The Oxford University Press

Today, after class we met at the Oxford University Press where we saw the very first printing press, the first copies of Alice in Wonderland, a letter from Charles Schulz (creator of Peanuts comics; no relation to me). The museum is an interactive room where you can put your favorite word on the board, build a dictionary definition, use online sources to get more information, and see/hear the history and examples of the large variety of stuff the Press publishes.

The reference library is the happiest room I have ever seen! They had so much color and stuffed animals that I would not have thought it would be a working library like that. I was very impressed with the staff who did not mind the pictures and studiously ignored us while they concentrated on the work they were doing. That takes some REAL focus!

We also got some real English sterotypical weather today, which I must say, IT IS ABOUT TIME!! Grey clouds, light rain, cool winds, and damp cobblestones really let us know we were finally in England!

The Old Book Smell

The Bodleian Library has held a special place for me ever since I read the book, A Discovery of Witches By Deborah Harkness. Her main character is a historian who is using the Selden End of the Duke Humfrey to study old alchemist texts to decipher scientific discoveries from the 1400's or so. The description the author uses to describe the library, the surrounding building, and Oxford in general lit a fire for me which is a main reason for me wanting to join THIS program above any other.

Today our class approached a building that has withstood the destruction of the Catholic Church in England, the Protestant Church, the burning a chancellor, and a host of other misfortunes. The Bodleian Library has stood for longer than the United States has been a country, and for that we can thank Sir Thomas Bodley. His appreciation of books led to him "stir up other men's benevolence" and find contributors to help furnish the library with books and funding for the repairs for Duke Humfrey.

Today for the tour we started in the Divinity School, which was where the best and the brightest students studied. The school has three levels above ground and as students advanced grades, they gained floors. The Divinity School was the school of God in a time where the church was the overwhelming influence in every aspect of life. Within our tour, we learned the different ways the students learned without pencils, laptops, paper, or the internet!

After we finished on the first level, we went up the stairs to the top floor we were INSIDE THE DUKE HUMFREY LIBRARY!! First, the books are beautiful! I cannot stress this enough. You can read titles of Greek, Latin, and English books from the 1600's and earlier, and they are just sitting on the shelf, being wonderful. The dark wood is everywhere as columns, shelves, dividers, and chairs all surrounding the books for a dramatic and romantic look. Second, the smell of old books is amazing! We found out the oak wood starts to decompose and that is the reason for the vanilla or sweet smell. Still, it was amazing. (Side note: scenes from the Harry Potter movies were shot in this library!)

Next we went down the stairs back past our Divinity School Room and through the door to the room that the Chancellor of the school would interrogate these scholars about which side they were on, and if they did not answer correctly were sent to the next room, the court room. Imagine, having the chancellor of the school be watching your every move because you would be the perfect spy! The best and brightest students who were fluent in multiple languages, well-travelled, well published, and established among peers. Inside the court room, our instructors husband got to play Chancellor of the school and sit in the high bench. The rest of us sat around the interrogation bench and were accused of being traitors, and learned the history of the other investigated students of Oxford University. We ended the trip in 1969 where students who were protesting the Vietnam War broke into the Bodleian for three days and were finally rousted out, all faced the Chancellor in the first and only publicized proceedings of the school.

The Bodleian was an amazing place to get to see, and I wish I had a reader card right now!

