A contract with brie, square words, and a Thanksgiving brownie
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I guess it’s a day late, but oh well. Yesterday was a much better day, even if it was cold and a bit gloomy. The weather didn’t match my mood. I got up early, went to the social sciences library, printed out my paper, and took it over to Harris Manchester. Then I went back to the library and wrote my blog and read some articles in the Economist. I didn’t really have much to review for my tutorial since there were no questions, just the essay. So then I walked back to Harris Manchester a little before 11 and got there early. I looked in Mark’s window and it looked like he was still reading my paper, so I walked around the college grounds a bit. I never have before that. It’s quite pretty.
Then I went back to Mark’s office and he let me in. He said he was still trying to look for something for a topic for next week but we could discuss that at the end. So he gave me an A on my paper!! He said he thought it was very good, but had a few suggestions for clarification and stuff. I think next week I’m going to ask him if he’s been grading me on an Oxford scale or a visiting student scale and ask if he thinks I could make it over here, just to get his honest opinion so if I do get accepted, I can have that to help me with my decision. So we discussed India and I told him what I had found, since he didn’t really have a lot of information on the topic, since he hasn’t really studied it much. Then we talked a bit about the differences between quotas and tariffs and put up a diagram for it. And then he asked me if I had any ideas for a topic for next week. So I told him I was sort of interested in Ghana because I had seen references to it in both the Sachs book and the William Easterly book that I read on growth. But I didn’t know how much would be written on it. So he said the only problem with that is, again, he doesn’t know much about it, but that’s okay. And also he would want to tie it in somehow with economic theory and stuff. So we looked up a bit of stuff and he found some readings on development economics and I’m going to read about that first and get a background on development economics and then pick one portion of it that ties into Ghana and try to write an essay on Ghana and one aspect of development economics. So I got myself into another essay, but that’s okay. I think I’m not going to worry about it quite as much, or at least try not to, since I’ve already done the portion required. I started out bragging that I only had to write 4 papers instead of 8 and I’m going to come out writing 7 instead of 8 with only one week where I didn’t write something. But since I want to write for my career, I think that’s a good thing.
So after that I went to the library and found a textbook on development economics for my background. Then I checked my e-mail and stuff. I got e-cards from my mom and my grandma for Thanksgiving, which was sweet! Then I went over to Regent’s and read one of my fun books until lunch. I had vegetarian lasagna, which isn’t like our vegetarian lasagna but still good. Then I talked to Dr. Curry after lunch, asked her if she knew anything about a good taxi service and she said she’d send me something. She also asked about my interview and if I had heard anything. I told her the situation and she said she’d try to poke around a bit to see if she could find anything out for me about an interview with Regent’s. She also said the Regent’s principal had been asking her too about why Regent’s wasn’t my or Christa’s first choice. Of course, she’s not really involved in that so she had no idea. So I told her my reasons and why we didn’t and how we didn’t want to take advantage of our contract with Regent’s and stuff. She said she thinks he might be worried that we’re not having a good time here or something and I said that wasn’t it at all and now that I’m familiar with it, I wish I had put it as my first choice. So she asked if she could tell him what I said and I said that’s fine. I hope that’s okay, but I’m just being honest so I don’t think anything bad can come of it. It’s all a learning process for G-town and now we’ll know that it’s okay to put Regent’s as our first choice. So Dr. Curry is going to try to smooth things over a bit and find out what she can for me, which is good.
After that I went to Keston and addressed envelopes, hearing Dr. Peterlin talk in another language on the phone to someone, which was interesting. Then I walked over to Borders and looked through books and magazines for like 2 hours or something. I haven’t been there in a while and I didn’t feel like doing much of anything so I rewarded myself with that. Then I went to dinner, which had some interesting conversations. The vegetarian option was some sort of egg thing, like an omelette and a quiche combined, which it was pretty good. It looked strange though so we were all a little hesitant about it. I said I thought it tasted like it had brie in it. And then Esther said she thought her’s tasted like it had white wine in it. I almost said, oh maybe, then I looked up and saw she had the meat option. So Kat, the girl who came over to G-town earlier this fall before Oxford started, said maybe it was brie. And I said that I thought the veg. lasagna had brie in it earlier too. Then Esther looks up and she realized that we were eating two different things too so she had been thinking the same thing as me, except she said it out loud. She said she was wondering why I kept talking about brie when she thought it was white wine. So then they said that Regent’s didn’t used to have this much brie, because it seems like we have it usually more than once a week. So we decided either the school has a contract with a brie company or the chef just really likes brie.
