Orientation Week

This week we have an extensive orientation for our term here in Oxford. It's nice to have some laid-back time to settle in at Oxford, but it's also rather difficult having no work to do yet...odd as that sounds. I have the feeling that I am in the calm before the storm, and unable to do anything yet to prepare for the storm. Orientation has run from 9am to past 4pm each day this week, and seeing as it is orientation, it's a bit tedious, but on the whole, it isn't bad. There have been sessions on Oxford-style research and writing, what to do in the case of an emergency, what Oxford clubs we can get involved in, etc.

The most interesting part of orientation is that we have begun the History of Britain video series by historian Simon Schama. As I've forgotten practically all the British history I ever learned, it's a lot of fun to learn the story of this great Isle. Thus far, we have come to the point of William of Normandy's conquest against King Harold in the eleventh century. It really is a fascinating history, and I'm excited to fill in areas which have hitherto been gaps in my knowledge.

This evening I had dinner at Eagle and Child, the old pub where the Inklings used to meet. This was my second time to the Eagle and Child, and it's a good little taste of the culture here. The interior is rather snug and dimly lit, and they serve classic English foods like Steak & Ale pie and Fish & Chips.

A miscellaneous bit of information about life in England is that tomato paste comes not in cans as it does in America, but in tubes much like our toothpaste tubes. It is called "tomato puree." For this reason, I couldn't find it on my first trip to the grocery store when I went to buy spaghetti makings. My spaghetti definitely turned out a little runny... Thankfully, our junior dean likes to cook, so he was able to give me some good advice for my next trip to the grocery store.