The remainder of week 2 (after my post last Monday) was busy, but good. I feel like I'm starting to settle in and find a routine, which mostly consists of class, reading, and some semblance of a social life. On Tuesday, I only had one class and then I spent the rest of the day doing reading for the following day. That evening, I hung out with a friend and watched Arsenal play Dortmund (and unfortunately lose to them...).
Wednesday was a fully day of class, reading, and then yoga. I feel like I really did well the first week of yoga, but this past week I could feel a migraine brewing and my whole body just felt tired and achey. I was glad I went, but everything just seemed hard... even things that had seemed easy the previous week. After yoga I tried to do some reading, but my headache was getting much, much worse, so I finally just called it a night.
I woke up on Thursday with a pretty bad headache, but I got it under control before my reading group. Unfortunately, my reading group had to meet in a different room than normal and the room had a layer of dust that looked like had not been disturbed in at least 20 years... that headache I had fought off returned full force and the entire group of us wheezed, coughed, and sneezed our way through the hour long discussion group. From there, I ran some errands and then headed back to class for a bibliographic info session. It was every bit as thrilling as it sounds (though to be fair, the librarian who runs the sessions and is our go to contact, Sue Bird, is amazing and goes above and beyond to be helpful).
After the session, I headed home to get showered and changed for formal hall at St. Peters College. Formal hall is when a college holds a formal dinner. You dress up (not in true "formal" wear but more like church or more casual cocktail wear) and also must wear your academic robe. The night starts with champagne, and then you have a 3 course meal and wine, and the night ends with port and chocolates. You are only allowed to attend your own college formal halls (in my case St. Antony's) or occasionally, you college might arrange an exchange dinner so that you can attend formal hall at another college. The other way to go is to be invited by a member of that college and to go as their guest, which is what I did. My friend from home, Jacob, is also at Oxford this year and invited me to go to formal hall at his college. The company and the food were both excellent and hopefully I can return the favor if I ever manage to get tickets to St. Antony's formal hall. For those curious, we had mushroom soup, followed by guinea hen breast, scalloped potato type things, green beans, and mashed sweet potatoes, and an apple tart for dessert. At the end of the evening, I unfortunately learned that I am not at all a fan of port. So much for those classy British evenings spent over port and good conversation.
Friday I had an all day seminar on the merging of science and policy. The first half of the day was just lectures and while they were interesting, I was sleepy and hungry and it wasn't how I really wanted to spend my Friday morning. After lunch, however, the seminar did a role playing event which I thought was a lot of fun. Basically, we were divided into civil servants, citizens, and 1 minister and given a policy situation: whether or not we should build a nuclear power plant for alternative energy in the community. Each group got a different packet of information... the citizens received one about all the negative aspects, the civil servants got full information of facts and citizen responses and had to sort the information and then were given a very short period of time to brief the minister on all the relevant facts... politically, scientifically, economically, it was an election year so the impact on his approval rating, etc. The minister then gave a speech to the citizens to tell them his decision and to take questions.
The professors/seminar leaders made the activity as realistic as possible, and I actually really enjoyed it. Even though I was already aware that politicians had to make tough decisions that might anger constituents even if they are economically and environmentally sound AND I knew that they had very short briefings on these things before having to do press conferences and talk to the public... it still puts it into a whole new light when you actually feel a sense of personal responsibility. I thought it was a cool exercise and while a bit "surface level" in some ways, it was so, so good to do something a bit more "hands on" than all the theory we've been swamped in.
After the afternoon session, we all headed for ice cream to celebrate Lizzie's (a girl in the program) birthday. We got ice cream/sorbet/cookies and then all split up for a bit before meeting at Hertford College (gorgeous! you can see photos here: https://www.google.com/search?q=hertford+college&espv=210&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1pptUon8Baq40QX_pYHwCA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=622 ) for a reception from the all day workshop. There was lots and lots of free wine and a few finger foods, but mostly booze. The reception was for our program (NSEP) and our professors, lecturers, and the DPhil students who lead our reading groups. It was a bit weird to be drinking (especially on an empty stomach) around professors, but it was also really nice to be able to talk with them outside of class and just get to know them a bit more as people. I really enjoyed the evening.
