Week 2 in Oxford - Settling In

Another busy week as we began to settle into life in Oxford -- getting to know our way around and discovering our favorite shops, restaurants and pubs.

In class we discussed the Euro and the inner-workings of lobbying the EU, and in my sociology class we explored the topics of class, ethnic minorities and employment trends in contemporary British society. Lectures continued to be stellar - with a wide range of impressive speakers, including my Sociology professor Dr. Amanda Palmer, who explored the changing role of men in British society; Dr. Richard Caplan, who discussed the International Governance of War-Torn Territories; Dr. Rana Mitter who focused on China's role in the modern world; Professor Anthony Glees who spoke about intelligence and "the war on terror" and Professor Lord Morgan FBA, a member of the House of Lords who reviewed past and present Labour governments in Britain

From a sightseeing perspective, we visited Stonehenge over the weekend. Fabulous! A first visit for all of us. One of the theories on why Stonehenge was built in the exact location it was is the idea that there are energy currents in that area. Supposedly one can detect these using a couple of divining rods. Several people of our tour tried this, and it worked brilliantly. Dave tried it and it didn't work at all - so either the theory is incorrect, or my husband is just a freak of nature.

After our visit to Stonehenge, we explored the lovely town of Salisbury, home to one of the original copies of the Magna Carta - which we viewed - as well as the beautiful Salisbury Cathedral. The cathedral has an interesting history. It was one of the few that was not bombed during WWII, because it has one of the tallest steeples in England - more than 400 feet. Instead of destroying it, German pilots used it as a landmark and to guage the location of other targets.