Stalking Jane Austen

The Jane Austen excursion was too fast!
We left Oxford at 8am to first see Chawton where Jane Austen lived before dying. We got to see the small table where she wrote, her bedroom, the garden, and certain pieces she wrote while living there. Just up the road about ten minutes is where her brother lived (now a library) which is next to the church her mother and sister are buried at. To the coach!
We had a brief stop to visit The Vyne which is a huge manor style house that would have looked like Netherfield (according to the class) where Mr. Bingley lived. To the coach!
Our last historical visit was to see Winchester where she died and the church she is buried at. Jane has a huge stone dedication and is in one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. To the coach!
Our final stop of the night was to Bath where we spent the night so we could get up early and spend the day seeing SO much stuff.
Side note: Bath is a wonderful city, fun and exciting. However, if you have any intention of getting breakfast NOTHING opens before 9am and we had to meet up at 8:30am
Our first destination in Bath was to the Roman Baths, we got to drink the water but no popping in for a swim because the water is NOT clean. Then we hiked uphill to see the Fashion Museum where they had the dresses of the ages out for viewing and an area to dress up yourself. Downhill hike to the Roman Bath Pump Room for lunch at an opulent restaurant for real English tea, sandwiches, scones, and desserts! Uphill hike to Number 1 Royal Crescent to see a magnificent house full of information about how the people of the time behaved, ate, and the hidden places of chamber pots. (Georgian era ladies and gentlemen!) Back downhill one final time to meet the coach to take us to Lacock Village & Abbey.
Lacock is a quaint little town with a beautiful Abbey that Harry Potter had Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Quirrell in the first movie. The grounds surrounding the Abbey are beautiful with magnifying glass and telescopes that get you ready to see the first camera ever made in the visitors center.
We headed home to Oxford (God I love saying that) that evening, fairly exhausted by this point.

The Ashmolean Museum

A few years ago I read the book A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. The main character describes Oxford in such detail that I felt I needed to come here myself and see just what she was talking about. Our second day here in Oxford was spent in class and the museum that I had heard so much about. First, we met in the classroom  for English 2 to discuss Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and moved on to our assignment of the day for English 4 (this is where the Ashmolean comes in). The assignment was to pick out a portrait and make up a story about the person inside it, then turn the story into a poem. Then we have the rest of the day to spend at our leisure.
The Ashmolean museum is so beautiful! We started at the entrance (Ground Level) where you can see the different sections of history laid out in neat areas to peruse when we finished the class portion of the day. We went down the center staircase of glass to see the portrait of Elias Ashmole and hear how he got his Cabinet of Curiosities. Then we went up to the first floor to see the portraits our instructor wanted to discuss and set us free!

They have this staircase with Blue walls and white columns with a ceiling that has so much detail, indescribable. I started at the Greek statues, they are incredible. You can still see the details of them after HUNDREDS of years, and they show you what some of the broken down ones would have looked like if all the pieces were there. I have to say I love England, with the FREE museums, gorgeous buildings, national treasures for you to touch, and an appreciation for education that is unparalleled.

Day One In Oxford

Today was the first day we spent in Oxford! We met at Catte Street and walked to our classroom on the campus for our informational lecture. We then went on a walking tour where we were shown the shops that we may need and the best places to buy a pint. Then we had a historical walking tour showing us where Louis Carrol got his inspirations for Alice in Wonderland, where Harry sat for his meals at Hogwarts, which college Tolken attended, and the stained glass window that Alice's older sister posed for. Got to have real English Fish and Chip at The Perch Inn. This is such a beautiful city with so much to offer, I don't think any of us will see it all.

Lucky 13

I have 13 days left until I leave for my trip to England to Study Abroad. I am looking at packing lists and trying to make sure I have what I need and pre packing to see how much space I have in my suitcase leftover. Talking to people about traveling is intimidating because everyone is always saying, "Don't travel alone, look like a tourist, or draw attention to yourself," because you can get mugged or whatever. Sort of makes personal safety seem like a life and death situation. Leaving the United States for the first time in my life, alone, and female- the last thing I want to think about it how unsafe this could be. I want to be looking at this trip as exciting, not as an introduction to a new Taken movie. I took the itinerary we have and posted it on my desk to help me remember why I decided to do this in the first place.

Weather conditions during the month of June in England should be between 55* and70*- I hope California appreciates the summer they get.

Thanks Jane Austen for making me want my own Mr. Darcy

During Spring Break for the semester I decided to watch the Pride and Prejudice movie (2005). I loved the movie so much I watched it four times in the span of that week. I remembered how much I love reading the book and started thinking about how we get to see where the dance hall where she used to go. As well as, how much I love Mr. Darcy.

I hope we get to learn some of the dances Jane used to do!

We get to spend an entire weekend living Jane Austen and I am so excited for the chance to see everything.  Visiting Chawton where Jane Austen spent the last few years of her life, Jane Austen house museum, and Winchester Cathedral where Jane Austen has her dedication.