Aimee - Oxford, England - Spring 2009

Life in Oxford is indeed marvelous; however, I find myself buried in books, papers and uhhh did I mention books?
Travel: On the topic of traveling, my flight to London was quick but partly sad. It took for the check-in lady at the airport to hand me my ticket for the idea that I will be away from home for 3 months to sink in my mind. It went emotionally downhill from there until I stepped foot in Heathrow. But, all is well now and I am enjoying Oxford. We had our first college field trip to the Tower of London and it was fascinating. Perfect timing too because I just finished my England to the Stuart Age class with Dr. Butler last semester. It was awesome. I couldn't believe everything. I was standing where Anne Boleyn was imprisoned, where Richard III supposedly killed the two princes. It was marvelous. A tragic spot in history but unbelievable. I am going to Rome on March 19th for a weekend break. I am going to see the Vatican, the Spanish steps, the Trevi, ---- I can't believe all of this.
Experience: The classes are difficult. Challenging were more like it. I just finished writing a paper on Mansfield Park-- addressing the preoccupations Austen had in the novel and how significant the setting was to her concerns. I am also enjoying my 18th century poetry and drama tutorial. I just finished discussing and writing about the perception of women in the works of Alexander Pope. It was fascinating. :) I especially loved reading "An Epistle to a Lady" and "Eloisa to Abelard." The learning responsibilities here are significantly greater than back home. It really is a good way for me to top-off my college career.
Faculty: I am very pleased with the administration here. Dr. Crowe teaches my Humanism class and we had marvelous discussions about More and Utopia, and Erasmus on Praise of Folly. I loved it. Dr. Philpott, our Senior Tutor, is such a helping man. I approached him about my problems in writing with my Jane Austen class and he has been helping me so far. I did get disheartened for a week or two about one of my tutorials. It came to a point where I questioned whether I should be here. All is well now that Dr. Philpott after seeing my work convinced me that reminded me that there is reason why I am here, and I deserve to be here. As for school for work, I write a 6-8page essay every week for each novel we read for Jane Austen and another essay of the same length every week for another tutorial--- on top of everything else that I need to do for all my other classes. It is quite the task but with God's help and time management I am surviving -- so far.
And speaking of faculty, I met with Dr. Lerud while he was here for their class trip. It was so nice to see people from home and we all sat down for a cup of coffee and hot cocoa. :)