Out of the Bubble

Let me talk a little bit about school. I'm in a program with thirty other students from the United States. Four of us are from Walla Walla (honors program kids), the rest are from all over, though like Walla Walla, some schools sent several students. We're talking four weeks of integral courses until the regular term begins (and the English students will re-flood the Oxford campuses--to understand the school system, look up Oxford University on Wikipedia). We also all have a seminar course, and tutorials will start in October. Seminars only have two to nine people in them, and tutoring takes place one-on-one (or may very rarely may include two students). Because tutorials haven't started yet most of my time here has consisted of the two lectures we have a day (one at 9:30am the second at 11am with a few minutes for coffee in-between), field trips to various castles, cathedrals, and Oxford sites ("Here's the grocery store guys! Enjoy!"), and getting to know the great group of American college students I met here at CMRS (which, if you didn't remember, stands for Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies).

There are students from Michigan, California, Vermont, North Carolina, Maryland, and probably some other states that I've forgotten. That alone makes for a decent culture shock within the program. But even more interesting is the vast array of viewpoints represented. There are Catholics, and Methodists, backslidden protestants of various denominations, agnostics, staunch atheists, and Jews. I'm no longer in an environment where everyone understands "bad-ventist" behavior like eating meat or dancing. The jokes fall flat, the expectations are nonexistent. I can no longer assume that everyone has a similar background or derivative viewpoint. I can't even assume that everyone believes in God. In short, I'm out of the bubble.

I hate to admit it, but I was surprised when I realized some of the students in the group smoke. And drinking isn't a question of "if," it's a question of "how much?" Even the devout Christians in the group have a hard cider with dinner. Clubbing and dancing are a typical Friday night. Sexual experience of some kind is assumed. It's a different environment. And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it makes me a little apprehensive.

But it's also very freeing. Even though I thought I was decently aware of how others live, it's been good for me to see it in action. Because of the strong pub culture here, I've seen first hand what responsible drinking looks like. Far from the dramas of high school, alcohol has a new, more mature meaning here. Drinking isn't a way to get back at a system, or stick to one's parents, or exercise new-found freedom. It's a way to take the edge off, have fun. It's also been interesting to reexamine some of my spiritual beliefs. It's easy to complacently accept what you've been told, or even what you've told yourself, when no one is directly questioning you (and boy, there have been questions...).

So much is different, and yet I am glad for it. I feel as though being out of the bubble will give me the chance to discover some things on my own; things about myself, and about how I want to continue living my life when I return to Walla Walla. Sometimes it's difficult to realize how sheltered you are until you leave.