Also during the evening I spoke with the head of our program about my research idea and she seemed to think it was interesting and feasible and gave me a few names of professors who might be willing to oversee the project. I'm really excited about it because it relates to horses (rather than food) which we all know is my real love.
Saturday I spent all day, literally ALL DAY reading for classes on Monday. Saturday night I met a friend for a drink at The Turf Tavern which is where Bill Clinton allegedly smoked pot but "did not inhale" (like anyone is buying that). I had a pint of "black dragon" ale and a half pint of some sort of hard cider. Both were warm and both were flat... such is the problem with drinking beer/ale in England. Still, I had a great time out and now I can say I have been to two of the very famous pubs in Oxford (the first week I went to Eagle and Child which is where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to "think and drink").
Today I had brunch with a huge group of NSEPers and then we went to support another NSEPer at his open rehearsal with Midori (famous violinist) of Brahms violin concerto. It was really fascinating and the music was gorgeous... if frequently interrupted by Midori for tweeks and corrections. After that I've skyped with Mom (happy birthday!) and done some reading and then had dinner with my roommates which is quickly becoming our Sunday night routine as a way to see each other since we are all so busy.
The next week should be just as busy and interesting. Tonight/tomorrow morning is supposed to bring one of the worst storms England has seen in 25 years so I am braced for that. I also start my International Environmental Law class tomorrow. Tuesday I have an interview/meeting about and nannying type position (only a few hours a week), Friday I have a riding lesson, Saturday I am going into London to see Carrie, a friend from Prague and then returning to host a pre-game for "Halloqueen" a cross dressing themed Halloween party. I'll keep you all posted!
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Matriculation, Schedule and Address
This past weekend was matriculation. It involved gathering as a college (I'm in St. Antony's) and parading together to the Sheldonian Theatre. Then, during a short speech in latin, we are all told that we are now something we have never been before: official students of the University of Oxford. There was then a short speech (in English) about being at such a historical place, a place with so many amazing people and activities and how we should make the most of it... not un-true, but after hearing it from so many people the past few weeks, not particularly inspiring.
Afterwards, we all walked back to the college for champagne, followed by a group photo of the college and then a late luncheon. After the luncheon, I headed back to my room for a nap and woke up in time to get ready for the "Sexy Subfusc" party (to grandma, other relatives or adults reading this... sorry). Subfusc is the official attire that you wear with your gown for matriculation, exams, and graduation. It consists of black pants or a black skirt with black tights, black shoes, a white shirt, a tie, bowtie, or ribbon, a graduation style cap, and a black graduation style gown. Every year after matriculation, 2 of the colleges (Linacre and St. Cross) throw sexy subfusc parties for graduate students only where the entire point is to make the subfusc a little more fun.
I got ready and met up with a whole group of people from my department. We met at Keble College at then headed over to Linacre around 7:20 to queue for the party. A large part of the fun is the queueing... everyone brings drinks and it's like a pregame or tailgate. The longer we waited, the longer the line got... but it also seemed to widen as people stepped in with friends. People looked great- the guys actually go much further than the girls (who stick to shorter black skirts, heels, and white tops). This year it was mostly guys in black pants and bowties with no shirts or anything else. When the doors FINALLY opened, my feet (in heels) were killing me and it was close to being in a stampede. We got carried along and when our group reached the front, they had ALMOST reached capacity... 1/2 our group (including me) got in, but the other 1/2 wasn't allowed in. After a few minutes of deliberation (and security yelling at us), we decided if we couldn't go in as a group, we weren't going in at all... this was our NSEP night out! (NSEP stands for our program name... Nature, Society, and Environmental Policy).
We headed out to go across campus to the other sexy subfusc party... but by this time, so was a lot of the queue. We raced over and I rode part of the way on the back of a bike with my legs held up... the whole thing was goofy and fun and also felt very Oxfordian/European. We got to St. Cross and sweet talked our way in. Once in, it was just dancing, dancing, dancing. It was such a fun group and I think the ridiculousness and fun of the night was a great bonding experience and just a fantastic night out. We danced until a little after 1 (when the party shut down) and then hung out and milled around for a bit before heading home. One of the guys from my program was really nice and walked me home so that I wasn't wandering Oxford alone at 2AM.
