We had a lovely Christmas dinner in Dean's Court on Wednesday, complete with champagne, wine, and port...and formal clothing, a nice (funny!) speaker, a sit-down dinner, and before and after gatherings. I must say, it was lovely.
I also went caroling the other day with a group of people mostly from the English department. It was also lots of fun...what we lacked in talent, we made up for in gusto. However, I learned that Brits have different carols then the ones we have in the states...That is, they have the same words, but different tunes!! Made for interesting singing...
In other news, I almost have all my Christmas shopping done! Just a few more things...
Well, that's all I got! :)
Friday, 14 December 2007
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Some language fun...
This will probably not be interesting to most of you, but I always find language quirks interesting... For instance, I figured out that they use the phrase "catch him (or her) up" in both the same way we do (as to tell someone what he/she missed), but also they use it in a different way--to catch up with someone. Like if you were chasing someone on the street, and you caught up with her, you would say "I caught him up."
Also, instead of saying, "I have dibs" on something, they say "I bags" here...Interesting, no? And mimosas (the drink) are called "bucks fizz."
Random facts of the day! :)
Also, instead of saying, "I have dibs" on something, they say "I bags" here...Interesting, no? And mimosas (the drink) are called "bucks fizz."
Random facts of the day! :)
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Eggs. And Buildings.
Here's a funny story: Yesterday morning, I got up for breakfast (first time ever here. :) So I wasn't really paying attention, half asleep and all...I got ham and toast, and a boiled egg. Sat down, went to crack the egg...and raw egg spilled everywhere! What I had noticed was there was a pot to boil the eggs in... :) Go me!
In other news...our class was in a different building today. It took me awhile to find the building, but then I finally did. Let me say this: who ever designed the layout of the classrooms in this building is on CRACK! It's the biology/medical building. There's all these crazy half-flights of stairs, the numbering system is way off, the arrows go up and down all sorts of directions, hallways look like classrooms or dead-ends...so of course it was easy to find my classroom, right? Of course!!! I went upstairs in one part twice, didn't find it, ran into some other students in the class, wandered around some more, finally stumbled on the school's office... where she proceeds to tell us to go up the same flight of stairs I had gone up twice already--then turn the corner... go THROUGH a laboratory, and then there's another set of classrooms on the other side...SO bizarre.
Hmmm...what else? I'm excited about Christmas!! There are lights up here and of course, Christmas music blaring everywhere. Oh! And we're having a formal Christmas dinner in the residence. That will be fun. :) I've been enjoying buying little Scottish goodies to bring home for people... :)
Well, that's about all I got.
In other news...our class was in a different building today. It took me awhile to find the building, but then I finally did. Let me say this: who ever designed the layout of the classrooms in this building is on CRACK! It's the biology/medical building. There's all these crazy half-flights of stairs, the numbering system is way off, the arrows go up and down all sorts of directions, hallways look like classrooms or dead-ends...so of course it was easy to find my classroom, right? Of course!!! I went upstairs in one part twice, didn't find it, ran into some other students in the class, wandered around some more, finally stumbled on the school's office... where she proceeds to tell us to go up the same flight of stairs I had gone up twice already--then turn the corner... go THROUGH a laboratory, and then there's another set of classrooms on the other side...SO bizarre.
Hmmm...what else? I'm excited about Christmas!! There are lights up here and of course, Christmas music blaring everywhere. Oh! And we're having a formal Christmas dinner in the residence. That will be fun. :) I've been enjoying buying little Scottish goodies to bring home for people... :)
Well, that's about all I got.
Monday, 26 November 2007
Oh yeah...
I also tried Ginger wine the other day--apparently, it's a Scottish specialty. It was good, a bit like ginger ale, only stronger. I'm going to try to see if I can bring some home. :)
Haggis!
So I FINALLY got around to trying haggis today. Actually, a haggis stuffed mushroom. It wasn't too bad--in fact, it was pretty good. I just had to not think about what was in it. :)
Other than that, not a whole lot here. The waves were crazy today, crashing up onto the shore. The tide was in at 3:30 in the afternoon, which seemed early to me! Of course, it's getting dark now at about 4... That, I'm not a fan of. I do miss the sunshine!
