This is the reason I haven't been blogging much. These are two seperate stacks of books for two different 2,500 word essays. One on Religion and Science, the other on the British Perspective on the American Revolution. Oh yeah, and these are only 1/3 of the reading lists. As a result. I've been pretty busy just writing papers. I finished one last night after staying up late, and I've just cracked the code on the other. Interestingly I think I've discovered why so many British Merchants supported the Americans in the Revolution. Its an amazing web to track. In any event, I just wanted to let you all know I will be writing more, but it might be a few days. Also I'm planning a trip to Ireland, so next weekend I won't be available at all, although I'll have some awesome stories when I get back.

Anyway, I thought you might want to know what I've been up to, so just play the video underneath on repeat for a week and you'll have my experience for the past few days.

I haven't written in awhile because there really hasn't been much to report. My days have been spent in the pretty typical routine of getting up at 8:45, shower, breakfast, 15 minute bike ride, 1 hour lecture on British History (huzzah!), tea, 1 hour lecture on British Literature (ok), lunch, then to the libraries studying British reaction to the American Revolution until 5:00, then home, dinner, and then read more books until around 9:00 and turn my attention to trying to relax, and talk to people. I'm discovering that I need to work quite a bit harder than everyone else in the program because I have a harder time reading and absorbing the information, while everyone else seems to fly through it. Oh well.

Today however, there is much to report. First, I got my Robin Hood paper back and the results were jubilant on one hand and devastatingly embarrassing on the other. I like bad news first so I'll lead with the critical stuff... "Sloppy writing spoils the effect." Was one of the headlines on my paper. It seems quite clear that my grammatical knowledge is desperately lacking... my writing needs vast improvement. Throughout the entire paper there are scratch marks and circles, and suggestions... however it seems that my largest mistakes aren't that bad... I consistently spelled words incorrectly... however I spelled their American equivalents, for example I was marked off for words like; honor or fiber, instead of honour or fibre. Which even now my spell check is alerting me about. I also use "British" and "English" as interchangeable and in fact they refer to different things so that was a mistake as well.

But on to the good news. All of the marks were grammatical, nothing but praise was given for my ideas, arguments, and positions. So it helped that the headline starts by saying, "You make some very intelligent points, Sloppy writing spoils the effect." So I would argue that there was at least an effect to be spoiled. Also, I suppose I'd rather be a person of intelligent ideas and arguments that can't explain them well, than a moron who is perfectly understood. Sadly, nobody marks for good ideas, so this paragraph will be substantially smaller, but none-the-less, I'm embarrassed for the grammatical mistakes, but deeply proud of the good ideas and that someone at Oxford recognized them.

Also, I'm having a horrible time writing the next two papers which are due in a week. The reading is going slowly and I just don't know how to glean two papers out of it in seven days, but we'll find a way, maybe I just won't be able to sleep much these next few days.

On a different note, two other housemates and I worked at the Gatehouse, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen tonight for the first time. We're going to try to make this a regular thing. We're trying to make connections and friends here in Oxford, and in England the rules for homeless people are quite different. England regulates the streets a lot more strictly so you don't see many homeless in a normal day, but its amazing how many showed up tonight. It was a joy working and I felt right with the world for the three hours we were there. I recognize it may not have been the best use of my time with these papers looming, but on the other hand I may argue that it absolutely was...

Tomorrow we travel to Bath, which ought to be incredible. So I'll have some pictures and stories to add when that goes down. But until then, here's the next installment of the house tour. This is from the same place in the house as before, but now down the stairs to the kitchen in the house. Bryce, my roommate, and Matt a fellow history student are there. Bon Apatite.

Today was a nice relaxing time. I've been amazed how many people in the program have put off their papers until today. There were only a handful of us that could do anything but write and research today because everyone else was working. Its been surprising to me, and I discussed it with my parents on the phone yesterday. Perhaps its due to me being older than most of my classmates, maybe its because even though I might not be the in the upper echelon of intelligence here at the program, I do have more experience. It helps having the education I do, I've written a lot of papers in book reports, history reports, philosophical essays, and finally the literary master piece, the FORRMAL. Due to all these experiences writing a 2,500 word essay doesn't give me much to tremble about. But I really am surprised that so many other people just procrastinated. One of my roommates started his first paper at Oxford University tonight, another one of my roommates will undoubtedly be up until 4 or 5 am (10 or 11pm for most of you) writing. Its crazy.

I had to throw out my milk today though. It was only a day after expiration which leads me to assume that Britain doesn't use the same preservatives in their products.

