Colleen Curran '11

Right now, I’m the epitome of a paradox. As I sit here cuddled up in my Tinkerbell pajama pants and Disney Princess blanket whilst eating toast slathered with Nutella and drinking hot chocolate, I’m thinking about my future. Unfortunately, as much as I want to stave off reality for as long as I can, the major fact that’s hitting me like a ton of bricks is that I’m going to be a senior at Holy Cross next year. At the moment, I’m contemplating a couple of options for my senior year (I won’t divulge just in case…). It’s incredibly frightening to think that a) I have to leave Oxford (you knew that was coming), b) I’ll be that much closer to the real world, and c) I’ll only have one more year left at Holy Cross. The options that I’m considering for my senior year could also affect my options for graduate school, which is even more frightening. Whilst this process is definitely confusing (do I want to apply? What are the merits of applying? Do I even have time to do such a project? etc…), I’m also grateful for it. When I haven’t been studying or dancing, I’ve been taking long walks around Oxford just trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Some of my older readers might be thinking, “Your plans will definitely change.” And who knows? That could very well be true. Just flipping through some of the older entries in this blog (particularly from freshman year), has made me realize how much I’ve changed as a person (primarily with regards to academic interests and goals), and that’s just over a span of two and a half years. It’s just that these applications and programs want to see where I envision myself in the next ten years (yes, ten years. *gulp*). These essay questions have really made me think about what I truly want to do with my life (honestly, there are some days that I just feel like becoming a professional dancer…just kidding, parentals), and I’ve also had to reconsider what I need to do to get to where I want to be. It’s extremely frightening, but…welcome to the real world, I guess!

It’s already Week 2 of Hilary. My goodness; these terms really do fly. I think it’s because we do so much work that we all lose track of time, an then we can’t believe our eyes when we see the calendar. I don’t know; I’m going to have to talk to some of my Psychology friends to determine if that theory has any merit whatsoever. Anyway, whilst the work load has been difficult, it’s been rewarding and enjoyable nonetheless. My first tutorial for Victorian Literature is today; we’ll be covering Henry James’ Washington Square. Yes, this term, I’m dealing with texts that are somewhat earlier than usual. Don’t worry, though; I’m still taking a primary Medieval tutorial and I’m attending a lot of Medieval lectures. For my Medieval Paleography tutorial on Friday, I’m studying the development of manuscripts. As for the lectures, my Old English Poetry lecture yesterday was fantastic! Dr. Sutherland lectured primarily on the subject on which I want to write my senior thesis (oh, yes, that’s coming up next year…). Of course, I’m still attending more modern lectures, too, like TS Eliot for example. As I told my parents on Sunday, my Victorian Literature class reminds me on daily basis that, as much as I adore the Medieval period (and, if you’ve read this blog for the past year or so, you know how much I love that period!), I really just love literature in general, from the ancient/Classical period to the modern day. To all prospective students: Declare an English major. It is the best decision that you will make. I promise. Anyway, enough departmental plugging. I’ve got to return to preparing for my tutorial. Until next time!

-Colleen

I know; I’ve been lacking in witty titles as of late. Please forgive me!

Well, a majority of the snow has melted, and Oxford is bustling once more with students. I really cannot believe that Hilary Term is already here. This term, I’m taking Medieval Paleography as my primary tutorial and Victorian Literature as my secondary tutorial. Medieval Paleography entails studying medieval manuscripts and developing the trait to identify who wrote the manuscript, where the manuscript was written, for whom it was intended, etc. In Victorian Literature, I’m focusing on Henry James (!! That was actually my nickname for a bit in senior year of high school), Thomas Hardy (!!), and the Brontes (!!). If you couldn’t tell, I’m excited for both of my tutorials and the subsequent lectures that I’ll be attending. I’ve enjoyed my six week long break (and now that I’ve said that, I wonder if the number of applications to the Oxford program will shoot up!), and now I’m ready for eight weeks of intensive studying, writing, and, of course, dancing. Yes, dance resumes this week. We have three major competitions in February, so the entire team is practicing diligently to ensure that we’ll win the national championship (and beat Cambridge, of course).