I went to a poetry reading today, which was pretty nice. I haven't had much of a chance to write since I've gotten into the swing of the semester--I wrote a bunch of poems the first two weeks I was here, and then really nothing else. It's not even necessarily that I don't have time to do it; sometimes, it's just hard to switch gears or something. I may go to a writing open mic night tomorrow, where I would probably read. I haven't read my stuff in awhile, and there's something good about reading. It makes it seem more real or something. Last semester, I read a bunch of Native American poets, and I like what they say about it--it's spoken word that has the most power, and writing the language down kills it. I don't come from the same oral tradition, but there is something about the spoken word, meant for someone to hear (instead of writing into what seems like a vacuum), that makes the language more alive. Well, that was a digression.
I'm off to read now. Cheers!
Other than that, not a whole lot here. The waves were crazy today, crashing up onto the shore. The tide was in at 3:30 in the afternoon, which seemed early to me! Of course, it's getting dark now at about 4... That, I'm not a fan of. I do miss the sunshine!
I went to a poetry reading today, which was pretty nice. I haven't had much of a chance to write since I've gotten into the swing of the semester--I wrote a bunch of poems the first two weeks I was here, and then really nothing else. It's not even necessarily that I don't have time to do it; sometimes, it's just hard to switch gears or something. I may go to a writing open mic night tomorrow, where I would probably read. I haven't read my stuff in awhile, and there's something good about reading. It makes it seem more real or something. Last semester, I read a bunch of Native American poets, and I like what they say about it--it's spoken word that has the most power, and writing the language down kills it. I don't come from the same oral tradition, but there is something about the spoken word, meant for someone to hear (instead of writing into what seems like a vacuum), that makes the language more alive. Well, that was a digression.
I'm off to read now. Cheers!
Saturday, 24 November 2007
Hi!
Well, it's been awhile! Mostly, I've been doing school stuff. I got through my first round of papers! yay!
Tonight, we performed the Messiah. The performance went relatively well. My favorite glitch was that there was a high school choir singing with us on three songs only...and they missed they're first song completely! ooops! :) And there was another song where we totally got off at the beginning, though it did eventually come together. But it was fun to perform it, though I am tired now. We had a three hour practice before the performance!
The best thing was I was practicing the Messiah in my sleep last night...kept waking up with a different song in my head. :)
Not much else to report! :) It is cold...and has been for awhile. Oh, I did go to a play the other night. I thought the production was good, but I didn't like the play very much. The characters were not very good.
Alright kids, that's all I got. Happy belated Thanksgiving!
Tonight, we performed the Messiah. The performance went relatively well. My favorite glitch was that there was a high school choir singing with us on three songs only...and they missed they're first song completely! ooops! :) And there was another song where we totally got off at the beginning, though it did eventually come together. But it was fun to perform it, though I am tired now. We had a three hour practice before the performance!
The best thing was I was practicing the Messiah in my sleep last night...kept waking up with a different song in my head. :)
Not much else to report! :) It is cold...and has been for awhile. Oh, I did go to a play the other night. I thought the production was good, but I didn't like the play very much. The characters were not very good.
Alright kids, that's all I got. Happy belated Thanksgiving!
Friday, 26 October 2007
St Andrews...at night!
So the moon is almost full tonight, and I couldn't resist taking some pictures. They are here if you want to see them!
Hmmm, what else is going on? I haven't been out too much because I have a lot of work! Oh, I need to post one more picture...will do that later! But I did discover that the Byre Theatre has a lovely cafe in the bottom of it, which is where I studied this afternoon. Then I went to chorus practice. Oh, here's a nice bit of information for you...our director kept talking about "quavers," and it took me awhile to understand what he meant; I finally asked someone to make sure. "Quavers" are eighth notes, while "crotchets" are quarter notes. "Minims" are half notes...This very much confuses me! :) I think I've got "quavers" down but not the others.
That's all I got for the moment! :P
Hmmm, what else is going on? I haven't been out too much because I have a lot of work! Oh, I need to post one more picture...will do that later! But I did discover that the Byre Theatre has a lovely cafe in the bottom of it, which is where I studied this afternoon. Then I went to chorus practice. Oh, here's a nice bit of information for you...our director kept talking about "quavers," and it took me awhile to understand what he meant; I finally asked someone to make sure. "Quavers" are eighth notes, while "crotchets" are quarter notes. "Minims" are half notes...This very much confuses me! :) I think I've got "quavers" down but not the others.
