No longer satisfied within the cozy confines of Pembroke College, Claire and I set out to explore two of the bigger and better known colleges at Oxford: Christ Church and Magdalen (pronounced MAUDlin- if you say Mag-da-len, no one will forgive you and you may be banned from conversation altogether).
We sauntered onto the grounds as if we were students of college and even received a friendly wave from one of the porters at Christ Church. Once you pass through the gate you are greeted with the above view. While gorgeous, it's a much more stark environment than the climbing rose gardens of Pembroke. In the short time I've been here, I've already managed to amass quite a bit of Pink and Blue pride.
We managed to find THE famed Harry Potter dining hall, and now I'm pretty excited to sign up to go eat there on some Saturday. Since Pembroke doesn't have hall on Saturday nights, we are allowed to dine in Christ Church every week if we so choose. Tomorrow Claire and I may test out our own culinary skills (We found an oven! In the very very very very posh staircase 8. The rest of us poor folk make do with microwaves), so we will have to save that adventure for another week. WINKWINK and NUDGE: I can bring guests to dine here!
I also finally managed to make it to my first Oxford Union debate last night on This House Believes that Western Liberal Countries Have a Moral Obligation to Spread Democracy to Other Countries, by Force if Necessary. It was SO intellectually exhausting. The debaters dress up in WHITE TIE (think tuxes and gowns people) and have a highly ritualized way of speaking and manner of addressing the house. I was sitting in the gallery literally on a windowsill to try and get high enough to see the floor, and the whole building is so old and creaky you'd think the chairs were rheumatic. My absolute favorite part is that when you leave, you vote on who won the debate by exiting either through the "Ayes" door, or the "Noes." I've never seen so many well-spoken people in my life. I feel so verbally-challenged.
We sauntered onto the grounds as if we were students of college and even received a friendly wave from one of the porters at Christ Church. Once you pass through the gate you are greeted with the above view. While gorgeous, it's a much more stark environment than the climbing rose gardens of Pembroke. In the short time I've been here, I've already managed to amass quite a bit of Pink and Blue pride.
We managed to find THE famed Harry Potter dining hall, and now I'm pretty excited to sign up to go eat there on some Saturday. Since Pembroke doesn't have hall on Saturday nights, we are allowed to dine in Christ Church every week if we so choose. Tomorrow Claire and I may test out our own culinary skills (We found an oven! In the very very very very posh staircase 8. The rest of us poor folk make do with microwaves), so we will have to save that adventure for another week. WINKWINK and NUDGE: I can bring guests to dine here!
I also finally managed to make it to my first Oxford Union debate last night on This House Believes that Western Liberal Countries Have a Moral Obligation to Spread Democracy to Other Countries, by Force if Necessary. It was SO intellectually exhausting. The debaters dress up in WHITE TIE (think tuxes and gowns people) and have a highly ritualized way of speaking and manner of addressing the house. I was sitting in the gallery literally on a windowsill to try and get high enough to see the floor, and the whole building is so old and creaky you'd think the chairs were rheumatic. My absolute favorite part is that when you leave, you vote on who won the debate by exiting either through the "Ayes" door, or the "Noes." I've never seen so many well-spoken people in my life. I feel so verbally-challenged.
by guests, do you mean me? i sure hope so.
ReplyDeleteI WOULD if you guys were coming when class was in session :( Sorrytown.
ReplyDelete