Well, I’m off to begin my day in the Radcliffe Camera. Until next time!

Who else used to watch “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?” I was addicted to that show and my parents bought me all of the computer games associated with it. Anyway, back to the actual reason for this post…

When I landed in London on Wednesday, I wasn’t sure if I was in Boston or London. I’m not sure if you all have heard, but Europe is experiencing a nasty cold spell this winter. I was lucky enough to get out of London when I did (a majority of flights from Heathrow were canceled in the following days after I left), but I was even luckier to arrive in London  when I did. I flew out of Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon when it was a balmy 29 degrees Fahrenheit. I arrived in Paris, and I had about thirty minutes originally until my connecting flight to London Heathrow. Well, there was so much snow in London that that flight was delayed for about an hour and a half. I finally arrived in London about three hours later than scheduled. Retrieving my bags and getting to the Oxford Airline bus went much more smoothly than the last time. When the bus started driving to Oxford, though, the amount of snow seemed more typical of Boston or Worcester than Oxford. Here’s where the fun begins: the bus dropped me off right outside my apartment building. It just so happened that the sidewalks weren’t shoveled and there was about a foot of snow on the ground. I was wearing my cowboy boots, which have very little traction, and I had to drag two filled suitcases behind me. Luckily, I received some help doing that, and now I’m all settled in. The snow does make Oxford look even more gorgeous, though.

The only bad thing about snow, however, is that it tends to shut down an entire city. On Wednesday, I pretty much had just enough time to run to the grocery store to find something to eat. Luckily, on Thursday, the snow wasn’t as bad and the city was functioning. I promptly bought a pair of boots, as I left my beautiful pair of Timberlands at home, unfortunately. I had heard that there was snow but I didn’t expect this much!). But, now I’m all set for the next snow onslaught that is scheduled to hit us all this weekend. Holy Cross has prepared me in many ways for Oxford, but I had no idea that snow was one of the categories!

After three relaxing weeks filled with delicious food, sleeping in, anddriving my car, I’m headed back to England (in about four hours!). I’m all packed and ready to take on at least six more months (it might be longer; details to follow) at Oxford. Now that I’ve experienced one term, I know what to expect with regards to academics and scheduling my time (aka how many ballroom dance classes I can fit into one week). So, I must bid adieu because I’m about to head out the door to the airport.
Until my next post (which will be from England!)!

-Colleen

Firstly, let me wish you all a belated Merry Christmas. I hope that you all had a fantastic day with family and friends. My Christmas was…well, crazy. I flew in on Wednesday and my sister flew in on Friday. On Saturday, the two of us finished some much overdue Christmas shopping and also started to prepare our house for our incoming guests. Oh, yes, we also did manage to see “The Princess and the Frog” with our parents. Disney Princess movies know no age! Anyway, my aunts, uncles, grandmother, and cousins arrived on Wednesday, and that’s where the craziness just took off. My mom’s side of the family is French, which means that any family gathering focuses upon one item: food. My mother was cooking nonstop, and her creations were just delightful (especially considering the fact that I’ve been cooking for myself for the past three months). Christmas Day was filled with Mass, food, presents, and, of course, Wii Tournaments. I am the official master of the 3-Point Contest. Now if I could only play sports like that in real life… This year, I added something new to our traditions. My English friends introduced me to mince pies, and I brought some back with me. So, in addition to having about every dessert imaginable, my English friends will be happy to know that mince pies were also served at the Curran Christmas.

