First Impressions

Classes officially commenced today. I'm in Page to Stage with Stephen Berenson and a dozen of my friends, and I could not be happier. After just the first day, here are the numbers that I've gleaned so far:

• 22 meeting days
• 7 trips to the theatre 
• 11 plays
• 15 students
• 2 essays 
• 5 image presentations
• 1,104 pages of required reading
• 1 London tour
• 3+ museum visits
• 1 incredible summer

Oh my gosh, that last one is so cheesy...pretend you didn't read that. Anyway, I'm already overwhelmingly excited for what this course has in store for us. It will be an insane experience, and who better to take you on such a summer tour than a man in a Shakespeare tie? 

In the meantime, we've already been assigned our first presentation, and, not gonna lie, I'm kinda pumped about it. Our task: To tell a story using only inanimate objects, which can be moved when "the lights go down" (AKA when the audience's eyes are closed). I'll post pictures of my project after it's done, but I really like it so far! I've also spent my first hours in the Lincoln College Library reading Titus Andronicus (Jeeze Louise, can you believe that guy?!), which made me feel incredibly academic. 

Honestly, though, reading there (surprisingly) wasn't even the best part of the day. This is the week when prospective students and their families get to come and tour the school to see if they want to come here. It's Oxford, so the streets are pretty crowded anyway, but the hustle and bustle of these new academic tourists is a making it a bit claustrophobic. However, I already went on my tours yesterday, so I know my way around (at least to the most important places) without a map, so I've officially graduated (at least marginally) to the level above the lowly tourist category.

It feels even cooler, though (if that's possible) because of our all-access-pass key fobs. I walked right in front of a group of families with their student tour guide, went up to a locked iron gate, swiped my fob, and the gate magically opened in slow motion right in front of me with oohs and aahhs from the tourists. [Okay, so maybe they didn't really make sound effects, but I definitely felt impressive with my magic gate key...And the gates really do open on their own when you swipe, so that part is real...and awesome.]

Back At It Again - BLOX2017

Most years, I traverse up the mountain with my little Toyota stocked to the brim: clothes, hangars, shoes, a lamp, a fan, books, sweaters, toiletries, sheets, blankets, towels, and a dozen other necessaries for a summer in Vermont. This year, though, I've traveled across the pond for my first summer at Bread Loaf's campus in Oxford. Yes, jolly old England - the land of Shakespeare and Tolkien, Dickens and Austen. The glorious place where you grab a pint, use the loo, wear a jumper, and call your mum. Simply magical.

I've already been in Europe for a week and a half, and I still can't believe I'm here. Granted, I haven't been in England the whole time. For the first ten days, Michael and I traveled to London, Paris, Versailles, and Amsterdam (with a pit stop in Brussels as well).

City Highlights:

• London: staying with my 5th cousins, tea at Kensington Palace, and the Pub on the Thames
• Paris: ascending the Eiffel Tower just as it lit up, mass at Notre Dame, and macaroons
• Versailles: fancy dinner at a fancy hotel, Rick Steves, and the musical fountains
• Amsterdam: a river boat tour, waffles for lunch, and a room with a view
• Brussels: trying a Belgian beer in the two hours that we spent there

Since then, I've had two days to recuperate and try to read all the books I need to finish before class starts on Wednesday. 

In the meantime, today is the first day on campus, and, let me tell you, it is simply stunning. Even my second-story room (which I think looks out onto a vent from the rooms below?) has a view of beautiful windows across the way. 

The whole place feels ancient and sacred as lofty bells ring the hour. Hundreds of thousands of students have walked these paths before me, and I am both humbled and anxious to be following in their footsteps. Academic giants have found their fame in these hallowed halls... Just last year, for instance, I read Vera Brittain's memoir Testament of Youth for my WWI course - I even wrote my final paper on that book - and the whole first section is about her time here at Oxford!

I can't even begin to fathom the number of great minds who have studied in these same walls since the university started teaching students back in 1096 (practically a thousand years ago). The course I'm taking will be strikingly different from the first classes taught here, but I'll still be using their old rooms and perusing their old books. It's insane to think of what life was like for the students here 100 years ago or 500 years ago, let alone 921 years ago! I just hope I can make them proud in my short time in their space.

Here's to another summer of academic adventure! #BLOX2017