Week 3 Drawing to a Close

It is now Thursday of week 3. Only 5 more weeks to go! Yesterday went pretty well with my tutor. She said I had shown improvement from the week before, but I still got the feeling that it wasn't all that great. She made it seem like it was much better but once we sat down and started talking about it I got the impression that it really wasn't all that much better. But I guess some improvement is better than nothing!

I finally got my package yesterday...at 7:45AM. I ran downstairs to get the door and then I went to the kitchen to open it and put the "steak" in the freezer. For those of you who don't know my dad told me that he had sent 2 steaks. I thought this was a bit of an odd thing to do since I am so far away. So when I got the package I opened it immediately and put the "steaks" in the freezer. After going back to bed, I woke up and went downstairs to eat breakfast. I decided I should check on the steaks to make sure they weren't spoiled. What I hadn't bother to think of at 7:45 was how were the steaks kept cold if they were simply in a cardboard box. So I took the box out of the freezer and opened it to find santa snacks! I had been dooped... way to go Dad!

I got some great things in my package from home: Halloween candies, 2 wedding magazines (with pages folded down my mother and sister so I know what to look at), my wedding planner from theknot.com and some lovely cards! (and of course the Santa snacks mentioned above) Hopefully I will get this essay done early today and I will be able to do some wedding research/ planning :) Planning and plotting things out really gives me something to look forward to while I'm here. I can't wait to get home and start planning with my family!

This week has gone by pretty quickly and I'm somewhat thankful for that. I don't want to rush my time here but at the same time with each week I feel that I am accomplishing something. Today I have to finish my essay on fascism for tomorrow's tutorial. I only have my Wednesday tutorial next week so it will be nice to have a break from writing 2 essays per week. But knowing myself I will probably try to get ahead and write 2 essays next week anyways. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the beautiful fall foliage, I hear it's quite vibrant this year! Until next time!

Friday

Friday, at last! Today wasn't a bad day.. I had my tutorial this morning which went well, as my Friday tutorial usually does. I went to the library and returned my old books and checked out new ones for this weeks readings. I studied for a while in the library and then went back home. Two of my housemates and I decided to go to the ice cream shop down the road called G & D's, they are apparently quite famous to Oxford. Anyways, on the way there are a few shops and so we decided to stop in at a few. The last stop was in a store named Sylvester that contained a bunch of odd knick-knacks and trinkets. They had a line of piggy banks on the wall to your immediate right as you enter the store. Sitting there on the first shelf was a white brush painted piggy bank with "Wedding Fund" scrawled on the front in silver... I had to buy it! There is a little story that comes with it and so I will type it for you:

Original Terramundia Money Pots

History
This is an 'etruscan money amphora'- these money pots have been traditionally used in Italy for over 2,000 years and their hand thrown design has remained unchanged. Examples of which can be seen in the British Museum.

Tradition
Once the first coin is dropped the money pot must be fed until full; uponwhich it must be smashed whilst making a wish. It is customary to replace the pot and to spend the money on good things. Broken pots are sometimes used to house plants and candles. Money pots bring good fortune. There is a fortune coin inside the pot and a separate date and desire card to insert when you begin saving.

I love this pot! You have to actually smash it in order to get the money back out so there is no cheating!! It's great! I'm not sure when we will smash it open, Dad had the idea of doing it at the reception but we will see!! I am adding to the money pot right now: US $70.61.. it's the money I had left over when I come here :) And so the savings begin!

Perseverance

What a title for today..Yet again I find myself questioning why I am here. The tutorial today was, as it was last week, dreadful. I feel so inept and so out of place when I am talking to this tutor. She is clearly brilliant and already knows everything there is to know about jurisprudence. I have a hard enough time wrapping my mind around the readings. My latest paper looked like a pen bled to death all over it. "I don't think you should use the word method here; what do you mean by the word it?" I am struggling with this course. I feel so out of my element and like I have no clue what's going on I'm embarrassed. I'm going to try to talk to the tutor about it but I'm just embarrassed. She asked if I wanted grades after each essay to which I stupidly answered yes. I probably should have just waited until the end of term. I guess I'm just going to have to work and work until I get better... or just work and nothing changes. :sigh: I'm really having a difficult time with this class and I'm not sure how to make it better.

Week 2

Here it is Tuesday, I'm not sure if I think this week is going quickly or slowly. I completed my Wednesday paper on Sunday so I took a bit of Monday off to just relax and go shopping. Today I have to just add some finish touches to it and send it in by 5PM. I'm  going to start my paper for Friday and hopefully finish it tomorrow.

The program director came to visit all the houses this morning so I had to get up early. He basically just walked through the house and checked all the rooms out and then gave us a roster with everyone's phone number and such on it. Then said that we have some field trips to attend if we want, they aren't required. There is one every 2 weeks it looks like, so depending on my workload I might go to one or two. I really want to go to the Bath and Stonehenge one, but the Stonehenge part hasn't been confirmed. The trips are on Saturdays and last from 9AM to 7PM, so that is the only reason I'm hesitant on doing it. I usually use Saturday's to get ahead on my work and I don't want to go on a trip and lose an entire day of reading and writing. But I guess we will see. The first week of November (what we call 4th week) I only have one tutorial meeting on Wednesday so maybe I can get ahead with that tutorial.

Hope everyone is doing well! Things are still hectic and busy here, and I'm sure it's not going to let up. Only 46 days until home!!

First Week is over

Well here it is Saturday and First Week is over. I guess it didn't go too badly. My first tutorial was pretty rough as I outlined in my previous post, but the second one went pretty well. He gave me an A- which is apparently a good place to be starting at with your first essay. He just told me to be a bit more sophisticated in my writing so I will work on that this week.

Right now I'm reading and taking notes for my Wednesday tutorial: Who is stung by the semantic sting? Essentially it refers to the book I read last week and the idea that legal philosophers believe that lawyers all follow certain linguistic criteria for judging propositions of law. Basically there is this idea that all lawyers must follow the same basic criteria for finding the truth of propositions of law. It's still pretty confusing.

I think some of my roommates and I are going to a ghost tour tonight, either that or a movie. I must confess I am extremely homesick today. I keep trying to tell myself that there are only 7 more Saturdays until I come home but it only helps a little. I just want to be in a place that is familiar. I'm trying not to dwell on it and just get things done but I'm finding it quite the challenge. Well back to reading I suppose!

1 Down 1 To Go

Well my first official tutorial session was yesterday... I wanted to cry halfway through it. I basically sat there and read my paper and she would stop me every few sentences. That wasn't the bad part it's just hard when someone tells you that you can't use certain words because they are "too philosophically charged." It's not her fault these words are this way, it's just hard to be so precise! I have a lot to learn and a lot to work on for my next session.

I have a different session tomorrow morning, that one will be on Marxism. I'm halfway through writing that paper and have a couple more pages to go. I feel confident on this one; the concept is not as abstract as my previous paper.

I must send apologies to JP! It says you commented on one of my posts on Oct. 1. However, when I log-in to write new posts it never told me that I had comments! So sorry! I appreciate everyone that takes the time to read my blog during their busy lives.

Wedding info: Upon receipt of guest lists from both my family and Elliot's family the guest list has grown to 144. I'm sure that not every person will be able to attend, but I feel that there may be a few more to add to the list so this is by no means a final number (although we are trying to keep it below 150). I should be receiving a wedding planning book that I bought from my favorite site (www.theknot.com). It has proven to be quite the helpful resource!

As always, I hope this blog finds you and yours well. I am awaiting confirmation of my return flight for December 5th. If that date holds that means I will be home in 51 days! Wooo hoo!! See you all sooner than you think!

Essay Writing, Footballing, & Wedding Planning

Here it is Sunday already, the last week seems to have gone by so slowly! Trials for football were yesterday and today. It went well yesterday, though I must confess I am a bit sore. I realized how much I truly do miss football (soccer). They have 2 teams here one is called the blues (they are the best team) and the furies (which is the 2nd team). After today we should hear about which team we made. I'm kind of worried though because they already have a game planned for Wednesday and I have to meet my tutor so I will miss the first match, if I make either team.

I'm still working on my first essay, I'm halfway done but it is harder than I thought it would be. This topic is so abstract and out there that it's really hard to get your mind around the full concept. I have to start my other essay/readings tomorrow so I can have it done for Friday. The second tutor said that my first topic was quite a challenge but I could do it... Couldn't we have started with something a little less challenging for my first essay???

On a good note, we have selected a venue for the ceremony and the reception! On October 17,2010 Elliot and I will be wed at the Dominion Club in Glen Allen, VA! I am so excited! The place is beautiful inside and out!!! I'm so thankful to have such great parents here to help me through this process. That will be all for now, got to get working! Have a great rest of the weekend and a good start to the work week!

Tutorials...The End of my Social Life

Today I met with my last tutor. She is so cute and friendly! She can't be too much older than me and she is still a student studying jurisprudence. She had a binder just for me, which was awesome! I love organized people! I have quite a bit of work to do already for my 2 tutorials. For contemporary political thought I have a list of about 20 readings. My tutor for that is Dr. Martin Holmes. He has quite an extensive background and speaks at many different universities. Here is a short bio from www.brugesgroup.com:

Dr Martin Holmes is well known as a leading Oxford University academic specialisng in political economy. In October 1987 he was appinted Senior Visiting Research Fellow at Mansfield College, Oxford, where he has subsequently been Director of the College of Business Administration (UNL) Programme since 1989. In October 1993 he was also appointed as Lecturer in Politics at St Hugh's College, Oxford. He is the author of numerous books on British political economy.

My second tutor I couldn't find a bio for, Raquel Van Der Wijk. She is just about the cutest thing ever and she's so friendly! She seems ultra-organized, which is soooo good! I really look forward to working with her!

At 2PM I am meeting to get my Bodleian Library! I am so excited! This library has over 9 million books and an underground carting system! It gets a copy of every book published in the UK! It is awesome and I can't wait to use it! I'm also getting a tour of my college (New College) library after the Bodleian. I will probably hunker down there for the evening to start on some studying.

I hope this was good enough update for now! I will try to keep you posted during the course of the term, but I make no promises. My workload is growing by the second.. haha! But in all honesty, I will do my best to update at the very least once a week. Hope everyone is well back home!

Feeling Better

Well it is finally Sunday. I was a bit under the weather yesterday. I'm feeling a little better today, still a little nauseous but not as bad as yesterday. This is going to be a busy week. Monday I have my first meeting with a tutor around noon, then I am taking a tour of the Union and finally I have a formal dinner with OPUS. Tuesday is pretty much open and then Wednesday I have my other tutorial meeting and then I have a meeting to get my Bod Library card and then a tour of New College library later on. My primary tutorial is Philosophy of Law and then my secondary is Contemporary Political Thought. I'm excited and nervous at the same time, but I'm definitely ready to get started.

Mom and Dad went to visit a venue yesterday and Dad seems to really like it. Based on what I've heard from them and the pictures on the site I'm happy with it. My biggest concern is that if it rains the ceremony would be held in a conference room and I'm not sure how that would work out. But we will see! Hope everyone is doing well! Have a good week!