Two versions of a day in Oxford (Day Two to be exact)

(see photos corresponding with this blog in the post above) Emily’s Morning: I woke up early to meet some of the group for breakfast. So I thought I came to Europe prepared to encounter some differences, such as the electrical outlets. Apparently British outlets don’t like American straighteners, because mine definitely would not work. Not exactly the end of the world, but my hair sure wasn’t happy. It expressed its anger by becoming extremely frizzy and unmanageable the entire day, as will be quite noticeable in today’s pictures. But even though my hair was angry and frizzy, I still enjoyed my large cup of coffee and blueberry muffin!

Becky’s Morning: Walking into the bathroom this morning, I encountered something I had not anticipated. Pulling back the curtain, I discovered no lip to the shower area. The floor just slanted toward the drain with a showerhead in the corner. What I also did not anticipate was the temperamental shower itself. You have to learn the “smidge” technique: a smidge to the left is scalding, a smidge to the right is ice, and a smidge to the middle is perfect. Breakfast occurred a Costa, the Starbuck’s of England. Delightful, charming, and full of great company.



Emily’s class: Today in class we discussed C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. The classroom itself was small and stuffy, but the discussion was awesome! The students were paired up to discuss different topics of the book. Alex and I presented Lewis’s discussion of forgiveness. I was really happy with our topic, because I feel that some people don’t understand how important it is to be able to forgive, not only for those who need to be forgiven, but for the person who needs to do the forgiving. Speaking from personal experience, being able to forgive someone who has wronged you can be quite difficult, but holding on to that bitterness does not make life any easier. As Lewis says, “…something inside us, the feeling of resentment, the feeling that wants to get one’s own back, must be simply killed”. Lewis explains that we are allowed to hate a person’s actions, and should if they are wrong, but we are not allowed to hate the person, and we should certainly not let that hatred fester inside of us. Lewis explains that we don’t have to like the person to be able to love him. “That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not.”

Becky’s class: Like Emily has mentioned, the class discussed different aspects of Lewis’s Mere Christianity. I had to discuss the question of the eternal nature of Jesus how this nature demonstrates God’s love for us. I found this subject very appealing because of the simply nature in which Lewis explains himself. He points out the difference between begetting (giving birth to someone/something just like the original) and creation (making something completely different from the creator). A beaver begets a beaver, it creates a dam. In this manner, God can only beget a God, therefore Jesus is God, “the only begotten son of God.” He is eternal in that he is filled with zoe, the eternal life, rather than the human bios, temporal life. When we cast off ourselves and take on the life of God we trade in our bios for His zoe. We, as statues, become man.

Emily’s afternoon: After class we went to lunch at The Lamb and the Flag pub, one of the Inklings’ hangouts. On the way to the pub, Becky narrowly escaped her death. We still haven’t gotten used to the British traffic, and often forget to look to the right before crossing. An old lady nearly dominated Becky with her bicycle, but thankfully I noticed Granny Speed Racer and was able to pull Becky out of the way just in time. We enjoyed a lovely meal at the pub and greatly enjoyed our conversation with Paul, our tour guide. Paul then showed the class some other sites around Oxford associated with C.S. Lewis. Addison’s walk was beautiful, even though it was nearly flooded and we had to wade through a small portion of the path. After the tour we took our afternoon tea at the Queens Lane coffee house. As I sat there eating my toasted teacakes I thought, wow, I’m in England right now. It was a good day.




Becky’s afternoon: One bleary afternoon, my chums and I were headed out for lunch. Upon crossing a wide street we were cautiously watching for kamakazzi buses when a hand vigorously pulled me back to the median. Just then, a gray-haired speedy Gonzalez went careening past me on a very shiny bicycle, passing within inches of my jacket. I screamed and jumped back… I had almost been killed by an old lady on a bike. That’s a new one. Lunch was fantabulous, as was the ancient chestnut tree residing next to the pub. Be watching for pictures, you’ll want to see it. The tour of Oxford was lovely, though a bit sopping wet from time to time. The aptly named “water meadow” was full of rain water at the moment, making it impossible to frolic in the field. High tea at Queen’s Lane was fabulous and scones are among my new favorite foods.

Emily’s evening: On our way back to Logan House we stopped at the Somerfield Supermarket to buy a few items. We noticed a few differences between supermarkets in the States and supermarkets in England, such as the aisle labeled “nappies” which we concluded was the American equivalent to diapers. After our quick stop at the supermarket and a quick rest at Logan House, we ventured back into downtown Oxford for dinner. A few of us ate at an Italian restaurant called Ask. The food was good and the bathrooms had glass countertops-overall an excellent choice!

Becky’s evening: The supermarket was not my most favorite experience in England. In fact, it made me quite nervous. Somewhere between the “crumpets” and the two-aisles worth of alcohol, I found myself in territory I had never anticipated. I made it out successfully, with a bag of M&M’s as my reward. And as my picky eating had made meals difficult so far, I decided on a very traditional American meal for dinner: a bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke. Forgive the irony, but I couldn’t resist. The night went swimmingly and once again I found myself collapsing into a satisfied pile at the end of it. Cheerio!