Tutorials

I have come to conclusion that despite my need to meet requirements for my major I have a very distinct privilege to pursue deep passions of mine here at Oxford. I am fulfilling three requirements, Theology, Upper division writing, and upper division general education, but I am not sure if all will be accepted by the university. As it stands right now, I have permission to take my tutorials in the direction I presented before the term started but I had to split up my primary into two chunks with two different tutors. Also instead of taking "Advanced Composition", as APU calls it, my tutorial is Creative Writing now - plain and simple. It won't be accepted towards the intended academic requirement but I have been dying to have direction in my writing so I couldn't imagine it any other way. For those who don't know, I am starting to write a novel. I will have to post it up on this blog, or possibly my other blog so that the progression of it can be seen.

As for my tutorials in general, I am thoroughly excited for what is to come. My primary tutor for Creative Writing is a highly sought after tutor who is well qualified in the area having published several novels himself. He is very approachable and passionate about his work and showed genuine interest to my novel idea, which was a pleasant surprise and very encouraging. The tutor for my secondary is a very young (probably around 25+), beautiful New Zealander who specializes in Children's Lit. and C.S. Lewis. The direction she has prescribed is very fitting and I am very much looking forward to working with her.

That is all for now. Have a great day!

Formal Dinner Pictures

Formal Dinner at Catz

-I tend to write exclusively in a strict narration without much character. But I assure you that as I continue to write my style and vocabulary will expand and I will learn how to incorporate much more than description into my blogs.-

Well where to start...

We arrived at St. Catz at 7.20 p.m. by taxi and proceeded to chat and snack before dinner was served. We then ascended to High Table (in the words of our Director, Deepak Mukhi) and sat at our designated spots. The first course was chickpea, chilli, and coriander soup, dinner rolls and fresh butter. The soup was delicious, having a refreshing profile given by the coriander with a near perfect consistency. The soup finished with a nice bite due to the chilli. Next, the main course consisted of Mistral's Chicken and garlic (recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/dining/311frex.html), assorted roasted vegetables (leek, onion, squash, and mushrooms) and crusty, caramelized potatoes. The vegetarian option was a mushroom and butter bean lasagna which, I am sure, does not sound appetizing to many but let me tell you, I have never had a more delicious lasagna before. The ricotta was creamy and sweet, the beans melted in your mouth and there were spices that distinctly reminded me of some of my favorite meals while I could not put my finger on what they were. Next came the desert which was a Lemon tart with Creme Fraiche (excuse the lack of accents). After the desert we sampled assorted cheeses and fruits (including dragon fruit, lychee, dried figs and apricots as well as many other more common fruits). We finished the meal with coffee and then the toasting commenced.

The toasting was probably the most festive experience of the night. While not a common practice among students at Oxford, Deepak expressed his opinion on the importance of including the tradition of toasting. I too felt it worthwhile by the end of the night. All of the toasts given were heartfelt and some were even profound. They ranged from the mundane repetitions of sentimentalities towards our future at Oxford, to the eloquent and challenging rhetoric of future diplomats and politicians. Regardless of the oratory skills of my associates I walked away with a deep sense of gratitude to be counted worthy to be surrounded by so many intelligent and appreciative students.

The night was magical, poetic even. It was filled with laughter and discussion. We all shared something in common, the aspiration to be great. I only hope that our dreams are common in one matter, that they would be for the furtherance of good in the world. Good towards man. But I do not mean this in a bland, broad sense so as to not offend. I desire for intelligence to be used to further the goodness of my Lord. I believe that all good things come from God and if good is done on earth towards His creation, it honors Him. Let us not waste our gifts on foolish aspirations.

I have written quite a bit and still have so much more to write so I will wait to include my other experiences after I meet my tutors for the first time, tomorrow.

Alex

1/11/10

Well, today marks the first class of the term. While the class isn't at Oxford I suppose it is as official as it will ever be. For those of you reading who I haven't explained what my semester at Oxford will entail here is a short description.

The University of Oxford is one of two institutions in the UK that has maintained the tutorial system of learning (the other being the one and only Cambridge University). Most students matriculated in the University will have anywhere from 3-4 tutorials per term as well as optional lectures they can attend to supplement their tutorials, most don't go though. I am taking two tutorials, a primary and a secondary, and I will also be taking a course online through APU in Theology as well as a class offered on British Culture and History. My primary is on Arthurian Legend and advanced composition and my secondary is on the fiction of C.S. Lewis. As far as I am concerned I couldn't be studying subjects more interesting, however that is because they suit my personal taste.