The next day I was up relatively early (around 9AM, but I didn't get to bed until 2:30 or 3ish) and started reading immediately. That's how I spent the whole day and then I cook for my roommates (simple pasta and salad) and then met up with an assigned discussion group for class today (Monday) and then met up with a friend in the reading room to do some more work. Finally, I called it a night and hit the hay for today.
Today was pretty uneventful... class, I got lunch with a classmate/friend who is really fun and will also be here 2 years (and we ate at this awesome cafe and I ate a delicious "jacket potato" which is really just a baked potato with toppings... I got hummus, roasted veggies and cheese) and then had more class, a class meeting, and then off to the store and then a quick dinner (veggie sandwich and salad and some fruit), skyped with Mom, and have been doing reading since. I got assigned my electives for the year today and I'm really pleased because I got my first choice for both terms.
For those curious, my schedule now looks like this (this includes non-academic things as well):
Monday:
9-11: International Environmental Law
11-1: Governance, Policy and Politics
2-4: Research Design
4-5: required class meeting
Tuesday:
11-1: Nature and Society
Wednesday:
11-1: Decision Theory
2-4: Environmental Economics
7-8:30: Ashtanga yoga
Thursday:
11-12: Reading group
4-5 (on occasional weeks)- bibliographic skills class with librarian
Friday:
Seminars (this week from 9:30-3:30) or riding lessons as scheduled.
All that free time it LOOKS like I have, is filled with lectures, reading, research, club meetings, debates, and trying to have some semblance of a social life.
For those of you curious, things can be mailed to me at:
Sarah Vaughn
St. Antony's College
62 Woodstock Road
Oxford, OX2 6JF
UK
Afterwards, we all walked back to the college for champagne, followed by a group photo of the college and then a late luncheon. After the luncheon, I headed back to my room for a nap and woke up in time to get ready for the "Sexy Subfusc" party (to grandma, other relatives or adults reading this... sorry). Subfusc is the official attire that you wear with your gown for matriculation, exams, and graduation. It consists of black pants or a black skirt with black tights, black shoes, a white shirt, a tie, bowtie, or ribbon, a graduation style cap, and a black graduation style gown. Every year after matriculation, 2 of the colleges (Linacre and St. Cross) throw sexy subfusc parties for graduate students only where the entire point is to make the subfusc a little more fun.
I got ready and met up with a whole group of people from my department. We met at Keble College at then headed over to Linacre around 7:20 to queue for the party. A large part of the fun is the queueing... everyone brings drinks and it's like a pregame or tailgate. The longer we waited, the longer the line got... but it also seemed to widen as people stepped in with friends. People looked great- the guys actually go much further than the girls (who stick to shorter black skirts, heels, and white tops). This year it was mostly guys in black pants and bowties with no shirts or anything else. When the doors FINALLY opened, my feet (in heels) were killing me and it was close to being in a stampede. We got carried along and when our group reached the front, they had ALMOST reached capacity... 1/2 our group (including me) got in, but the other 1/2 wasn't allowed in. After a few minutes of deliberation (and security yelling at us), we decided if we couldn't go in as a group, we weren't going in at all... this was our NSEP night out! (NSEP stands for our program name... Nature, Society, and Environmental Policy).
We headed out to go across campus to the other sexy subfusc party... but by this time, so was a lot of the queue. We raced over and I rode part of the way on the back of a bike with my legs held up... the whole thing was goofy and fun and also felt very Oxfordian/European. We got to St. Cross and sweet talked our way in. Once in, it was just dancing, dancing, dancing. It was such a fun group and I think the ridiculousness and fun of the night was a great bonding experience and just a fantastic night out. We danced until a little after 1 (when the party shut down) and then hung out and milled around for a bit before heading home. One of the guys from my program was really nice and walked me home so that I wasn't wandering Oxford alone at 2AM.
The next day I was up relatively early (around 9AM, but I didn't get to bed until 2:30 or 3ish) and started reading immediately. That's how I spent the whole day and then I cook for my roommates (simple pasta and salad) and then met up with an assigned discussion group for class today (Monday) and then met up with a friend in the reading room to do some more work. Finally, I called it a night and hit the hay for today.
