After church this morning, I headed off to the library. I've been here for about four hours now, and I'm planning to put in about another hour, with another several hours (potentially up to eight) tomorrow. There is a whole lot of reading involved in my MA program, which means that I'll be spending a lot of time in the library. I know my fellow (post)grads feel my pain, but just to give everyone else an idea, here's an excerpt from my diary for Tuesday:
9-11: Library
11-13: Class
13-14: Lunch
14-20: Library
20-22: Archery
Incidentally, a "diary" is an appointment book in British English, not to be confused with something that teenage girls write in about boys they like (which it would be in American English).
Hopefully, I'll improve at both history and archery!
Sunday, 12 October 2008
Saturday, 11 October 2008
The Merchant's Tale
For anyone looking for a discussion of Chaucer, you can stop reading now. "The Merchant's Tale" is actually the title of one of the Exeter tours, about, appropriately, wool merchants. Amanda and I went on it this afternoon. Amanda loved it; I thought it was okay, but not great.
The tour began, as so many do, at the Cathedral Square. From there we wandered slowly across town to the quay, which is where our tour ended. After the tour ended, we spent about two hours exploring around the quay, and eating a late lunch at the Riverside Cafe, a lovely place by the River Exe. We also got some great pictures of some swans, ducks, and other birds, who live along the quay.
Before we went on our tour, we went to Curry's Digital to purchase a replacement for my dearly departed Cloudbook. I now have an Advent Netbook, which is similar to the Cloudbook, but is slightly larger (but the same weight) and has better specs. This is my first blog entry to be typed on my new netbook, so if there are any typos, I blame it!
The pastor from South Street Baptist Church came by this evening; we talked with him for about an hour. We got a lot of good information from him, and discovered that British Baptist churches tend to be a lot more liberal than their Southern Baptist counterparts. Ordination of women? The British have been doing it for over 70 years. Women as decons? No problem. We approved.
Overall, it was a fairly quiet day. In good news, I've finally found a discount brand of cola that I can live with. Tesco's store brand (44p) is actually quite good, plus it definitely beats paying £1.49 for Coke or Pepsi. I haven't tried the sugar free store brand (18p), but I expect that it will be more bitter than I'd like because of the artificial sweetener. Also, Tesco's store brand of apple juice is better than that at Sainsbury. Overall, Tesco seems to have very good store brands; I've liked everything of theirs that I've tried, although I wasn't a great fan of their orange juice.
The tour began, as so many do, at the Cathedral Square. From there we wandered slowly across town to the quay, which is where our tour ended. After the tour ended, we spent about two hours exploring around the quay, and eating a late lunch at the Riverside Cafe, a lovely place by the River Exe. We also got some great pictures of some swans, ducks, and other birds, who live along the quay.
Before we went on our tour, we went to Curry's Digital to purchase a replacement for my dearly departed Cloudbook. I now have an Advent Netbook, which is similar to the Cloudbook, but is slightly larger (but the same weight) and has better specs. This is my first blog entry to be typed on my new netbook, so if there are any typos, I blame it!
The pastor from South Street Baptist Church came by this evening; we talked with him for about an hour. We got a lot of good information from him, and discovered that British Baptist churches tend to be a lot more liberal than their Southern Baptist counterparts. Ordination of women? The British have been doing it for over 70 years. Women as decons? No problem. We approved.
Overall, it was a fairly quiet day. In good news, I've finally found a discount brand of cola that I can live with. Tesco's store brand (44p) is actually quite good, plus it definitely beats paying £1.49 for Coke or Pepsi. I haven't tried the sugar free store brand (18p), but I expect that it will be more bitter than I'd like because of the artificial sweetener. Also, Tesco's store brand of apple juice is better than that at Sainsbury. Overall, Tesco seems to have very good store brands; I've liked everything of theirs that I've tried, although I wasn't a great fan of their orange juice.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Archers, Ho!
Today was a day full of firsts. It was also a very full day in general.
My first event began at 7:20 this morning, when I attended my first meeting of the Exeter Southernhay Rotary Club. We had a nice breakfast, with a talk from the head of the Exeter Planning Commission. I now see where Northport (AL) got their philosophy on urban development.
As the saying goes, getting there was half the fun: It poured down rain on me the whole way to the meeting, and again from the meeting to the university. I was thoroughly soaked when I got to the meeting, and even more waterlogged when I reached the university. Ultimately, I reached the conclusion that my shirt was drenched to the point that I had to change. Luckily, I had another shirt in my backpack, wrapped in plastic. No, this wasn't excellent forethought on my part (that would have been using a raincoat and pack cover), it was just the rugby shirt that I bought yesterday.
