Second day: History and compelled labor

Today, on the second day of law school orientation, we learned about English common law systems. Don't you wish you were here? Want to know what a "writ" is? Or what is the difference between the Court of Exchequer and the King's Bench?
What is striking to me is that the legal system we now have is not solely the product of the U.S. Constitution or any intentional act of legislation, but is rather a hodgepodge of centuries of court decisions dating back to 11th century England. The common law courts were really an offshoot of the power struggle between the fledgling monarchy and the landed aristocracy that dominated the feudal system. Basically, the king used a system of courts to centralize his own power and undercut the land-owning lords. But then, the desires of British monarchs have held sway on Western cultural development for a millenium. Take English Protestantism. Britain would still be Catholic if Henry VIII hadn't wanted a divorce in contradiction of Rome's teaching.
After this intellectually stimulating tour through English judicial history, we spent the afternoon in hard manual labor. The class' inaugural community service project included moving sandbags from a hastily built floodwall meant to keep the rising waters out of an Iowa City well. I am exhausted, my back hurts, my face is flush from the sun and I have a headache. I'm in the law library now reading the 30 pages for tomorrow's class. It took an evening quadruple espresso to get me here though.
Yet, I feel strangely satisfied by all this.