Aventures in Oxenford and Elleswher: A New Year, a New Semester, and the Beginning of the End

CMRS at St. Michael's Hall, Shoe Lane, Oxford.

Outside the door to our centre of study

Happy New Year and Happy Feast of the Epiphany!

I am thrilled to say that the CMRS Hilary (Spring) 2013 term is in full swing! Our group moved in on Thursday, January 3, and convened in the evening for a welcome session, pizza and beer social, and first pub outing.

Since I did not post regularly during Michaelmas (Fall) Term, I thought I'd share some photos from my arrival at CMRS:

View of my room at the top of the tower, aka the "penthouse suite"

View from the beds

The kitchen

Dining area and fridge lockers

The JCR, or Junior Common Room, our student lounge

My roommate, Samantha, originally from Minnesota, is majoring in Writing and Photography at a liberal arts college in Iowa. We unpacked right away, wanting to get settled before the first session.

Samantha and Victoria's room - view from beds

View from door

After our first session and the social, during which I met new students and reunited with the returning students from last term (Robin, Dima, Ben, and Paul), a group of us went to Tesco for our first round of groceries, and then headed out to a couple pubs. We decided to start the night at The Bear, one of my favorite pubs, partially because it was the first pub we went to at the start of last term. After, we went to the Turf Tavern, a popular destination of Oxford students, their families, and tourists. We rounded out the night at the Lamb and Flag, which a group of us frequented last term.

CMRS Autumn 2012 at The Bear

CMRS Spring 2013 at The Bear

On Friday, we had a few more orientation sessions (some of which were optional for returning students) and dinner in hall at Keble College, of which we are Associate Members. After dinner, a group of us dashed across St. Giles to the Eagle and Child for a pint, and later moved on to the King's Arms. We had our first lecture, an overview of our field trips for the semester, on Saturday morning, followed by our academic orientation session and returning student-led tours of Oxford.

At Tower Bridge, with the Tower of London off to my right.

I began my Sunday morning with my fellow FUS classmate Dan at the early morning Mass at Blackfriars. At 11AM, our group departed for our field trip to the Tower of London. I explored the Tower with my roommate, Samantha, and Dan. First, we viewed the Crown Jewels, and then stopped by Beauchamp Tower, which is one of my favorite places in the Tower. A number of famous and other prisoners were held in this tower, such as Saint Philip Howard, and some of them left wall carvings behind, both simple and intricate. We next traversed most of the Wall Walk, and finished at the White Tower, which contains displays of armor, weaponry, and wooden figures of the kings of England and their noble steeds. Before returning to the coach, we grabbed a bite to eat and a hot drink to keep us warm whilst walking by the Thames as the city lights were kindled.

Elaborate carving by John Dudley

Religious carving by Peverel, a Roman Catholic prisoner

My roommate, Samantha, and myself in front of Tower Bridge

Representing Franciscan University at CMRS

And so, the final semester of my undergraduate career begins. How quickly the years go by! Just a few years ago, I was moving in to my first college dorm room at Franciscan University: