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!
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