Today was pretty uneventful... class, I got lunch with a classmate/friend who is really fun and will also be here 2 years (and we ate at this awesome cafe and I ate a delicious "jacket potato" which is really just a baked potato with toppings... I got hummus, roasted veggies and cheese) and then had more class, a class meeting, and then off to the store and then a quick dinner (veggie sandwich and salad and some fruit), skyped with Mom, and have been doing reading since. I got assigned my electives for the year today and I'm really pleased because I got my first choice for both terms.
For those curious, my schedule now looks like this (this includes non-academic things as well):
Monday:
9-11: International Environmental Law
11-1: Governance, Policy and Politics
2-4: Research Design
4-5: required class meeting
Tuesday:
11-1: Nature and Society
Wednesday:
11-1: Decision Theory
2-4: Environmental Economics
7-8:30: Ashtanga yoga
Thursday:
11-12: Reading group
4-5 (on occasional weeks)- bibliographic skills class with librarian
Friday:
Seminars (this week from 9:30-3:30) or riding lessons as scheduled.
All that free time it LOOKS like I have, is filled with lectures, reading, research, club meetings, debates, and trying to have some semblance of a social life.
For those of you curious, things can be mailed to me at:
Sarah Vaughn
St. Antony's College
62 Woodstock Road
Oxford, OX2 6JF
UK
Friday, October 18, 2013
Michaelmas Term: Week 1
Oxford's system is very different than most places... no one here seems to believe in using dates and it seems like there isn't all that much time that school is in session. Instead of semesters, Oxford is divided into terms: Michaelmas (fall), Hilary (late winter/early spring) and Trinity (late spring/early summer). Each term is 8 weeks long. When getting an assignment or setting a meeting, no one says, "I'll meet you on October 18th", instead, they would say, I'll meet you Friday, Week 1 of Michaelmas term." It takes some getting used to, but I like pretending I'm talking in code or something.
My first week of classes went pretty well over all. The way my schedule is set up is a bit confusing. This term I have 6 required classes, 1 required reading/discussion group, and a few all day Friday seminars scattered throughout the term. I will not directly have an exam over each of the 6 classes, but I will indirectly. The way it works is that I will have 3 exams in 4th week of Trinity Term (translate to mid-May):
My first week of classes went pretty well over all. The way my schedule is set up is a bit confusing. This term I have 6 required classes, 1 required reading/discussion group, and a few all day Friday seminars scattered throughout the term. I will not directly have an exam over each of the 6 classes, but I will indirectly. The way it works is that I will have 3 exams in 4th week of Trinity Term (translate to mid-May):
- Policy and Governance
- Theory and Analysis
- Research skills
Each class I am taking now (with the exception of my elective), and each class I take Hilary term (with the exception of my one elective) falls under 1 of these headings. For each exam, I will receive a list of essay prompts and have to choose 3. I will then have 3 hours to write 3 papers... one on each prompt I choose. The prompts will be spread out to include things from each class... so even though I don't directly have an exam... I still have to be prepared to be tested over everything and refer back to readings and important authors/thinkers. My electives will be tested by essays that I will write over Christmas and Spring breaks.
The classes I am taking this term are:
- Nature and Society
- Governance, Politics and Policy
- Decision Theory
- Research Design
- Environmental Economics
- Elective (not sure what this will be yet and we had to apply and the elective classes don't start for another week... my first choice was international environmental law, so fingers crossed!)
I also have a required reading group that meets once a week, 3 Friday seminars, and 2 bibliographic sessions with the librarian. I have not spoken to any graduate student outside of our department who has more than 3 classes a week... so I think our program is just really intense, but I am happy to say that overall, I'm interested in the material and I think the program is a good fit for me, if not exactly what I expected.