At 11, my first postgraduate class began. Although not my favorite period, British Naval Power in the Era of Sail looks to be very promising. The reading list is a bit daunting, but should be manageable once I am able to lay hands on all the books.
Much of the afternoon was spend studying and running errands. However, my favorite part of the day did not come until 8 pm, when I went to my first meeting of the University of Exeter Archery Club. I hadn't used a bow in about ten years, so I was badly out of practice, but that didn't matter, as most of my fellow archers were complete beginners. I was assigned to "Fat Grouchy Rob" for training. Rob, to my mind, is neither fat nor grouchy, but I suppose he is both by British standards. Also in my group were Mark, John, Dave, and Holly, making us a group of widely varied experience. We had one aspiring stuntman (currently a drama undergrad), an aspiring competitive archer (who has his own bow and shoots for hours on end when he needs to think about something), and several of us who couldn't seem to get our grips right (although I think I've finally got it). The Archery Club is a very international group, with students from Britain, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, the US, China, and Japan, just to name a few.
I'm very glad to be getting settled into an academic, and for the first time in years athletic, routine. I am signed up for a Rifle Club taster session tomorrow night, which I think will be fun. I'd like to do Rifle Club as well as Archery, but the two conflict, and there is no way that I'm giving up Archery, not least because I've already paid the membership fee! I also can't wait to get the Archery Club attire. What's not to love about a polo with the University crest, "University of Exeter," and "Archery Club 2008-2009" stictched on it?
My first event began at 7:20 this morning, when I attended my first meeting of the Exeter Southernhay Rotary Club. We had a nice breakfast, with a talk from the head of the Exeter Planning Commission. I now see where Northport (AL) got their philosophy on urban development.
As the saying goes, getting there was half the fun: It poured down rain on me the whole way to the meeting, and again from the meeting to the university. I was thoroughly soaked when I got to the meeting, and even more waterlogged when I reached the university. Ultimately, I reached the conclusion that my shirt was drenched to the point that I had to change. Luckily, I had another shirt in my backpack, wrapped in plastic. No, this wasn't excellent forethought on my part (that would have been using a raincoat and pack cover), it was just the rugby shirt that I bought yesterday.
At 11, my first postgraduate class began. Although not my favorite period, British Naval Power in the Era of Sail looks to be very promising. The reading list is a bit daunting, but should be manageable once I am able to lay hands on all the books.
Much of the afternoon was spend studying and running errands. However, my favorite part of the day did not come until 8 pm, when I went to my first meeting of the University of Exeter Archery Club. I hadn't used a bow in about ten years, so I was badly out of practice, but that didn't matter, as most of my fellow archers were complete beginners. I was assigned to "Fat Grouchy Rob" for training. Rob, to my mind, is neither fat nor grouchy, but I suppose he is both by British standards. Also in my group were Mark, John, Dave, and Holly, making us a group of widely varied experience. We had one aspiring stuntman (currently a drama undergrad), an aspiring competitive archer (who has his own bow and shoots for hours on end when he needs to think about something), and several of us who couldn't seem to get our grips right (although I think I've finally got it). The Archery Club is a very international group, with students from Britain, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, the US, China, and Japan, just to name a few.
I'm very glad to be getting settled into an academic, and for the first time in years athletic, routine. I am signed up for a Rifle Club taster session tomorrow night, which I think will be fun. I'd like to do Rifle Club as well as Archery, but the two conflict, and there is no way that I'm giving up Archery, not least because I've already paid the membership fee! I also can't wait to get the Archery Club attire. What's not to love about a polo with the University crest, "University of Exeter," and "Archery Club 2008-2009" stictched on it?
Sunday, 5 October 2008
The Squash
Today marked the Main Event of Welcome Week: The Freshers Squash. It's a concept that I'm familiar with from my days at UA, but it was called "Get on Board Day" there, and was held outdoors. The Squash is, if anything, a bigger, more disorganized, indoor version of Get on Board Day.
For those not familiar with the concept, pretty much every organization on campus sets up a table in a designated area, and the new students walk around and each group tries to woo them into joining. Several organizations caught my eye as being unusual, such as the Socialist Student Society and the Wild Society (an animal rights group). Also present were several banks, the Officer Traning Corps from the British Army, and Dominos and Pizza Hut, which were giving away free pizza (which was much appreciated). I ended up joining the Evangelical Christian Union (ECU), History Society, Archery Club, and Tae Kwon Do Club. Apparently, anything athletics-related is called "club," and everything else is a "society." I'll be getting the obligatory t-shirts, hoodies, and polo/rugby shirts for each group, but that will come later in the year.