That's all I got for the moment! :P
Monday, 22 October 2007
Special collections...again! :)
Part of our homework for class this week was to register with special collections and actually look at a book(in the library--rare books aren't allowed out) that is semi-relevant to what we are studying. I found an edition of the epistles of Hildegard of Bingen--it's a 1566 edition (Hildegarde was alive in the 12th century), but still really cool. Unfortunately, it's in Latin, so I couldn't understand much of it, though I got the gist of the layout. Pretty cool, though. For those who don't know who Hildegard is, here's an excerpt from Wikipedia (not the greatest source, I know, but still, it gives an idea of who she was):
"Hildegard of Bingen (German: Hildegard von Bingen; Latin: Hildegardis Bingensis; 1098 – 17 September 1179), also known as Blessed Hildegard and Saint Hildegard, was a German magistra who later founded (Rupertsberg in 1150 and Eibingen in 1165) in the third quarter of the 12th century.
Hildegard of Bingen was an abbess, artist, author, counselor, linguist, naturalist, scientist, philosopher, physician, herbalist, poet, activist, visionary, and composer. She is the first composer for whom a biography exists and one of her works, the Ordo Virtutum is the first form, and possible origination, of opera."
So the book I was looking at is a collection of letters from her to other people (and their letters, too, I think). It also gave a history of her life at the back. Just as a side note, there are CDs out there of her music being performed; they aren't very difficult to find.
I also looked at the King James Bible again--the first edition one. I couldn't resist. Even though the King James is horrible as far as translations going (if you're actually going to study the text for a religion course or something), it it written in beautiful prose...and this edition is HUGE! Like, it definitely takes to hands to lift it. Perhaps two arms. It is probably a foot and half long by a foot wide, and maybe half a foot thick. Big enough for you?
One interesting I noticed it included the Apocrypha, which is unusual for Protestant bibles (though, it is a Church of England edition, which at that time, really wasn't that different from Catholicism). Also, it put Esther in the Apocrypha, which has changed now...also interesting.
So I spent the day with old texts! Nothing like old books to get an English major all excited. :)
"Hildegard of Bingen (German: Hildegard von Bingen; Latin: Hildegardis Bingensis; 1098 – 17 September 1179), also known as Blessed Hildegard and Saint Hildegard, was a German magistra who later founded (Rupertsberg in 1150 and Eibingen in 1165) in the third quarter of the 12th century.
Hildegard of Bingen was an abbess, artist, author, counselor, linguist, naturalist, scientist, philosopher, physician, herbalist, poet, activist, visionary, and composer. She is the first composer for whom a biography exists and one of her works, the Ordo Virtutum is the first form, and possible origination, of opera."
So the book I was looking at is a collection of letters from her to other people (and their letters, too, I think). It also gave a history of her life at the back. Just as a side note, there are CDs out there of her music being performed; they aren't very difficult to find.
I also looked at the King James Bible again--the first edition one. I couldn't resist. Even though the King James is horrible as far as translations going (if you're actually going to study the text for a religion course or something), it it written in beautiful prose...and this edition is HUGE! Like, it definitely takes to hands to lift it. Perhaps two arms. It is probably a foot and half long by a foot wide, and maybe half a foot thick. Big enough for you?
One interesting I noticed it included the Apocrypha, which is unusual for Protestant bibles (though, it is a Church of England edition, which at that time, really wasn't that different from Catholicism). Also, it put Esther in the Apocrypha, which has changed now...also interesting.
So I spent the day with old texts! Nothing like old books to get an English major all excited. :)
Saturday, 20 October 2007
Beach!
Today I finally got my act together and went down to the beach! I haven't been yet...well, I've go past the ocean quite often, along the top of the cliffs, I just haven't been down to the beach. Shame on me!
Anyway, it was lovely. The one closest to me has rocks all over, as well as sand. The rocks are cool, though, all different sizes and shapes and colors. And there was bunches of sea glass--broken bottles that had been rubbed smooth by the sea. It's a shame there's so much glass on the beach, but when it gets smoothed out, it really is cool.
And I dipped my feet in the cold, cold ocean! Several times...It's chilly out now, but it was nice when I was down on the beach. Cold, but not too cold. Of course, the ocean is ALWAYS cold, coming off the North Sea--Someone told me it only warms up 2 degrees celsius in the summer!
It was a nice day. :) Oh, and all this happened when I decided to get coffee...got coffee but then was distracted by the ocean on the way home! ;)
Anyway, it was lovely. The one closest to me has rocks all over, as well as sand. The rocks are cool, though, all different sizes and shapes and colors. And there was bunches of sea glass--broken bottles that had been rubbed smooth by the sea. It's a shame there's so much glass on the beach, but when it gets smoothed out, it really is cool.
