A Busy Week

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've enjoyed talking with many of you through e-mails and IMs. Please keep them coming. We really enjoy hearing from home.

This was a really busy week, and we're glad it's over. Of course, an equally busy week is beginning, but we're trying not to look at it that way. Pretty much all we do when we're not sleeping is read, eat, and walk. And we only walk to get food or books.

Speaking of food, I was told British cuisine left much to be desired (and after that bacon roll on the plane, I understood why), but we've found plenty to eat that we really enjoy. I know I've mentioned the breakfast baps several times, but they bear mentioning again. They're so good. We got fish & chips one of our first nights here, but it was too greasy for Christine, so we haven't gotten it since. Although we did get a haddock filet with chips, salad, and veggies at the Radcliffe arms that was delicious. Every Wednesday, there's a covered market in town where we buy produce and cheese. We bought what appeared to be gouda wrapped in red wax, but when we got home, it was a crumbly cheese with blueberries in it. Christine was disappointed, but I thought it was pretty good. We had bangers & mash the other night, which is sausage and mashed potatoes. It's called the ultimate comfort food, and I can see why. It's very good.

This week I read Sophocles' Ajax and Electra, Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray and Decay of Lying, William Stead's "Maiden Tribute to Modern Babylon," several critical texts, and a book called London: A Pilgrimage that I had to pick at the Bodleian. It was a huge old book that was specially rebound. It had beautiful woodcuts of scenes around London by Gustave Dore. I was supposed to also read Shakespeare's "Richard II," "Richard III," and "Henry IV" for our Shakespeare seminar, but I didn't. Fortunately, I wasn't called upon to answer any questions.

I had my first Greek Tragedy tutorial on Wednesday. It went very well. I presented my essay on "The Role of Anger in Ajax and Electra," which was well reveived. For next Wednesday, I'll be reading the Theban plays. My second Gothic tutorial was better than the last one because I knew what to expect. We discussed Dorian Gray, and I presented my essay, "Dorian Gray: The Minotaur of the London Labyrinth." I'm really excited about this week's reading because it's something I've never even heard of before. My primary text is Prince Zaleski, which is about a detective and his assistant, somewhat like the Sherlock Holmes books but with character development. It deals with eugenics, which is a dark part of history that I find interesting. I've read up on it in the US and am interested to see how it differs in the UK. I'm also reading some scientific and criminal texts on degeneration and phrenology.

Next Saturday we're going to Canterbury, which should provide some more pictures.

Thanks for reading.