Boredom?

(To the left: a street in Oxford... the back of my building is above East... the top windows are our dinning room and kitchen)

Orientation is over and school has begun. This weekend was entertaining, but only for awhile. I really love the other Americans in my group.. it's so much fun to explore the town with them! I am feeling fairly comfortable here now. I know where most places are and have seen almost everything, except the Thames which I will eventually.
Friday and Saturday were spent exploring the town and buying the things that we discovered we needed. Like a watch/clock since our mobiles (cell phones) don't work here. And boots.. okay, I just wanted the boots. It is true I have already been to a few pubs and a club, but didn't drink anything. Alcohol is expensive, so I just watch everyone else and still have a good time. (To the bottom right: St. Peter's College, the college of CMRS students like me!)

My first class was today. Now, the schooling system is way different. There are sessions called tutorials, which are one on one meetings with a professor. The class is focused on the individual student, who gets to decide its direction. I have two of those. Another type is a seminar. It's a small group of students and a professor. My seminar has one other student. The topic: political philosophy. And today sucked. I really didn't understand much. There are certain concepts that I know nothing of simply because I have only taken two philosophy courses. I want to study and am excited for the class, but at the same time I hate it. I hate the awkwardness of feeling so inadequate. The professor is really smart (obviously) and the other student actually talks. I don't (I know, that's hard to imagine). My final class is an integral course that is composed of different lectures and field trips. Everything starts now, however, the tutorials end in the third week of March, the seminar a week later, and the integral in the middle of April. Whew. It sounds complicated, but it's not that bad. It's just not really my cup of tea. I think the point of philosophy is learning a variety of views, not feeling stupid when the professor keeps telling you you're wrong. (Below: Shoe Lane, my street.. the tall red building is CMRS)
So now I'm extremely bored. Oxford is the size of Red Wing and isn't that interesting. I have no motivation to study... but I guess I can crack a book.
(To the left, the Tower from the Oustide)

Oh, one other thing. Sunday we went to London to see the Tower of London. It was surrounded by a moat and was where prisoners were brought to die. Of course, royalty were imprisoned there too. There's the story of two young princes who were murdered, but their bodies were never found. About a thousand years later, in the nineteenth century, an archaeologist discovered their bodies in the wall of the white tower. Also, the early British thought that it was good fortune to have ravens in the tower. If they left the tower, the British would lose their battle, but if they stayed, the British would when. To this day there are ravens in the tower, however, the British somewhat cheat by clipping their wings.
(Above: The Wall and Tower Bridge. The ravens are in the grass. Below: The White Tower)
So that's my last few days. I'm sure I won't write for awhile... it now all seems to be winding down. I miss the states and want to come.. but don't worry.. I will have a good time since I'm here.

Things I've Learned (or just that refreshed my memory):
The first floor is called the ground floor and the second floor is then the first floor!
There is no warm water... why warm when you can dip in cold then hot?
It's always raining :(