for a while) and Oxford's botanical gardens. Then we went for afternoon tea, followed by a trip to St. Andrews for services there (St. Andrews is an evangelical Anglican church - think garden variety US evanglical church with communion every week. The worship, except one hymn with a pipe organ and an awesome vocal arrangement, was the same style as US contemporary. The message was interesting and well-presented, although the conclusions weren't thoroughly thought through. I'll probably go to the evening service there after tea, but will keep looking for a morning service to go to).
Today was the first day of orientation, and we all went over to Wycliffe hall to met the SCIO (the organization we are here with) staff and learn a bit more about how our stay here will work. Then we had afternoon tea.
The one irritating thing so far has been the internet connection here at The Vines - flaky would be an understatement in describing it. That would be the explanation for why I've not updated anything since arriving here.
See you all later,
Daniel
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