Now, I cannot believe that it’s already December 31st, 2009. A year ago, I was filling out the last forms of my Oxford application and hoping that I would be accepted into the Visiting Student Programme at Mansfield College. Now, I’m preparing for my two tutorials next term and also staring at my empty duffle bag that has to be packed by next Tuesday morning. It truly feels like it was only yesterday that I packed up all of my stuff in Wheeler 331, said goodbye to my friends and professors, and took one more walk around Holy Cross. Now I have one term under my belt, and I’m gearing myself up for the next two. Before I go on about how excited I am to board that plane to England and start another term at Oxford (I am so excited! Did I mention that?), I guess I should first reflect upon this previous term at Oxford (it is New Year’s Eve, after all). Over Christmas, my family asked me repeatedly how Oxford compared to Holy Cross. Obviously, the most striking difference between the two is the tutorial system. Instead of regularly meeting in a class situation with a professor, I only met with my primary tutor once a week and my secondary tutor every other week. The tutorial system also required me to prepare differently than I would for a class at Holy Cross. At Holy Cross, for everyday class, I read the assigned readings and prepared any assigned translations (You can tell you’re a Classics student when…). At Oxford, however, the work was up to me. My primary tutor gave me a list of articles to include in my weekly paper, but she expected me to go beyond her research and contribute my own findings. My secondary tutor gave me a preliminary syllabus, but then expected me to find my own way through the maze that is scholarship on the Anglo-Saxon period. And, of course, whenever I did meet with my tutors, they ripped apart an essay that I had written. I’m not really into physical fitness (well, ballroom dance does count, right?), but an analogy that a physical education teacher told me in high school really stuck with me throughout this past term. In order to build up muscle, you have to tear it down first. That’s what Michelmas term was like. Holy Cross provided an excellent foundation for me, but my tutors tore down the student that I was to create a more refined student. When I explained this to my family and friends, they all asked if I was insane for spending my year abroad doing such a demanding course. Honestly, this is the perfect year for me. Not only will I be able to apply what I’ve learned at Oxford in my final year at Holy Cross, but I’ll also be able to use what I’ve learned to help me along in graduate school (cross your fingers and say a couple more rosaries that it’ll be at Oxford!). This past term has been difficult, but it’s also been enjoyable. So, to any students thinking about participating in the Oxford program, I’d highly recommend it. It is a change from Holy Cross, but, at the same time, it’s well worth it.

I hope that you all have a safe and happy New Year’s. I’m off to sleep over at a high school friend’s house and watch Disney Princess movies (some things never change…). Until next…well, year!

Wow; I can’t believe that I haven’t updated in quite some time! I know that you’ve all been sitting on the edges of your seats because you just can’t wait to hear about my exciting life. Since my last post (which was, erm, a while ago…), life has been extremely hectic. Where on earth do I begin with my adventures in Oxford? I guess that I should start with academics; after all, that’s what brought me here in the first place! Firstly, I cannot believe how quickly Michelmas term went. In my last four meetings with my primary tutorial, I explored linguistic changes as evident in texts from various periods. It was fascinating. The first week, I focused on English’s switch from a synthetic language to an analytic language, and I had to analyze the differences between Old English and Middle English sentence constructions. For instance, Old English sentences are Subject Object Verb (typically…as we all know with grammar, there are always exceptions!), whilst Middle English sentences are Subject Verb Object. For the next week, I focused on code-switching in Medieval texts, particularly from Latin to English in The Vision of Piers Plowman. Now that was awesome. Basically, I was analyzing the rise of English as a formal language in both academic and literary circles. After that, I encountered the most significant and sweeping linguistic change in the English language – the Great Vowel Shift. During this tutorial, Charlotte asked me why I thought that this happened. Here’s what I’ve learned about linguistics, specifically when we’re dealing with the evolution of English: We just don’t know, so people can propose a lot of theories that might be ludicrous, but they hold merit nonetheless. Anyway, my final essay was the perfect assignment and it was what I was anticipating the entire term. Charlotte gave me three texts – a selection from The Canterbury Tales, Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, and Fanny Burney’s Evangelina. She told me to study them and write an essay on the one linguistic change that I saw throughout the three of them. She was talking about the rise of the periphrastic do in the English language. I really don’t have enough room to even begin talking about this subject, but it was absolutely fascinating to see it before my eyes in texts. Basically, we use the word do in a multitude of linguistic functions that the word simply didn’t employ during the Medieval period. I’ll leave it at that because I just find it such a fascinating topic that I could talk about it for hours. As you can tell, I really enjoyed my tutorial in the History of the English language, and I’m really going to miss learning about the linguistics of my major.