Even without the elective class meeting, this past week was super busy. The professors assign "required reading" that we are expected to do and "recommended reading" which we are encouraged to use to explore ideas we are interested in, but by no means expected to read all of or read every week. Even so, I'm swamped by the required reading alone. The readings are really dense, and the ideas they contain and quite convoluted. I feel like I've followed most of the classes reasonably well with the exception of Research Design (which really, I thought how hard could that be... but it was ridiculous... thankfully the entire class felt that way which makes me feel like less of a dunce). I like most of my professors (there is 1 who seems to enjoy making things more complicated instead of more simple) and I really like the kids in my program.
After one class some of us still had questions on Bruno Latour's actor-network theory, so we all piled into the graduate student break room and had one of our classmates who understood it (and the background influence of Kant and Foucault) gave a 30 minute mini-lecture to explain it. We also are working together to find all of our readings and scan/upload them to drop box so that we don't all waste time fighting over 1-2 library copies of books and today I've organized a study group at 2 to go over some of the big ideas from the past week and really make sure we understand the broader themes. Afterwards, we'll go for a pint.
On top of class, I'm also staying really busy. I am determined to make use of all the amazing lectures and speaker events that go on here so Tuesday I went to a lecture by Dr. Charles Godfray entitled "The Challenge of Feeding 10 Billion People Sustainably and Equitably." There were parts of the lecture I really disagreed with (like that raising animals for food production completely indoors is okay practice), but it was an interesting lecture and gave me some things to think about. I also worked up the courage to ask a question at the end, which probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but I'm still a bit shy and intimidated, much like I was when I got to Penn. As much as I know I earned a place here... it's still intimidating to be here.
Wednesday I had a full day of class and then spent the afternoon/early evening MOVING. I now live in a 3 bedroom apartment with 2 guys, Adam and Ali. My room is MUCH bigger, and the kitchen is roomier and I am only sharing a bathroom with 2 people (score!) My room doesn't have a closet which isnt ideal, but I'm hoping the college is going to provide me with a wardrobe, and if not, I'll buy a cheap one off gumtree (craigslist equivalent). Other than that, the flat is great and my roommates seem nice. There isn't a common area so I really don't see that much of them but I think we're supposed to cook dinner together on Sunday night. Anyway, after moving, I went to a yoga class on Wednesday night. I was a bit nervous that it would be too intense or too much power yoga and not the stretching and flexibility work that I enjoy, but it was a perfect balance and I'm still a bit sore, so I think it did it's job.
On Wednesday I had felt like I was getting a cold, and sure enough, Thursday I woke up with a really sore throat. I downed lots of tea and made it to class and then to the meeting for the riding team at Oxford. I was encouraged to try out for the team, but to be honest, I'm just not so confident jumping unfamiliar horses (hard to admit, but true these days) so I'm going to stick to the lessons this year and see how I like the barn/trainers/girls on the team. If all goes well, I may try out next year when I'll have a more flexible schedule (I'll only have 1 class my second year here) and perhaps feel more comfortable. After the meeting I had wanted to go to "This House Has No Faith in Her Majesty's Government" which is a big debate held among government members at Oxford every year, but by this time, my cold was really setting in, and I knew the smart thing was to go get some reading done and get to bed.
Today I woke up feeling really crappy. I mustered all my energy and forced myself out and across the street to the pharmacy. Thankfully, sudafed is over the counter here so I bought that and some eucalyptus oil and I'm drinking tea and taking care of myself- I'm still under the weather, but I'm able to function now. I planned a study group for this afternoon to go over some of the more complicated ideas from this past week, so I will gather my energy and go to that. Past kids from our program are also in town tonight and we were all supposed to go get drinks with them, but I'm not sure if I'll make it to that or not. I really, really want to because I think they could have some really valuable advice, but I have a mandatory event tomorrow that will involve some time outside (cold and wet and rainy) and so I feel like maybe it's more sensible to try to get healthy. Still undecided.
Tomorrow is matriculation- which is the ceremony that officially marks our entrance to the university and is apparently seen as a big deal (if you don't officially matriculate, you also can't graduate). I have to wear sub fusc (a certain outfit with a cap and gown) and the event is held in the Sheldonian Theatre, which should be beautiful (see pictures here: https://www.google.com/search?q=sheldonian+theatre&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=eBJhUoDFAY200QXqpICgDw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=622&dpr=1 )
Anyway, I should get back to reading! I hope all is well for everyone reading this!
