I hope you'll forgive the complete self-centeredness of this post. My goal for this blog, I think, is eventually to reflect on being an American in England, making generalizations and writing things of actual substance. But for now, I think there is a wide enough interested audience (ie, my mother) to justify a few posts just about my and my initial experiences.
My first day as a student at Exeter College, Oxford went quite well, although I must admit that it is bizarre to be at "freshers" week, doing the "Yea! I'm in college now" thing all over again. I felt socially awkward the first time.
The most exciting event of the day was probably buying my academic gown and dressing up to go see the head of the college, the Rector--photos will follow soon.
My favorite part, though, was finally getting to meet all of the other English students. It was nice to be able to discuss substantial things beyond, "What's your name?" and "What are studying?" It seems to be much easier for people with common interests to communicate, even about things outside of that shared field.
I had an interesting conversation tonight with a young man from (Old?) Jersey--which I have only just learned is NOT a part of England. After thirty minutes or so of conversation, he brought up abortion, an issue that makes clear fairly quickly that I am a conservative theist. He started to ask me, "Are you a Christian?" but stopped and checked himself before revising his question to, "Are your opinions shaped by religious beliefs?" Needless to say, I was amused by his British--but not English--diplomacy.
The conversation, though, was really refreshing. This young man really wanted to know why I believe, or perhaps how I can believe. And he actually listened to my answer, even though he is an atheist. I normally don't get to go very far into my, "I tried to be agnostic but found Christianity to be logically reasonable argument," before people begin to laugh. But this young man kept a very open mind. It was a far cry from GW to actually have a conversation from two opposite viewpoints rather than a shouting match.
I hope Oxford will be like that. I hope I am in an environment where the students at least are very willing to learn about new ideas. Of course, that means I must strive to be more of one myself.
Coming soon: pictures of Exeter, Oxford, and Alison in her academic gown!
My first day as a student at Exeter College, Oxford went quite well, although I must admit that it is bizarre to be at "freshers" week, doing the "Yea! I'm in college now" thing all over again. I felt socially awkward the first time.
The most exciting event of the day was probably buying my academic gown and dressing up to go see the head of the college, the Rector--photos will follow soon.
My favorite part, though, was finally getting to meet all of the other English students. It was nice to be able to discuss substantial things beyond, "What's your name?" and "What are studying?" It seems to be much easier for people with common interests to communicate, even about things outside of that shared field.
I had an interesting conversation tonight with a young man from (Old?) Jersey--which I have only just learned is NOT a part of England. After thirty minutes or so of conversation, he brought up abortion, an issue that makes clear fairly quickly that I am a conservative theist. He started to ask me, "Are you a Christian?" but stopped and checked himself before revising his question to, "Are your opinions shaped by religious beliefs?" Needless to say, I was amused by his British--but not English--diplomacy.
The conversation, though, was really refreshing. This young man really wanted to know why I believe, or perhaps how I can believe. And he actually listened to my answer, even though he is an atheist. I normally don't get to go very far into my, "I tried to be agnostic but found Christianity to be logically reasonable argument," before people begin to laugh. But this young man kept a very open mind. It was a far cry from GW to actually have a conversation from two opposite viewpoints rather than a shouting match.
I hope Oxford will be like that. I hope I am in an environment where the students at least are very willing to learn about new ideas. Of course, that means I must strive to be more of one myself.
Coming soon: pictures of Exeter, Oxford, and Alison in her academic gown!
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