Today was kind of a wake up call for all of us because we all became aware of how structured, organized, and intense (in a way) this program is going to be. This all became apparent when we walked into our Academic Induction in the Portrait Room of the fancy Grove House. We were handed a professional leather-bound portfolio binder with lots of information inside. We were given our Roehampton student ID's and passwords for Internet access, Oyster cards (for unlimited traveling around London... the receipt was within the envelope and it was 185 pounds!), an extensive day-by-day schedule for the entire program, and a lengthy course syllabus.
That's right, there is a class! Surprise! None of us were really aware of this, but it will count for academic credit to our home universities (if they will count it), and we do get marks (grades)! It's called "Questioning Citizenship."
In our Academic Induction, we got to learn more about Roehampton University itself, which is made up of 9,000 students at 4 different campuses (Whitelands, Southlands, Froebel, and Digby Stuart--where we stay). It gained its independence as a university in 2004, and it is one of the only residential campuses in London. It provides sort of an oasis in a sense because one minute you will be walking next to an academic building, and then seeing woods and wildlife the next. Very cool!
We also got to meet the Director of the Fulbright Awards Programme (Michael Scott-Kline) and the US Programme Coordinator (Elizabeth Hizer). It was really nice to meet them and get further information about what it means to be a Fulbright Scholar and a representative of the program. This is the first Fulbright Summer Institute Program ever (so we are the inaugural group), and he said that this was the most competitive admission for any starting Fulbright program in the last 62 years. Wow! They also gave us a quote from Senator J William Fulbright:
Our future is not in the stars but in our minds and hearts. Creative leadership and liberal education are the first requirements for a hopeful future for humankind. Fostering these -- leadership, learning, and empathy between cultures -- was and remains the purpose of the International Scholarship Program.We also got a bag full of brochures, maps, and information about London. We even got a snazzy t-shirt and hoodie that both have Roehampton University stitched on the front, with "Fulbright Summer Institute" printed on the back. We are all definitely excited to wear them.
In the afternoon, we went to the University Library to get our Student ID cards, as well as get a tour of the facility. It was quite similar to what we're used to in America. We'll use the Media Development Center quite a bit to edit our videos that we will be producing about citizenship in the UK vs. USA. To help with this, they issued each of us our own FlipCams! :)
In our small break, we took the bus to Putney where we did a few errands... I bought a UK hair straightener, some postcards, etc. We had a crazy ride back... Apparently the bus driver wasn't in a very good mood! I almost fell over like 10 times.
Then we came back and got super fancy for a champagne and appetizer reception held by the Vice Chancellor (Paul O'Prey) of the university. It was invitation only! It was very fun to see such a fancy part of the culture, especially among some of the famous faculty/staff members. We were able to see speeches from the faculty, and they even mentioned us as Fulbright Scholars as something that enhances their university!
While mingling, we met the infamous Roger who chatted with us about British Petroleum and the huge oil scandal going on with that. Also, we met Canon Peter Bruinvels, who became another running joke for the rest of our trip! Canon Peter was definitely a character... he named us all by what state we were from -- so I would be Miss Illinois, for example. He was very proud of his achievements, explaining to us that he is a Governor of the Church Commissioners, a member of the General Synod of the Church of England, a former Director of the Church Army, Senior Inspector of Anglican Schools and is a Lay Canon of Guildford Cathedral. Feeling the wine, perhaps, one of his infamous quotes around us was, "Am I being a naughty boy??" Before we left the reception, the faculty gave us these really nice hardback books entitled "The Story of Roehampton"... they are very well-done any have many pictures of the campus, as well as how the university developed.
Us talking to Canon Peter!!!
Barron and I!
The Grove House -- where the reception was held.
Us with the Vice Chancellor.They apparently weren't serving dinner, so we went to Nando's restaurant in Putney, which is a casual Portuguese/Mozambican dining place. Nando's specializes in chicken dishes with either lemon and herb, medium, hot, or extra hot peri-peri marinades. Peri-peri is a hot East African sauce made from dried and soaked piri-piri chili peppers. I got medium peri-peri chicken, spicy rice, and "chips" (fries). It was really, really good! I found out that it is a chain, and there are two restaurants in the U.S.!! One is in Washington D.C. and the other is in Maryland.... I guess I'll have to go visit those places if I start going through Nando's withdrawals! I guess Nando's is known for its humorous, yet controversial, advertisements. We actually saw a funny one on the tube (underground train). It says "Introduce this person to fiery peri-peri chicken and they will name their children and small furry animals after you," and there is an arrow that points down at whoever is sitting in that particular seat.
We finally headed back to Bede where we were able to change out of our fancy clothes and just hang out for a while :)
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