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Oxford: Hard to believe I'm really here
After my last post which described Mallorca, Munchen, Garmisch and my final days in Prague, I headed home to GA. It turned out to be a long trip... involving a very delayed flight from Prague to JFK, SPRINTING for my connection to ATL, making the connection and then not getting a seat, taking a shuttle to Laguardia and making a Swedish/American friend named Prudence, sleeping in the airport, not getting on a flight until the next afternoon and generally just being really tired and gross.
This summer was a bit of a challenge to adjust to being back in Madison at first, but more than that, struggles with Daisy's lameness and financial stress to pay for all of her diagnostic work and treatment along with paying for Oxford. I spent a lot of time the first few weeks gardening and house/pet sitting and then I started working for a financial planner in town, Erik. I haven't always had great experiences with bosses in the past (some pretty good but mostly really bad), and so it was a huge relief that Erik and I got along really well and he was a great boss, educator, and in some ways, friend. I really enjoyed my time there and I'm looking forward to helping out there more over breaks. I also got to ride some this summer, and judge 4 horse shows, which I loved. Once life slows down, I would love to get my actual judging license.
The high lights of the summer were seeing the people I love. I got to spend so much time with Mom and Dad. For those of you who don't know them, they are pretty much the greatest people ever and feel more like friends than parents. I had lunch with Mom almost every day and Dad and I hung out watching football every Saturday. I also got to see Pepops on a whirlwind trip to Idaho, New Grandma, Uncle Norris, Tracy, Noah, Zoe, Liza, Uncle Curtis, Aunt Carol, and Andie on a whirlwind trip to NC, and Daisy, Ashley, Patrick, and other friends while in Philadelphia. Thankfully, I even got to see Greg in August.
It seemed the whole summer like Oxford was a very distant pipe dream and then suddenly... it wasn't. Before I knew it, I was on the way to the airport to board a flight to London. After being judged (nicely) by the check in agent for the amount of luggage I had (2 suitcases around 48 lbs each, a very heavy backpack and a bulging duffle bag) I headed to my flight. I got business class, which was great, but the flight crew was not one of the friendlier bunches I've had. Upon landing, I went to customs and after a LONG wait, got to the front of the line. I handed over my passport (with my student visa), my student # for Oxford, and let them scan my fingerprints, and that is when the trouble began. When they scanned my fingerprints... nothing came up. Then, nothing came up when they scanned my visa. They couldn't find a record of it electronically. I was detained for about an hour while they sorted it out. I know an hour really isn't so long, but when you are exhausted and jet lagged and worried they might not let you into a country... it feels like a really long time.
Finally, they let me through. By this time, my baggage had been stowed as "unclaimed" so I had to hunt it down which took awhile. Then, I had to find the bus to terminal 5 and take it over so I could catch the bus to Oxford. I somehow managed to get all my bags on the bus, and then back off and find the ticket counter for the bus. Several buses came and went that were too full for any more luggage, but I finally got on one. I was planning to watch the trip from Heathrow to Oxford, but I promptly fell asleep. When we arrived to Oxford, I hailed a cab (the driver wouldnt load my bags... "too heavy" he said!) and took it to my college, St. Antony's. Here, I finally met someone helpful. The porter helped me get my bags to my house and showed me where my room was (though he did draw the line at doing more than getting my bags inside... I was left to carry them up 2 flights steep, winding stairs by myself!)
My room is very tiny, I posted pictures on facebook. That said, I don't mind small and cozy (besides, it's easier to heat and stays warmer.) However, I really dislike some other things about the house. Mostly, that there isn't a bathroom on my floor other than a toilet, with no sink, on the other side of the house. The other complaint is that there are 3 "kitchens"... but only two have stoves/ovens... so over 10 people share each of those and people are very territorial about kitchen space. These issues, plus my difficulty meeting people made for a very lonely first week. To be honest, I'm still quite lonely, though it's getting better.
