i'm still here

It's amazing how quickly essay and exam time rolls around again. This week has been peppered with classes, presentations, fieldtrips to Rousham and Bath, and mad dashes to the library to snag a couple of hours of research time.

Research always leaves you in want of more, but time is restraining.

The essay I am working on right now is relating Bakhtin's theory of the dialogic imagination, that all forms of speech or writing implies a relationship between the speaker (or writer) and listener (or reader), with Jane Austen's use of letters in her novels, as remnants of the epistolary novel which was just dying out when she began writing.

I think it's interesting, but I've heard otherwise.

down and south

I have just spent a wonderful week with mom, traipsing about the English countryside with nothing but a little tourist map. The modes of transportation: trains, buses, steam trains, and foot. Most definitely the latter.

Saturday: train from Oxford to Bournemouth, bus from Bournemouth to Swanage. We stayed in a nice bed and breakfast in the heart of Swanage, as big as it is, and walked to the water in the evening to shake off the itches which come from traveling for some time.

Sunday: a huge breakfast, a quiet morning, a nice service at a local church, one steam train trip to Corfe Castle, one amazing and historic castle. William the Conqueror began building it shortly after his conquest in 1066. Since him, the castle has been added to throughout the centuries, and was finally destroyed by gunpowder in order to prevent people from taking refuge in it (as it is in a prime location for defense).

Monday: today, we walked from Corfe Castle to Lulworth in a very roundabout way, culminating in walking for about nine hours, most of it unnecessary. The sun was out, which truly contributed to our positive attitudes. The search for the best and cheapest place to stay continued our adventure: as Dutch people, we wanted the best deal, but the youth hostel was completely locked up, so we ended up staying in an inn with a delightfully cozy pub which served a satisfying Jamaican hot pot for dinner.

Tuesday: once again, sun! And a chance to see Lulworth in the light. From Lulworth, we walked to Wool in order to get to Lyme Regis by nightfall. The weather could not have been more beautiful; we ended up hiking around in tank-tops because the sun shone so brilliantly.

Wednesday: an early morning amble on the Cobb, once again followed by a hearty breakfast (I have never eaten such large breakfasts in that many consecutive mornings), a last walk about the town before making the long journey home to Charlbury.

Thursday: we had planned to visit Milton's cottage, but it involved a lot of planning and organization, so we went to Oxford to have a proper English tea instead with tea and sandwiches and scones and clotted cream and cake . . . We had walked off the calories on Monday.

Swanage

Corfe Castle

sheep and lambs

Lulworth Cove

Lyme Regis, home of the Cobb

It was truly amazing to see places which have been written about, places that have just been a dot on a tourist map. Time after time of feeling disappointed and thinking that all our plans have been ruined, God provided for us again and again.

This countryside is lovely and I have enjoyed my time here, but the prospect of going home is becoming a favourable one.

"austenacious"

Today was another of these absolutely glorious sunny days here in England, perfect for seeing the countryside and Jane Austen territory. To begin with, we were given a tour of a four hundred year old home which is still inhabited today and has the original thatched roofing. Things like this are so remarkable.

Then it was off to Steventon, where Jane Austen was born and grew up. The home is no longer there, but the church most definitely is.

the church in Steventon which the Austens attended

From Steventon, we went off to Chawton, where the Austens moved after their father died. It was in this house that Austen revised her works and prepared them for publication.

Jane Austen's writing desk

We made a very quick stop at Chawton House, just long enough to get the Reader's Digest tour of the house, and then bundled back on the bus to head back to Charlbury.

Chawton House, owned by Edward Austen

The 'food for a rambling fancy' album on the side contains more pictures from today.

a bit of brightening

Our trip to Blenheim Palace was postposed due to the poor weather last week. To make up for the disappointment, today was warm and delightfully sunny.

I wander'd lonely as a cloud

that floats on high o'er vales and hills,

when all at once I saw a crowd,

a host, of golden daffodils;

beside the lake, beneath the trees,

fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

and twinkle on the Milky Way,

they stretch'd in never-ending line

along the margin of a bay:

ten thousand saw I at a glance,

tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

a poet could not but be gay,

in such jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought

what wealth the show to me had brought:

for oft, when on my couch I lie

in vacant or in pensive mood,

they flash upon that inward eye

which is the bliss of solitude;

and then my heart with pleasure fills,

and dances with the daffodils.

- William Wordsworth

a wonderful time of the year

It's course selection time :)

This means trying to fit as many courses as possible into a single school year. Right?

all the king's horses and all the king's men

This is week 7.

Every Friday, Regent's Park College has Formal Hall, and part of this Oxford Programme is attending one of these formal dinners. This year, we were offered the opportunity to go twice. I chose the Bodleian over dinner last time around and couldn't find any alternative for this evening. It's not as negative as I make it seem.

The dining hall is dimly lit with candles and soft lighting. Guys are required to wear a suit and girls show up in their fancy attire. The three course meal includes a salad, a main course (this week of potatoes and pork tenderloin), and dessert (creme brulee for us). You feel as though you are at a fine restaurant with excellent service. And, of course, everyone is on their best behaviour (despite the wine they have brought in) and using their refined table manners.

Note: wearing a dress does wonders for your posture.

(the girls, minus one)

My favourite part of the evening: the sky is so clear tonight and you can see the stars, unobscured by either lights or smog. Yes, this country is beautiful.