Well with my free time today I watched some television over the Internet, and wouldn't you know it I've become addicted to a new show. Guess what it is? Its Robin Hood, on the BBC, a new interpretation on the hero we all know and love... this particular Robin speaks loads to me because in this version he returns from the Crusades a pacifist. He uses his archery and wit to trick and disarm, and at most intimidate, but never to kill... rarely to maim. Its an interesting take on the legend.

I also had fun playing some ultimate frisbee. I realized how out of shape I am since not doing a sport for the first time in the last 10 years. I gotta start running. Tonight I ate spaghetti and started trying to learn basic French... its going slowly, but I'm enjoying it. Also a girl in the program Alyssa knows that I make Russian Pancakes (Bilini) and she's had me make some for her before since she spent a semester in Russia and fell in love with them. Well she realized that she could make some money by having me make Russian Pancakes and her filling them with different confections like cream, strawberries, bananas, or chocolate. She marketed it and I made the pancakes, we made about 4 pounds by charging 50p a cake. So I made around $4 American tonight because of it. But that 2 pounds can buy four loaves of bread. This may turn into a regular Sunday event.

Another thing I did today was start a video tour for you. This first installment is just showing you the way to my room on the third floor. You'll get introduced to our two WCs, Loos or bathrooms , and through to my bedroom. Should be fun so click on the video below.

Hey All, I just finished writing the first of many papers for Oxford. This particular one was over the literary history of the Noble Robber, Social Activist, and Re-distributor of wealth, known as Robin Hood... the first Comic Book Hero. It was a blast studying Robin Hood and his history. There are over a dozen men that Robin Hood may be based on, however there isn't sufficient evidence to link him directly to any of them, or even a particular place in England. Due to these factors, Robin is a pliable character and can be adapted to fit any era, to become the type of hero they need him to be. Thusly Robin has gone through the centuries from 1377 when he is first mentioned in a ballad, all the way to the twenty-first century when he is depicted in a BBC television program. Robin has certainly gone through revisions in that time too. At first he was a ruthless forester who killed bloodily and with zest. He robbed from whomever he wished and gave little away except to the church. Since then Robin has been adapted to become a dispossessed noble man fighting the good fight against oppression and tyranny. He has become the heroic Noble-outlaw who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. Fun eh? So my paper was set up to track when and why Robin has changed so much in the past 700 years. Answer: because he represents what it means to be British in each era he is in, and is continually reinvented to represent the new idea of Britishness.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun writing the paper. We'll soon find out if it is nearly as much fun to have it dissected and analyzed by the foremost opinions on academic papers. uggg. I've discovered a new musician I really like... Joshua Radin if anyone has free time, look him up. It should be a good time. I had a great break in the paper writing today though when I got the chance to finally talk to my parents on the phone. I had emailed with them a few times, but it was really nice to catch-up on the phone. However, since most of the day was spent writing on the computer or talking on the phone with the rents back in the colonies, I don't have very many neat pictures to add from today.

I did however finish the day by joining my first membership in Great Britain... Blockbuster. A group of us who were writing on Robin Hood decided to reward ourselves with a viewing of some of his movies so we made a trip to the blockbuster 15 minute bike ride away in Headington. It was a great trip only to get there and find out that Blockbuster in Headington has no copies of any Robin Hood movies. How can you be a British Movie Store and have no Robin Hoods? Its a travesty, that's the type of stuff that gets your colonies to break away from you. But it was a fun trip none-the-less.

I also started planning my fall break (28 Sep- 02 Oct). It looks like two friends, Bryce and Nick, and I are going to go to Dublin and backpack around Ireland for the week. It ought to be incredible. I'm really excited about it, and the guys are really cool... we all seem to get along well and line up theologically on a lot of issues which is rare. So I'll be eating a lot of lucky charms cereal in preparation. Well, we'll see what tomorrow brings. Have a great day.




The movie is of the inside of the Upper Radcliffe Camera part of the Bodilean Library where I did most of my library work this week.

Hey all, not much to report from today. Went to class, went to the Library, studied, studied, studied, started a paper on Robin Hood, and bought and later consumed some food. Pretty basic day for any Oxford Student. Doing well.

I started a doing a couple of things today that I want to keep up. First, I bought groceries today, and they give us 35 pounds a week for food... so far I think I've spent about 10pounds a week for food. I've found if you're willing to suspend eating out, or buying name brand, you can actually survive on about 2pounds a day in food costs. And if you're willing to eat bread only, even cheaper. Well bakery bread that is sold at the end of the day, when the libraries close, is about 50p ($1) so today I started buying my $1 bread (which is like a subway footlong, but two feet worth) and giving it to the homeless. I'm going to keep this up.