Difficulty meeting people? You might be thinking I'm nuts... I'm on a college campus surrounded by other new students... meeting people should be easy. And in some capacity, it is. I've certainly met a hundred people easily... but as a pretty serious introvert, large, loud group settings just overwhelm me. I know I can't rush friendships... but I am so ready to have a group of friends rather than 200 acquaintances. I miss the constants in my life and change has never been really easy for me. I push myself to make big changes and travel and do interesting things because I always end up loving them and I know they will be worth it... but the first few weeks of adapting are always a bit hard.
My department, Geography and the Environment (Nature, Society and Environmental Policy) has thankfully helped a good bit with that. We had 5 days worth of induction, starting Friday over a week ago and running through Tuesday. I really like the other people in the program and we've already had a roof-top gathering, trekked through some beautiful English countryside, suffered through the driest fictional documentary I've ever imagined existed, and gotten drinks at the Eagle and Child (where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to "think and drink") and contemplated attending a university almost 1,000 years old. I'm also really enjoying the academic discussions already taking place surrounding commons, land ownership, land use, food scarcity, green growth, etc etc etc.
Thankfully over the past few days, I've been offered a new place to live (though the college has to approve it which could happen Tuesday... fingers crossed!) and I'll move into a 3 bed room, 1 bathroom apartment just across the quad with a German (Ali) and American (Adam) guy. I'd have more space to cook and a much bigger room and a bathroom across the hall (!) and I think I'll like it a good deal more. I've also borrowed a bike from a girl I horse showed with as a child (her fiance is here while she's back in the states). Her bike is stuck in a high gear which makes the one hill I have to go up very painful, but I am already enjoying cycling and it's so nice to get settled before having to buy my own, so I really appreciate her generosity and it's looking like I'll end up buying one of my own soonish. I've also started to meet people who are slowly feeling more like friends than acquaintances, though it's still slow going.
If I actually wrote about everything I've seen/done since I've been here, this would drag on for pages and pages more, but I'll just say that I've been incredibly busy with orientation, buying a cap/gown (which I have to wear for exams and special ceremonies as well as graduation), buying things for my room and getting settled, meeting people at socials, parties, themed parties, dinners, and lectures, departmental induction events (including multiple field trips), joining clubs, and getting lost (aka learning my way around and checking out gorgeous old buildings. The weather has been a mix of some sunny and lovely days, and days like today... barely 50 degrees and pouring rain.
Classes start tomorrow and I'm already behind on my reading so I suppose I should get back to that. Hope things are well for everyone back in the states or wherever you're reading this from.
This summer was a bit of a challenge to adjust to being back in Madison at first, but more than that, struggles with Daisy's lameness and financial stress to pay for all of her diagnostic work and treatment along with paying for Oxford. I spent a lot of time the first few weeks gardening and house/pet sitting and then I started working for a financial planner in town, Erik. I haven't always had great experiences with bosses in the past (some pretty good but mostly really bad), and so it was a huge relief that Erik and I got along really well and he was a great boss, educator, and in some ways, friend. I really enjoyed my time there and I'm looking forward to helping out there more over breaks. I also got to ride some this summer, and judge 4 horse shows, which I loved. Once life slows down, I would love to get my actual judging license.
The high lights of the summer were seeing the people I love. I got to spend so much time with Mom and Dad. For those of you who don't know them, they are pretty much the greatest people ever and feel more like friends than parents. I had lunch with Mom almost every day and Dad and I hung out watching football every Saturday. I also got to see Pepops on a whirlwind trip to Idaho, New Grandma, Uncle Norris, Tracy, Noah, Zoe, Liza, Uncle Curtis, Aunt Carol, and Andie on a whirlwind trip to NC, and Daisy, Ashley, Patrick, and other friends while in Philadelphia. Thankfully, I even got to see Greg in August.
It seemed the whole summer like Oxford was a very distant pipe dream and then suddenly... it wasn't. Before I knew it, I was on the way to the airport to board a flight to London. After being judged (nicely) by the check in agent for the amount of luggage I had (2 suitcases around 48 lbs each, a very heavy backpack and a bulging duffle bag) I headed to my flight. I got business class, which was great, but the flight crew was not one of the friendlier bunches I've had. Upon landing, I went to customs and after a LONG wait, got to the front of the line. I handed over my passport (with my student visa), my student # for Oxford, and let them scan my fingerprints, and that is when the trouble began. When they scanned my fingerprints... nothing came up. Then, nothing came up when they scanned my visa. They couldn't find a record of it electronically. I was detained for about an hour while they sorted it out. I know an hour really isn't so long, but when you are exhausted and jet lagged and worried they might not let you into a country... it feels like a really long time.
