There and Back Again

Today I sit once more at my desk in my room in Oxford. I am wrapped in a blanket and sipping on tea while waiting for my small heater to gain ground in its fight against the January damp cold. My eyes are trapped in their own battle, to stay awake and fight against jet lag. I took a fifteen minute nap already and I'm hoping to stay up for at least a couple more hours. We'll see how I do.

I got to go home for about two weeks, so I apologize for the long delay. When I walked off the plane in Kansas I got to meet my favorite baby in the whole world. My niece Joanna is three months old now and absolutely the cutest child I know, she holds my heart back in Kansas. My whole family, all five kids and the baby and the brother-in-law and parents got to be together. It was such a refreshing time to see friends and family and go to my home church and to see the prairie. England is beautiful, the rolling hills, the hedges and trees, the mist and green grass but my heart belongs to the grasslands of the USA. They stretch to the horizon, endless and vast, dotted with patches of cottonwood trees marking the site of dry creek beds. It had snowed over New Years and my little brother and I explored our newly white pasture, throwing snowballs and making a fort. I also got to go on a date with him, I promised that we would watch The Hobbit together.

Home was fantastic, it was like taking a deep breath during half time of a game before plunging back into the fray once more. So here I sit once again at the desks of the Bodleian Library. I have a couple of books open next to me and the sounds of other keyboards clicking greets me among the gentle swish of turning pages. Outside the sun is just beginning to set, I have officially about 45 more minutes of sun than when I left. I go to meet some friends for tea in about an hour and my body hasn't quite gotten over jet lag. In many ways I am glad to be back, its very much due to getting to be with my family for a few days. I was not completely prepared for such a different school experience but I am ready for what I face in the next six months this time. I see the dome of the Radcliffe Camera out one window and the towers of All Soul's College from another. Monday I turn in my first major paper of my experience at Oxford University, I begin once more language training and classes, books that I need to read, want to read, and should have read will begin to pile up. Ok, the jet lag is still affecting me, I keep getting sentimental. I hope you all had a marvelous Christmas and have had a great New Year so far. Greetings from this Kansas girl in Oxford and I will talk to you again once I've had more sleep.

Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense

Shamed be he who thinks evil of it. This is the motto of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry in England. It was founded in the mid-fourteenth century by Edward III of England. Today it includes the sovereign and the Prince of Wales, no more than twenty-four other knights and other certain members of the British Royal family and foreign monarchs. The ruling monarch alone has the power to bestow the order upon a person, it remains a very personally royal order. Last weekend I visited, along with the other scholars and several Rotarians, Windsor Palace and Eton College. Windsor Palace is the weekend home of the queen and the royal family, we were supposed to see the Mews, but...the queen was in residence and she took precedence, so we just got to see the public rooms. The chapel, St. George's Chapel, is the hereditary home of the Order, it holds the emblems of the current members and memorabilia of past members and sovereigns. The chapel is also the resting place of twelve English monarchs including Henry VIII and his wife, Jane Seymour. I just stood and stared for a few moments. How the mighty have fallen.

The term is done here, this week I have a few more classes just to finish up some things that were missed during the last two months. I don't know if I can tell you really what I've been thinking or feeling. Its been so intense at times and then at others so much time for reflection and wondering. I wonder where I will be in a year from now, I wonder again how I made it here, I reflect on the events that brought me here and I thank God for His provision. I have had so much fun with the Rotary clubs here and enjoyed talking with them and telling them about Kansas. Its so fun to tell them about some of our history, the Indians, the cowboys, Dodge City, and the Old West.

Tonight I have a book I need to finish and a few more Latin exercises to practice. I can't believe that I can look at some Latin phrases and I can tell you what they mean and why. Tomorrow, for the last Latin class of the course we read Winnie the Pooh in Latin. Oh, and someone has translated The Hobbit into Latin--Hobbitus Ille. My goal--to read J.R.R. Tolkien's work in Latin. I cannot wait to get home and to give my little brother a huge bear hug, to hold my niece, to see the starts and sunrise. I'm looking forward to my mom's cooking and the distance I can see when I drive. But this place is unimaginable. Oxford is a place that can be like any other, just another town, a place to live and work, full of humans and buildings. Then you turn a corner and face a building finished centuries earlier, walk through a doorway and the sight takes your breath away, step outside and feel the mist on your face and its magic. Thank you, :)

Thanksgiving

I give full credit to my mom, I only know how to make
them because of her. They came out pretty decent thankfully.

