Charms

So, today I was sworn into the Bodleian Library, which is Oxford's library and the second largest in the UK, with over 8 million volumes. If you know me at all, you know that alone is enough to get me to squee in delight. However, add into it that the fact that the room we were sworn into the library in is apparently the location at which they shot the charms class scenes for Harry Potter. I'm sure most of you know that I've never seen the Harry Potter movies (only because I love the books so much and feel they will ruin them), but after being in Oxford I really feel as if I have to see them, so much of the movies are filmed here.

It's fascinating -- it's like walking back in time, into Hogwarts, and in the present all at once.

Matt- Turns out they do have a first folio as well. Also, a Gutenburg Bible!

We also received a tour of St. Peter's College, the college our program is integrated into. It's fabulous -- they even have a little bar in there! I suppose because the drinking age is only 18. Side note -- funny enough, a French guy was telling my friend Alexis and I all about the drinking age in America last night. He didn't seem to realise we were American and knew all too well. Moving on. They also have a common room, where they hold Bops -- which are costume parties. So I can just pretend all my lovely APhi ladies are there with me.

Anyways. So after that we had our first lecture -- it's certainly going to be a trying semester academically. It was almost hard to wrap my head around what he was saying concerning Renaissance philosophers and humanists. I'm quite excited to have my limits tested so thoroughly, however. The way they do courses is kind of wonky as well. My large course has about 8 people in it, that's my Shakespeare Seminar. My Austen and Witches course are both tutorials, which means I'll meet with my tutor one on one once a week, and then the rest I kind of do on my own. He assigns me reading and work, and then we meet weekly to discuss it. So you essentially teach yourself. I have my seminar and meeting with my Witches in Early Modern Europe tutor tomorrow.

Other than that, tonight my newly-made friend Jessica and I went to the White Horse and the Grand Room for some drinks, since she had yet to go out in the UK. The White Horse was cute -- it's supposedly haunted by a witch whose broom stick was found upstairs, and they refuse to touch it for fear of provoking her ghost. But we left rather quickly, not due to spectres, but because there were only three people in there -- and two of them were quite engrossed in one anothers tongues. So it was one Pimms then off we went.

We wandered around for a bit, hunting for somewhere that was a touch more exciting. We stumbled across this place called the Grand Room, and were tricked by the mirrors lining the walls -- we thought there were far more pople than there were. I'm certainly not sad I got tricked, however. All the cocktails were half off, and man did they have cocktails. I got an Elderflower Fizz, which was delicious, and a Watermelon Martini in which they used actual watermelon.

Well, being that it is 0330 I should probably head to bed. Cheers!