A few days ago, I described an oddity in summer vacation travel, the ability to attend courses at Harvard University in July and August as an adult "auditor." Though you don't take tests, and get no credit, you must still sign up for an entire four-week session, and the experience is a rather serious one, in the company of senior high school students from around the nation. The required four-week stay is the main reason why only a few adults participate (though they are eagerly welcomed by the Harvard faculty, as I learned in a phone conversation with Harvard officials last week).

A more serious summer learning opportunity is the "Summer Classics" program of St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, about which I've previously written. Here, for only one week at a time, you sign up to read and discuss one book -- like Dante's Inferno, like Thuycidides Pelopponesian Wars -- for a full week, while residing in student quarters on the scenic, mountainside campus of St. John's.

But a compromise between Harvard, on the one hand, and St. John's, on the other, is Cornell's Adult University (www.sce.cornell.edu/cau) in Ithaca, New York, scheduled this year for a series of one-week sessions from July 6 to August 2. This is for adults (whose children, if they come, pursue a separate program) in a wide variety of subjects in the Liberal Arts, all presented by eminent members of the Cornell faculty and discussed with serious intent by the intellectually-curious people who sign up for this kind of "vacation." The cost ranges around $1,400 for a week -- and that includes not only your tuition, but housing in a Cornell dorm, all three meals a day, various social programs, access to the gym, and many other extras.

The popularity and acceptance of Cornell's Adult University is proven by its thirty-year-long history and by many enthusiastic recommendations. If a trip to England's Oxford (for its famed summer school) seems too costly this year, and St. John's Great Books discussion seems too heavy, you might settle instead on Cornell.

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Labels: education

It's a totally unexpected one-week interlude for Oxford addicts. Probably because there's a short, early-April recess at England's famous university, opening up student residences for occupancy by foreign tourists, the authorities there have announced a week-long program called "Insider's Oxford" for the period from March 30 to April 5, 2008. (Attendees will undoubtedly be fierce Anglophiles or readers/viewers of Brideshead Revisited or Inspector Morse.) The instruction will be all about Oxford and its famous colleges.

Mornings, participants will hear lectures by Oxford teaching staff on the history of Oxford; Oxford writers; art, music and religion at Oxford; and Oxford's unique teaching system and future development. Afternoons will be devoted to tours of colleges and gardens; the Bodleian Library; the Oxford University Press; and "hidden beauties" of the university -- all places that are usually out-of-bounds to tourists.

The price: £980, or approximately $1,946, including six nights of accommodations in Worcester College (in a single with private bath), three meals daily (with a closing reception and dinner), 10 lectures, and 5 afternoon tours of Oxford. The Oxford Bus Company has frequent service from London's Heathrow Airport to and from Oxford.

Registration deadline: February 15, 2008. And complete information on "Insider's Oxford" can be downloaded from the website. Or else it can be obtained from Insider's Oxford, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Sauare, Oxford, OX1 2JA, U.K. The e-mail address is oxprog@conted.ox.ac.uk, and the telephone number is tel. 011-44-1865-280763.

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Labels: education, england

Although I have earlier mentioned (briefly, in passing) the possibility of an early-booking discount on the Oxford Experience, the "experience" itself is so outstanding that the discount should be emphasized and discussed again at greater length.

To repeat an earlier blog post: there are two Oxford-operated summer schools: the fearsome Oxford University Summer School (advance reading, and a paper prepared for critical analysis by your "Don") and the just-for-fun Oxford Experience (you simply sit in lecture halls and listen, without having to participate or work). Both cost about $1,960 per person per week (classes are taught for a single week at a time) for all tuition, accommodations, three meals daily, and much else). This is perhaps the supreme learning experience of travel.

Last summer, I received a press release on another subject from Barbara Gillam, a longtime press agent in the world of travel, and needed to ask her a few questions. I called her office, left my number, and shortly afterwards received a call that she had placed from Oxford. She was herself attending the Oxford Experience.

