Journal of a London Schoolgirl: October 2011

Friday, October 21, 2011

This is what I get to study....!

On Thursday I went to my first Jane Austen lecture. Apart form it being the first lecture I had with the beautiful Emma Watson (ten points from Gryffindor for coming in late!!) we got to read the first story that Jane Austen wrote as a very young girl. It was so sweet and simply and silly I just had to share it with you. This was written for and about Jane's older sister Cassandra. This is what I love about Oxford, the chance to read things that I didn't even know existed! It is such a joy to be here in this environment, I am excited to see the other things that will come up in the next six weeks of classes!

So, enjoy!

Volume the First

THE BEAUTIFULL CASSANDRA

A NOVEL IN TWELVE CHAPTERS

Dedicated by permission to Miss Austen.
Dedication:

MADAM

You are a Phoenix. Your taste is refined, your Sentiments are noble, & your Virtues innumerable. Your Person is lovely, your Figure, elegant, & your Form, magestic. Your Manners are polished, your Conversation is rational & your appearance singular. If, therefore, the following Tale will afford one moment's amusement to you, every wish will be gratified of

Your most obedient
humble servant

THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER THE FIRST

CASSANDRA was the Daughter & the only Daughter of a celebrated Millener in Bond Street. Her father was of noble Birth, being the near relation of the Dutchess of ----'s Butler.

CHAPTER THE 2d

WHEN Cassandra had attained her 16th year, she was lovely & amiable, & chancing to fall in love with an elegant Bonnet her Mother had just compleated, bespoke by the Countess of ----, she placed it on her gentle Head & walked from her Mother's shop to make her Fortune.

CHAPTER THE 3d

THE first person she met, was the Viscount of ----, a young Man, no less celebrated for his Accomplishments & Virtues, than for his Elegance & Beauty. She curtseyed & walked on.

CHAPTER THE 4th

SHE then proceeded to a Pastry-cook's, where she devoured six ices, refused to pay for them, knocked down the Pastry Cook & walked away.

CHAPTER THE 5th

SHE next ascended a Hackney Coach & ordered it to Hampstead, where she was no sooner arrived than she ordered the Coachman to turn round & drive her back again.

CHAPTER THE 6th

BEING returned to the same spot of the same Street she had set out from, the Coachman demanded his Pay.

CHAPTER THE 7th

SHE searched her pockets over again & again; but every search was unsuccessfull. No money could she find. The man grew peremptory. She placed her bonnet on his head & ran away.

CHAPTER THE 8th

THRO' many a street she then proceeded & met in none the least Adventure, till on turning a Corner of Bloomsbury Square, she met Maria.

CHAPTER THE 9th

CASSANDRA started & Maria seemed surprised; they trembled, blushed, turned pale & passed each other in a mutual silence.

CHAPTER THE 10th

CASSANDRA was next accosted by her freind the Widow, who squeezing out her little Head thro' her less window, asked her how she did? Cassandra curtseyed & went on.

CHAPTER THE 11th

A QUARTER of a mile brought her to her paternal roof in Bond Street, from which she had now been absent nearly 7 hours.

CHAPTER THE 12th

SHE entered it & was pressed to her Mother's bosom by that worthy Woman. Cassandra smiled & whispered to herself "This is a day well spent."

Hee hee, isn't she funny. Sorry for the English nerdiness, hopefully you all got through it without being too bored...

Now that I actually have a class with her, there could be more Emma Watson spottings to come! Keep your eyes open! ;)

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Rainy Day in London Town

This London weather is not loving me back...

So, I don't know if you can tell... but I am soaked! And yes that's a plastic bag wrapped around my poor laptop to keep it safe.

The day that I am home in the house with my book, a cup of tea and my pjs, it is a beautiful sunny day outside! But then today, in my cute little skirt and my tights... it pours down rain! I am freazing and have nothing more than a sweatshirt with me and my laptop in a cloth case. Ohh no.....
Luckily there was a sweet friend who let me borrow her rain coat and gave me that plastic bag for my laptop.
But then it got worse.... as soon as I got about half way home, the sun comes out. So in my sweatshirt and big coat, I have to climb the big old hill and I am sweating and panting all the way home.
Ohhhh goodness.... nothing a cup of tea and my Oxford sweatshirt can't fix.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Thoughts on "First Week"

I just finished my first week of term at Oxford.

*insert victory dance here*

Each week of the term is called by its number, so First, Second, Third week ect. So I just finished First Week! This means that this week began our real lectures, in gorgeous lecture theaters in gorgeous colleges, and our weekly one-on-one meetings with tutors. So my week looks a little like this; I go to only one or two lectures everyday, mostly on Victorian Literature and Women's Writings (I think they are trying to turn me into a feminist...), once a week I meet with a tutor to talk about Jane Austen for an hour (amazing, right?!) and every other week I meet with her to discuss C.S. Lewis (I know, I know!!). At each of these meetings I have an extensive reading list and a lengthy paper due, but that is it! No busy work, no tests or group projects. Its wonderful. And having a one-on-one meeting with a brilliant Oxford Professor not only ensures that you do the reading, but that you have you have thought about it and come prepared to say impressive and Oxford-y things about it. No pressure....
I love the way this system works though. I get the undivided attention of the professor and a chance to really push the limits on what I think about while I am reading. I get to ask hard questions and think about how to answer hard questions. I can already see how I will grow in confidence as an intellectual this term and I am excited to see what that means. One thing I have learned already though is that I have no desire to be a 'professional scholar'. All the intellectual conversations, all the time spent in the classroom and libraries, all the reading and writing, doesn't mean hardly anything if God is not in it. If God is not in the relationship, in the conversation, in the term paper, then what is the point. Don't get me wrong, I love school and I love learning. I love intellectual conversations and using the brain that I know God gave me for a reason. But there is something decidedly missing in the academic world. Even living in a house full of Christian students, I cannot help but notice that there is depth missing... I am still thinking about and rolling this idea around in my head and haven't quite put my finger on what this means for the academic world, but its important to me. I think God is showing me that the passion he has been growing in me in the last few years working in Residence Life at Jessup, I am so passionate about deep and meaningful relationships. Watching people grow and learn who they are and what they are passionate about. If the academic side of me is an open door into someone's heart then I will take it, but I am more interested in the heart than the brain.

The weeks are going by faster now, what with classes everyday and deadlines at the end of the week. In only eight weeks I will be home and getting ready to go into my last semester of college. I am so beyond thankful for this opportunity to travel, to study here in this amazing city, and I really don't want to seem ungrateful, but at the end of the day.... I would still rather be at home. I know that sounds terrible, but it is simply true. Its true, I am learning so much, getting so much out of this experience, and loving every moment of being an Oxford student, but when it all comes down to it, I miss my home. I miss family and friends, and especially my Jessup family that means so much to me, and very much so a special man who has been my strength while being separated from him for so long. I am really looking forward to all that this trip has to teach me, and for when I am home and can bring these stories to you all, and share with you what God did in my heart. Because I know for a fact that this trip is bigger than just my brain. So much more is going on, so much more on my mind. I can't wait to see what happens next...

Friday, October 14, 2011

Scotland!

So sorry that this took me forever to post! Life just got a little bit crazy... but here are the pictures from my trip to Scotland! I had a great trip. I loved the train ride, up along the coast on the Northern tip of England and Scotland, and it was a beautiful sunny day so I was able to enjoy the gorgeous countryside as I went through. I was blessed to stay with a wonderful family that I knew from back home who happened to be living and studying in Edinburgh for the same amount of time I am in England! I did end up coming home with a cold, but the city and all we did there was so worth it! Hope you enjoy the pictures my friends!