Class and Tartar Sauce Sandwich

We had our first class in Oxford today. It was held in one of the old classrooms at Brasenose college. We sat around a large table, alongside our professors, and discussed the first four of our old English poems. I felt so intellectual and important to be able to join in this conversation. In Oxford, learning is about having discussion, asking questions, sharing ideas, challenging viewpoints, and defining your own opinions. There is less emphasis on long lectures and unnecessary memorization. Learning is seen as a personal quest. While studying at Oxford, a traditional student is assigned a specific professor with whom they will attend tutorials. These tutorials are one-on-one meetings where the professor will discuss ideas, themes, and content with the students. It is a student’s responsibility to prepare for these tutorials, to answer questions thoughtfully, and to have questions of their own to ask the professor. I am excited to have the opportunity to experience this “tutorial approach” with our own WVU professors here at Oxford.
One of the things that has struck me the most about Oxford is the atmosphere of learning. Education does not just occur in the classroom from 9:00 to noon every morning. Instead, some of the most brilliant ideas are formed over a cup of tea or a pint of summer ale. The students here can’t help being academic: it flows in the culture of the city. Everywhere you look there is record of some greatness that was achieved in the past…I mean, one of the museums even has the blackboard on which Einstein solved the question of relativity!
I am so glad to be a part of this culture. Whether walking through the gardens that inspired Lewis Carroll, seeing the manuscripts in the Bodleian library, or watching a classically performed Shakespeare play, I know that I am going to learn more than I ever imagined.
At 10:30, class was interrupted by a lovely snack of tea and biscuit cookies. No crumpets yet, but I’ll keep you posted. :)
After class, I strolled down to high street to get some lunch. I love lunchtime in England! The English cafés are fabulous. The American paninis, baguettes, salads, and pastries simply do not compare to what you can find in Europe. For lunch, I had sundried tomato and fresh mozzarella on a crispy multigrain baguette, an apple, and a sparkling water all for £3.33. The only stipulation to this price is that you have to order it “take away”—if you want to eat in it’s another 75 pence. My sandwich was delicious; the only weird thing is that there was some type of sauce (which, regretfully, tasted exactly like tartar sauce) all over the top of the sandwich. I didn’t really care though, because the fresh bread and cheese were amazing.