It's Been a Whirlwind!

At this point, I don't even remember what my last post was about or when I wrote it! The last week and a half or so have been crazy busy now that we are in the proper Oxford term (their version of the semester). You would think that, with only two classes instead of a full load of four or more, I would have more time off.

That has not been the case, that's for sure! But it's been all really good. So. Let's see if I can tell you what's been going on in some kind of coherent order!

First off, let's talk about the tutorial system. American classes - and truthfully, classes in most other countries as well - are conducted in a lecture format. The student sits in an hour, hour and a half, or three hour lecture that may or may not include tests, quizzes, group work, or discussion. Oxford, being the crazy place that it is, does things very differently. Students participate in tutorials with tutors. These are individualized, generally one-on-one, classes in a given topic. There is the primary tutorial, which meets eight times in the eight-week term, then there is the secondary tutorial that meets four times in that same term. For each tutorial, the tutee writes an essay on a given question which they then turn in to be reviewed by the tutor. At the next session, tutor and tutee discuss the essay, the relevant reading, and what the next week's work will look like.

Coming from a background of homeschool and self-directed learning, this works out great. I get to pursue those things that interest me most while still being taught and guided by an expert in the field. And that's another thing; all the professors here are brilliant! There is a huge culture of intellectual curiosity here at Oxford. If someone is interested in a topic, they don't do the typical American thing and read a few books and call it good. They get another degree. What's so great is that it's not just earning degrees for the sake of a lot of letters after your name. Instead, Oxford scholars are true academics who get those degrees so they can understand a given topic better and so they can pursue their passion. I love that! There is something incredibly special about learning from people who are spending their lives continuously learning and nurturing their interests.

Of course, it's not all sunshine and rainbows like I mentioned above. Having two tutorials to write essays for can be pretty intense. It's a little deceptive when you first get here. After all, coming from a background of five or even six classes a semester, only two classes at a time sounds pretty easy. The thing is, those classes expect you to read the primary text, a good portion of secondary literature, and write an essay in the space of a week (or two weeks, in the case of the secondary tutorial). That means time management is essential... and something I haven't quite gotten the hang of yet. This morning I turned in my secondary tutorial essay and started my secondary research for my primary tutorial essay... which is due Tuesday. It will get done, but I've learned my lesson and will be starting both earlier next time around.

Nevertheless, I love being here. I love the challenge and the chance to learn from some pretty amazing people. It all makes me think of my schooling in a different way. Learning isn't just stuffing as much knowledge in my head as possible so I can qualify for a job someday. It's about learning what my passion is, what interests me, and chasing after it. It's about learning to ask questions and be okay with the possibility that I might never find the answer, but to pursue it anyway for the sake of what I learn along the way.

Alongside the academic side of things, I've been spending a lot of time exploring Oxford itself. Between my walks for exercise and going into town with my housemates, I've covered a good portion of this beautiful city. Honestly, it's so amazing! Oxford is this incredible blend of ancient and new, of learning and religion and culture. As you're walking down the main road through Oxford, you pass St. Michael at the North Gate, arguably the oldest existing building in Oxford. Then, next door, is a building put up in the last twenty or thirty years. Thirteenth century right next to twentieth, and that's completely normal here. Modern businesses share the same space as churches that have been in operation almost since the beginning of Oxford itself. In some cases, those churches have been converted into libraries and study spaces for the colleges associated with them.

My favorite so far, though it is less ostentatious than the buildings of Magdalen College, is St. Edmund Hall. The church that is now St. Edmund Hall's library was built only a short time after the twelfth century St. Michael at the North Gate (aka the Saxon Tower, named for the Norman conquerors who built it in the years after the Norman Conquest of 1066). Walking west down High Street, the closest thing to a main road Oxford has, St. Edmund College Library is down a little, winding road off to the right. You don't really see it until you're right on it. Then, all of a sudden, you have the choice to keep walking toward the bigger, somewhat more notable buildings of Oxford, or to turn right and explore this side road. It's well worth taking the detour. The road changes from modern pavement to older cobbles. On either side, stone walls enclose the street. They are rough and old and tie together several buildings, turning multiple structures into one, continuous chain of buildings. Then you come up to the gate of St. Edmund College Library's garden. It's a cast-iron gate tucked into that rough stone wall. On the other side is a slightly overgrown garden and cemetery. Right now, it's locked up because of COVID. But through the bars of that gate, you can see tilted headstones, stone benches, wild bushes, and the gaunt statue of St. Edmund, for whom the college was named.

Further on down that road is the main portion of the church, the square tower and the big, west-facing window that has been part of the building almost since it was built. Again, you can't go in right now, but you can see beautiful wood rafters arching up over the central worship-turned-study space to meet a central beam, much like many of the older Baptist churches back home.

