Wow.

A lot of stuff happened this evening, so I want to get it all in writing before I forget!

The feminist theory lecture was boring. I'm not going back to many more of those--except for one on Language and Feminism which takes place in November.

We got an email yesterday asking for people to run for positions on the Joint Consultative Committee for the Modern Language Faculty--which means that we would serve as liasons between the students and faculty, and communicate student concerns to the faculty. It turns out that the meeting for this was at the same time as the graduate Spanish seminar. I wrote to the person who sent the email and told her this, and expressed my concern that the Spanish program would not be properly represented on the committee. She said she understood, but that it was the only time they could get for this meeting.

Well get this. I get back to my room tonight, and find out via email that I've been elected to the committee! I am the new Sub-Faculty Graduate Representative for Spanish, so any grad students in Spanish who have issues come to me. I feel pretty damn important--Sub-Faculty Graduate Representative for Spanish on the Modern Languages Joint Consultative Committee at Oxford. Cool.

Anyway, in between was the seminar. It was fun. The speaker tonight talked about costume in Lope de Vega's El Perro del Hortelano, and compared scenes from that with scenes from one of Madonna's concert tours. Awesome. It reminded me of my grad classes in Communication.

But let me tell you how these seminars work. They're about 90 minutes to two hours, and here's the breakdown:

*Someone presents a paper.
*We have cocktail time. I'm not joking! They actually pass out free alcohol for everyone.
*Then we have question and answer time.

So that's where my tuition money is going...

After the seminar tonight, one of the profs invited me and some of the other grad students to join him for dinner. We went out for pizza at a nice pizza place and had a lovely time. (I've been DYING for pizza!) It was great because I found out that there is a Golden Age Spanish reading group, so I signed my sorry butt up for that as fast as I could.

When I came for orientation, someone said that it's a good idea to build up a network of colleagues when you study here. I'm finally starting to do that, and it feels good.

I meant to update this blog with some posts I had on my other blog, but I'm running out of free time. I guess I'll do another Oxford Observations post soon...

Hope all is well with everyone. Cheers!
Kait

PS: I'm doing postcards! Anyone want one? Send me an email and let me know!

The way things work

...not like I'm an expert or anything, but I thought you would want to know how the classes work around here. It's completely different from the American system.

We don't "register" here, nor do we have to take a certain number of "credits." Also, undergraduates don't have to take gen ed courses like chemistry or things like that. You just do what you need to do and you're done.

My course is a one-year Master's Degree, but it functions pretty much the same way as the other graduate-level humanities degrees (the two-year courses and the DPhils--what we call a PhD--just take more classes). I have a "supervisor," and he assigns me readings and papers and we meet on a semi-regular basis. The amount of times a student meets with a supervisor varies according to the needs of each person, and probably the amount of students "reading" for that degree. (That's what they call it here.) My degree program is very small, and my specialization is very specific (the mystic poetry of St. John of the Cross), so I meet with him one-on-one.

At the end of each term, I submit a portfolio of papers to a committee to be graded. While my supervisor does submit grades, it is up to the committee of examiners to decide how I do. I submit a portfolio of about 3 papers, about 9-10,000 words total.

We are also required to attend lectures (basically very small and very specific courses), but we do not register for the course, and it is up to us to decide how many lectures to attend. They only meet for an hour a week (sometimes two). I've chosen five that I want to attend this term--three graduate lectures and two undergraduate lectures:
*Graduate seminar in Literary Theory
*Graduate Spanish research seminar (basically a forum for students to present works in progress)
*Graduate seminar in Feminist Theory
*Undergraduate seminar on the Quijote.
*Undergraduate seminar on Cervantes' novels other than the Quijote.

I might try to find some Theology lectures too. I don't know if I'll keep up with the feminist theory one, but I think it will be good for my PhD program.

So that's about it for now. Time to start the day.
Cheers!
Kait

Room with a view

Oh, hell yeah.

My room here overlooks a field, which was, until today, empty. But now, there is a delightful new change...

the men's rugby teams are practicing.

Well, there goes my concentration for the afternoon...

