"Normal"

Yesterday I was talking to a friend and she asked what I intended to do that day and I replied, "Oh, nothing much. Just spending some time in the library. It's a pretty normal day."

Things I had just labelled normal with that sentence:
- Working in the Radcliffe Camera - an iconic building in the University of Oxford
- The fact that I probably ran into people of four or five nationalities that day. Probably more, if you include people I didn't speak to or hear talking. Many people I run into here are not British, which is just a tad different from George Fox.
- The cars are all on the left side of the road
- I understand Celius without having to math in my head everytime
- I successfully found my way to and from my home, the library, and the exam schools
- Within the library I can find almost any book I need without too much confusion
- Tea, tea, and more tea.

All of these are things that I would have taken note of just a week ago, now they are "normal," whatever that means. Guess I must be settling in ok. Fancy that!

Tugging at My Heartstrings

Many of you know about my irrational love for Latvia developed by a semester attempting to follow its current events. I truly enjoyed learning about this tiny country and its rather complicated history, as well as its complex current political situation. No one knows anything about Latvia and it was fun learning about a different culture.

Now I have spent a week learning about postwar Poland from 1943-1956. Again, I feel an irrational respect and love for this country. Yesterday I almost convinced myself I need to learn Polish and translate Polish literature into English for my career.

This is interesting to me because few countries have the ability to capture my interest like this. I have found the history of Latin American fascinating and I liked learning about Italy last week, but Eastern Europe just has an ability to capture my attention.

I think its because it has the ability to tug on my heart. Each country in that region is considered a little backward by the rest of Europe, but they have a rich cultural history that few actually try to see. The affects of Soviet occupation and before that the Nazi invasions have left scars on each individual nation, but they still retain their identity in various ways. Whether its through preserving the language or through writing literature that captures the time, Eastern European nations are able to create a national culture that I admire.

Am I romanticizing? Yes. But that’s not completely all. I see problems of economic instability and hyper-nationalism that seem to plague much of the region, but still. I like learning about it, though I hardly have scratched the surface.

Church

I wasn't intending to get particularly plugged into a church here, since I'm leaving so soon and all. But I found this lovely little church just a 5 minute bike ride away. It reminds me of Lake Samm back home and also of the Vineyard my parents used to go to when I was tiny. The bit of home is nice. Though they all speak British, the songs are often the same. I'm not sure how involved I will be, but it's a nice little church and I am thrilled to have found it.

Here's the website for Oxford Vineyard if you want to check it out:
http://www.ovc.uk.com/Groups/71673/Oxford_Vineyard.aspx

Stupidity

Being in a new country means being an idiot. This week I have:

- Pulled on push doors and walked away deciding they were locked
- Slept through my alarm
- Started going up a street, only to realize I was headed the wrong way
- Ran my knee into a pole while on my bike (luckily not hurting my bike)
- Introduced myself to people who don't actually go to the college/church I am attending. It's awkward.
- Taken forever at the grocercy store because I have no idea what to buy, then hold people up as I attempt to use self-check out
- Almost stepped on a bird, then informed it of its impoliteness (though... I guess this is my normal behavior)

Those are just a few stories from the last few days. While its depressing to constantly be feeling a little out of place, I'm learning to laugh at myself and that is a wonderfully good thing.

Tutorials

This week I had my first real tutorial, complete with paper and one-on-one discussion as well as a preterm meeting with my Crusades tutor.

The real tutorial, my Cold War one, went well. The tutor did not seem either impressed or disappointed with my work, which I will happily take. She is a very nice lady who is understanding of the fact that I have never studied these topics before this week. I think I am getting quite a bit of grace from her and I am so grateful for that. She is also wicked smart and knows something about everything, making me feel like an idiot. It is a privilege to be learning from her and I believe I will come home with solid understanding of my topics.

My preterm meeting went rather less well. I meant to leave at 8:00 for the 9:00 meeting as I had never been to this location and I wanted to leave time for getting lost. But apparently didn't set my alarm, so I woke up at 8:30, rushed out the door by 8:35, and miraculously found Jesus College by 8:55. However, by now I was so flustered that I had trouble completing sentences and was generally feeling inarticulate. So, anyway, I meet my tutor and he leads me into a 17th century library that is grougeous. I just wanted to stay for hours. He proceeds to inform me that being in Oxford is a privilegde, and he is going to tear my papers apart in order to help me become a better scholar. Ha. Ha. Not intimidating at all...

So those were my tutorials. Both will teach me a lot, and both tutors are incredibly skilled. Academically, I couldn't be in a better place.

Snow!

There has been snow on the ground for the past few days. It is a beautiful, soft, quiet nuisance. I have to leave my bike at home and walk everywhere. Which gives me time for thinking and talking to friends, but still. I miss my bike. Who knew I would love it so much?

Also, the Brits have the same feelings towards snow as Portlanders and Seattlites. A couple inches of snow sends them into a slightly delight, but shocked, tailspin and everything tries to shut down. It reminds me of home, especially when people ask if I get snow at home and I need to explain that we have the same reaction as they do.

Birds

This, my friends, is a white wagtail. In addition to having a terribly silly name and being very pretty, it also happens to be the national bird of Latvia! Seeing one is almost as good as visiting the country itself, so when one flew across my path today, I was just a tad excited.

http://www.birdinginmalta.com/species/wwagtail3.jpg