Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Sociology Nerd & A Walk in the Park

It's been busy since I last posted (and that was just yesterday!).  Here's what I've been up to:  

Classes:
Yesterday, I had my first official class.  I have class Monday through Thursday 4:15 to 6:15 pm.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, I am taking "The Changing Face of Britain", and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm taking "Human Rights in Perspective."  The first one is a Sociology-based course looking at changes in life in the UK since the last World War.  Yesterday, we discussed changes in families (such as divorce, marriage, fertility rates, etc.).  I think I will love this class, because I'm such a Sociology nerd.  The Human Rights class that I had for the first time today was also interesting.  We tried defining human rights (which is very difficult!) and discussed whether or not they are universal, and we started to touch on how they differ across cultures.

Lecture:
Our lecture this morning was about the financial crisis in the eurozone.  I know relatively little about the European Union and the euro as a currency and how/why it was started, so I found the lecture really helpful.

Pub Crawl:
Last night was a school-sponsored pub crawl.  The group was too big for any one bar to accommodate us, so we split into small groups.  I was in a group of 6 or 7 people (including Amanda and Brad, my newly found friends here).  It wasn't a "crawl" per say because we only visited two pubs.  Here's one of them:

The Head of the River

Excursions:
Today was the first day we could sign up for our excursions!  I signed up for three (all with Amanda and Brad):
- This Friday = Walking Tour of Oxford
- This Saturday = Trip to Canterbury
- Next Sunday = Trip to Bath

Ben's Cookies:
Everyone has told me, "You gotta get a cookie from Ben's Cookies!"... so I did!  And it was fabulous.  Large, moist, delicious!  haha

Food:
It's official -- the food here is bad.  It was pretty good (but not great) the first night, and it's just gone downhill.  I couldn't stomach the weird meat they served us tonight so I left and grabbed food off-campus.  It's all just very bland and the meat always looks questionable.  I was worried about gaining weight on this trip, but it looks like that will NOT be a problem!  LOL

Tour of the Park:
Tonight, the school led us in a tour of the University Park, which is owned by Oxford.  It was beautiful, not far from campus, so I think I've found a place to go running!  Here's a pic of the park:

And here are a few pics I took on the way to/from the park:

Sheldonian Theatre

Our tour guide, Andy, and Amanda and Brad

OK, it's almost midnight here, so I need to get some shut-eye.  Farewell!

3 comments:

  1. THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID. I think you know which part of the post I'm referring to. LOL

    It sounds like you're having so much fun! Thanks for posting here and on FB... I feel like you're not even gone. :) Love you!

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  2. I do sort of feel like I'm stalking you, but that's ok. This is way better than my millions of emails that I send to clutter Inboxes. Have a great time, and keep signing up for stuff, even when you get tired. It'll be over before you know it!

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  3. I'm sorry the food is bad, girl! I hope you find something you like and can stick with (like chicken fingers over here, haha). Miss you and I love reading about your adventures! Love you!

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