Hey everyone! Yes, today was school day so we walked the 20 minute walk to school this morning with butterflies in our stomachs. It was cold and dreary, but not too bad. I didn't shiver all day, but I didn't take my coat off either. When we arrived at the college we were greeted by Fiona, a very proper and sweet English lady with short hair, glasses, and a flowered dress. She is the secretary of the school and was assigned to give us an orientation of sorts--mostly we asked a lot of questions and she answered them.
Warning--Lesson of Day: We expected to attend classes as we know them to be in America. But, Oxford is very different--with no students attending classes as we know them to be. All students are assigned a tutor. The tutor's have PHD's and are very intelligent, learned in their subject matter, and are continuing their research all the time. On their first meeting with their tutor, the students are given an assignment and then they spend their time in independent study of the assignment. Once a week, they meet with their tutor and present an essay on the given assignment. The tutor challenges them to perfect them on the subject matter and gives the next assignment. Lectures are given all over the Oxford campus, in all of the 39 colleges, and students are either encouraged or told to attend the lecture appropriate to their study. It's a very intense program. Knowing the small percentage of students In American colleges who begin and actually graduate to be very small, I asked about the drop out rate at Oxford. Fiona said these students are so bright and so carefully selected, they don't have a drop out rate. One or two at Regents Park may leave because of illness in several years. Interesting, right?
Next, we had our first lunch with the students and faculty. Lunch and dinner are in a dining hall that looks like the one in Harry Potter--long tables with a head table for faculty (see photo above). Regents, our college, is the only college that doesn't use the faculty table anymore. They make a point of being more open and interactive with their students. Everyone stands behind their chair and waits for the prayer and then they are served at the table. You can either have a hot meal or the salad bar (you get up and serve yourself for that) which consists of a jacket (baked potato) and salad. I did the salad bar, 2 papa had the hot meal. Both were good. On Friday evening, everyone will dress up for dinner and the faculty will wear their tradition robes. It's very formal with faculty sitting at the high table. We will sit their as well, but we're not clear about the robe thing. I don't think they mean my pink one with the drawstring.
After lunch, all the faculty members go in the Senior Common Room (lounge) for discussion and coffee or tea. We asked Fiona what our responsibilities were besides lunch with the students and meeting with the faculty. She said, "We don't expect anything of you except for you to research and work on your own projects and enjoy your time in England." I told her I'm not sure I can operate like that and told her I would be happy to help with the dishes. She laughed at me and handed me a long list of the fall lectures.
We got home around 2:00 this afternoon and real life awaited us. We had started the washing machine this morning (since we only have two towels) only to discover it never ran. You can see 2 papa knelt before the washer/dryer combination for two hours in a valiant effort to fix it. (Keep in mind this is a man who hasn't even changed a tire in 30 years.) But, with the help of a google search, he found the problem and discovered six coins blocking the drain. It was a shining moment in "man conquers machine" history. Alas, the washer still didn't work and the repair man was called. Help is coming tomorrow. In the meantime, every towel (well, all 2 of them), washcloth, and dish towel were used to soak up the water from the drain that held the coins. Consequently, we have nothing to wash or dry with until a repairman shows up. Oh well, I've always said showers are overrated and we're a few pennies richer for the effort.
While 2 papa battled the washer, I worked for several hours on the book I am editing. With the machine war over, 2 papa decided to cook dinner while I continued to work (is England sounding like a good choice for us?) and the day was ending.
I was so inspired and impressed with the amount of study required and given by the amazing students at Oxford University. Having been involved in education as a career choice, I know that the real purpose of study is to be able to apply the knowledge we acquire to make a difference in the world. If we, as believers, put as much time into studying God's word as we do in other subjects, think what a difference we could make in the world.
"Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"
Hebrews 12:1The Message
Love you all.
Hugs, 2 mama
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