Secondly, on my fifteen minute bike ride back to the house I ride through a beautiful park that has a river run up one side and circle around it and then down the other side where many people feed ducks and go row-boating... its a gorgeous place. Everyday at lunch I pick up an orange and everyday I've been stopping in the park half-way home to eat the orange under a tree and think about anything but education... its peaceful and rewarding. There's a great waterfall there too.

I've also been finding a lot of time to be with God. I suppose that is a benefit of living apart from everyone that I had relationships to invest in, and around people who are busy working. Its been nice too. Anyway, I'll have more to report once the paper is finished. Have a great one.

First off… Happy Birthday to my favorite set of twins and closest of friends, Kyle and Kevin Larson. Secondly, I just realized that due to Britain’s moist climate, bread molds much quicker. The loaf I bought last week is now a fresh specimen of penicillin… oh well.

Finally, what an amazing day. We took a field trip to Winchester in the South of England. Winchester, just like St. Albans has a lengthy, rich history, starting off as a Roman settlement but going through its paces eventually ending up in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex, the most powerful realm in England and later the capital of all England for several generations.

Like last week Winchester has a Cathedral at the center of its town and the reason Winchester became such a powerful city is because the Bishop of Winchester, for generations was the guardian of the Royal Treasure Chests. Winchester was the Fort Knox of medieval England. Several Kings had their coronations at Winchester Cathedral which is the longest Medieval Building in the World (although the world’s longest nave is in St Alban’s). In fact, legend has it that King Arthur and Camelot existed in the region, and in the great hall of Winchester, hoisted on a wall is the fabled Round Table of King Arthur.

The Round Table is enormous, probably close to thirty feet in diameter, and although we can tell that its not actually from any time period close to Arthur, but it does date back to around the 12^th century which is still pretty impressive. In the 16^th Century Henry VIII had it repainted to impress the visiting Holy Roman Emperor Charles I. He painted a large two colored Rose in the middle representing the two Houses of the Tudor dynasty that fought to war of the Roses over control of the Crown, and he had his own face painted onto Arthur’s body. However, its still an impressive sight.

The Cathedral which would’ve taken up a whole quarter of the town , has some amazing facets to it as well. For example, several of its Bishops started Colleges at Oxford, including Corpus Christi, New College, and Magdalen College. Cardinal Beaufort, who presided over Joan of Arch’s “trial” and execution, is buried at the Cathedral. And Thomas Wolsey who was chief Minister under Henry VIII started Christ Church at Oxford.

The Cathedral is also home to a unique set of six boxes containing the bones of the early Anglo-Saxon Kings. While most Kings after Edward the Confessor were buried in the Abbey he had constructed in Westminster in London, before Edward, many of the ancient Anglo-Saxon Kings (before 1066) have the bones at Winchester Cathedral. In some pictures you may see a large stained glass window that has no discernable pattern. This is because during the Civil War, Oliver Cromwell’s troops smashed the window. A dedicated church member painstakingly collected all the bits of glass and hid them away, then after it had passed remade the windows, but it was impossible to recompile the images, so the glass is the original glass from the 12^th century.

In the basement of the Cathedral is a Crypt, and the Normans who built the Cathedral were so anxious to get it up that they did little work surveying the land, thus they built it over a bog and river bed. As a result for the past 900 years the Crypt fills with water during the winter thaw, this was a continuous cycle until modern technology allowed pumps to be installed to keep it dry. As a result, no one has ever been buried in the Crypt. Although this has persevered it in its original design, and in the middle of the crypt stands a statue that was designed to be in water up to its knees, looking at his own reflection… pretty sweet. This had another effect on the structure, in the far south east corner of the Cathedral the bog and marsh has led to a sinking of the foundation, just like what has occurred to the leaning tower of Pisa. As a result the SE corner is leaning, in fact, to a greater degree than the tower of Pisa. The problem took a man five years in pitch black bog water, without any light, taking out rotten wooden support beams and replacing them with bags of concrete, in Scuba gear. He now has a statue in that corner, praising him as the protector of the Cathedral.

Winchester was such an important sight that Norman the Conqueror built a Castle here after his successful invasion of England to become King in 1066. Making Winchester his town. Its also where Jane Austen died and is buried in the Cathedral.

Due to all these many facets of English life going on in Winchester, and that it has been a place of historic Kings, including Arthur and Norman the Conqueror. Winchester became one of two towns that Hitler gave specific orders not to bomb during WWII. The other, interestingly enough was Oxford. Hitler planned on leveling London and as a result, was going to require some capital cities to help regulate life in England. One would be Oxford, in the center of England, and the Winchester would be the other, in the south near the cost. The other reason Hitler didn’t want Winchester bombed was because it was the town of the last successful man to invade Britain, William the Conqueror.

