Log Updates for you!

To get to the picture uploads, scroll down for the previous entry with the link. Here is the updated log. Picture is of dessert from a few days ago.

Log Entry 18: Oxford, Continued 7/12/2005

Ok, so continuing the brief notes about Christ Church. As I was saying, we took a tour of the college with a guide. It is so wonderful to NOT be a tourist. On of my guilty pleasures is being able to walk in Tom Quad (the center, near the fountain), which tourists are not allowed to do. We can essentially go anywhere that a Junior Member is allowed to go, including the Master’s Garden.

We saw the great hall, which was used to some extent to film the first two Harry Potter films. We got to have high tea at the head of the table, which was pretty cool, as people are generally not allowed back there.

Spent the rest of the day getting situated. The rooms are fairly nice, but a bit old—at least, mine is. Those staying in Blue Boar have slightly modern rooms. But I like staying right next to the gate. Makes it feel more authentic or something. The custodians are nice, and they get to know you soon. We found a grocery store (later found a cheaper one), and I got a bottle of Port to enjoy whilst staying here.

We had dinner in the Great Hall about 6:30. You must stand at the table and wait for a prayer to be said before sitting and eating. Don’t remember exactly what we had that first night, but it was good. For dessert, they served a pastry swan on a chocolate lake—it was heaven. Last night was Peaches and Cream, however…not so good. But dinner is fabulous, regardless.

Breakfast the next morning was a bit different. A man at the front told you were to sit, and it was all open seating. At Dinner, all the Baylor people are sitting together, but at breakfast, everyone is next to each other. So we got to mingle with some interesting people. Most people here are doing the “Oxford Experience,” which is where you take one weekly class, and stay at the college. So there are a wide variety of people here. We sat next to someone from the Netherlands yesterday morning.

Classes are held in a classroom reserved just for us, near the entrance to the Cathedral. It’s pretty warm here in the mornings, but there is a water cooler in the room, so that helps. Classes are an hour and a half long—one at 9:30 and another at 11:30, with tea in-between.

At first, computer access here was pretty bad. They have PCs, but they are old, bogged down, and so network restricted that you can’t do some really useful things, like send BU email through Exchange. Luckily, we were able to get our own laptops set up, and I have an Ethernet jack in my room, which allows me to jack-in without leaving the building. Nice. So updates should be more frequent now.

That’s all I can remember right now…Now for a few words concerning culture.

The biggest difference between the British University culture and the American one (at least, the Baylor one) is they exclusive nature of the college. Only students and faculty are allowed in most sections. The whole experience feels as if we are part of some sort of elite club.

At Baylor, you really don’t get this feeling unless you are a member of a fraternity or sorority. Going to college in the US is a mainstream thing to do—nearly every middle class child goes nowadays. But going to College at Oxford University seems a bit more exclusive, even if it isn’t.

I also like the college system better. Christ Church is a small, tight and integrated unit, whereas Baylor is more spread out.

One major difference that I don’t like, however, is the result of being around for hundreds of years—tourists. They are loud and obnoxious, and they are everywhere. I can’t imagine how the students and faculty abide it during the normal term. Perhaps the visitor hours are shorter? After this, I will not feel as comfortable touring the other colleges—or at least I will know to keep my mouth shut whilst browsing!

Log Entry 19: Dr. Waltman’s Constitution Class 7/13/2005

This class, which I attended for the BIC Capstone course, concentrated on what is the British Constitution. This is very different from the US Constitution, which is a single document. The British constitution, on the other hand, is an un-codified—that is, not written in a single place—group of documents and unwritten ideas. This makes it much more difficult to study than other, codified constitutions.

Although the British constitution does include written documents such as Acts of Parliament (so-called “statutes”), many of the ideas expressed are by convention and “natural laws.” These are not written down, and thus are very hard to study. What makes a convention? How does one determine natural law? These questions are difficult to answer. It is a mystery to me how the British constitution can even hold together; it all seems so fragile.

One major cultural difference between the Americans and British may help to explain this, however. In America, there is often a strong distrust of government. Perhaps this stems from our earlier revolutionary seeds, but it was certainly evident during the Vietnam War and other recent government debacles. We have a tendency to immediately thing that the government is lying and that they are keeping something from us.

In general, this is not so in Britain. The people here trust their government; they believe they will do the right thing. Still, this raises an issue? What will happen if the Brits start to distrust the government? Will the constitution fail?

Another problem I have…The problem with not having a codified document is a very important issue. What happens if some catastrophe occurs (whether natural or manufactured), and the population has to rebuild? If there is no codified document, the Brits are in danger of having to start all over again. At least in America, we would have some really great guidelines, between the constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. We can rebuild, I believe, on the basis of these three documents alone. The British, I’m afraid, may have a harder time doing so.

Log Entry 20: Evensong and various other tidbits: 7/13 and 7/14/2005

Yesterday evening, we attended Evensong at Christ Church cathedral. The choir performed Faure’s “Cantique de Jean Racine.” It was quite good, and a lovely way to cap off the day. I will probably attend Evensong quite often—it’s nice to be in a country where virtually every place I go will have an Anglican or Episcopal church.

After dinner, I spent some time taking pictures around college. Got some good shots—I finally enjoy taking pictures again. That’s a good thing.

This morning (the 14th), Cozad and I finalized our travel plans for this weekend. We’re going up to Edinburgh, Scotland, and will hopefully journey to the British Open in St. Andrews. Also, I hope to go to St. Mary’s again for Eucharist Sunday.

We stopped in Staples, and got a cheap fan and a power strip. Not enough jacks in the room for my needs! The fan is ok….At first I though it was broken, but then I though the blades (which are just cheap plastic) might be slipping on the motor shaft—which apparently was what it was. We’ll see how long it lasts; it was only 10 pounds, after. Would have liked a bigger one, but this was all Staple’s had, and I didn’t want to do anymore.

So now you are up-to-date, readers.