Lady Macbeth

A statue in Stratford.

Another Moment

Another good moment back in late September was when I got an e-mail from an administrator at NWC to the effect of

"We noticed you haven't been going to the mandatory daily chapels....this must be a mistake with the system, so we will correct your attendance, but please make sure to sign in and watch your attendance."

I wanted to write back, "Sorry, I'm so lazy that I just can't be bothered with the commute."

But of course I wrote back that I am simply in England.

I just realized I'll have to go back to all that once term is over. Not that I ever cared about chapels in particular, but I really, really like not having a regimented schedule day after day. Maybe I'll just be a free spirit when I go back and show up when I want. Then again...

Library Moment

So this was a while ago but it is worth recording: I had a great moment at the English Faculty Library.
I asked the librarian,
"Do you have any Shakespeare movies?"
To which she replied,
"Yes, we have them all."
While I was thinking They have them All?? she directed me to a file cabinet with two drawers marked "Shakespeare Films."

For me, it was like being directed to a chocolate buffet. There, nestled in the drawers, was every Shakespeare play in at least three versions (with about seven versions of Hamlet). The Royal Shakespeare Company, BBC, Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh, Orson Welles---everything was there, even silent film versions. The only ones missing were foreign film adaptations, which was a little disappointing. None the less, I pillage those drawers at least twice a week. Hey, it's homework, right? I'm taking Shakespeare, so it counts. Actually, I decided to do my term-long essay on the topic of Shakespeare in film. Yes, I know--so tedious, right? I have to watch Shakespeare movies oh poor me. I just laugh.

Time for Some New Pictures

Here I am amid the trappings of Hampton Court Palace, including the Queen's reception room (the red chair) and the bed chamber of one of the queens, though I've forgotten which. King Henry VIII had some massive kitchens in his Tudor palace (I can't imagine why).
The tapestries each cost the same amount as a battleship. The palace is blanketted with them, one way Cardinal Woosey showed off his wealth while he still owned the place.

A little funny with the wispy hair, but a nice picture none the less. This is the outside of William and Mary's part of the palace, with some extraordinary gardens and fountains.

A Walk at Night

I went to the first meeting of the Inklings tonight at Magdalene College, where C. S. Lewis taught. That campus is gorgeous--I desperately need to go back when there's light out.

There is nothing more other-worldly than walking through the city on a clear night. On Catte Street, the Bodleian Library, Radcliffe Camera, and Hertford College all take on a massiveness, like you'd imagine the pyramids would under the stars. Street lights invisible in daylight pop up where you don't expect and draw stark features on the carved arches and cornices. The circles of warm light contrast the cold blue of the night sky, and you begin to feel like this place has always existed, as if it too is a part of the celestial calendar.

That may be getting too poetic, but I'll keep working out a way to express the city. There's so much here to work with. The walk I'm describing goes down the street in the picture on the right of my blog.

I haven't blogged in the last few days because I feel like I have too much to say. Every day here is different. Without the weekly rhythm of regular classes, my experiences are more organic, and I do something new nearly every day. On Thursday I went to an afternoon discussion group and heard the vicar of Mary Magdalene's lecture on the nature of Christ. I've never heard a better orator. More on that discussion later---when I get around to more profound blogging. Then I went swing dancing that night and finally learned to lindy hop. I've got some stuff going on this weekend, which I'll recap later.

I feel like I'll never have time to do everything I want to do in Oxford, but I'm keeping a list. I need to visit the Oxford Castle and explore the canals a bit more. I haven't been to any of the galleries or museums yet, which is tragic. I could live here and still not do enough. Oxford is inexhaustable, and there's nothing better than that.

Odd

Watching Monty Python and going to church afterwards is....odd. Especially if you were watching Monty Python with a church group. By church I meant Compline. I don't know if there is an equivalent in U.S. protestant traditions. Vespers I suppose. It originated with St. Benedict, as many beautiful things did. It ends the working day with peace, silence, and the presence of God.

I've been spending time with people from Mary Magdalene's church, which is an Anglican-Catholic church. I had no idea they did that--blend the two traditions. So, it has elements of the high-Anglican church and elements of the Catholic church. I'm still working it out. I really like the priest though, and his wife wrote a book on Shakespeare, so I'm hoping to meet her.

The college group meets every week, and this week was the Monty Python movie kick-off meeting. It was quite silly, but Compline was simply beautiful.

Christ Church Cathedral

A while ago, we took a tour of Christ Church College (where parts of Harry Potter were filmed). This is their "chapel." Christ Church is basically the most gorgeous college ever.

The ceiling, as you may have guessed. How did I get this shot? I was lying on the floor.

I should mention that you can click on any of my pictures to see them in a larger window.

Here's a picture taken from the Greens College Tower Observatory. Ignore the wasted construction site in the foreground--they're building something to do with the hospital. Take a look at that cool looking Romanesque building. It is, in fact, Oxford University Press. I was walking to an old church in the Jericho part of Oxford when I thought, "My, what an interesting building to my left." Then I passed the entrance and read its title. Suddenly, my vague notion of the Oxford UP, where the dictionaries and other everyday books of my life come from, was connected with a concrete image. Sort of like finding yourself at the Emerald City and discovering that it's not an imaginary place.