Thanksgiving is almost here, although here in England the only people aware of it are usually the Americans who begin to crave turkey and pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes. Last night some friends invited me to partake in the Regent's College Thanksgiving dinner, created by several amazing women who can cook incredibly well. I contributed only some rolls but there was a turkey that was delicious and all the fixings, there were several apple pies and pumpkin, stuffing and cranberry jelly for the rolls.

This is the treacle well of St. Frideswide, the first
person to have been at Oxford, and the well that
inspired the rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland.

As the time here has gone on, I miss my family and my home but there are some things I am learning to be thankful for about Oxford and England. So in honor of Thanksgiving here are a few things that I am thankful for here,
1. The libraries--the Bodleian, Duke Humphrey's, Keble library, all of the books that are kept so carefully and enjoyed as the treasures of the university.
2. The rain--it rains a lot, and while it can be annoying to get to class with an umbrella and the ends of your jeans getting soaked up to your knee, I'll never be ungrateful for rain. (Result of growing up in Kansas farm country)
3. University park--a park of about 70 acres just across the street from where I live. It is a spot of wildness and nature, there are ducks and birds in the ponds, a river with a high bridge that goes into what must be fairyland, trees that are losing their leaves. The leaves are blanketing the paths and rustle gently in the breezes. I once saw two swans in the pond, did you know that swans are royal property, all swans in Great Britain belong to the queen and it is a federal offense to kill one?

This is what Oxford students do. We made the
White House out of Legos. 

4. Friends here--coming to a new place making new friends can be difficult but there are several people that have welcomed me and I have truly enjoyed getting to know them and spend time with them. One of the most interesting things is to get an entirely new perspective on life and how the world looks from a different point of view.
5. The hidden and unexpected moments of history, every now and then I walk upon something that feels like it hasn't changed in the last five hundred years.

So, like Dorothy I say that there is no place like home, but still, England is amazing. I'm still finding my feet, finding my place here but slowly I am learning to treasure and savor (savour) each moment in the day. I stop and soak in the sights and take walks through meadows, and enjoy where I am today.

Duke Humphrey's Library

I wish I could take a picture. I wish I could show you where I am right now, I wish you were here with me to see it. I am looking at 17th and 18th century books in front of me, the desk is scarred and pitted from years of use, it is connected to the bookshelves themselves. I am looking at titles like "Owen on the Epistle to the Hebrews" written in the mid-1600s, two books down is Irenaei Opera, the Work of Irenaeus, this book was written in 1675 but Irenaeus was a saint from the second century. There are Latin Bibles, Hebrew Bibles, tomes that look like they have stood guard for centuries. (Which they probably have.) I sit by a window with the blinds half closed. I look into a lawn, I think for Exeter College. The leaves have mostly fallen, but some hang on, the green grass is blanketed with yellow and red leaves. There is a reading lamp above me that provides just enough but not too much light. The ceiling is painted with the Oxford motto and crest, "Dominus illuminatio mea." The Lord is my light. I need to study, I'm looking at two books written in the seventeenth century about two of the Archbishops of Canterbury under Elizabeth I. Its just so amazing to me that these are my research books, that I am able and allowed to look at these books.

I will be here for a few hours and then go eat something and then probably come back here a while longer. You can only have pencils, no pens, and no food or drink, even water in here. Other than that, it is the perfect place and I will probably show up here more and more. As much as I love Hale Library back at Kansas State, it has nothing on this place.

I'll write more soon, but I am half over with the term and work is never done. See ya'll later.

One Month in Oxford

A little over a month ago, on September 16th, I arrived in Oxford, England. In one month I have learned enough Latin to read the first four lines of the Aenid, matriculated into the university, been down to Exeter to see the sea, and currently I am "studying" in the Radcliffe Camera in the heart of the University of Oxford.

