Week 4; Day 3

I am currently updating via the Upper Reading Room of the Bodleian library. The only problem is that I can’t seem to get my internet to work either with my Ethernet cord or the wireless connection, so I am actually updating into MS Word to be sent into Blogger later today. Working in the Bodleian is one of the daily highlights to my time in Oxford. I really enjoy working in light and bright environments and the Upper Reading Room is filled with windows and tons of lights. I feel very relaxed here and I think that helps my work to come out better. The workstations are also really big and decently private, so I feel like I get a lot accomplished.

Speaking of accomplishing things, I feel as though I should be writing an essay rather than updating my blog. The essay is due during my 3:30 tutorial tomorrow and I already have it entirely outlined. I have all afternoon and tonight to work on it because I have no other obligations. It is 11:45 now and I have been working here since 9:30, so I convinced myself that I was entitled to a break. My essay is for my Renaissance half-tutorial. So far, I have found this tutorial to be one of the most challenging parts of my time in Oxford. I only have four essays and four tutorials and I feel like I really have to prove myself through those four. My last one went well in that we had good discussion and I feel as though I learned a lot about the topic, but I still feel really uncertain as to how my essay measured up. That leaves me feeling really nervous going into this tutorial; the perfectionist part of me in the back of my mind is constantly wondering if I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, if I’m handing this well, and how I’m ultimately going to be assessed for it. I think the perfectionism is more the cause of my frustration than the essay itself. I am actually writing on representations of Elizabeth I in terms of her literature and the literature of others. I’m using her speeches, poems, and the famous Ralegh poem The Ocean to Cynthia. I will be really happy to be through with this tutorial tomorrow, though, so hopefully I’ll have a better since of how I’m progressing in the scheme of things.

Yesterday marked the exact half-way point of my time in Oxford. Before I came here I was told over and over that once I felt settled it would be time to go home. I had so many big plans to travel and see the country and it’s beginning to dawn on me in the final half that I’m not going to get to accomplish quite as much as I’d hoped. Every other weekend is basically booked entirely through with academic work because of my half tutorial. On those weeks I have an essay due on Tuesday, Friday, and then the following Tuesday so I feel like I have to work all weekend if the last essay is going to be worth anything. That only leaves the other weekends open for day trips and travel. Jeanne and I had planned a trip to Stonehenge and Bath, but I ended up cancelling because I had taken a pretty bad cold and didn’t want it to get any worse. I still think we’re going to go to Stratford in the next few weeks though; I refuse to spend 2 months in England and never go to Shakespeare’s birth site! We are also planning a trip into London this weekend to see a Broadway show. I have never been before so I am very excited! I’m not certain what we’re going to be watching yet, but I’m happy just to have the experience. It will also be a nice break from my academic weekend. I had planned to not work on Friday night because of Formal Hall- we’re going to London instead, so it doesn’t cut out of any valuable work time. I have 4 weekends left in Oxford. This weekend is Broadway and the Stanley BBQ, the next weekend is open, the next weekend will be filled with academic work, and the final one is open.

The Stanley Road BBQ is this Saturday night. In case I haven’t explained this before, Stanley is actually a form of campus housing. The house is owned by Regent’s Park and they place 10-12 students there every year. Typically American students (visiting Georgetowners especially) and 2nd year students live there. Because it is the same as a residence hall in terms of affiliation with the college, the college gives us a budget to throw a party there once a term. We have a pretty big back yard and we’re going to have a bonfire, so it should be a lot of fun. It will also be nice to not have to go into college for an event because they’re coming to us!
I feel like I haven’t taken enough pictures since I have been here. I think when I’m through with my essay for Tuesday I am going to go back around the city and take more detailed pictures of places I frequently visit and love. This week it has really been occurring to me how fast this experience is going by- I feel like I want to work even harder than I already have in my tutorials because I know these are the last ones. This is the time when my progress really counts and I really want this experience to ultimately mean something on an academic and a personal level.

Update: I am now actually in my room where I can post what I wrote earlier today. It is now 8:46 pm and I have written about 2000 words of my essay. I only have 500 words left and there is one last thing I want to convey. I actually ran into my tutor in the hallway at Regent's and discussed my thoughts a bit with her. She suggested cutting out extra things and making a list of things I wanted to talk about in tutorial with her. She was very understanding and told me she was happy that I was enjoying my reading so I feel slightly more comfortable about it than I did earlier today. I am planning on finishing all the writing up tonight and then taking some time to seriously edit during the day tomorrow. I print off my essay and read it aloud to her, so I don't have to have it done until our 3:30 meeting. I hate cutting things close though, so I would really like to be entirely finished by lunchtime. To be really comfortable, I would like to be finished tonight but I think it might be better for both my sanity and my essay to take a long break from it after I finish writing and look on it with fresh eyes in the morning. We'll see how it goes.

I find it amusing how much I look forward to going to the grocery store here. I'm trying as hard as possible to conserve money whenever I can because the exchange rate is so bad, but I did spend 12 pounds at the store tonight. It is enough food to last me for quite awhile though, so I sort of felt justified. I'm not sure that it's totally balanced though: 2 cans of Pringles (they were buy one, get one free), 2 cans of Heinz ravioli (no Chef Boyardee here), a can of cream of chicken soup to cook my rice in, canned pineapple, canned strawberries, raisins, milk, orange juice, bread, and a box of cereal. Not too bad for the basics.

And, finally, Jeanne booked our tickets earlier today to see Wicked tomorrow night! I have heard that Wicked is amazing, but we thought it was going to be much too expensive for us to get tickets. They dropped in price today, though, because it's so close to time for the show and so we were able to get them. I'm very excited! It feels incredibly odd to me that I have never been to a big city in the States at all and yet I'm going to Broadway in London. It's one of those fun and bizarre things about being here.