As for Bede, my last essay for Hugh was about why Bede included miracle stories in the Ecclesiastical History and not in his The Lives of the Abbots. Talk about fascinating! That was definitely a fun paper to write, even if my computer crashed literally fifteen minutes before the paper was due. Ever heard of Murphy’s Law? Well, I’m renaming it Colleen Curran’s law. Yes, my computer malfunctioned fifteen minutes before my paper was due and then I couldn’t find an internet connection to e-mail my paper to Hugh. Thank goodness my ballroom dance partner, Sam, was with me when it all happened because he a) made sure that I remained calm and b) found me an internet connection. That was quite the way to end the term. Anyway, I’m taking another class with Hugh in Trinity term, but this time it’s going to be more of a general history class covering the British Isles from c. 300 until 1066.

Okay, now let’s step back from academics for a bit, shall we? I swear that I’m not just studying at Oxford. The other major component of my schedule is ballroom dance. We had two competitions; one was at Warwick and the other was at Nottingham. No, those names yield no geographical insight for me either. Sam and I did rather well in both styles of dance at both competitions. We made it to the semi-finals in all the Latin dances at both competitions, and we made it to the quarter finals in the Ballroom dances at both competitions as well. The ballroom competitions are much different in England than they are in America. Here, you only dance one style – International. In America, however, competitions offer both American and International styles, which means it’s typically a longer day. Also, English competitions have what’s called a team match – every school enters a certain amount of teams. Each team is composed of a quickstep couple, a jive couple, a cha cha couple, and a waltz couple. It’s actually a lot of fun, and I’m thinking about incorporating that in the Holy Cross competition next year.

So, what about traveling, which is supposed to be a major component of any study abroad experience? Well, I’m going to be quite honest – I simply haven’t had the time to travel as much as I’ve wanted to. Since classes let out on December 6th, I’ve been running around in Oxford. Generally, my days included Christmas shopping (excellent), reading, and practicing ballroom. Yes, my life is fantastic. However, Carrie and I did manage to make it to Sutton Hoo, which is an Anglo-Saxon burial site. There’s really not much to the site other than the original barrow mounds, as all of the artifacts are housed in the British Museum for safe-keeping. However, just to see the mounds was fantastic. I always delight in seeing a medieval site because it just brings everything to life for me. I can study the period as much as I want through manuscripts, texts, historical analysis, and languages, but just visiting sites makes me realize that these were human beings who experienced the same world in which we now live. Okay, I’m finished with that nerd rant. Don’t worry, though – we’re all planning to travel a lot more during the next two terms now that we’ve tackled Oxford.

Unfortunately, I’m sitting in my room in Alpharetta, GA as I write this. Yes, I did leave Oxford yesterday morning. Yes, I left willingly. Don’t worry; I’m going to be back there in three weeks! Until then, though, check back here for updates, specifically tomorrow as I post my general thoughts about how my first term at Oxford went. Of course, you can also check back to read about my incredibly exciting life in Georgia…or you could also just look through the photos below. Whatever floats your boat.

Until next time!

-Colleen

Update: Okay, so the photo uploader isn’t working for me at the moment. Never fear; I shall sort this out!

Here’s a little bit of a back story: At the beginning of term, I bought a small bag for my ballroom stuff (yes, it consumes my life, both in America and England). The front displays the following quote from Erasmus: When I get a little money, I buy books, and, if any is left over, I buy food and clothes.

Now, as much as I like that quote, I never thought that I would do anything of the sort. Then yesterday came. After I turned in my paper for my History of the English Language tutorial, I had to get some stuff in city center (or centre, I suppose). Well, Blackwell’s (which is the best toy store!) just happened to be on my way after studying in the History Faculty Library, so I thought, “Why not? I’ll just pop in and see what new items they’ve stocked since yesterday.” To my wallet’s relief, they didn’t have the book that I really wanted (which the Bodleian also doesn’t have. WHAT? I thought that that was impossible.). However, right as I turned around, I found another book that I wanted to read. So, I whipped out my wallet (and now I’m writing in alliterative verse. Guess who’s been studying Beowulf and The Dream of the Rood a bit too much?) and found that I literally had one £10 note left. Guess how much my book was? I sat there and thought about it for a second. Do I want lunch, or do I want a book? Guess which one I ended up purchasing? Yup. I bought the book instead of food.

This is just one example of why I am not an Economics/Accounting major. My budget for my year abroad three major categories, which are the following: ballroom, food, and ballroom. Random books somehow figure in that magnificent equation.

P.S. Don’t worry; I went to the ATM after that transaction and eventually found food at 8:00 p.m. I couldn’t put the book down!

I can’t believe it, but I’ve been in classes for five weeks now. Within these past weeks, I’ve made best friends with the porters at the Radcliffe Camera (one of them knows me so that he no longer asks to check my bag for any prohibited items), my papers have been ripped to shreds, and I’ve wondered several times why I didn’t spend my year abroad in a more “fun” setting. Believe me, when I see some of my Holy Cross friends posting photos from their weekend trips to Germany and France, I get a little jealous. Yet, despite being ripped apart, I’ve never learned so much in such a short period of time and/or had so much fun. Yes, I know – I need to be locked up in the sanatorium for saying that spending all of my days in the Radcliffe Camera or the Bodleian Library is fun. These past five weeks have been frustrating because I know that I haven’t produced work that has been up to my potential. But,  now that both of my tutors have ripped apart at least two of my essays a piece and I’ve been in class for five weeks, I know what they want from me and how to do it in the most efficient way. Now that ballroom is in full swing (get it? Swing? Even though they don’t dance Swing here), I now have a schedule so that I’m not constantly freaking out about my papers. If I have too much time, then I just can’t accomplish anything. I’m weird like that. But back to the fun part. My research topics have been rather illuminating for what I want to do not only for my Senior Thesis (oh. Right…who said senior year is supposed to be all fun?), but also for graduate school (right. I have at least seven more years of this? Excellent!). My last topic for History of the English Language was to analyze how English became an analytical language (words derive meaning from positions) from its synthetic origins (words derive meaning from endings, like in Latin). It was fascinating. I was comparing the different languages that appear in different manuscripts and arguing how they’re different. It was fantastic. My next topic for Age of Bede (which is going much better. Then again, I really don’t think that I had anywhere to go but up. One day, I will post that awful paper on this site for all to see. But not now. I’ve got to get into graduate school first) is to basically reconstruct Anglo-Saxon society based upon the “Dream of the Rood.” This is actually what I’m thinking about doing for my senior thesis – syncretism of paganism with Christianity in Anglo-Saxon texts, specifically “Beowulf.” I’m as happy as a clam. Don’t worry; I will return to Holy Cross…eventually.

Okay, so that’s probably way more about academics than any of you ever wanted to read. As for living in Oxford, well, I’m still alive! Cooking for myself has definitely been interesting. I’m so used to going to Kimball or grabbing something from either Lower or Crossroads. No preparation time, no cleaning up. But cooking for myself has been rewarding. All of the American JYAs are branching out and trying new things. My favorite new item that we must start importing into America: treacle tart. It’s delicious. I have also been maintaining a social life with human beings other than the librarians. Saturday night was Mansfield College Ball, which only happens once every three years. They had bumper cars. I’ll let that one sink in. It was a really fun night. Of course, we all paid for it the next day because none of us finished any work all day Saturday. Oh well; it was worth it.

Well, you guessed it – I’m back off to the library. Until next time!

I’m pretty sure that you can gather from my title that I’m extremely content at the moment. I really don’t think that a better combination exists in the world!

I cannot believe that it’s already November. The weather here indicates otherwise. It’s been sunny (I’m not entirely sure that I’m in the right place) and there’s just the right amount of crispness in the air for fall. It’s gorgeous. Whenever I’m walking around the city (I think I walk 2.5 miles per day), I just have to smile because everything about this city is just fantastic. I know, I sound like such a fan-girl. But, there’s really no other way to describe Oxford as a city, let alone an academic experience. My tutorials are going well; in my History of the English Language class, I had to translate Caedmon’s Hymn (the oldest Old English poem – don’t listen to what your high school teachers tell you about Beowulf!) in two different dialects and then argue which one was older and support it based upon linguistic evidence. This week, I had to analyze the influence of Old Norse in the Old English lexicon. Talk about a fascinating subject! I was dismayed that I wasn’t able to engage with primary sources like I did last week, but I still loved the topic nevertheless. My Age of Bede tutorial is…well, it’s going. I royally messed up my first paper. The paper was atrocious; there are no words for it. However, my tutor, Hugh, was really nice about it. He said that even though the essay was disappointing (that’s putting it kindly), he knew that a) I knew the information; I just lacked incorporating that information into my paper  and b) it was my first history paper at Oxford. My next paper for that class is due on Thursday, and I feel so much more confident this time around. Now that I’ve been here for four weeks, I’ve been able to develop a schedule so that I’m not going crazy with all of this free time. Now I know how I need to schedule my studying time (which is basically all day) and also how to schedule my writing time. Even though I’ve had a bit of difficulty adjusting to the free-time aspect of this schedule, I think that I’ve finally found my balance. Furthermore, my classes have inspired my topic for my Senior Thesis.

In addition to getting to know the Bodleian quite well (I’m never leaving. EVER.), I swear that I’ve had some form of a social life (however meager it might be). I made the Ballroom Dance Team, so I’ll be competing for the rest of the year. Dancing is quite different over here than it is in America (the major difference is contact), so I’m still adjusting to constantly holding my frame for Ballroom. Latin, however, is quite similar to Rhythm. Also, I went to London to see Seamus Heaney talk about “Beowulf” at the British Library. That was such a magical night. There was also a performer who literally sang “Beowulf” in Old English and accompanied himself on a lyre. You know, just another night in London. And you all think that Medievalists are strange…

Speaking of Medievalists, Holy Cross CISS (Center for Interdisciplinary Studies) has confirmed that I’m insane. I designed my own secondary major of Medieval studies that combined Medieval literature, history, philology, philosophy, and theology. For those of you who don’t know, CISS allows you to create your own major provided that you include classes from at least three different fields; you’re also required to have two faculty advisers. The most frightening aspect of this entire process, though, is that my senior year is now literally mapped out. I’m glad that I finished all of my core requirements by the end of my sophomore year (to all underclassmen and prospective students: I urge you to do this!) because I’m taking English and Medieval studies classes for my last two years. It was just frightening to look at a piece of paper and see the rest of my Holy Cross career mapped out before my eyes. But we’re not going to talk about that. One of the really awesome things about having this double major is that I’m required to write my Senior Thesis on a topic that addresses both of my majors (I could write two theses, and as much as I would love to do that, I don’t think that I realistically can). Right now, I have two options in my head. One of them is exploring the phenomenological and existential natures of the writings of Julian of Norwich and Flannery O’Connor. The other one (which has actually been inspired by my Age of Bede class, actually) is exploring the syncretism of Anglo-Saxon paganism and Christianity in Anglo-Saxon poetry. I think I might want to specifically focus on the theology of the body for this time period (a la my Tolkien essay from last semester). My proposal isn’t due until March, so I have some time to solidify what I want to do.

All right, I need to read some more of Creepy Bede (don’t ask. The answer is very long and very complex). Until next time!