Of A Busy Day!

My, but today's been busy!  My life promptly went from rather boring and solitary to pretty exciting, comparatively speaking.  I suppose details are in order, and I assure you, sagacious reader, they shall not be lacking!  (Sorry about that; "sagacious reader" is sort of an in-joke with just me, relating to a course I took freshman year on Tom Jones and other works by Henry Fielding.  Just bear with me, I won't do that sort of thing too unbearably often.)

First, I had a nice lunch this afternoon with Josephine (aka Dr. Reynell, the woman in charge of us Visiting Students,) and the JCR representatives for Welfare, (which is the term they use for general wellbeing,) in the Ferrar room above the college hall, up the stairs pictured.  It was the best I've eaten since I arrived, and I was informed that it will keep that rank for the rest of my stay.  It was nice to have fresh fruit; that reminds me, there is a plum, a kiwi and a pear in my backpack that I should probably retrieve before I go to bed.  I would have taken the raspberries, but I didn't think they'd hold up too well in the back pocket of my bag.

After, I spent the afternoon reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë in the lower camera of the Radcliffe Camera.  The Rad Cam is just about the most stunning building I've ever seen in my life.  Unfortunately, pictures aren't allowed on the inside, but I'll try to take a few sneaky ones when I can.  The upper camera is very grand; high, arched ceilings, big windows, a lot of light and air but total silence.  The lower camera is more to my liking.  The ceilings are lower, though still stone and vaulted, and there are dozens of dark wood bookshelves all around.  Each desk is lit with its own reading lamp, and has both an electrical outlet and an internet network port, which catches me off guard in such an old building.  Incredibly convenient, though, as I've found all the books for my first tutorial online as e-books.  It's kind of charming, to mix the old with the new in such a way.


It was during the afternoon that I actually contacted the college chaplain, Leanne Roberts, and joined the Hertford Chapel Choir, (the Chapel itself is pictured).  It only meets twice a week, on Fridays and Sundays, but Sunday nights is choral evensong, and it just seems like it'll be a really nice thing to do.  Apparently they feed us for free twice a week because of it as well, and who am I to turn down free food?  I just hope I'm good enough; I was more confident before, but it's hard to be quite so daring as usual when you're still settling into an entirely new country, particularly one that's been uninterruptedly independent for 4 times as long as your own has even existed.  I really do love to sing, though, and music has always been a soothing part of my life.  Plus, it'll be an excellent way to make friends.  Speaking of which...

Until this point, the other William and Mary kids and I have somewhat moved as a pack; separate most of the time, but meeting up often before doing anything social or important.  Today, I went to dinner by myself, and actually managed to make some friends.  I feel a bit as though I'm in kindergarten with how proud I am of that, but it's true!  One in particular, a guy named Nike, was particularly interested in talking to me, and we had a good deal of fun discussing women's issues and their repercussions.  He also informed me that Phillip Pullman will be giving a talk in early May, and directed me to the site where I could sign up to attend.  I'm very much looking forward to that; the His Dark Materials trilogy is excellent, and he's prominent in the fantasy genre in which I have so much interest.  There were three others as well; David, Clare/Clair, and one who's name I've forgotten.  I'll have to ask Nike.  David was able to name the make of each of the cars my family has owned once I gave him the company and year; it was rather astonishing.  I don't think I've ever had as comprehensive a knowledge in any subject in my whole life as he has about cars.

Tomorrow afternoon, I have my first tutorial.  This is my "Victorian Detective Novels and Sensation Fiction" module, and my first essay was to read and discuss Jane Eyre in terms of the Gothic themes presented throughout.  Luckily for me, as I think I may have mentioned, Jane Eyre is my favorite non-Tolkien-authored book.  I contacted Professor Wheatley back at home, who is not only the head of the Honors committee but also my professor for "Gothic Literature" back in the Spring of freshman year.  I've had other classes with her as well, (well, class singular, actually: The English Romantic Period,) so I felt free to ask her to send some of the material from The Gothic on to me to help me brainstorm, which it did.  The essay's been sent off to Helena, my tutor, and we'll see tomorrow how well I've grasped this concept of the Oxford Tutorial.

Oh, for those that asked, this is my mailing address; and no, there is no street number, I didn't just mistype:

Justine di Giovanni
Care of William and Mary
Hertford College Lodge
Catte Street, Oxford OX1 3BW
United Kingdom 


Also, for anyone who wants to contact me by phone, I can be reached at 703 879 7125.  It's the same price for you as calling any other number with a (703) area code, because I purchased the use of an online American phone number while I'm away.  Just keep the time difference in mind!  I'm five hours ahead of you lot, and calling me at 9 PM your time will make for a very unhappy Justine.

In conclusion, here's another list of Things I've Noticed:

• There are no telephone poles or electrical wires.  I'm not sure if everything's buried, or if they're artfully strung from roof to roof; I've seen none.

• There are more people with canes and crutches; lots more.

• Oxford has the second largest homeless population in England, after London.

• Personal space bubbles are a little bit smaller.  I'm used to people dodging each other on the street pretty widely; here, it seems fine to brush against people as you pass even if there's a great portion of sidewalk left over.  That, or everyone can just tell I'm American and is accordingly rude

• Swans are really big.  Like, really big.  I'd never seen one as close-up as I have now that they take their morning swims right outside my window.

• It's still farkin' cold.  Colder, in fact; today had a high of 52 degrees Fahrenheit.  In fact, my heater only goes to a maximum of 21 Celsius, or 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit.  That, my friends, is pretty durn cold for a maximum possible temperature.  The weather, however, has been beautifully sunny, and I'm convinced that it most certainly won't last much longer.

Also, happy birthday, Aunt Carrot!  I hope your Nana-made cake surpassed your wildest expectations.

That's enough for tonight; I've taken to getting up and out by around 9:30 each morning, so as to avoid my Scout.  What a Scout is can wait for the next post; it's something I'm certainly not accustomed to from living in an American dorm!

PS:  See some folk dancers from Saturday: