British Summer Time Ends.

Last week the UK rolled the clocks back one hour, a sure sign that fall is here! Everywhere you go in Oxford, colorful leaves dance along the ground. With the fall colors everywhere, the University Parks make for a lovely place to spend the afternoon. Here are a few favorite photos I have taken the last few weeks of the changing colors in Oxford.

Due to the mild temperature and the rain, I think that this may be the longest fall season I have experienced. Which I am certainly not complaining about, because I do heart fall.

The Oxford Gown

The black sleeveless gown with two wings flowing from the shoulder girdle is the standard evening attire in Oxford. At night it is completely normal to see students walking around town donning their black gown or in my case riding a bike to Keble with wings flapping behind me. This gown is what every Oxford student wears to formal dinner...which at Keble College formal dinner is every night except Saturday.

One night we decided to have a "glamour shots" photo shoot, hence the cheezy photos. Notice, in many of the photos I was predisposed to flying poses...the wings make you feel like flying!

Oh, you will see that my gown is longer than Erin's. Undergraduate gowns are shorter (hip), whereas graduate students are longer (knee), and faculty dons flow down to the ankle. Just one of the many formal rituals that I thought I would share with you...

Stratford-upon-Avon

I needed a break from the UGA at Oxford bubble that has a way of sucking you in. So, I paid 7£ for a round trip ticket on the Stagecoach bus to Stratford-upon-Avon. The bus ride through the beautiful countryside made me realize what a lovely region of England I live in. I need to explore more!!

When I looked at the weather report there was a BIG sunshine, hence the reason I did not pack an umbrella. Bad idea! It turned out to be a schizophrenic rain/sun day which made for a day of running into stores and cafes that I otherwise would not have visited. Moral of the story: when in England...pack your umbrella regardless of what the weather forecast predicts.

When the sun did shine, I enjoyed the quaint village nestled in the rural Warwickshire countryside. I abstained from visiting the tourist traps of the Shakespeare legacy; gawking at the bed where Shakespeare used to sleep just feels too contrived and inauthentic. I opted, instead, to walk the beautiful Avon river and side streets of Stratford. The highlight was the Guild Chapel founded in 1269. As the natural light beamed in through the stain glass, the rustic church became a photographer's dream. I had the place to myself. Of course the cream tea in the afternoon took a close second to the Chapel. Before I knew it 16:20 had arrived and it was time to climb back on the bus and journey back to Oxford, the place I currently call home.

Random fact: The controversial British Tellytubbies show is filmed on a 6-acre farm in Stratford.

Taking Class Via Skype

Every Friday at 1:50 p.m. I set up my headset and microphone, log into skype, and "attend" class. As the skype call connects, a live video loads onto the Meigs Hall classroom screen in Athens, Georgia. Vice-versa a live video of the Athens classroom pops up on my computer screen. I am taking EDHI 8930, The Qualitative Imagination, with Dr. Sheila Slaughter and six of my fellow PhD colleagues. The class is discussion based which has proven a bit challenging. Since I am not physically in the classroom, it is hard to gauge when to jump into the conversation without disrupting the flow. In addition, the microphone in the classroom does not capture all of the conversation (especially those with a quiet voice) and sometimes the microphone chooses to pick up the background noise rather than the conversation. Even though taking a class via skype is not perfect, and at times frustrating, it has allowed me to live in Oxford for the semester while remaining a full-time student at UGA. Plus, it has made travel possible.
I have skyped into the Athens, GA classroom from:

*Oxford, England
*St. Andrews, Scotland,
*Venice, Italy,
*Tallinn, Estonia, and

*Dublin, Ireland.

I even skyped into class when I was sick in bed with the swine flu (see bottom photo). Technology; you have to take the good (opportunities) with the bad (limitations).

11 "Punting Divas" on the Cherwell River

You have not lived in Oxford if you have not punted. Therefore, a group of "punting divas" donned our warm clothes for a chilly fall afternoon of punting on the Cherwell River.

1 LONG pole, check.
3 blue cushions, check.
1 paddle, check.
2 handmade punting boats, check.
11 UGA students, check.

There is a special skill to punting and not everyone is privileged enough to possess this skill. Despite this fact, I was lucky enough to have crew members that had mad punting skills. Sure, on occasion, we ran into the earthy sides of the river bed and we became close and intimate with the trees lining the river, but all in the name of love for mother nature. In the sport of punting, only one person stands using the long pole as a motor and router for the boat while the other crew members relax, feed ducks, pose for funny photos, and keep an eye out for naked faculty dons. (YES, legend has it that there was a naked section of the river, "Parson's pleasure" where male faculty dons would sun their bodies while engaging in intellectual and titillating conversation.)

