Tag: VPO

2019 Summer, Summer

Ethan Gaines: Post 4

Ethan Gaines Virginia Program at Oxford Oxford, England Summer 2019 Overall, I am very happy that I decided to study abroad in Oxford for six weeks. While the program was certainly very challenging, it was a very rewarding experience and I am grateful to Hampden-Sydney for providing me with this opportunity. The stereotype of Oxford being an unexciting city where the only things to do are study and attend lectures is very wrong. University Park and the Thames and Cherwell Rivers provide excellent places to relax and hang out with friends, and there are numerous bars and pubs throughout the […]

2019 Summer, Summer

Ethan Gaines: Post 3

Ethan Gaines Virginia Program at Oxford Oxford, England Summer 2019 During my time in England on the Virginia Program at Oxford, I was blown away at the how good the food was and how culturally diverse the cities of Oxford and London were. St. Anne’s College was surrounded by amazing Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Spanish, and French restaurants that offered delicious meals and reasonable prices. As for my favorite meal on the trip, nearly every place I went to offered an amazing burger, which I would say is my favorite food of all time. Every week, a large group of us […]

2019 Summer, Summer

Ethan Gaines: Post 2

Ethan Gaines Virginia Program at Oxford Oxford, England Summer 2019 On our first weekend at Oxford, the program director, Dr. Ken Fincham, led the group on a tour all around the city of Oxford. We were able to see the majority of the colleges that make up Oxford University, and learned a little history about each. We ended our tour at the world-renowned Bodleian Library, seeing the famous Radcliffe Camera, Sheldonian Theatre, and Divinity School, which were all absolutely fascinating. Over the duration of the program we were able to use the Bodleian Library and its vast resources to help […]

2019 Summer, Summer

Ethan Gaines: Post 1

Ethan Gaines Virginia Program at Oxford Oxford, England Summer 2019 I chose to participate in the Virginia Program at Oxford because I wanted to experience the academic atmosphere, historical reputation, and cultural prominence that the University and City provides. I am very interested in residing in England for six weeks as the cultural diversity present in the country is astonishing and the scenery is absolutely beautiful. Also, while I have visited Europe on a number of occasions in the past, I had never visited the United Kingdom, so I am really excited to experience something completely new. Overall, the Virginia […]

2017 Summer

Griffin Salyer: Post 4

Griffin  Salyer Virginia Program at Oxford Oxford, England Summer 2017 How was your experience different from what you expected?  In what ways was it the same? My experience was more enlightening than I truly expected. I came back wide-eyed and ready to take on a new world. It is weird how you might even expect this change, yet it still occurs so dramatically. I think about different ideas, in different ways, and about different perspectives than I had previously. I know more about myself, and I know more about others around me. I expected to come back with “wisdom” but […]

2017 Summer

Griffin Salyer: Post 3

Griffin Salyer Virginia Program at Oxford Oxford, England Summer 2017 What’s your favorite food you’ve tried so far? My favorite food is by far any of the pub foods that are abundantly available in the U.K. Within the subsection of pub foods, nearly every item on any pub menu is restaurant or higher quality, and it is great for a growing young man like myself. Within the delicious pub food realm, I must say that my favorite so far is a panini, filled with tuna and mayonnaise and delivered to transcendence with melted cheese, appearing upon a golden platter and […]

2017 Fall

Griffin Salyer: Post 2

Griffin Salyer Virginia Program at Oxford Oxford, England Summer 2017 What is your commute like from home to class? What do you hear/see/smell on the way? Well, fortunately for me, both my lectures and my tutorials (meetings with my professors where we discuss our essays and arguments) are inside the college I am staying in. Some people have to walk into city-center Oxford (about 10 minutes) to get to their tutorials. Every single day, I get to walk out of the courtyard behind our “bevs” (the street our dorms are on is Bevington Road) and smell the morning dew and […]

2017 Summer

Griffin Salyer: Post 1

Griffin Salyer Virginia Program at Oxford Oxford, England Summer 2017 Hello! I’m Griff. You may or may not have known or heard of me at H-SC, but in any case, I am here to detail my story, perspective, and feelings about studying abroad in Oxford, England at – you guessed it – The University of Oxford. I want this blog to be more of my voice rather than an official and enthusiastically professional writing – and so in making it my voice I hope you’ll feel a lot of personality coming at you. The informal structure of each one of […]