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Bethan Johnson | Oxford, England | Post 2

Bethan Johnson | Oxford, England | Post 2

“Alkdnasdlkfnadsl.” This delightful collection of letters characterizes almost every message I have written home thus far, and also the truly great and terrible beauty of studying abroad at Oxford. I will warn readers that this blog may be somewhat hard to follow, as the writer is still dealing with the constant screams of Oxford students in the aftermath of the JK Rowling interview, most of which sound something like the word I used above; this holds particularly true for whoever…

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Bethan Johnson | Oxford, England | Post 1

Bethan Johnson | Oxford, England | Post 1

One of the greatest myths propagated in the modern world when it comes to cultural similarities has to be this: that the United States and the United Kingdom, with their ‘special relationship’ and a mutual appreciation for Downton Abbey and Sherlock, are quite similar. In many ways I wasn’t surprised to find that the cross-Atlantic move brought more struggles than trying to drag 6 months of my life through London Heathrow Airport after an all-day flight. I am a British…

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Nathan Tauger | Oxford, England | Post 3

Nathan Tauger | Oxford, England | Post 3

When it comes to putting food on the table in the PI business, a good reputation is like a good fedora: absolutely indispensable. It’s not good investigator etiquette to sling mud. But I would be making a grave mistake to avoid the blame here. It was me. Let the papers—Misc, Weekly Squat, Chronicle, Helicon—know. I bit the bullet and chipped my tooth; I ran the race and tripped halfway; I made huge mistakes. My first mistake: I followed a false…

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Jessica Tarantine | Oxford, England | Post 4

Jessica Tarantine | Oxford, England | Post 4

Though culturally England is fairly similar to the United States, one of the most unfamiliar aspects of studying abroad at Oxford is the academic experience. As I’ve explained in a previous post, Oxford features a tutorial system which necessitates a fair amount of writing, averaging about a paper-and-a-half per week. As a humanities major, I’m not a stranger to writing papers, and as a writing consultant in the Writing Center, I’m used to reading a wide variety of papers and prompts. It took…

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Jessica Tarantine | Oxford, England | Post 1

Jessica Tarantine | Oxford, England | Post 1

Unless you’re my parents—in which case you’ll happily read anything I’ve written—you’re probably reading this to gain further insight into studying abroad, either at Oxford or in general. Thus, instead of waxing poetic about English architecture and cuisine, I’ll lay out some of the basics of studying here at Oxford. The College/University System: If you wish to study abroad at Oxford, rather than applying directly to the University, you must first apply to one of the 30-some colleges included within it. If you’re like or…

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Nathan Tauger | Oxford, England | Post 2

Nathan Tauger | Oxford, England | Post 2

The Usual Suspects For the short of mind, allow me to sum up the story thus far. I’m a PI—hard-boiled, etc—in a bad spot in a foreign country with limited options to crack the case, get the dame, and save my skin. How’d I get there? Like I said in my last brief reflection, I had just arrived in Oxford, England to retrieve some kind of treasure stolen from my home turf of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. I got to work immediately and found…

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Nathan Tauger | Oxford, England | Post 1

Nathan Tauger | Oxford, England | Post 1

I had it in my hands. It’s all downhill from here. You wouldn’t understand yet, though. The assignment was straightforward, simple: follow the suspects to England and once they slip up, make the catch—simple, right? I was the finest private investigator at Vassar College—a place where intrigue and deceit found their way from every nook of wellness to every cranny of Ferry. No job was too big, too controversial, or too sketchy for me. I was freelance then, saving my…

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