Practical Affairs

Today being Lances first day in the country, we headed out to get him provisioned with his necessaries-- food, cleaning stuff, and what not. I'm beginning to recognize the drawbacks of being the first to arrive and thus the most familiar with a place because it feels like I've spent most of this week getting either my self or newcomers set up, guiding them around town to grocery stores, post offices, etc., etc. I suppose it's good to be able to help; I know I would have loved to have a friendly face and a little guidance when I first got here. I am resolved, however, to make it to the Ashmolean Museum tomorrow and to avoid doing anything practical whatsoever.

We did stop for lunch at one of Oxford's most scenic spots, St Mary's Church, off the High Street and in Radcliffe Square. A few of the buildings were being worked on and there were some ugly scaffolds up here and there. I'll save posting pictures for a time when I can get some that do the Square justice. There was, on the other hand, nothing to complain about with respect to our food, which we ate in the Church's graveyard cum patio, which may seem a bit morbid until one realizes that there is hardly a square inch of Oxford where someone hasn't been beheaded, burned at the stake, or otherwise martyred or mutilated (remind me at some point to go into more depth about the medieval hazing rights of Exeter College. Oh, what the heck...It turns out that prior to the 17th century, incoming freshman at Exeter had the skin on their chins removed by the long, purpose-grown, thumbnails of their upperclassmen, and then were forced to drink a pint of salt water with their raw faces held out to an open flame. Pretty grim, huh?) So, like I was saying, the food was great.

I had a curried ginger split pea soup with spinach and espresso, which, by the way, was the first to pass my caffeine deprived lips since leaving America. Working at Starbucks has turned me into a disgusting brat.
This me and Lance at lunch making our 'delicious' faces. You probably don't want to eat with us.
I showed him the way to the gorcery after eating, where we ran into our Shimer professor, the esteemed Stuart Patterson, PhD. Kate and I had a chance to talk to him about our upcoming Oxford Tutorials--after all, I am over here to learn stuff I guess--and he gave me some very cool news. Stuart has been in contact with the currator of the Ashmolean Museum and he thinks he may be able to get me to spend some time handling the their collection of Renaisance optical devices for my Archeology of Vision tutorial. I don't want to get my hopes up, but It would be amazing to get to work with the actual historic devises my research has been on. Lets all keep our fingers crossed. Here we are on Cornmarket street. Not the most flattering photo; it looks like I'm spacing out and Stuart must be talking to Kate about her tutorial, which by the looks of it is on Popeye the Sailor Man.
Back at the flat, Raya, who has turned out to be an amazing cook, made us a salad, chic pea stew and a traditiona English Chocolate Pudding for dessert, or what the British call "sweet."