Well, when a press agent herself experiences the subject about which she is writing press releases, the job is likely to be exceptionally well done. I can't improve on Barbara's recent follow-up press release about the discount on the Oxford Experience and set it forth here, verbatim:

The one-week summer course at England's oldest university -- called The Oxford Experience -- is offering an early booking discount of $100 (£50) per week on weeks 1 to 4 and $200 (£100) on week 5. This priority booking scheme enables prospective students to save money while making their course selection and reserving accommodation for the program, which runs from June 29 to August 2, 2008.

The Oxford Experience is a residential program that offers a choice of about a dozen courses each week over a period of five weeks. It is open to anyone who would enjoy "auditing" such courses as A History of the English Language, An Introduction to Opera, Enjoying the Cotswolds, The Roman Imperial Army, Romantic Jane Austen, Creative Writing, The Play's the Thing, Castles in Britain and The Garden in Art. There are no tests, no papers, just a lot of lively discussion. Classes, with a maximum of 12 students, are made up of Anglophiles from all over the world, with the youngest students in their thirties, the oldest in their nineties.

The program takes place at Christ Church -- the most prestigious and beautiful of all Oxford colleges -- which was founded by Cardinal Wolsey almost five centuries ago. This means students stay in buildings that date from the 18th to the 20th centuries (though rooms with private bath are available) and dine in the magnificent Hall made famous by the Harry Potter films. Three meals daily are included in the cost of the program. Once a week each student is invited to dine at the High Table and, on the final night, everyone gets dressed up for champagne in the Cathedral Garden and a celebratory farewell dinner in the Hall.

During the week there are tours of Christ Church, the city of Oxford and other colleges, as well as excursions to castles, stately homes, Roman villas, cities, towns, villages and museums. In the evening there might be a pub crawl, a special lecture, croquet and wine in the Masters Garden and Evensong in the college chapel, which is also the Oxford Cathedral. At other times participants can enjoy Oxford's concerts and theater, the college picture gallery, riverside walks in Christ Church Meadow and boating on the Isis (as the Thames is called in Oxford).

The price of a one-week course -- including tuition, accommodations and all meals (except those on excursions) is £980, or approximately $1,960. There are additional charges for excursions and rooms with private bath. Participants who stay over Saturday night between courses also pay a supplement. The registration deadline is April 1, 2008, but early application is recommended and even encouraged with the early-bird discount.

A brochure with complete information about all aspects of the program and an application form is available online or from The Oxford Experience, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JA, U.K.

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Labels: education, england

I've written before about spending a summer week at Oxford, in the adult version of a child's "let's pretend." As an adult summer student, using every facility of this hallowed British institution other than a black gown (you aren't allowed to wear one), you enjoy the fantasy of Brideshead Revisited, in the settings you've seen described in scores of famous novels, in this city (Oxford) of "dreaming spires" and in a fifteenth century Gothic hall where you take meals in a Harry Potter-like dining hall.

There are numerous programs for attending Oxford in summer, and some of them are quite rigorous, requiring advance reading and the preparation of a weekly paper that you read to your "don," a teaching master. The contrast to those intensive bouts of study is a program called "The Oxford Experience," which is all pleasure. You attend exhilarating lectures, but aren't required to take a single test or prepare a single essay. As you'd expect, applications are heavy for "The Oxford Experience," and courses are often booked out by Christmas, long before the formal April deadline for submitting applications.

The Oxford Experience for 2008 has just been scheduled and announced, and I can't think of a better way to describe it than by quoting verbatim from its press release:

The Oxford Experience means studying, living and dining at Christ Church, one of the most prestigious and beautiful of Oxford colleges, which was founded by Cardinal Wolsey almost five centuries ago. The residential program, which takes place from June 29 to August 2, 2008, offers one-week courses designed for those who would enjoy such varied subjects as A History of the English Language, Jane Austen, Enjoying the Cotswolds, William the Conqueror, The Oxford Movement, An Introduction to Philosophy, Monasteries and Cathedrals, The Making of England and Romantic Poetry. A choice of some 50 subjects is offered during the five week program.

Participants in The Oxford Experience stay in student accommodations -- though rooms with private bath are available -- and dine in the magnificent Hall, lined with portraits of famous figures of British history. Three meals daily are included in the cost of the program: a full English breakfast, a buffet lunch and a served three-course dinner. Once a week each student is invited to dine at the High Table and, on the final night, everyone gathers for champagne in the Cathedral Garden and a celebratory farewell dinner in the Hall.

Throughout the week there are optional daytime excursions to stately homes such as Blenheim Palace and Kelmscott Manor, tours of Christ Church, Oxford and the Bodleian Library. Evening events include pub walks, whisky tastings, Morris Dancers, croquet and wine in the Masters Garden, special lectures and Evensong in the college chapel, which is also the Oxford Cathedral.

The price of a one-week course -- including tuition, accommodations and all meals (except those on excursions) is £980, or approximately $1,960. There are additional charges for excursions and rooms with private bath. The registration deadline is April 1, 2008, but early application is recommended and even encouraged: Those who register by December 1, 2007 receive an early booking discount of £50 per week for weeks 1 to 4 and £100 per week for week 5.

A complete descriptive brochure is available online at www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/international/oxfordexperience.asp.

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Labels: education, england, student travel

Several weeks ago, I wrote about the plan to operate highly-intellectual cruises of the Mediterranean by Martin Randall Travel, the British operator of highly-intellectual land tours. These would fill the yawning gap in cruises caused by the unspeakable decision of Carnival Corporation to put an end to the 50-year-old Swan Hellenic Cruises, the only operator of moderately-priced intellectual cruises. Randall has now chartered the 236-passenger MS Columbus of Hapag-Lloyd Line, and will be operating three two-week-long cruises in September and October of 2008: "In Pursuit of Caravaggio and Magna Graecia," September 21 to October 3, 2008; "The Romans in Africa: Libya and Tunisia," October 3 to October 13, 2008; and "Ancient Greek Civilization in the Aegean," October 13 to October 24, 2008. Each cruise will be accompanied by four celebrated professors of leading U.K. universities, each a specialist in the area of each sailing.

Bear in mind, as you read Randall's description of his new program, on the single most erudite travel website ever published (www.martinrandall.com), that each cruise ranges from 10 to 12 days in length, is totally all-inclusive (roundtrip airfare to the Mediterranean from London, all daily, full-day land excursions, wine with meals, soft drinks from the mini-bar, all tips) and ranges in price from £215 ($430) to £230 ($460) per person per day, which compares with the $800 and $900-or-so per person per day that most U.S. university or museum-sponsored cruises charge, accompanied by only a single professor, not four.

In other words, Swan Hellenic re-born! You'll learn more at www.martinrandall.com. And if you'd like to make a "priority booking" now, you can either go to the same website, or phone Martin Randall at tel. +44/20-8742-3355.

As cruiseships have grown larger, the "dumbing down" of their programs has grown more intense. Let's all celebrate the work of Martin Randall Travel.

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Labels: cruise, education

Like Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States, the city of Salamanca (150,000 people) is the major university town of Spain. And there, in a private school charging peanuts -- it's called Salmínter -- the brightest travelers in the world learn to speak Spanish. From the moment you enter your class, held from 9am to 1pm daily, Monday to Friday, all you hear is Spanish, and within moments of entering, the sheerest beginner in each group is speaking Spanish.

Salamanca is an ancient walled city whose recorded history goes back to the third century A.D. It is about two hours by train from Madrid, for which the round-trip fare is about $30. Once there, Salmínter charges the Spanish equivalent of $383 (two hours a day for twenty weekdays) or $651 (four hours a day for twenty weekdays) for a month's worth of classes, but you can limit your participation to two weeks, if you wish. Living costs for that month? You can rent a flat (through the school, which will place you) for about $8.10 a day, or be placed by the school with a Spanish-speaking family (no English whatever) that will house you in a small room and give you three meals a day at their table, for about $27 a day. And you can fly to Madrid for the low costs we've discussed in other blog posts.

For the full details on their language courses and housing arrangements, log on to www.salminter.com.

