Across the Pond for 50 Days: Oxford: A Town of Scholars and Pubs, Week 2

So began the second week of classes. The econ class I am in is more of a theoretical based class going over topics such as why do we have tariffs, and why don’t we just have on big world currency. Thankfully we only do a little bit of math, just enough to understand the theory but not enough for me to need to dust off my old calculus skills.

This week was pretty low key. Part of the program is to experience as much of English culture as possible. Our program director taught us how to play squash and croquet. We had ladders in both, and my partner Elisabeth and I made it to the semis in croquet.

Most of the rest of the week was hanging out and playing lots of cards in the rooms. We went to a few pubs after diner. One of them was the Turf Tavern. This is where a lot of the Oxford kids go during the school year and is really nice because besides their inside seating they have a really cool patio in the back for everyone to hangout in.

There is one other really cool pub we went to called the King's Arms. This place's claim to fame is that during the school year when classes are in full swing and the kids come out to the pubs in Oxford they often go here because it is open til midnight (the latest of all the pubs in Oxford.) Since this is where all the Oxford students go its claim to fame is it has the highest IQ per square foot than anywhere else in the world. It was a fun place to try new beers and hang out in their many little side rooms. This is Lane, Kate, and I walking back one night.

Lauren, Kate, Lane and I decided to go punting again this week. For sixteen pounds you can rent a boat and punt for an hour. If you go very leisurely around the lake it takes right at an hour to do. We brought a few drinks with us and slowly punted our way around Oxford.

We did a lot of exploring through Oxford. The Covered Market had this delicious cookie place called Ben’s Cookies that everyone frequented. I ate at this sandwich shop called Olive’s basically every day while I was in Oxford. It was really good and they had lots of options for cheese, meats, and toppings.