And I dipped my feet in the cold, cold ocean! Several times...It's chilly out now, but it was nice when I was down on the beach. Cold, but not too cold. Of course, the ocean is ALWAYS cold, coming off the North Sea--Someone told me it only warms up 2 degrees celsius in the summer!
It was a nice day. :) Oh, and all this happened when I decided to get coffee...got coffee but then was distracted by the ocean on the way home! ;)
Friday, 19 October 2007
Queen Mary's Library
So the people in my program got a tour of Queen Mary's Library today, which is actually a working library for a boarding school here, St Leonard's. Actually, apparently they don't give tours to many people, so it was a privilege! :)
Anyway, Queen Mary stayed in the library when she visited St Andrews for extended periods of time, and so she has a room in it... Rumor has it that she wandered around town dressed as a commoner, though there's not really anything to confirm that. :) But it's fun nonetheless.
The land it's built on has been occupied in one way or another since the 12th century...there's evidence of pots and such dating back to then. And plow marks not long after that. But the present (stone) house has been around since the 16th century. It's quite lovely! :)
Oh, one bit of information, there's a lot of paintings of Mary in the house...we didn't see that many of her, but the archivist/curator said that paintings of Mary show either a very frail, feminine woman or a huge strapping woman with a cross...usually. :) Mary was actually 6 feet tall, so she was quite a large woman!
That's about all (I can tell you more later, once I read more of this rather long but interesting pamphlet!), except here are some pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennibenni/sets/72157602522232630/
Bye!
Anyway, Queen Mary stayed in the library when she visited St Andrews for extended periods of time, and so she has a room in it... Rumor has it that she wandered around town dressed as a commoner, though there's not really anything to confirm that. :) But it's fun nonetheless.
The land it's built on has been occupied in one way or another since the 12th century...there's evidence of pots and such dating back to then. And plow marks not long after that. But the present (stone) house has been around since the 16th century. It's quite lovely! :)
Oh, one bit of information, there's a lot of paintings of Mary in the house...we didn't see that many of her, but the archivist/curator said that paintings of Mary show either a very frail, feminine woman or a huge strapping woman with a cross...usually. :) Mary was actually 6 feet tall, so she was quite a large woman!
That's about all (I can tell you more later, once I read more of this rather long but interesting pamphlet!), except here are some pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennibenni/sets/72157602522232630/
Bye!
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Oh Oh! Special Collections...
When I hear "special collections" in a library in the states... I don't get that excited...but our lecture this morning was on the "the history of the book" which really just consisted of a librarian pulling out books from the special collections and showing them to us with a little bit about the actual construction of the book thrown in...what it was printed on, how certain things were printed and so on...very interesting. But they really have a fabulous collection of old, old material here. She had a Psalter from the 12th century, I think...and a first edition King James Bible. And also some quite amazing facsimiles...one was of Chaucer. Also, a collection of Sophocles plays from way back...that was an actual edition not facsimile. Anyway, it was all quite fascinating. I am excited about actually going and exploring the collection at some point. So cool! :) The end.
Saturday, 13 October 2007
Courses and a Chorus
Life here is going on pretty much normally! Well, as normal as it can be in another country. I'm still in love with the ocean, of course. It's so nice to be so close to the water. I've also been writing a lot here (creatively), so that's been good, though that slowed down once I got my laptop! Bad Jennifer!
My classes are going fine so far. There's a lot of reading, but actually not quite as much as I'd thought there'd be. I have papers due pretty soon, though! aack!
Oh, last night I want to my first rehearsal of St. Andrews' chorus. It's an open choir, composed mainly of town people--it's nice to meet some people in the town. Anyway, the best part is there are no auditions! So I'm thinking I'm going to join up. I'm not a great singer or anything, but I do like to sing... They're doing the Messiah right now, which my friends and I were totally lost during the rehearsal...but I think it will be fun to sing once I get the hang of it.
Hmmm...a bit of Scottish history now! Last week we read sonnets attributed to Mary Queen of Scots. However, no one really knows if she wrote them or not...She was married to Lord Darnley at the time, but they didn't get along very well. If she did write the sonnets, they would more than likely be written to Bothwell, the man Mary was in love with. Anyway, Darnley is murdered, and Bothwell and Mary both are accused of the murder...it boils down to, though, that if she wrote the sonnets (and another set of letters), then she probably did help plot the murder--but that's the only evidence, really. And if she didn't write the sonnets/letters, then she is probably framed for it. There's no original manuscript for the sonnets...they suddenly appear a little bit later...And one man in particular, Buchanan, was trying to use them to prove she did it. But it is a really interesting text. Also, did you know we have the Queen Mary library here? It's actually a part of a girls private school. But it's where Queen Mary stayed when she was in St Andrews.
