our first day of school

Having fun isn't hard, when you've got a library card. Yes, we now have access to the famous Bodleian library. We had to swear an oath that we wouldn't damage the books or smoke in the rooms or set fire to the library etc etc etc. I had been instructed to read my oath in Latin. Unfortunately, since this is not my native language, I first had to read it in English, and then could reread it in Latin.

Quote of the day: Say hello to Duke Humphrey and his sexy Bod for me!

Sunday no. 1

My alarm clock this morning was the sound of birds and rain.

For the week, I am staying with the assistant coordinator, Gill, who has given me the attic which has been made into quite a cozy little room with windows, a very comfortable bed, and internet access - which I am thoroughly enjoying.

There are five different churches in Charlbury: Roman Catholic, Quaker, Methodist, Baptist, and Anglican. Once every few months or so, they have a combined service. This morning was one of these and was led in the Quaker style.

After the service, we were taken on a tour of Charlbury by Hugh. Thankfully, the rain had cleared up by this time and we even had sunny patches. The "important bits" of town can be seen in about an hour or so. Its status was upgraded from village years ago because it was given a charter that allowed it to hold a market. Although market is no longer held, its status has remained - a fact that the locals are very proud of.

Lunch was offered by members of the Baptist church - "headquarters" for us. Then we were all given our orders for the next couple of days with strict instructions to not miss the train tomorrow, for we're off to Oxford tomorrow.

We met at the co-op (the local grocery store) around five this evening in an attempt for us all to get our bearings and wander around town for a while. However, it was dark and raining, so after familiarizing ourself with the grocer, we went our separate ways for the evening.

I was introduced to "Lark Rise to Candleford" this evening - a BBC production. I have heard several stories about the show, every one a rave review and my sentiments are now added to the collection.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures yet, but hopefully soon.

jetlag

Fun times. The flight was delayed by half an hour (once we were all on board), and then met turbulence before arriving at Heathrow Airport. The fun part: getting off, through customs, baggage claim and on my way to the underground train which runs between terminals in about twenty minutes. (This is apparently unheard of.) The last person to arrive was also delayed, which meant the rest of us were an interesting bunch of characters. Needless to say, we've all been that way today. A bus was waiting to pick all of us up from the terminal and brought us down the sloping, winding roads to Charlbury. Which, by the way, is charming. Think James Herriot territory with sheep and moss growing on the roofs ...

Total hours awake (minus a doze on the plane and the bus): 31. I think. The math may be a little off.

But the people here are lovely. As are the accents.

And the prospect of sleep.

the first step to overseas

I'm sitting at the airport right outside my gate. The airport offers the wonderful service of wireless internet - quite a lovely feature.

I've said my last goodbyes to friends, teachers, family and loved ones; the suitcase was packed, found to be overweight, and thus repacked into two; the last minute stuff is checked off; I've already forgotten an item and successfully retrieved it (sets a good precedence, doesn't it?); the bag has been checked twice; no sensors went off passing through the gate (oh good); and now I sit with strangers who are either going to England as well or using it as a jumping board to another destination.

1 hour to take off.

how to become popular

(At church that is.)

Option 1:

Become engaged. I am speaking personally by living vicariously through a friend.

Option 2:

Decide to move away for three and a half months.

a time for everything

A time for beards, and a time for shaving them (for Joel, that is; he came home with one as per request); a time for saying hello, and a time for saying goodbye; a time for quiet, and a time for visiting; a time to be home, and a time to start packing ...

Joel and I were able to spend almost all of the Christmas holidays together - minus the last minute shopping, and dentist appointments, and those exams and studying for them. I wrote my last exams at Redeemer until December 2011. School would be starting on Wednesday, but I will be cleaning up the chaos that is reigning in my room so as to stop living out of a suitcase :)

Handel's Messiah at Roy Thomson Hall, exciting announcements by friends (an engagement and a pregnancy), catching up with good friends, spending quality time with family and each other - yes, it's been a wonderful holiday.

It's been an incredible year with the next one already laid out with some of its plans and fears and anticipations.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Last week, our theory assignment was to create a Christmas song based on the words by Christina Rosetti. Little did I know that this idea is a part of the "been there, done that" category. So here is "Love Came Down at Christmas" by Jars of Clay. It's strange to hear it, after having drummed my own melody into my head.

Love came down at Christmas,

love all lovely, love divine;

love was born at Christmas:

star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,

love incarnate, love divine;

worship we our Jesus,

but wherewith the sacred sign?

Love shall be our token;

love be yours and love be mine,

Love to God and to all men,

love for plea and gift and sign.

racing towards the finish line

for the literary folks:

In modern linguistic terms, the story of the Incarnation is the story of how the Transcendental Signified became a lowly signifier while continuing to be a signified.

The project for this weekend is an essay on C. S. Lewis and how his sense of morality influenced his writing.

One of the strengths of Lewis’ writings is that he gives us such an exciting picture of what goodness looks like. His fiction is filled with characters who demonstrate that being virtuous is not a weak characteristic in a personality, but rather one of strength, courage, honour, and power. Lewis gives us pictures of good which fascinate and draw us, awakening within us the hope that we too can rise above our instincts and limitations and do the right thing. Virtue is the ability and power to choose good, which arises from a transformation of our hearts and minds.

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this world keeps spinning faster

It's amazing how much our lives are caught up in technology.

This evening I gave a presentation on different locations in England used in the Harry Potter films. I had hoped to connect my laptop to the projector system, so that all the work I had done to the PowerPoint presentation would work, but something didn't connect properly. Unfortunately, having embedded the videos into the slideshow meant that they did not transfer over to the other computer at our disposal.

Strike one.

I love having an internet connection - enables me to stay in contact with those who are able to keep me sane in moments of panic which seem to strike at any given moment without any due notice.

Strike two?

More and more, I am realizing how important transportation is in this day in age. Not having that method of getting from point A to point B is severely limiting.

Strike three.

The moral: either you have to learn to be completely independent and rely on your feet in order to get you anywhere or you have to learn humility and dependence upon others.