Our Study Abroad group has entered our third week in Oxford. By now, students are getting settled. This weekend was the first for some of our students to head off on their own. Yesterday a group spent the day in Bath. We have a second group that booked their accommodations in London before the death of the queen, so they are there for the weekend in a city that will be a chaotic madhouse of pedestrian traffic. There are trains running non-stop to London this weekend in anticipation of Monday’s funeral. We have a few of our own students that are getting up extremely early tomorrow to make the trip to London to witness the procession. We will see how close they get.
As for Tara and I, we spent Saturday and Sunday having something of a “normal” weekend. During a study abroad semester, the word “normal” can come to mean something different for different people. For some, a normal weekend involves leaving Oxford to explore other places. While I see nothing wrong with this, my philosophy (and the one we encourage students themselves to adopt in our ACU program) is to see Oxford itself as central to their study abroad experience. Aside from my ramble down the Thames, I haven’t left Oxford so far. Aside from a short day trip to Blenheim, Tara and I won’t get far from Oxford until Fall break in early October.
So Oxford provided plenty of opportunities to embrace a nice, “normal” weekend. On Saturday, the park near our flat hosted the Oxford Canal Festival, with lots of live music and activities for the kids. I went by to take in the scene and got into a nice conversation with a young American-British couple caring for their 7 month old. While in line for refreshments, I noticed that the wife was wearing a Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture sweatshirt. Curious, I inquired about her connection to the center. She is a graduate student, currently working on a dissertation on Aquinas. Her husband is pursuing a graduate degree in political philosophy at Oxford. The conversation was pleasant. Hints of the academy lurk behind every corner, and even in the park next door. Tara met me near the Festival, but instead of hanging out with a bunch of kids we walked together to Port Meadow for a casual, quiet walk. All in all, the day was relaxing. It was much needed.
On Saturday evening, Tara and I collaborated on a nice, homemade meal. We also hosted a couple of our students for a game of Spades. We had a lot of fun getting to know a couple of our students a bit better. On Sunday we returned to St. Andrew’s Church for worship. I’ve been reading at my local pub this afternoon, picked up a few groceries for Tara, and am now sitting back in my flat as Tara watches a Rick Steves video about European travel. Tara’s sister and nephew arrive at our flat later this evening after several days in Edinburgh. Early this week Tara will be traveling with them to Southampton for a few days. I’m planning to continue my Thames River Ramble on Tuesday, returning to Henley-on-Thames for a 15 mile ramble to Maidenhead. I’m getting closer to London! My feet are feeling better, so I’m feeling good about the hike.
For all of those “mountain top” moments that come to define our experience in a semester abroad, there are a million little moments that are the true stuff of the Study Abroad experience. The smell of burgers on the open grill next to the canal. The laughter of young kids engaged in an intense tug-of-war competition. The sounds of horns and strings from a local band playing in a park. The journey home to a kitchen where you cook a meal with produce bought that very day from the neighborhood market. This was our “normal” weekend. A good weekend it was.
