On Wednesday we had a daytrip. To Oxford! It was really cool. I loved it. We wandered around the little town of Oxford, and it was really interesting to me, because it WAS a college town. And an old-people town. And a snooty British town, all in one! I loved looking around the market, which was sort of like a cross between a mall and a covered market. There were some really cute stores, and a reasonably cheap and incredibly delicious shake shop, which may or may not have been the best idea, because it was COLD. But so good! If you're ever in Oxford, go to Moo-Moos. I had the Double Decker shake, and it was delicious. :) Oh, and I tried mushy peas with mint for the first time. Not my favorite thing ever. British food really is not that great. I'd stick to Italian, if I were you. or American. That's safe, too. But it's true the meat pies here are great, and I like the sausage and mash. Just stay very VERY far away from the Gammon steak. Take my word for it. DO NOT TRY IT. You will regret it.
Anyway, I learned a lot about Oxford, as a university. It's very unique. For one thing, it is OLD. And for another, it's basically composed of 38 completely separate entities. There are 38 colleges, and all of them are their own college. It's an interesting format. We had a great tour guide tht explained it all to us. This older very VERY British man. He was great. Basically, Oxford and Cambridge are organized in about the same way, but Oxford is older, and is focused on the liberal arts, where Cambridge has more of a scientific emphasis (Cambridge is where Isaac Newton studied--his apple tree is there.) Oxford is awesome, pretty much. It's only about 3,000 pounds a year for European Union Students to attend! But it's like 15,000 pounds for anyone else to attend, so scratch that idea. Darn it. :) You don't apply to the university--you apply to the college of your choice. You're required to select ONE subject and stick with it. You cannot switch colleges once you're in one, and you can apply to any, so long as they have a tutor for your subject. The only mandatory classes are sessions with your individual subject tutor. Lectures are optional. There is a very high teacher-to-student ratio, so the classes are small. It doesn't matter which college you're in--it doesn't even say which on your diploma. It is also nearly impossible to fail. Interesting, isn't it? It's just so different from everything I'm used to. I really liked looking around there and learning about it, and I almost fancied myself going there. And then I realized just how miserable I'd be there. And I'm okay. :)
I like it at BYU. Thanks for helping out with tuition.
Love,
Mary-Celeste
Pictures:
Some parts of Oxford were hundred and HUNDREDS of years old--like this wall! It was built before 1000 AD
The town of Oxford was very small and quaint, with plenty of college-aged intellectual-looking people roaming the streets.
My favorite part of the Oxford covered market we visited.
This was a quad in one of the colleges--I loved how small and beautiful each one was! They were all so individualized.
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