June 9, 2015
Hello everyone, I have had a splendid day with traveling to Bath, England. I had another wonderful English Breakfast at the Kensington Close Hotel. The food was the same and yet still good. We were picked up in a chartered bus with a toilet on board; however the sink did not work. The bus was called Arleen judging by the letters on the front wind shield. Overall, the bus ride took about an hour and a half, and I saw several fields with sheep grazing unlike America that have massive amounts of cows grazing. On the way to the Bath, we stopped at one of the oldest universities in the world, which is Oxford University.
I have to say that Oxford University is the most beautiful campus that I have ever seen. It was like a dream and nothing really felt real. The architecture is even better in person than in pictures and movies. Yes, several Harry Potter films were filmed on this campus. I saw the dining hall in New College where Harry Potter's famous gathering scenes were shot, and I also saw the Divinity School in the Library where the infermory scene was shot. Our tour guide today said that there are 38 colleges and 6 private halls that make up the entire university. Oxford University is a very selective university and will take only the A Level students (best of the best). Faculty members do not really focus on teaching, but rely on being tutors or mentors to help guide students toward their academic goals. Today was an exam day, and every student takes their exams at the same time in the same building. The exams are the most important assessment tool that the university uses to measure student success. We got to meet with a professor from the Merton College during our tour, and her focus is in the classics such as Latin and Greek literature. Our time with her was brief and she mentioned to us that tenure is shrinking on campus, graduate students help in the tutorial system, and students with learning disabilities are permitted to take their exams in a different hall from the main one that the university requires. Professor Ash stated that Merton College has 300 undergraduate and 300 graduate students that attend that particular college. The tour guide mentioned that Oxford is still considered a public institution and receives money from the UK government to their general administration; however, several colleges have their own endowments and can support themselves. Governmental money only helps the colleges that struggle financially.
At the conclusion, a co-hort member, in order to protect his identity I will call him Ike, dropped his electronic tablet and the screen cracked in a wicked fashion. He was very upset, so I encouraged him to come with me to one of the stores on Broad Street. The wind was bitting today meaning that it was a bit chill. I am from Mississippi and am wearing a short sleeve shirt because that is all that I know how to do during the summer months. I took Ike with me to a store called the Varsity, and I bought a red and white Oxford University letterman sweater jacket for just 20 pounds. It did the job, and I stayed warm for the most part. I also got a small decorative plate with all of the Oxford University college emblems on it. It was just 4 pounds. After my purchases, I went to the Turn Tavern where President Bill Clinton hung out in back in the 1970s with his long hair and big red beard according to the tour guide. I had the famous fish n' chips, and I rather enjoyed that. We moved on and saw more of the beautiful buildings on campus and as we concluded the tour I found a Dr. Pepper that said "New Improved." After I took a few sips, I realized that this drink did not taste like a Dr. Pepper but more like a Mr. Pibb. Why, I do not know? Dr. Pepper does not need to taste like Mr. Pibb, but the other way around.
Me and Ike stopped by the toilets and noticed that there was a floor urinal trough in the restroom. I took a picture of it and sent it to Karen. She replied with "Oh wow!! Any splash back?" I politely told her that I did not know but to ask Ike because he was all over that trough. He did wipe his shoes off with some toilet paper afterwards (Just Kidding). I do not know why there has been so much discussion about urination on this trip, but I figure that it has been funny enough to mention in almost all of my blogs. Ike did not have the best of days and his luck got even worse with him dropping several books off the shelves at the book store. We departed campus on the Arleen charter bus. My seat was directly in front of the toilet. I know poor choice. To protect her identity, I will call her Molly. Well, Molly went to the bathroom and apparently the door would not stay closed because the bus is moving down the road. She had to hold the door closed and do her business at the same time and no way to wash her hands. Apparently, she had some sanitary wipes. Bath is a beautiful city, and I would live here if the opportunity presented itself to me because it has a nice country feel to it with some things to do with a good selection of stores and resturants. The hotel that we are staying in is a Holiday Inn Express and they have bigger rooms and beds. I can actually put my toiletries by the sink here. The internet is a lot better too. Yay for an American company in Europe. I ate at Garrick's Head and had a Garrick Burger, some chips (french fries), and a pint of coke.
The agenda for tomorrow is to visit The John of Gaunt School, which is a high school. This will be an interesting endeavor. After the school visit, I will go with a group to see the Stonehenge and then attend a 3 Minute Thesis Competition. It is going to be a dashing time. I forgot to mention that a co-hort member found an interesting menu choice at a restaurant in Oxford. The name cannot be repeated in this blog, but it did pertain to a gay slur in America. Apparently, a traditional meat ball with pig's liver and other left over pork is called sometime special over here. Lastly, I told you that I had a Mars bar yesterday and that it tasted just like a Milky Way bar, so I had to investigate that theory a bit more by trying a Milky Way bar tonight. After trying the Milky Way bar, it is nothing more than a 3 Musketeers bar. I do not think that 3 Musketeers' bars exist over here because Ike said the English hate the French and would not sell something like that in their country. Ike does have a point though. Wendell was actually on his best behavior today. Kudos to him. I will talk to everyone tomorrow with a report of my most anticipated experiences.
God Save the Queen!
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