Alright, enough. :)
My classes are going fine so far. There's a lot of reading, but actually not quite as much as I'd thought there'd be. I have papers due pretty soon, though! aack!
Oh, last night I want to my first rehearsal of St. Andrews' chorus. It's an open choir, composed mainly of town people--it's nice to meet some people in the town. Anyway, the best part is there are no auditions! So I'm thinking I'm going to join up. I'm not a great singer or anything, but I do like to sing... They're doing the Messiah right now, which my friends and I were totally lost during the rehearsal...but I think it will be fun to sing once I get the hang of it.
Hmmm...a bit of Scottish history now! Last week we read sonnets attributed to Mary Queen of Scots. However, no one really knows if she wrote them or not...She was married to Lord Darnley at the time, but they didn't get along very well. If she did write the sonnets, they would more than likely be written to Bothwell, the man Mary was in love with. Anyway, Darnley is murdered, and Bothwell and Mary both are accused of the murder...it boils down to, though, that if she wrote the sonnets (and another set of letters), then she probably did help plot the murder--but that's the only evidence, really. And if she didn't write the sonnets/letters, then she is probably framed for it. There's no original manuscript for the sonnets...they suddenly appear a little bit later...And one man in particular, Buchanan, was trying to use them to prove she did it. But it is a really interesting text. Also, did you know we have the Queen Mary library here? It's actually a part of a girls private school. But it's where Queen Mary stayed when she was in St Andrews.
Alright, enough. :)
Friday, 5 October 2007
More pictures...
I posted some more pictures. Here are some just around town:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennibenni/sets/72157602273318398/
And actually of my room:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennibenni/sets/72157602279560301/
:)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennibenni/sets/72157602273318398/
And actually of my room:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennibenni/sets/72157602279560301/
:)
Thursday, 4 October 2007
Hey hey!
So, the first week of classes is almost over. The classes have been relatively easy so far. But I'm sure that will pick up.
I think my favorite part of the day is walking by the ocean on the way to class... :)
Last night, I went to an English department party for postgrads. The professors are so kooky! I love it. :) One of the professors absconded with a bottle of wine for the evening (wine was served at the party). You could see him in the back, pouring himself more wine. :) But I also went to a open mic reading put on by the creative writing group, Spotlight. It was pretty fun, though mostly undergraduates.
Well, I wanted to post the link to where I've put pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennibenni/sets/72157602267709315/
I'll post pictures of my room soon.
See ya!
I think my favorite part of the day is walking by the ocean on the way to class... :)
Last night, I went to an English department party for postgrads. The professors are so kooky! I love it. :) One of the professors absconded with a bottle of wine for the evening (wine was served at the party). You could see him in the back, pouring himself more wine. :) But I also went to a open mic reading put on by the creative writing group, Spotlight. It was pretty fun, though mostly undergraduates.
Well, I wanted to post the link to where I've put pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennibenni/sets/72157602267709315/
I'll post pictures of my room soon.
See ya!
Friday, 28 September 2007
Hello!
Hi everyone.
Not much going on here. Just waiting for classes to start. Oh, I matriculate tomorrow, which I think means I officially register (and sign away my first born child, give a blood sample...the usual).
Here's an interesting fact: Each bank in Scotland prints its own currency. It's all worth the same--as is the British pound--but they all look a little different. Interesting, no?
My laptop should, hopefully, be coming in soon! Which means I can post pictures...Yay! :) I'm excited about that. I'm not excited that it cost £5 for me to send the customs form back to FedEx. Oh well, though
Did I mention it is COLD! Already...It's getting down into the upper thirties, lower forties at night...and with that cold ocean breeze...brrr...
Well, just wanted to drop a line! Cheerio!
Not much going on here. Just waiting for classes to start. Oh, I matriculate tomorrow, which I think means I officially register (and sign away my first born child, give a blood sample...the usual).
Here's an interesting fact: Each bank in Scotland prints its own currency. It's all worth the same--as is the British pound--but they all look a little different. Interesting, no?
My laptop should, hopefully, be coming in soon! Which means I can post pictures...Yay! :) I'm excited about that. I'm not excited that it cost £5 for me to send the customs form back to FedEx. Oh well, though
Did I mention it is COLD! Already...It's getting down into the upper thirties, lower forties at night...and with that cold ocean breeze...brrr...