I also stopped by the Student Guild's shop, where I purchased a rugby shirt. Unfortunately, the one I bought is too small, so I'm going to have to return it tomorrow and get the next bigger size. It's kind of depressing that even though I've lost weight since I got here, I've moved from being a Large to an Extra Large. Oh well, I guess it could be worse; the sizes could be in metric.
For those not familiar with the concept, pretty much every organization on campus sets up a table in a designated area, and the new students walk around and each group tries to woo them into joining. Several organizations caught my eye as being unusual, such as the Socialist Student Society and the Wild Society (an animal rights group). Also present were several banks, the Officer Traning Corps from the British Army, and Dominos and Pizza Hut, which were giving away free pizza (which was much appreciated). I ended up joining the Evangelical Christian Union (ECU), History Society, Archery Club, and Tae Kwon Do Club. Apparently, anything athletics-related is called "club," and everything else is a "society." I'll be getting the obligatory t-shirts, hoodies, and polo/rugby shirts for each group, but that will come later in the year.
I also stopped by the Student Guild's shop, where I purchased a rugby shirt. Unfortunately, the one I bought is too small, so I'm going to have to return it tomorrow and get the next bigger size. It's kind of depressing that even though I've lost weight since I got here, I've moved from being a Large to an Extra Large. Oh well, I guess it could be worse; the sizes could be in metric.
Saturday, 4 October 2008
Exeter Old & New
Today, we took our first Red Coat Guided Tour. By Red Coat, we are not discussing the 18th century British Army, but rather the Exeter tour guides, who wear red jackets to make them easy to spot when you're walking in a crowded area. The Exeter Old & New Tour follows the history of Exeter from Roman times to today, a bit over 2,000 years of history.
The Romans first came to Exeter shortly before the birth of Christ. They established a fort, which was encircled by a city wall by the second century AD. Much of this wall (over 70%) still stands today. Around 1070, the Norman Conquest came to Exeter (home of the late King Harold Godwinson's mother), and a number of castles were built in the area to guard against invasion and rebellion. The ruins of some of these remain.
The cathedral was built around 1150. More precisely, the second cathedral was built on the site of the old Saxon cathedral, which had been built around 1050. The third Bishop of Exeter was not satisfied with this, and in 1250 he had the cathedral reduced to its foundations and rebuilt in the then-modern Gothic style, which allowed much larger windows, and larger roof spans. The two Norman towers remained untouched, giving the cathedral a distinctive appearance. (What is it about towns we've lived in having odd cathedrals? Worms has a Romanesque-Gothic cathedral, and Exeter has a Norman-Gothic cathedral. What's next?)
From the cathedral square, we walked through a good bit of town, including the Northernhay Gardens (a lovely area with lots of flowers that runs along part of the city wall) and the Princesshay Shopping Center. Princesshay was originally opened in the 1950s, but was recently completely redeveloped, a common theme in modern Exeter. "Hay," incidentally, is an old Saxon word that loosely translates as "field," and is used frequently in this area as a suffix on places' names.
For more details about this tour, and lots of pictures, visit our Picasa album of the tour.
The Romans first came to Exeter shortly before the birth of Christ. They established a fort, which was encircled by a city wall by the second century AD. Much of this wall (over 70%) still stands today. Around 1070, the Norman Conquest came to Exeter (home of the late King Harold Godwinson's mother), and a number of castles were built in the area to guard against invasion and rebellion. The ruins of some of these remain.
The cathedral was built around 1150. More precisely, the second cathedral was built on the site of the old Saxon cathedral, which had been built around 1050. The third Bishop of Exeter was not satisfied with this, and in 1250 he had the cathedral reduced to its foundations and rebuilt in the then-modern Gothic style, which allowed much larger windows, and larger roof spans. The two Norman towers remained untouched, giving the cathedral a distinctive appearance. (What is it about towns we've lived in having odd cathedrals? Worms has a Romanesque-Gothic cathedral, and Exeter has a Norman-Gothic cathedral. What's next?)
From the cathedral square, we walked through a good bit of town, including the Northernhay Gardens (a lovely area with lots of flowers that runs along part of the city wall) and the Princesshay Shopping Center. Princesshay was originally opened in the 1950s, but was recently completely redeveloped, a common theme in modern Exeter. "Hay," incidentally, is an old Saxon word that loosely translates as "field," and is used frequently in this area as a suffix on places' names.
For more details about this tour, and lots of pictures, visit our Picasa album of the tour.
