Dinner and a Movie

Another rainy day. High of 50˚F.

After a uncharacteristic week of clear skies, the traditional English weather has returned in full force; we've had nothing but rain for several days now. Taylor spoke for us all when he said that he was surprised England hasn't been washed out to sea yet.  I think I read somewhere that Britain's explorers set out to sea just to find some nicer weather and wound up forging an empire by accident.  Pure conjecture most likely, but I can't say I'd have blamed them for doing so.

8:30am -  Taylor joined Ben, Khanh, Hannah, Bailey, and I for breakfast at Christ Church.  Typical British fare of eggs, beans, sausage, hashbrowns, cereals, and coffee. Unlike the more-formal sit-down dinners, breakfast and lunch at Christ Church is a casual affair and and is served cafeteria-style. Coffee pods of various types are purchased at the register and then inserted into an automated drink dispenser across the hall. A regular cup of black coffee seems to be practically unheard of in Oxford; if a restaurant or café has one, it's likely to be labeled a "filter coffee" and placed at the bottom of the menu. Likewise, I had to hunt for the plain coffee pod at breakfast, but surprisingly was able to find at least two passable offerings.

9:15am  - Stopped by WISC offices to print out our first paper for Dr. Snyder's class. Up, up, up the stairs we go! The WISC office is situated in a third floor suite (that would be the forth floor in the US, but in Europe it's Ground Floor, 1st, 2nd, etc.), and like so many European buildings, lacks air conditioning.  Given the cool British climate, that's usually not a major problem, but during the summer the indoor temperature can rise uncomfortably high.  Today it's not so bad.

Dr. Snyder has asked each of us to write about the theme of "the quest" in Tolkien's The Hobbit. Tolkien borrowed heavily from medieval literature in writing his first novel. All but one or two of the dwarves' names come from the Icelandic sage The Poetic Edda while Bilbo Baggins' first encounter with the dragon Smaug is taken almost directly from the Anglo-Saxon "Beowulf." Allegedly, Tolkien had the idea for The Hobbit while grading papers and jotted down the novel's opening lines on the back of some student's essay!

Despite my distraction, I did have one insight about the novel and wrote a section of my essay about the wizard Gandalf.  Simply put, Gandalf is the catalyst for the action in the novel.  He initially convinces the main character, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, to join a band of dwarves on a quest for treasure and then flits in and out of the story, always appearing just in time to save the quest from disaster.  His off-page activities are only briefly described, but they will prove crucial to the plot in Tolkien's later masterpiece The Lord of the Rings. In my essay I argue that Gandalf is actually on a quest for socio-political change and works behind the scenes to effect a regime change, restoring balance to the northern lands of Middle-earth.


I put in a decent effort, but I confess that I spent most of my time working on a short story which, in the manner of Tolkien, I attached to my essay as an appendix. You see, thanks to my classmates I've come to realize that we're really on a quest of our own here, and I just had to write about it.  Hopefully, Dr. Snyder will approve of my effort; if he does, I'll share my story in a future post...

12:15pm - Wrapped up our discussion of The Hobbit and went for lunch at Christ Church. Today is Pie Day with the menu featuring a selection of savory pies filled with everything from turkey and apples to vegetables and even steak and ale.  Having had my fill of pies this week, I opted for the Roast Turkey with Broccoli.

Christ Church´s version of a pie.  This one is turkey and apples topped with a puff pastry. The bowl contains an unmemorable pea soup.

 1:30 - 5:30pm - My afternoon was spent in the Bodleian library doing research for my second tutorial essay. I found several good articles on the two Fritz Lang-directed films I've watched this week: his sci-fi epic Metropolis (1927) and his murder thriller M: eine Stadt such einen Mörder (1931). I highly recommend both, though M is the shorter and more watchable of the two (it's also a talkie).  Metropolis has it´s merits though; it´s characters and imagery have been referenced in countless sci-fi films and novels (e.g. C3-PO from Star Wars). Both are available to stream online. (Follow the links above for free, subtitled versions).

Delving through the stacks in the Bod.

 6:45 - Changed into dress clothes with academic gowns and walked through the rain to a formal dinner at New College hosted by WISC.  We congregated in New College's Porters'  Lodge entrance on Holywell Street before moving to the dining hall adjacent to the college chapel. New College's small dining hall is a close rival to Christ Church's with its  magnificent high ceilings, Old Masters' paintings, and stately atmosphere. Tonight we had the hall to ourselves and feasted on a mozzarella and tomato  salad, salmon or vegetable teriyaki, a lemon tart, and a very good selection of wines. I had the pleasure of dining with Bailey and Khanh as well as some of our fellow WISC students from Cornerstone University (Michigan) and a Lithuanian exchange student.

Bailey Hansen and I take in the New College dining hall.

Cameron Clarke and Spencer Hall

Khanh Nguyen and Ben Bailey

 
9:00pm - Although I´m not a member there, I feel I´ve become well acquainted with New College after all the functions I´ve attended there.  Several of our Tolkien seminars, each of my film tutorials, and now this dinner have taken place on the college grounds.

Another part of New College life is the nearby Turf Tavern to which several of  our group retired for a pint before walking home. The Turf Tavern is a popular student pub down a narrow alley next to the college walls.  During his time in Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, future-president Bill Clinton is reputed to have "experimented with marijuana at time or two but never inhaled" at the Turf.  My studies have been rather more tame, but I pass the pub every week on the way to and from my tutor´s rooms and have stopped in with friends on more than one occasion.  Of the pub´s many offerings, Bailey and I have taken a liking to a particularly good stout from the White Horse Brewery, and we shared a round before returning through the rain to our various lodgings.

Source: White Horse Brewery webpage

On the way home, I popped into the local co-op for some discounted croissants (40p each!) which would warm up for a nice, quick breakfast in the morning.