Then we got onto the subject of books in the libraries. Now in our libraries, if you check out a book, you act like it’s someone else’s, but here that’s not so. They underline and write in it, like we would textbooks that we buy. Which I guess it’s sort of like our used book system, but it’s still sort of strange. So then people write things and then another person who checks it out next will respond to the first person’s writing, even though that person may never see it. And we were talking about how we would read an underlined thing to try to sort out it’s importance, even though it may have nothing to do with what we’re reading the thing for. But anyway, Esther said, sarcastically, then she loves it when people write swear words in it. So we were like yeah and Ruth has this puzzled look on her face and says, “Square words?” And we just sort of look at her and she says, “What are square words?” And people were a bit confused what she was asking and then I said, “Swear words, Ruth, not square words.” And then she says, “Oh!” And she got real embarrassed and said she was imagining words written in a square and was really confused. It reminded me of something I would do. We all laughed, but maybe you had to be there because reading that over it doesn’t sound quite as funny as I thought it was earlier.
So then after dinner, Ruth, Jonnie, Ali, and I went to G&D’s. I got a big brownie and Jonnie got a big hot chocolate. The brownie even had big chocolate chips and they warmed it up for me. It was very good and I was surprised that I ate it all, but I did. YUM!! Not turkey, but still good. So that was my Thanksgiving special food, a Thanksgiving brownie. They asked questions about Thanksgiving and what we did and I said pretty much we just ate. I told them they were big meals and that at my grandma’s they were having 26 people and at Kyle’s, they were having 33 people. And they were amazed and trying to figure out how so many people could fit at one table or in one place. Then they talked about their Greek homework and dreading it. They’re all theology students. I seem to get along best with the Theology students, of course, the majority of students at Regent’s are in Theology so maybe that’s just it.
Then I walked back to Stanley Road and called the farm and talked to everyone there. Rita told me about all the food, one our greatest similarities is our love of food and disappointment when we get too full to eat everything in sight. Of course, we are also best friends for other reasons. Alyx said she and Jerusha and Rita decided they would make me a Thanksgiving meal when I got home as long as I didn’t mind that it was them cooking it so she said it might not be very good. I said I was sure I would like it. I also might stop by Bellarmine when I get back since I’ll be flying into Louisville and see my cousins there. I talked briefly with my relatives as they passed the phone around and then talked to my mom and my brothers. I told Brendan about my computer problems, which I had a new one yesterday morning. The computer wouldn’t shut down without me saying it could run a program to search for errors so I just didn’t shut it down. Brendan said he didn’t trust it so I tried to quit it and it worked this time, but I couldn’t try to shut it down again because I was talking to him through it. So we’ll see what happens today. Ian said his job is a job but it’s not bad and he’s having fun in California.
So then my mom had given me my Uncle Dennis’ number because my other grandparents had gone there for Thanksgiving. Of course, they don’t stay anywhere long so they were already gone when I called but I talked to my aunt and uncle and I think my uncle was really excited that I had called. I’m his only niece so I think he sometimes plays favorites with me. So then I tried to call my grandparents at their house and got a hold of them so I talked to them for a bit. They weren’t sure if I was home yet, but I said I would call and come visit over Christmas break since I wouldn’t have a job.
Then I called Kyle and got a “Happy Thanksgiving!” from 33 people all at once. Pretty impressive. I talked to Kyle for a while and then Andy and then Kyle again. Then his grandma came on to ask if I had gotten a postcard she had sent me. I haven’t yet but it’s something to look forward to now. Kyle told me about his invention of Pumpkin Pot Pie, which now I think he should have to make it for me, as long as it doesn’t taste like chicken pot pie, the one food I don’t like because I got sick on it once. I let him go and promptly fell asleep.
Then I woke up at 5:30 and realized I had fallen asleep. So I called Kyle because I thought maybe he wouldn’t be around people then but he was still playing skip-bo with his family, so I only talked to him for a couple minutes, and then he kept upsetting his mom, but I won’t talk about that in case she wouldn’t want me to. I told him to stop doing that and he said he would try. So then I fell asleep again after changing into my pajamas. I think I’m winning against this sickness, by the way. I started coughing some today but my nose isn’t nearly as bad. So I’m going to keep taking medicine, vitamins, and sleep, but I think I got over the hump without getting completely sick, so that’s happy. Oh and I’m thankful for all my great family and friends and this experience over here and can’t wait to get home so I can be thankful for a break and being able to see everyone I miss!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!