I don't know what it is about this building that enchants me so much. Like I said, the buildings associated with Magdalen College (pronounced "Mawdlen" here) are much more ornate. Those are beautiful, intricately designed stone buildings capped with spear-like spires. They're truly impressive against a rare blue sky and the perpetually green lawns. And the Saxon Tower is definitely an intense sight. Seriously. That tower has lasted for nine hundred years!! But, for me, St. Edmund College Library takes the cake.

So far.

One of the SCIO staff has taken the time to detail various tours we can take either by bike or foot. One of them is a twenty mile round trip bike ride to nearby Blenheim Palace that includes a side trip to the graveyard where J. R. R. Tolkien is buried. I haven't gone yet, but it's on my list. A very long list.... There are quite a number of other self-guided tours through Oxford that take in the oldest parts of the city as well as more modern history... like the old pub where C. S. Lewis, Tolkien, and the other Inklings met...! I stumbled on that one by accident the other day and almost walked right past. Once more, this piece of literary and cultural history is tucked between several other, completely innocuous buildings.

I have also managed to make it to the University of Oxford Botanical Gardens. Talk about enchanted! The gardens themselves are carefully organized into planting areas with different themes. Since all my housemates are science and mostly all pre-med majors, they got pretty excited about the planting beds themed around medicinal plants! It was fun watching them discover the plants that produced chemicals to treat Alzheimer's, cancer, and even diabetes. Seriously, they gave new meaning to the phrase 'kid in a candy store'!

Even though we couldn't go into any of the greenhouses, the gardens themselves were truly beautiful. The main section was surrounded with a tall stone wall that reminded me a lot of The Secret Garden. It was complete with cast-iron gates, arched doorways, and climbing vines. Some of the trees had been there since the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries, which blew my mind. And almost everywhere that wasn't dedicated to a particular plant or category of plants were snowdrops. At home, the first sign of spring is the purple blossom of a crocus poking out of brown planting beds. Here, before spring has even thought about showing up, the snowdrops cover the ground under the trees like scattered feathers. We even have some growing in the back garden here at The Vines. They make me smile! They are so sweet and delicate, and yet tenacious. Just a few days before the snowdrops first popped up we had a good two inches of wet snow, and yet, there they are!

The back section of the Botanical Gardens are a little more wild than the walled in portion. Plants are organized in a more natural, wild pattern and invite you to just wander without spending so much time reading each placard. The middle of that back half, on the path that leads back into the main, walled portion, surrounds a small pond populated by winter-sleepy goldfish and lily pads. Rocks have been stacked to provide growing spaces for succulents and other, hardier species. One we came across - I don't remember its name now unfortunately - smelled heavenly! One of my housemates is pretty sure they make tea out of it. Regardless of what it's used for, we all lingered in that corner of the garden for a while. Between the sunshine keeping us warm and the scent of that bush, it was idyllic.

Forming the backbone of the Botanic Gardens is the River Cherwell, the main river through Oxford. Let me tell you, I have never wanted to kayak somewhere more than there! The section behind the gardens is surrounded by civilization, mostly schools and parks and gardens, but floating down the river would be a great way to see the city. Especially since many of the oldest buildings back up to the water. That would be a great way to see angles of the colleges you don't see from the street!

I have spent quite a bit of time admiring buildings like the Radcliffe Camera, the Old Bodleian Library, the Ashmolean Museum, and even Christ Church College and Christ Church Meadows. Really, this is place you have to experience for yourself. Words just don't do it justice. And while any time you can spend here is worth it, the more time you spent the better. Oxford reminds me once more of the words of Margaret Fuller (quoted as closely as I remember, given I don't have the text right in front of me): "it is a beauty that refuses to be seen by being stared at."

You have to let Oxford sink in. You have to get out and just wander the streets. Don't go out with a plan. Don't go out to see something, though that is a good idea once in a while. Just go out and let the city take you where it will. Bath Lane, Logic Lane, Queens Lane, Broad Street... wherever you wander, just let it soak in. Take the mist and the sunshine and the double-decker busses and just let it all sink into your skin and blood and bones. Oxford refuses to be seen at a glance or a determined, directed stare. It is best seen by simply keeping your eyes open and letting it come to you as it will.

Now, that doesn't mean I won't be taking those self-guided tours or checking things off my sight-seeing bucket list. If there is anywhere that is suited for such adventures, it's beautiful, historic Oxford! Everything matters here. Everything has a past, even the ultra-modern sushi place just down the street from the Saxon Tower. And ambitious as it might be, I want to know it all! Because Oxford is about blending every part of life, past, present, and future, into one big adventure!

Hopefully I'll find some time to write in the next week or so, but if I don't, rest assured that I am using my time to write a thousand essays... and maybe sneak in an adventure or two.

Until next time, with all my love,

Journey Joslin