And why choose Spain for your language learning? Why not Mexico or Costa Rica? When that question is put to me, I answer diplomatically that Mexico is Mexico, but Spain is ... well, Spain.

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Labels: education, spain

The World Fellowship Center of New Hampshire is a non-profit summer vacation camp that deserves publicity. Nearly 60 years old, it is both inexpensive and serious, devoted to seminars and classes on important issues in world affairs and personal growth. Weekly programs take place from late June to mid-September of each year, in a stunning setting on 453 scres of forested trails and mile-long pond, with many options for afternoon recreation following a morning of discussion. The charge for lodging and all meals can run as low as $305 a week per person, but usually averages $414 per adult, and if you'd care to enjoy the company of vital people seeking to better understand the big issues, you'd be well advised to register soon. You can get further information from www.worldfellowship.org.

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Labels: education, new hampshire

Chautauqua in upstate New York is a summer (June 25 to August 24, in 2007) vacation destination so popular that it always sells out long before its opening date -- you'll need to book almost immediately. Essentially, Chautauqua invented the "learning vacation" more than a century and a quarter ago. The core of its program is a body of some 400 classes in every conceivable subject ranging over a nine-week period. For as long as you wish to stay, at extremely moderate rates ($15 a day for daytime admission, not including room and meals), you enjoy a verdant campus with golf, boating and swimming, as well as lectures delivered by nationally recognized names ranging from Nobel laureates to Supreme Court justices to (this year) the Governor of New York State. You also have access to reasonably-priced concerts, films and plays, at an extra charge for evening events. If you'd like to know more about Chautauqua, log on to www.ciweb.org.

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Labels: chautauqua, education

Because all the most interesting courses are now sold out, it's really too late to apply for what may be the finest learning vacation in all of travel, a program known as the Oxford Experience, a week spent on the campus of Britain's famous university an hour and a half from London. But make a note to send in your request almost immediately after the beginning of next year for the 2008 summer session, which always sells out by the end of March (it covers any of the five weeks from July 1 through the first week of August in 2008). Here's an adventure of the mind for adults from all over the world, who attend Oxford without tests, examinations or grades, living in the ancient Christ Church College and taking meals in a 15th century Gothic dining hall, while they pursue courses like "The Public and Private Lives of British Prime Ministers," or the "Tyranny of Henry VIII, to name just two. The total cost averages 980 british pounds, around $1900, for tuition, a single room, and all meals. If you're at all interested, go to Google on January 1, 2008, and type in the words "The Oxford Experience."

(I should also point out that Oxford operates a separate program called the Oxford University Summer School for Adults, primarily intended for British residents but also open to Americans. This one is a great deal more serious than the Oxford Experience; it requires preparatory readings, a 1,500 word essay before classes begin, and a 1,000 word essay at the end of the week, in addition to dealing with far more serious subjects of philosophy and history. The cost is £ 850, about $1,700 for a fully-inclusive week.)

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Labels: education, england

For reasons hard to explain, but easy to speculate about, the volunteer vacation is currently surging, and people are flocking to places where they can work at a socially beneficial cause; we Yanks apparently feel guilty about many things. The three leading organizations to arrange such vacations are, of course, the American Hiking Society (restoring trails and other facilities in national and state parks), the Sierra Club (every sort of environmental improvement), and Habitat for Humanity (construction of low-income housing). But perhaps the broadest program is that of Earthwatch, accessed at www.earthwatch.org, on which you volunteer to accompany a university scientist on various research expeditions. Though you pay heavily for such a privilege the modest net cost seems well justified by the thrill of the effort.

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Labels: education, volunteer

Heard about the Vaughan organization? It teaches English in Spain by inviting unpaid American or British volunteers to spend entire days conversing in English with Spanish business people at various locations. You get full room and board for doing so, but no remuneration, and are expected to perform a vigorous, gregarious role by speaking at length in all sorts of classroom and social situations. Go to www.vaughantown.com for further details on an unusual vacation opportunity that costs you nothing other than your transportation to Spain.

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Labels: accommodations, education, spain