Finally, they let me through. By this time, my baggage had been stowed as "unclaimed" so I had to hunt it down which took awhile. Then, I had to find the bus to terminal 5 and take it over so I could catch the bus to Oxford. I somehow managed to get all my bags on the bus, and then back off and find the ticket counter for the bus. Several buses came and went that were too full for any more luggage, but I finally got on one. I was planning to watch the trip from Heathrow to Oxford, but I promptly fell asleep. When we arrived to Oxford, I hailed a cab (the driver wouldnt load my bags... "too heavy" he said!) and took it to my college, St. Antony's. Here, I finally met someone helpful. The porter helped me get my bags to my house and showed me where my room was (though he did draw the line at doing more than getting my bags inside... I was left to carry them up 2 flights steep, winding stairs by myself!)
My room is very tiny, I posted pictures on facebook. That said, I don't mind small and cozy (besides, it's easier to heat and stays warmer.) However, I really dislike some other things about the house. Mostly, that there isn't a bathroom on my floor other than a toilet, with no sink, on the other side of the house. The other complaint is that there are 3 "kitchens"... but only two have stoves/ovens... so over 10 people share each of those and people are very territorial about kitchen space. These issues, plus my difficulty meeting people made for a very lonely first week. To be honest, I'm still quite lonely, though it's getting better.
Difficulty meeting people? You might be thinking I'm nuts... I'm on a college campus surrounded by other new students... meeting people should be easy. And in some capacity, it is. I've certainly met a hundred people easily... but as a pretty serious introvert, large, loud group settings just overwhelm me. I know I can't rush friendships... but I am so ready to have a group of friends rather than 200 acquaintances. I miss the constants in my life and change has never been really easy for me. I push myself to make big changes and travel and do interesting things because I always end up loving them and I know they will be worth it... but the first few weeks of adapting are always a bit hard.
My department, Geography and the Environment (Nature, Society and Environmental Policy) has thankfully helped a good bit with that. We had 5 days worth of induction, starting Friday over a week ago and running through Tuesday. I really like the other people in the program and we've already had a roof-top gathering, trekked through some beautiful English countryside, suffered through the driest fictional documentary I've ever imagined existed, and gotten drinks at the Eagle and Child (where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to "think and drink") and contemplated attending a university almost 1,000 years old. I'm also really enjoying the academic discussions already taking place surrounding commons, land ownership, land use, food scarcity, green growth, etc etc etc.
Thankfully over the past few days, I've been offered a new place to live (though the college has to approve it which could happen Tuesday... fingers crossed!) and I'll move into a 3 bed room, 1 bathroom apartment just across the quad with a German (Ali) and American (Adam) guy. I'd have more space to cook and a much bigger room and a bathroom across the hall (!) and I think I'll like it a good deal more. I've also borrowed a bike from a girl I horse showed with as a child (her fiance is here while she's back in the states). Her bike is stuck in a high gear which makes the one hill I have to go up very painful, but I am already enjoying cycling and it's so nice to get settled before having to buy my own, so I really appreciate her generosity and it's looking like I'll end up buying one of my own soonish. I've also started to meet people who are slowly feeling more like friends than acquaintances, though it's still slow going.
If I actually wrote about everything I've seen/done since I've been here, this would drag on for pages and pages more, but I'll just say that I've been incredibly busy with orientation, buying a cap/gown (which I have to wear for exams and special ceremonies as well as graduation), buying things for my room and getting settled, meeting people at socials, parties, themed parties, dinners, and lectures, departmental induction events (including multiple field trips), joining clubs, and getting lost (aka learning my way around and checking out gorgeous old buildings. The weather has been a mix of some sunny and lovely days, and days like today... barely 50 degrees and pouring rain.
Classes start tomorrow and I'm already behind on my reading so I suppose I should get back to that. Hope things are well for everyone back in the states or wherever you're reading this from.
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