Go team go!

A story I've been meaning to tell you

I've been waiting to post this story, but I don't know why I keep forgetting to do it.

A few days after I arrived at the college, I was in town over at Cornmarket Street having lunch at McDonald's. I didn't have my Internet connection yet, so I paid £1 to use their Internet there for 30 minutes. So I got my sandwich (some kind of chicken sandwich they don't have in the US--not bad, but too much BBQ sauce), I sat down, and I ate while surfing the Internet.

I had about 12 minutes left, when all of a sudden, this guy sits down next to me. (The Internet seats are all in a row, like at a bar.) He was big and dirty and had horrible teeth. And he smelled awful. I was about to throw up. I wondered if he was homeless. Well anyway, he picks up my USED TISSUE that was on my tray and starts using it himself. I shut down the Internet as fast as I could (I didn't use up all my minutes), and got the hell out of there.

I know that story was gross, but I haven't been able to tell anyone yet. And now I did.
Cheers!
Kait

Oxford Observations, Round 1

Thoughts that have passed through my head on my first four days in England:

1.) Why is everyone so quiet here? Not that it’s a bad thing. Everyone is so polite. But it makes me feel like a big loud rude American. I’ve been saying, “I’m sorry?” quite a bit.
2.) What is the deal with foreigners and weird flavors of chips crisps? I’ve seen roast chicken, mature cheddar and onion, prawn cocktail, and honey roasted ham. But sour cream and onion? BBQ flavored? Noooo, sorry.
3.) Frosted Flakes are called “Frosties” o’er here.
4.) Buns are called baps.
5.) The city is much smaller than I expected. I keep running into people I met on the plane. And I ran into a girl who went to school in teeny old Connecticut, like I did. She happened to be on my tour.
6.) There are so many Americans here! 57% of the graduate students are foreigners, and of that number, 690 are Americans. And let’s not forget undergraduates and other expats as well.
7.) Certain British words make me giggle. Like “cheeky” and “saucy minx” and “jolly good” and “ice lollies.”
8.) Am I the only person majoring in literature over here?
9.) It is so weird to be in buildings that existed before the United States even existed.
10.) And it is even weirder to notice that the aforementioned buildings now house a Nokia store and a KFC.
11.) I can’t understand British English as well as I thought. But watching so many episodes of “Changing Rooms” and “Cash in the Attic” did help.
12.) “The Bill” rocks!!!
13.) Speaking of Bills, did you know that Bill Clinton “didn’t inhale” in Oxford?
14.) And the Australian prime minister broke a Guinness world record for drinking 2 ½ pints of beer in like 11 minutes.
15.) I really need to learn to look LEFT first when crossing the street.
16.) It is really weird to buy something that costs about $8 and be able to pay in nothing but coins.
17.) I *heart* the Body Shop. The Body Shop is a British invention, after all, and they do it soooo much better here than in the States.
18.) Speaking of which, why don’t we call it “the States” when we are in the States? Only foreigners call it that. And even though I am American, I never thought to call it anything else but “the States” while I have been here.
19.) Very few people own cars. Right now, I am staying on a street that doesn’t allow cars.
20.) And when people do have cars, they are teeny. Mini Coopers. Smart cars. Even the SUVs are kinda teeny. And no, there are no minivans, Lincoln Towncars, or pickup trucks.
21.) I’m glad I went overboard on packing clothes. I would NOT want to pay $100 for a pair of “on sale” pants here!!!
22.) But don’t be fooled—there are a few cool cheap places here.
23.) Yes, I’ve bought a purse already, for a very low £8. I expect it to fall apart next week.
24.) My umbrella fell apart the day I got here.
25.) Gas is about 93.9 pence a liter. I have no idea what that means. Would someone please do the math and get back to me?
26.) The news right now is all about how Kate Moss does cocaine and someone shouted the word “Bunk” at Tony Blair. Oh yeah, and the Rita floods. I can’t remember much else.
27.) I need to get used to walking an hour to get somewhere!!!

I think that’s it for now. More to come soon!
Cheers,
Kait