The next day I went to a talk/panel on the Warsaw Climate Change Conference that happened in November. It was not really was I expected, but it actually offered some interesting insights into how these conferences work and how they are set up, so it was interesting in that way. After that there was an end of term party at the department for all the masters students so most of NSEP was there, along with people in the 3 other programs as well. From there, a group of us headed to dinner (Mission Burrito), to the Union bar for drinks, and then to a Latin BOP at GTC. We danced until they shut the party down at 1, and also hung out with one of our professors (who is young) who showed up at the BOP. He agreed to come out with us afterwards (much to our surprise) so we decided to head to a club to keep talking (and dancing). After much debate, we settled on a place called Lola lo's and spent another hour or two there.
Afterwards, we still wanted to hang out so I invited everyone back to my place for an after party. I met a few friends of friends who I didn't know and we had a great time hanging out, listening to music and unwinding from a night of dancing. People left around 5:30 AM (why do we do this to ourselves?!) and my friend Katherine stayed over because her coat (including her phone, debit card, and keys) had disappeared at the club. Thankfully the next morning when I texted her phone saying I hoped it had been a mistake, someone responded that it had been (she has a black pea coat so we were hoping it was a mixup!) and they returned everything.
The next few days involved Christmas shopping, laundry, a bit of research, library visits, etc. Monday night I decided to take a break from all the boring stuff and go play Settlers of Catan with a few people. Some of us decided to go out for a pint after a few rounds of it but when we got to Freuds (one of our favorite spots), it was closed. We decided to go to somewhere close, so we ended up at a super sketchy place called Angels that really looked like a brothel so we left after 1 drink and stopped for food before heading to a club to dance for a bit. Afterwards we decided we wanted to listen to music and maybe play another game so we headed back for another after party.
Tuesday and Wednesday I spent catching up on sleep and work and starting to get organized to leave Oxford for a month just a few days later. Thursday was the Oxford v. Cambridge rugby match which is held at Twickenham Stadium in London. It is the largest stadium in the world dedicated to just rugby, the second largest stadium in England and, according to wikipedia, the 5th largest stadium in the world... however, since the seating capacity is 82,000 and there are multiple college football stadiums in the US that seat more than that, I am skeptical about this information. The rugby match was a blast- I really enjoyed watching it. It's different enough from American football that I have a lot to learn, but it's just as exciting and even though I absolutely FROZE, it was such a fun excursion out. After we got back to Oxford that night, a few of us cooked dinner together and hung out before calling it a night.
The next day was my final day in Oxford. I got packed, cleaned out my fridge of everything that wouldnt last a month (pretty much everything except condiments), and then that evening I headed to meet a few friends at the Christmas market in downtown Oxford. We wandered the stalls sampling cheeses and jams and sipping mulled wine and cider. When we got cold and hungry, we headed to a place called The Nosebag that I've been wanting to try. The food (and company) was awesome, and from there we headed to St Cross to drink cider and spend my last night in Oxford hanging out. A lot of people came out for a low key night and it was the perfect way to spend my final evening of my first term.
A few things I learned my first term:
- laboratory is pronounced "la-bore-uh-tory" and controversy is pronounced "con-trav-uh-see". I'm not sure which bugs me more.
- Apparently there is a "rule" that Oxford profs/lecturers are not allowed to start class until 5 minutes past the scheduled start time. As someone who likes to be prompt, I find this confusing.
- Oxfordians rarely use the Oxford comma.... have yet to figure this out.
- Our classrooms have to be "booked" for our time slot and the projectors/screens are all set to turn off/scroll up at the end of a class session... sometimes a professor will be racing to get to something but then, nope... time is up!
The next morning, the 14th, I headed to London and caught my uneventful flight to Atlanta. I've been at home since. I've gotten to ride a few times, been working some, not doing enough writing for my paper, seeing old friends, football, and generally just relaxing. I had a wonderful Christmas filled with family and gifts and a great New Years Eve and New Years day (except for the UGA game which shall not be mentioned again). I head back to Oxford in roughly 1.5 weeks where I will settled back in, brush up and submit my paper, head into London to see Cirque du Soleil, and then start classes.
I hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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