Our First Day

This will be my first entry into our class’s blog. I hope whoever reads this will understand that the ability of words to express the cumulative experience of 25 individuals is rather difficult, but I will attempt to shed light on the wonderful experience this class has had thus far. We arrived in London at about 8:30 in the morning and with relatively no difficulty, we grabbed our bags and hopped on our bus. It goes without saying that it took all of us a few frights and startles to grow accustomed to driving on the opposite side of the road. To be honest, the British countryside is heavily reminiscent of the south. The main difference seemed to be that instead of a mixture of pretty white plantation homes and double-wides, the countryside is dotted with countless Victorian mansions.

Our arrival at Oxford and our house, which is a part of St. Clare’s College, was rather pleasant. The house is three stories and a good bit nicer than I expected. Most of the rooms are outfitted with full kitchens, plenty of closet space, a full bathroom, and desks and lamps. They are perfectly suited for the Oxford student. We all split up at this point and ventured into the city. I went with two other guys and we ate lunch at the Dew Drop Inn, an old hole-in-the-wall pub and eatery. I had an excellent preparation of the classic Britain Fish and Chips, and left ready to begin our walking tour of the city.

Our tour guide actually works for St. Clare’s college and had received his PhD. from St. John’s College in Oxford. The basic layout of Oxford is rather simple, and we walked for about two miles down Banbury Street, which is the main street that runs through Oxford. We received all the information we needed about Oxford’s public transportation (which is excellent) and the good eateries and places to visit. One of the biggest treats was getting to go into St. John’s College, which is normally not open to big groups like ours. It was founded in 1555 and organized into quads. The second quad we entered was the most impressive. It had eight columns at each end and above each were carved representations of the 7 liberal arts and the 7 virtues (each with an extra art and virtue added in…I guess if you are Oxford you can do that). The general architecture resembled that of the classical Italian style, with triumphal arches and other common characteristics.

As we walked down closer to the central hub of the city, I was shocked at the overwhelming sense that I was walking through history. I found out that one monument we walked by marked the spot that Latimer, Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer were all burned at the stake during the protestant reformation. Almost every building in the city is over 100 years old, and a few are over 1,000 years old. The most impressive convergence of several colleges was the area surrounding the University Church of Oxford (I believe it may have another name but I can’t remember it). This is actually where Oxford began, and right behind it is the Radcliff Cameron, which is a huge two-storied reading room. It is one of the largest libraries in England and has free access to any book ever published in England. To the right of the church is All Souls College, which actually has no students, and to the left is two more colleges, which creates a beautiful courtyard surrounded by the ancient buildings.
We concluded the walking tour and headed back to our house and enjoyed a few hours of relaxation before dinner. For dinner that night, we were treated to a meal at the cafeteria at St. Claire’s college. It was a great meal, and conversation over the day’s events kept us there for several hours. Needless to say, we were all exhausted after our first day, and I returned to my room to enjoy a full nights rest.