Due to the writing of papers, this has been a more lonely week. I spent a lot of my time in quiet libraries and in my room writing. I’ve been keeping busy with work, which I suppose is better than just sitting around. But its been tough being away from friends, both back in the colonies and even here in England. I had a frustrating day yesterday with class. In my history seminar we spent 2 hours discussing the philosophy of History, and I tried to explain my position on issues over and over again, and I’ve always felt like a competent communicator, but I just couldn’t get my ideas across to my professor, but at the end of it, he repeated my philosophy to the class. It was frustrating because I wanted to say, “That’s exactly what I was saying!” So it was comforting to feel vindicated in my thoughts, but I felt foolish for not being able to communicate it, and to his and everyone else’s eyes, I didn’t.

So today was a special time. Nice to get away from all the work and see some sights and refresh friendships, get some good pictures. Relax, in the middle of the day I just sat under a tree, read Mark, ate lunch, and took a nap… cheers.

Day 13: 11 Sep 2007

Well the wave of work that up until this point had been safely out to sea has over the past two days come crashing down furiously upon all us fun loving beached students. I’ve been frantically reading articles in preparation for the History seminar I’m a part of tomorrow, while at the same time searching through dusty pages of 15^th century ballads of Robin Hood, trying to ascertain whether anyone cares that he’s a criminal… no. It’s a lot of fun, but its looking like my time to write the blog will be shortened from now one. Sorry. Now I see what Doc Kyle (my history professor and mentor back at Tabor) had been working so hard to prepare me for.

The past couple of days have just been full of studying and reading. Not much to report although I’m still floored every time I walk past a security check-point that is turning away visitors, but letting in students like me. We did go on a field trip today, but only through the streets of Oxford learning about the Oxford Martyrs. Three Protestant Bishops from the Church of England that were burned at the stake by Queen Mary (Bloody Mary) in 1555-6 here in Oxford. A Monument stands to their memory in the center of town. It probably helps their legacy that Mary didn’t reign long and Elizabeth quickly reestablished the Church of England, thus making them Martyrs instead of heretics.

We also learned about John Wyclif, whom Wycliffe Hall (where I’m attending these early classes) is named after. I had prior knowledge of him due to my History of the Reformation, and History of Christianity classes, thanks Doc. But I was reminded that I really would have gotten along with this guy. He disagreed with the church about transubstantiation, aural confessions, priestly power, papal authority, Only using Latin, and church wealth and property all on the basis of scripture… what a guy! He also did all this in the 1360s, a 100 or so years before Luther.

I don’t think many people know this but my family is going through a very difficult time back in the colonies. My Grandfather Denys is quite ill and slowly slipping away. This is really hard for me being so far from everyone and its especially painful for my grandmother, mom and her sisters. So I want to leave off with an incredible story that I'm hoping can be an encouragement to us. It goes like this:

Off in the late 1300s, 1364 to be exact, there was an old woman living a secluded life in an abbot in the shire of Norwich. She was known to those around her as Julian of Norwich and had suffered greatly losing her whole family in the Black Death that had struck England first in the 1340s and then had taken her second family in the second wave in the 1360s.

Julian of Norwich had dedicated her life to prayer and reflection on God and as she was coming to the end of her life she began to see visions of Jesus being crucified and the torment and anguish he experienced. In her visions (which she relates to a scribe beside her bed) she explains what Jesus says to her.

"Then our good Lord Jesus Christ said, 'Are you well satisfied with my suffering for you?' 'Yes, thank you, good Lord,' I replied. 'Yes good Lord, bless you.; And the kind Lord Jesus said, "If you are satisfied, I am satisfied (paid= totally fulfilled) too. It gives me great happiness and joy and, indeed, eternal delight ever to have suffered for you. If I could possibly have suffered more, I would have done so."

I really like this reflection about Christ. Julian of Norwich is expressing an aspect of Christ's love for us that is starkly different than what was going on in the world at that time. With the plague and so much death, war, and famine around them, everyone saw God as a vengeful, wrathful, unmerciful deity that was done with mankind’s unholiness. The thought may have been that this was just a second flood, but Julian kept an eye on the love of God. Jesus' love will see us and especially Grandpa through this... and I don't think that needs to mean that we'll all live through it. We can make God's Kingdom reach new hearts through this and if we further the kingdom then we'll have accomplished something that can not be taken away or diminished.