I've made friends with students the program for a Masters in Finance and Economics.
 I tell them they need me to even out their numbers and math. Here we are dressed in our matriculation finest.

Behind me is the Keble Hall, housing both the dining hall and the library. 

We are in the Sheldonian waiting for the ceremony to start. See how excited everyone is?
We can hardly hold it in.

We are officially enrolled in the lists of the University. Now we get lunch.
This is Arianna from Italy who is one of the Masters in Finance and Econmics (MFE) people.

This past weekend I had several adventures. First I was matriculated. Now, when I first heard matriculation I was excited, it sounded official and I like being official, but I had no idea what it actually meant. Matriculation comes from the Latin verb "matricula" which means to be enrolled in the register. So every "fresher" or incoming student, both undergraduate and graduate dressed up in their sub fusc. We marched over to the Sheldonian and stood for about an hour outside, then trailed in and were carefully packed into the seats for maximum use and then the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford processed into the hall behind two officials carrying maces. The Dean of Degrees then intoned Latin to the Vice-Chancellor who lifted his cap in acknowledgement. The Vice-Chancellor replied and then spoke to us in Latin, telling us about the former Latin examination all incoming students used to have to sit and how only a vestige is left in this short ceremony. He then left once more and we filed down the winding stairs once more. However, while we were in the building, the weather had made a switch and we were about to be drenched. English weather...

My second adventure happened on Sunday. I went to church in the morning, its about a mile and a half away and I have no bike so I walked. It was a beautiful morning and after church I was able to go have lunch with several other college students at the house of one of the church families. I was there for a couple hours and then had to race back almost two miles to my room so I could grab other stuff to walk another mile for tea with my Russian friends. We talked about politics and Russia for a while until I had to leave for supper. Supper was with a Chinese couple, the guy, Kai, is a member of Keble getting an MBA, his wife is getting her second, SECOND, Ph.D. in Chinese history. We met at a real Chinese restaurant. (They ordered in Chinese.) The food was really great and really spicy, and they said I did pretty good with my chop sticks.

Those are two of my adventures. I hope you enjoyed hearing about them, they were pretty fun to live through. Now, I must go sleep so I can study more tomorrow. I will talk to you later.

Daily Life of a Student

Ok, I have a few minutes but I thought I would give you a quick glance at my past few days. This is first week of Michaelmas (pronounced Mik el mus for all those wondering) and as such, I have been running around like crazy. I alternate between walking on air in the clouds because I am rushing to class at Oxford and feeling completely overwhelmed and inadequate because I am rushing to class at Oxford.

The way my course is set up is that there are two core courses every Master of Studies in Modern European and British History takes. Then I have a Early Modern Britain Seminar, lectures and language and skills training as needed. The core courses are Theory and Methods, where we talk about the different theories and methods of historiography and some of the cutting edge techniques. This can be interesting, but also frustrating because its easy to make something much more complicated than it is by giving an idea really fancy names. The other course is Sources and Resources and that meets for the first time on Friday but so far we have been asked to look at some training for plagerism and some journal articles. The first article was written addressing a certain topic in Elizabethan England, the second by a different man challenged the first authors conclusions, saying they were wrong and the article was a load of rubbish. The first man responded and so we get to talk about historical arguments. My seminar this week is on the Restoration of Charles II. I have several book chapters that I have been looking at and will finish up tomorrow morning.

As far as lectures go, I want to go to as many as possible but....that isn't necessarily the best plan. There are several history ones that I will be attending and some theology ones on Luther, Calvin, and maybe just for fun Barthe and Bonheoffer. Finally the language and skills training include further Classical Latin, some Medieval Latin reading, Intermediate French (if I wanted I think I could move up to the Advanced group! I would not have guessed that but my grammar is good enough...I think.) and paleography. I will be taking a real course for that next term in Hilary but for now I am looking online at a training that the National Archives has.