Today, we toured the Oxford Union which is the oldest student organization at Oxford. It was founded 90 years after the foundation of the University making it several hundred years old!!! Crazy, I know. As an OPUS student we are allowed the exclusive membership to the Union allowing us access to any and all of the facilities. There are several libraries and one is two stories containing vast amounts of antiquated books that smell amazing (that's for you danielle ;) ). The Union is filled with dark wood paneled staircases leading to various meeting rooms each with a hefty allotment of books. There is one particular room that is used for the weekly meetings of the Union government which we as Union members are allowed to sit in on and submit inquiries. Every week the Union holds debates hosted by many famous diplomats, political leaders and socialites. Past debates have included Mother Teresa, Reverend Desmond TuTu, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, British Prime Ministers, as well as various Nobel Peace Prize recipients. As a Union member we are allowed access to these debates as well as the black tie dinners afterwards to eat with, meet and talk to the speakers. It is a great honor to be allowed these privileges and I will have to post several blogs to share my experiences at the Union.

Tomorrow afternoon I meet with my academic advisor to set my tutorials in stone so I will have to blog about that. Until then, goodnight!

Orientation

Herro everybody,

Today was the first official meeting for the term. I have never enjoyed an orientation before, but this one was rather nice. It was very productive and all the information was necessary to my stay here. The most enjoyable aspect was of course being with friends that I hadn't seen in a while and meeting new friends as well. The past few days were really interesting, many new faces and new places, so to have familiar people around is comforting. The head of OPUS (the Oxford Program for Undergraduate Studies) is great. A very warm and inviting guy, Deepak has quite a sense of humor. Speaking of which, I really love the British sense of humor (or should I say humour). Though it is often extremely dry, full of wit and grammatically eloquent my favorite aspect is how quick they are poking fun at very serious issues. For example, today a guest lecturer by the name of Martin Holmes was introduced with fairly impressive accolades in British society and politics then bounced onto the stage with brilliant energy and began to make fun of the Monarchy. I loved the irony of it all. Anyways, I am tired it is around 1130pm England time and I am gonna do something a bit more productive. Not that this isn't worthwhile though ;)

Chances are if you are reading this I care deeply about you, so... Love you, Goodnight :)

Day Four

After about four days milling around Oxford I am a few days away from starting classes. It seems that my primary tutorial is a bit too vague and so I am working on a rewrite. However it is very difficult seeing as I am combining advanced composition and medieval literature together into one tutorial. Pray that I find a way for both to work so that I can get credit for both classes. Besides just hanging about I haven't been up to much. It is way too easy to stay up late and sleep in late and as a result I have been doing both. I need to get an alarm clock. However! Today I woke up on my own at 1 in the afternoon which means I have time to get groceries and toiletries. Shops close around 5-6 in Oxford and since I have been sleeping in late, by the time I get around to shopping they are beginning to close. So today is the day that I finish what needs to be done. Now on to descriptions. The hostel I have been staying at is, well, funky. That is its claim to fame and it is indeed very funky. But I like it. The manager and staff are really nice; all of them are kiwis (new zealand) and aussies. The bathrooms are clean and the beds are warm and that is all that matters. There are several australians staying there, two south africans, several asian-types (china? Japan?), three spaniards, one awesome Argentinean woman who reminds me of home for some reason, a canadian and two italians that don't speak any english (they are sooooo italian, it's awesome). The area around where I am staying is the city center so I have walked quite a bit to see everything, but I haven't found too many places to sit and chill/read. So the hunt continues. School starts in about three days so here is to the last bit of my christmas break!

Initiation

Oxford is lovely. After a good 11 hours in flight and 3 in layover I am sitting in a cafe in the Jericho district drinking an amazing Americano and eating a panini. Crazy. I don't really know what to do at the moment. I am more or less wandering aimlessly - talking to random people and searching for cool areas around town. I can already tell that this will be an amazing experience, one that I will not soon forget, but I have the "just arrived" feeling lingering above my head which I hope will ease into a familiarity with my surroundings. I do not have many expectations for the next few days. Until the 6th I am more or less in a limbo, waiting for everyone else to come. I suppose I should determine what I would like to do with my free time. So I will leave with that in mind. If you have any suggestions, feel free to offer them!