I Love Oxford. So Much.

I still can't get over how fantastic school here is. This is what I have always wanted to do. I was home schooled, so I was used to being independent in my studies. Now I get to be independent again but on a whole new level. This is how crazy my experience is: pondering the in's and out's of my next essay is more fun to me than watching a movie with my housemates (but I DO spend time with friends Mom). It's the complexity---the never-ending complexity of thinking about literature that has me enamoured.

There's a couple reasons this is being such a rewarding experience for me. For one thing, I am not spreading my time between a lot of things. I have no job and I'm taking a break from music ensembles and theater. I always did too much at college in the states, and I really like keeping it simple. And trying some new things. More on that later.

The other thing is that I really know my topics. As I mentioned before, I'm taking tutorials in Shakespeare and Victorian Literature. I've built up a good base of knowledge about Shakespeare over the years, so that was no problem. But my big accomplishment of the summer was going through the reading list of Victorian novels---the WHOLE list. I can't even describe how useful it is to be done with all the primary reading. So, instead of reading one entire Victorian novel each week along with the criticism about it and writing the essay on it, I get to relax. Doing all the reading beforehand was probably the smartest thing I've done in my Oxford experience. That way I am fully prepared to engage with the material instead of meeting it for the first time.

On the tutorial system

"So, what would you like to do next?"

I feel like I came all the way to England just to be asked that question. Both of my tutors have completely set me free. I can ask whatever questions I want, pursue whatever topics I want, and do whatever I want with the results. I can do anything. It was such a crazy moment to be stunned with liberty. "What do I want to do next?" I thought, "Um, I have no idea. No one's asked me that one before."

Academics here is not about doing what you're told. It's about learning to ask good questions in your studies. I'm really excited because I came up with a good question to tackle next in my Shakespeare tutorial. The first meeting with my tutor was exactly what I hoped for. We got to dig into the text and look at the ambiguities from a bunch of different angles. I've been immersing myself in Shakespeare for so long that it was fantastic to finally have a conversation with someone else who saw the connections and the threads and the puzzles criss-crossed in his work.

Here's the thing---I think I'm happier working this way than I've ever been otherwise. School is not a drudgery. Everything I do here is significant---there is no assignment that just gets tossed in a trash bin somewhere because its only purpose was to prove I was alive in class and thinking something. I can put as much effort as I want into my essays and have my work actually be rewarded. Grades do not even come in the picture---they were never the point.

This is so cool! At this moment I am revelling in Oxford---everything about Oxford. The streets, the stones, the statues, the gardens, and the academia dripping off it all. I don't know how I'm going to be able to go back to the States....nope, no clue.

Huzzah!

I completed my first tutorial paper. The process of finishing it was odd---like being at the top of a roller coaster and always thinking it is about to drop....and then it doesn't....and then it still doesn't. I was in the state of "almost done" for about a day and a half. If I may toss in another simile, it was like those cheesy Hollywood characters who take forever to die---i.e. Brad Pit as Achilles in Troy. If you've never seen that movie, I don't recommend that scene. With more sadism than I usually express, I found myself gasping at the screen "Just die already will you!" Thankfully, my paper didn't die/was not the death of me. I don't like my essay, but I never like anything I write. That's why I write. It's a self-defeating cycle. Which has already begun anew because my essay on Macbeth is due Friday. "Macbeth and the progeny of Death" or "Death begets Death" or something like that. There's a lot of death in the play, no question. I'll kill it--I mean write it--tomorrow. And I'll go to a Shakespeare lecture! And it's possible there may be some dancing. Yes, I might go dancing. Oh tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...

As for today

Not much happening lately. The exciting part of my day was walking to the post box.

Trinity Church

Where Shakespeare is buried. I didn't actually get to see his grave because of scaffolding. They were redoing the lead roof over the part of the sanctuary where his family is.

I feel like a horrible person because I don't talk to people enough. Minnesota people I mean. If you're a friend and you feel jilted by me, I apologize. But at least now I'm keeping up with the blog. And I enabled comments, I think, so comments can be made more easily. Seriously, make a comment and you'll make my day. So, right now I'm just trying to get over my cold, get through my first two tutorial papers, and get through the stack of postcards I'm trying to write. Life is pretty awesome.

This was at a used-book store in Stratford on the Shakespeare bookshelf. Made me laugh.

More Stratford Pictures

This is the garden behind the foundations of the house where Shakespeare died. I went to the Shakespeare houses on Monday morning, not tourist season. Basically I had a VIP tour wherever I went. I ate my sandwich in this quiet garden, and smelled the roses, which were named "sweet Juliet."

So many clubs!

