Return Again to the Place You've Never Been

Greetings, faithful friends and acquaintances. I see it’s been...oh...dang...about a week since I last updated. I begin to see the difficulty of keeping an online journal, especially in an excursion such as this. If ever you fall behind, or in my case start behind, inertia begins to work against you. Ah well…
Last week was the conclusion of orientation, along with a fieldtrip to historic Bath (pronounced bAHth). We all piled into one of those two leveled buses one supposedly sees all over the place in Britain; it was like elementary school all over again, with another student running with me to get the front top seats. Once at Bath, we clambered around the ancient Roman baths (see? See the connection?) like a flock of American tourists on holiday. Which, of course, we were. Also of note were the outstanding architectural works of the John Woods (junior and senior): Queens Square, Kings Circus, and the Royal Crescent. We also learned of the deadly scourge that once populated the British landscape: the Haha.
***Begin Explanation of Anglicism***
A Haha is a wall or shelf built into the side a hill or a meadow. From below, it is clearly a stone wall, but from the above, it is hidden by the majestic rolling fields, and one only sees grass. Hence, when one is frolicking in the fields, as they once did in Britain on a regularly basis in the time before frolicking fell out of fashion and was replaced by a stern and purposeful gait, one could go right over the edge and an succumb to the effects of gravity. Any surrounding bystanders, and possibly nearby sheep, would then, of course, give a hearty “Haha.” Hence the name.
I swear I am not making this up.
***End Explanation of Anglicism***
Also of note was the stunning Bath Abbey. I have been in a few Cathedral-esque stained-glass encrusted buildings in my time, but this one was uniquely impressive for me, thought by no means the largest or most grandiose. I had the immediate thought that I would like to get married there, but most likely I would need to be an Earl or a Duke or invent a new kind of bread and meat food before that would be possible.
This week marks the debut week of my “normal” routine here. Today was my first Greek reading class (an informal affair conducted over lunch and coffee [none for me. Tea man, don’t you know] with some 15 other students and postgrads) where we began with John’s gospel. My tutor is quite perfect: a quick witted older English gentleman who also, incidentally just published his own translation of the New Testament (complete with praise verbage from a variety of archbishops and the like). On Thursday, the book of Hebrews (the text of which spent this afternoon kicking me about the room and making disparaging remarks about my parentage).
Next week I begin my C.S. Lewis tutorial. Looks promising, even if we are starting with the Chronicles of Narnia (not bad, you understand, just a little bit overexposed). Amidst my tutorials are scores and scores of lectures (each one held once or twice a week for the length of the term) open to my attendance, all across the city. I am required to attend four, but I will mostly likely settle on at least double that. “Hey kid, come over here and see this candy store...”
Public transportation, as it turns out, does indeed transport the public, though even with the presence of numerous buses, everyone at the Vines does an unbelievable amount of walking on a regular basis. A word about the buses:
***Begin Word about the Buses***
I have no idea where the drivers for the buses here in England come from, nor what sort of advanced technology they use to drive the things, but I only assume they are both somehow a by-product of the Cold War or the space program. These monstrosities routinely bound about the exceedingly narrow metric roads, coming within SIX INCHES (or ten...um...fractameters) of everything: other buses, cars, cyclists, pedestrians, building, low flying aircraft, etc. and yet, there are never any accidents, and business goes on as usual. I can’t help but constantly think of Harry Potter’s Knight Bus (the Night Bus, by the by, is the late bus that runs to pick up the stragglers once the regular lines have turned in for the night).
***End Word About the Buses***
While I am here, I should probably mention something about my fellow students. While there is the usual broad spectrum of personalities, they are for the most part a quality bunch. There are so many bright people here from so many different backgrounds and disciplines; one is usually not in want of a good conversation or debate here (that is, of course, until deadlines begin to press). It is sort of like normal college life distilled, concentrating the good bits and eliminating much of the extraneous, including the people who are not truly passionate about learning, and about the subject which they are studying. There are few people here I dislike, some whom I tolerate, most I am at least acquainted with, many I am getting a long well with, and some I am truly becoming friends with. (I know I ended those prepositions. It was an intentional protest against archaic and unnecessary constraints. Or something.)
A random sampling:
Phil-A long-haired, heavy-metal-fan, classics student from rural Maine. Wonderfully quick witted fellow and one of the most down to earth people in the program.
Jake- A fellow Biblical languages type from North Carolina. Reminds me a bit of my Dad, with good natured southern humour. He also appreciates the virtues of sweet tea (good man), and insists that, no matter what they say, these things here are not “biscuits.”
AJ- A chap from Woodstock. He is a political science major, and future campaign advisor/evil genius of some sort. Great politico and policy wonk, and a bright guy. He is also blind, leading me to fondly christen him Zato-AJ in my internal monologue, after Shintaro Katsu’s legendary blind swordsman.
I suddenly see the danger of starting to mention people, because then there is no way to stop. Katrina, also from Woodstock, deserves mention as well; quite a talented and multifaceted lady, and also a very unique snowflake (*tips hat to Emily*). But then, most of my friends are. (If you’re reading this, that probably means you. It’s ok. It’s a good thing)
That is it for now, I believe. Now that I am a bit “caught up,” more frequent entries to follow, I hope.

Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus be with you all,
Brian