Other than all of that, and trust me, I'm tired and out of breath most of the time, I just gave my first Rotary presentation to my home club of Eynsham. It went very well and I really enjoyed getting to meet the group. I think there will be a couple activities that I will be able to help with throughout the year. Tonight I have a swim test to be able to be on the novice women's rowing team for Keble and over the next few days I will be trying to simple stay on top of things. This weekend will be very exciting, on Saturday I will get to dress up in sub fusc, white shirt, black skirt and shoes, my academic gown and black string tie and go to the Sheldonian where all the freshers at Keble College will be officially matriculated into the University of Oxford. The ceremony is in Latin so the next question is...how much will I understand?

Thank you all for listening (reading rather) and talk to ya'll later.

Exeter and Sidbury

This last weekend I went down to Exeter along with 60 other Rotary Scholars from all of the UK. We were welcomed into the homes of various Rotarians in the area and met at the Exeter Guildhall, the building that had served as the center for city council for over 800 years. First about the Guildhall. When I walked in for the first time on Saturday morning, I glanced over at a display in the entryway. It held an old ceremonial hat and a sword sheath with a crown on one end. I looked at the plaque explaining what it was and very nearly started jumping up and down and pointing.

Cap of Maintenance and Ceremonial Sword

The Cap of Maintenance as its called and the Ceremonial Sword were gifted to the town of Exeter in 1497 after they had successfully resisted the army of Perkin Warbeck in support of Henry VII, the grandfather of Elizabeth I. Perkin Warbeck was pretending to be Richard, Duke of York, the younger brother of Elizabeth of York, Henry's wife. Richard had disappeared into the Tower of London years ago, during the reign of Richard III, the king before Henry. If Warbeck had really been York, he would have been the rightful king of England. Exeter supported the crowned and anointed king and received these symbols of his special favor. I stood there and looked at two artifacts that originally had been given by the father of the Tudor dynasty. 

The coat of arms of Exeter

Princess Henrietta

Exeter's motto Semper Fidelis was supposed to have been adopted at the suggestion of Elizabeth I after their support during the attack of the Spanish Armada, the town has had intimate connection with the Tudors and has had a history of supporting royalty. During the Civil War, Henrietta, the youngest child of Charles I, (who was beheaded) had to be left in Exeter after it became too dangerous for her mother. She was protected there until her older brother, Charles II, came to power. In reward Charles II had a portrait of Henrietta commissioned and given to Exeter. This also stands in the Guildhall. I paid a little attention to the presentations during the weekend, but I have to admit I was in a happy haze of just looking around me and realizing that the people I've only read about stood in this space five hundred years ago. It was a heady feeling. 

Garden of Judith and John

So there is a short history lesson, and while seeing the Guildhall, and being in Exeter was incredible, by far the best part of the weekend was the couple I got to stay with. Judith and John were Rotarians who had been asked to host two scholars for the weekend. They lived in Sidbury and there were five scholars who were staying with couples in that area. So the first night we went out to the Blue Ball which had stood as a pub for over four hundred years. The current building is not that old, as it had burned down not too long ago but it has since been rebuilt in replica of the old pub. 

Judith and John lived on a small farm on which stood a mill that they had helped to restore and now still works to make flour that they sell to a few stores in the area. Its a beautiful place with gardens and well-kept grounds just above the river Sid. They showed us a little bit of it in the time we had and were so gracious to us. I was able to sit up with them both nights for a little and drink some tea and talk with them about their lives and the farm. That has got to be one of the best parts of a new country--encountering the new people. They also have a beautiful golden lab, and this dog reminded me of our black lab Sadie. So I had a grand time playing with their Madge.

Statue of Sir Walter Raleigh

Hayes Barton, birthplace of Raleigh

One of the last things we had time to see was actually the birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh. It is called Hayes Barton and is not open to the public, being owned by Clinton Devon Estates. These Estates are held, at least in part, by the 22nd Baron Clinton. This was my first interaction with the peerage of England. 

I am back at Oxford now, working on Latin and having meetings this week, for Freshers week. Its really exciting but also a little intimidating, I'm about to really start working. In a few weeks I will be actually studying at Oxford University, working towards earning a Master's degree in History from this incredible place.