There's a research center here that will pay $3,330 to infect me with malaria. Isn't that exciting?They'd also happily infect me with Tuberculosis and Hepatitis C. But hey, what's a life-threatening illness compared with making a crucial contribution to vaccine research? At any rate, they gave me a pen, so I got something.

Freshers Fair is what I'm talking about. It's this big event where about 400 of the Oxford clubs and various other things set up booths and try to get you to join. They give freebies, so I got candy and fruit and pens, and vouchers for a free mug and paperback book. That's where I met the people who want to see me ill so they can test me. It sounded great, until I found out there were like twelve pages of risks involved.

I signed up for the mailing lists of the Jewish club and the Indian club (for the culture, food, dancing, and over-all experience), the walking club (for the sights), the poetry club and the literary journal club (for obvious reasons), and a few more that I can't even remember. Signing up doesn't mean I have to join--I just get a friendly e-mail inviting me to stuff.

So, this is the end of 0 week or "not week." Term here is eight weeks, and they creatively name the weeks by number. Since our program started four weeks ago, we creatively called those weeks -4,-3,-2, and -1. Next week I have my first tutorial meetings and my first university lectures. That means I get to mingle with British students from this point on. And I get to listen to the rock stars of the academic world come lecture.

I don't know if I will actually join a club. I'd have to really be interested in it. I knew I didn't want to do theater or music (I'm in need of a change). Time to branch out into new things.

I'm ill. Actually everyone is sick. It's comical. Our first seminar together after break was a musical chorus of coughing and sniffling. We all had pretty fantastic trips to our various destinations, and then basically all of us caught a cold just in time for term to start.

So, how was Stratford? I had a great time. The plays were, as you might expect, fantastic. I loved it---partly because I sneaked into the front row. Here's my confession: there were open seats, and I took them. From one perspective, swapping seats is kind of rude, but from another perspective the act is in keeping with the spirit of some of Shakespeare's greatest characters: the ones who usurped a better position through cunning and determination (the Iagos, the Richard IIIs). Putting it that way makes me sound classier.

Also in Stratford I visited the houses where Shakespeare was born and died. The nice people at my B&B had passes so I got in free. The most interesting part about Shakespeare's house was looking at the list of people who have visited it over the years: poets, presidents, actors. I wrapped up my time in Stratford by taking a boat ride on the Avon.

My little London trip was crazy. That was Sunday, when I woke up at 5:30 again to catch an early bus after walking through the ghostly empty middle of the city. Three and half hours to London and three and half back to Stratford in one day. That's a long time on public transit, but I am happy to say it was worth every minute. Love's Labors Lost at the Globe was the highlight of my weekend.

I had a yard ticket, which means you stand for the whole play. I was early enough to be right next to the stage---I was able to rest my chin on the stage actually. Best place to watch from---the female actors walk past and almost hit you with their dresses. The lead guy sat in front of me at one point so close I could feel his voice booming from his ribs. I also got a piece of cheese and a grape. I love audience interaction. During intermission, the actress playing the princess came over to my side of the stage with a plate of goodies and got people to try to catch grapes. Because the audience is in a big crowd around the stage (a lot of them standing) it's a very active play. There's a lot of energy, and a lot of moments where you feel like you are participating. I'd love to see more shows there, but the Globe closes tomorrow for the season, just like it did when Shakespeare was around.

Statue

Shakespeare looks out on the city.

School

This is where Shakespeare went to school. They still use it for a school too.

Getting Tickets

I stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Stratford, but I wasn't there for breakfast until Monday when I finally got to sleep til seven. It is really fascinating walking around a city before sunrise. Streets that were kinetic in daylight now had no motion, not even wind to blow leaves around. It was a 40 minute walk to get to the Royal Shakespeare Company box office, and I was panicking the whole time imagining that there would already be a line of eager attendees before I'd get there. They reserve 10 student tickets to go on sale the morning of the show. So, after a long walk with chronic doubts about getting a ticket, this is the sight which met me:

Needless to say, I got my tickets to As you Like it and The Winter's Tale. I just had to wait for a few hours for the box office to open. But, I had the good fortune of having someone to wait with. A really lovely soon-to-be actress living in Stratford showed up a little while after I did, and we hit it off. I loved her enthusiasm as she told me about the actors and the previous shows she had been to. We didn't get to sit together at the play, but after The Winter's Tale we went to The Dirty Duck pub together, which is where the actors go. So, while we were sitting at our table, some of the players walked past us to order. The best part was having someone to respond to the play with. We had a great chat.

Weekend Holiday

My midterm break was a series of English sunrises. At 5:30am, I looked out on the amber lighting of street lamps, and by 6:00 I was already outside walking under the intense liquid blue before dawn. It doesn't sound like an ideally restful vacation, but I did see some amazing things.

I went to Stratford!

So, why the early hours?

Day 1: I woke up to finish and print my papers which were due at nine (then caught the 11:00 bus from Oxford to Stratford).

Day 2: I woke up to get in line for $7 tickets at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Day 3: I woke up to catch a bus to London to attend the Globe Theatre