Here are a few pointers about punting from the Oxford Daily info site:

1.) Feed the ducks if you believe that ducks are messengers from another civilisation and that you will understand their speech if you listen just a little longer.

2.) Don't assume that anyone in any other vessel knows what on earth they're doing (except the dude I took of photo of...with his matriculation uniform and all.)

Squealin' Like PIGS!

The beautiful UGA at Oxford English Manor house has been infested with flying pigs (a.k.a. the infamous "Swine Flu")! Yes, and I have officially fallen victim to the nasty virus as of yesterday. On Monday, two students went down for the count (fatigue, achy body, high fever, cough, headache) and we had to quarantine them and a third student joined them on Wednesday (see second photo). That meant I had the fun job of playing nurse Leasa. Which by the way, I am by not a good nurse. There was a moment I was near tears when I walked in and saw how sick one of the students was...aren't nurses supposed to be made of steel? Plus my protective armour of an immune system allowed a bug to creep in. Argh!

Well, last night I called the UK flu assessment line. They asked me questions such as, "Are you floppy?" What does that mean, I replied. The British dude on the other end of the call was all perky with his British accent and said..."floppy like a fish!" Right, well I can assure you I am laid out on my bed, but not flopping around like a fish out of water...I have no energy!

After the questions, he gave me a code to pick up the drug, Tamiflu, for FREE (this is UK's way of helping to curtail the spread of the flu). But the catch...I had to have a non-flu carrying friend pick it up. So, my partner-in-crime, James, picked it up in the a.m. and I popped one of those bad boys in my mouth. Before I knew it...my stomach was a rubblin'. One potential side effect of tamiflu is technicolor yawns (vomit). Soon enough I found myself calling god on the big white telephone as my breakfast reversed itself and chunks of muesli floated in the toilet. ICK!

The positive: my students are now waiting on me! I received a bouquet of flowers, a handful of beautiful fall leaves, a nice get-well note, crackers with nutella, and hot soup.

Dublin...the Land of Leprechauns!

I was invited to speak as a "visiting researcher" for a Doctoral program in higher education based in Dublin, Ireland. Why me? Perhaps they want to throw me into the Lion's den or maybe they actually think I have something to say (ha, ha...little do they know!) My life motto of "living big and without fear" gave me the stamina to say YES. After a few weeks of thinking deeply (and occasionally kicking myself for saying YES), I came to realize that I do have a research agenda. What an enlightening "ah-ha" moment for a PhD student. I spent a good week designing the talk and practiced it about 8 times...it was a 45 minute talk. I have done many other presentations in my time, but never an academic talk where I was the "visiting researcher"...Pressure! A week before the presentation, my neophyte nerves took me on a rollercoaster ride with ups n downs and sudden turns, sometimes I held on so tightly that my knuckles turned white, while other times I threw up my arms and let the wind blow through my hair. Finally, the day of reckoning! There were about 22 students and four faculty members at the talk. I took the stage and BAM, before I knew it I was done! They asked me questions about my experience as a PhD student and the transition from work/school/theory. The questions were great and after the talk the professor who invited me said, "That was SPOT on!" Ahhhh, time to take off the Leprechaun head!



So, I only had a few hours on Saturday to enjoy Dublin before flying back to London. The city was filled with excitement. Ozzy Osborne was visiting Dublin for a book signing and you could tell because many people were wearing those tiny round sunglasses while donning Ozzy apparel. There was also a lot of cheering, face paint, and even green wigs--the European football craze was in full effect! Ireland played Italy for a chance at the World Cup qualifications. The game ended in a draw 2-2, with Italy getting a spot in the World Cup and Ireland getting a play-off spot. Dublin is a great city.

The Weimers Invaded Oxford!

My parents, sister (Julie) and her fiance (Dan) arrived in Oxford last week. I got them set up in a 2 bed/2bath flat in the Summertown area; a sweet little neighborhood with shops, cafes and restaurants about 1.5 miles from the centre of Oxford. Our week together was lovely! We toured Oxford, walked the Thames river path, ate Ben's Cookies, dreamt of punting the river, laughed until we cried (numerous times), cooked breakfast and dinner together, drank 5 bottles of wine the last night, watched Lieutenant Dan break into sweat after eating Leasa's curry, cheered on Julie as she mastered the British accent, and enjoyed the Christ Church college choir for a Sunday Evensong in the famous 12th century cathedral.