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Day One
Today was my school's (Humanities and Social Sciences) "Postgraduate School Day," the occasion in which all the new postgraduate students are welcomed to their departments and the school. All of the new postgrads in the history department (around 40 of us) were welcomed by the department's postgraduate adviser this morning. Intrestingly, there are no new MPhil or PhD students in the group; all of us are either MA or MRes students, which I thought was interesting. Our programs range from "Straight History" (the instutitional nickname given to the MA in History to distinguish it from the specialized ones) to Medical History to Maritime History to History of War & Society to Naval History (my personal favorite).
After our welcome to our department, we were welcome by the dean of the school. Fast forwarding past his speech, which wasn't particulary memorable, I met one of Amanda's fellow Fulbright TAs from Germany. She's now in Islamic studies (I believe her research interest has something to do with German Turks). It's quite a small world!
After that, we had a departmental buffet, with more of the interesting sandwiches that I first encountered back at Link Weekend. During the course of this lunch, I found out who my personal tutor is. I'm acquainted with his work from Dr. Selesky's Military History class that I toook senior year, in which we read Why the Allies Won. His name is Richard Overy, and his research interests are air power, World War II, and Germany. Needless to say, while we don't completely overlap there, we do have a good bit in common to discuss.
Having this behind me, I feel much more ready to begin my classes on Tuesday. Hopefully, I'll still feel this ready on Tuesday night!
After our welcome to our department, we were welcome by the dean of the school. Fast forwarding past his speech, which wasn't particulary memorable, I met one of Amanda's fellow Fulbright TAs from Germany. She's now in Islamic studies (I believe her research interest has something to do with German Turks). It's quite a small world!
After that, we had a departmental buffet, with more of the interesting sandwiches that I first encountered back at Link Weekend. During the course of this lunch, I found out who my personal tutor is. I'm acquainted with his work from Dr. Selesky's Military History class that I toook senior year, in which we read Why the Allies Won. His name is Richard Overy, and his research interests are air power, World War II, and Germany. Needless to say, while we don't completely overlap there, we do have a good bit in common to discuss.
Having this behind me, I feel much more ready to begin my classes on Tuesday. Hopefully, I'll still feel this ready on Tuesday night!
Monday, 29 September 2008
Pedantry, Phones, and Flats
Today, I collected my student ID card (good for discounts on buses, free McFlurries, using university computers, and registering for classes), and completed the last of the paperwork for me to be fully accepted at Exeter. With all this paperwork, it amazes me that some Exeter student described German bureaucracy as "pedantic!" While waiting in the near-endless queue, I met a pair of recent Samford graduates, who are both at Exeter studying International Relations. It turns out that one of them went to high school with my cousin at Vestavia . . . small world! The other is from Knoxville, but is not a Tennessee fan (which was good news in my book).
We also got our cell phones this evening. We got the the Carphone Warehouse just before it closed, which was naturally at 6 pm, just like everything else in town, and had plenty of time to pick out what phones we wanted while we waited in the queue (there's that ever-present theme again). We both got Vodafone Nokia 6300s, which are nice little candy bar phones with a built-in radio (a nice touch for those long waits for buses and trains), with Bluetooth capability, which was a must, since we both have Bluetooth headsets to work with. For a total cost of just under 70 pounds, it wasn’t a bad deal. iPhones, for the record, were free with a new two-year contract (available exclusively at O2). In fact, there were some phones that came with a free laptop. Many of AT&T’s customers who come in and say “Where are your free phones?” would be pleased.
Tomorrow, I’m due to spend most of the day on orientation activities, and, hopefully, get moved into our new apartment on Blackboy Road (to think that someone objected to the name “Penny Lane” as racist!). Hopefully, there won’t be any more delays, as moving around every two days gets very old very fast!
We also got our cell phones this evening. We got the the Carphone Warehouse just before it closed, which was naturally at 6 pm, just like everything else in town, and had plenty of time to pick out what phones we wanted while we waited in the queue (there's that ever-present theme again). We both got Vodafone Nokia 6300s, which are nice little candy bar phones with a built-in radio (a nice touch for those long waits for buses and trains), with Bluetooth capability, which was a must, since we both have Bluetooth headsets to work with. For a total cost of just under 70 pounds, it wasn’t a bad deal. iPhones, for the record, were free with a new two-year contract (available exclusively at O2). In fact, there were some phones that came with a free laptop. Many of AT&T’s customers who come in and say “Where are your free phones?” would be pleased.
Tomorrow, I’m due to spend most of the day on orientation activities, and, hopefully, get moved into our new apartment on Blackboy Road (to think that someone objected to the name “Penny Lane” as racist!). Hopefully, there won’t be any more delays, as moving around every two days gets very old very fast!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)