Well, just wanted to drop a line! Cheerio!
Wednesday, 26 September 2007
Settling In
So, here I am, all settled in St. Andrews. Well, mostly.
I live in Dean's Court, a dorm made up of a collection of buildings...and you can see the ocean from my room! I'm so excited about that. When I wake up in the morning, I just sit on my bed and look out at the sea for awhile. Also, out back, there's a little garden. It's quite lovely. Also, there's a small library in my dorm made up of books people have left. Of course, that made me quite happy! :)
The ocean is about a block away from where I live. I just turn a corner, and there it is. It's quite amazing to me to be able to do that since I've been landlocked most of my life. Yesterday, I walked out along the rock pier--built from castle ruins. Of course, being this close to the ocean means ocean breezes--a blessing and a curse! It was 50 degrees out today, but oh so chilly! I think the wind blows more here than it does in Oklahoma, and that is quite a feat.
Luckily, the English building is right around the corner, too. The couple of English profs and students I've met are quite nice. I think it's going to be a good group of people to work with. There are thirteen students in the Women, Writing, and Gender program, more than I thought there would be (and more than normal, apparently!).
Everything here has so much history. And everything becomes an adventure. There's a computer room in my dorm, but to get to it, I have to go outside, through a set of double doors, through an unmarked green door (both sets of doors are locked!), and then immediately up a windy set of stairs. It's quite funny actually. And the dining room looks like something out of Hogwart's! Across the street from where I live is the Cathedral ruins and an old, old cemetary. It's so beautiful. And around the corner are the castle ruins. When I get my laptop here (it's being shipped), I'll post pictures somewhere!
Getting settled has been interesting. It's all just a bit different. Like you can't drink water from the bathroom tap. Or, I went to Woolworth's today (a general store, it sells school supplies, dishes, bedding, the like) and they told me I had to get laundry soap at Tesco (the market). A bit of a switch. And the bathroom on my floor doesn't have shower, but the one downstairs does, so it hasn't been bad.
There are a ton of Americans here. Kind of odd, actually. Maybe half the people I've met have been Americans...and I've met people from Tulsa (2), Austin, and Kansas (as well as California, Boston, New Jersey, and Conneticut).
Well, that's all the energy I have for now!
Talk to you later.
I live in Dean's Court, a dorm made up of a collection of buildings...and you can see the ocean from my room! I'm so excited about that. When I wake up in the morning, I just sit on my bed and look out at the sea for awhile. Also, out back, there's a little garden. It's quite lovely. Also, there's a small library in my dorm made up of books people have left. Of course, that made me quite happy! :)
The ocean is about a block away from where I live. I just turn a corner, and there it is. It's quite amazing to me to be able to do that since I've been landlocked most of my life. Yesterday, I walked out along the rock pier--built from castle ruins. Of course, being this close to the ocean means ocean breezes--a blessing and a curse! It was 50 degrees out today, but oh so chilly! I think the wind blows more here than it does in Oklahoma, and that is quite a feat.
Luckily, the English building is right around the corner, too. The couple of English profs and students I've met are quite nice. I think it's going to be a good group of people to work with. There are thirteen students in the Women, Writing, and Gender program, more than I thought there would be (and more than normal, apparently!).
Everything here has so much history. And everything becomes an adventure. There's a computer room in my dorm, but to get to it, I have to go outside, through a set of double doors, through an unmarked green door (both sets of doors are locked!), and then immediately up a windy set of stairs. It's quite funny actually. And the dining room looks like something out of Hogwart's! Across the street from where I live is the Cathedral ruins and an old, old cemetary. It's so beautiful. And around the corner are the castle ruins. When I get my laptop here (it's being shipped), I'll post pictures somewhere!
Getting settled has been interesting. It's all just a bit different. Like you can't drink water from the bathroom tap. Or, I went to Woolworth's today (a general store, it sells school supplies, dishes, bedding, the like) and they told me I had to get laundry soap at Tesco (the market). A bit of a switch. And the bathroom on my floor doesn't have shower, but the one downstairs does, so it hasn't been bad.
There are a ton of Americans here. Kind of odd, actually. Maybe half the people I've met have been Americans...and I've met people from Tulsa (2), Austin, and Kansas (as well as California, Boston, New Jersey, and Conneticut).
Well, that's all the energy I have for now!
Talk to you later.
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