First half of second term
Woah, I haven't updated in ages! Uni always seems to do this, and I always feel guilty for neglecting internet friends and home friends who rely on the internet to communicate with me afterwards. So here is an update!
Life at Oxford is always busy, but this term has been more so than usual. I feel like I'm doing a crazy amount of things, but I also feel I'm making better use of my time than last month. I tried sushi for the first time at a local restaurant (verdict: tasty but expensive). I also had sake and plum wine for the first time. I suppose sake is okay, but plum wine is absolutely gorgeous - like mead - so I'm hoping to find some soon. I have also decided to brew my own mead because the internet tells me this is easy - I'll go ingredient hunting tomorrow!
I also went to college live night for the first time, which is amazing. It's just people from the college playing instruments and singing, but it's amazing how talented people are; it really makes me regret not having learnt an instrument. I have received some very good music from various friends, including the Pocahontas soundtrack, some Hebrew rock and some cool post-modern shiz.
I went to a chapel service for the first time ever because my friend (and college wife) was getting baptised. It was very weird - I hadn't been to a church service since primary school. It was Anglo-Catholic, so from a sensory perspective it was nice enough - beautiful singing and candles. But during the service itself I often found myself unable to participate because I found the whole thing so ridiculous and authoritarian (as I suppose any monotheistic religion must by necessity be). I've continued watching Around the World in 80 Faiths; I think I will add Jainism to the set of religions I actually respect.
I am now on the Amnesty International Committee at Oxford and was theoretically meant to help organise Letter Writing Week, which is next week. I was so bogged down with work (one essay for Wednesday, one for today) that in reality the other Letter Writing Week Coordinator did almost all the work, but I'll contribute some more once it gets under way. It feels so good being on the committee and actually doing something good.
Spanish classes are hard. I should not have joined as a Lower Intermediate when I had never learnt Spanish before. However, my comprehension is surprisingly good due to similarities with French; my speaking is slowly getting up to scratch, I think.
I had two fancy dinners this week, which is surprising as I rarely do fancy dinners (they are quite expensive). Monday night was Scholars' Dinner, paid for by the college. All the scholars, people who got a first in their first year exams, were invited as were their tutors. It was pretty good. Then, on Tuesday, we had "Halfway Hall" - so named because it marks the halfway point of our university careers. It feels so strange that one and a half years have gone by. It was very enjoyable anyway (except I couldn't go down the bar afterwards due to my essays); here are two photos. One is of me with my Norwegian friend; we had to wear black tie, which is somewhat foolish but makes photos look nice, and we had candles, which I absolutely love.
Here is what our hall looks like:
It gets a lot of light in the daytime as it's up a flight of stairs with windows on both sides. At night, when it's a formal affair, I love the candlelight. Also, notice the hart's head (somewhat blurry) between the doors!
On the subject of halls, I'm still not entirely comfortable with being waited on. I suppose it's no different from what happens in a restaurant, really, but the socialist inside always feels uncomfortable about it.
I think that is all for now, really. I'll end with something that really amused me. I have to go to Jesus college for tutorials this term. This is one of their toilets:
Yes. That is a fireplace. That is an armchair. That is a table, what looks like a footrest, and two more chairs. Madness! Only in Oxford...
Life at Oxford is always busy, but this term has been more so than usual. I feel like I'm doing a crazy amount of things, but I also feel I'm making better use of my time than last month. I tried sushi for the first time at a local restaurant (verdict: tasty but expensive). I also had sake and plum wine for the first time. I suppose sake is okay, but plum wine is absolutely gorgeous - like mead - so I'm hoping to find some soon. I have also decided to brew my own mead because the internet tells me this is easy - I'll go ingredient hunting tomorrow!
I also went to college live night for the first time, which is amazing. It's just people from the college playing instruments and singing, but it's amazing how talented people are; it really makes me regret not having learnt an instrument. I have received some very good music from various friends, including the Pocahontas soundtrack, some Hebrew rock and some cool post-modern shiz.
I went to a chapel service for the first time ever because my friend (and college wife) was getting baptised. It was very weird - I hadn't been to a church service since primary school. It was Anglo-Catholic, so from a sensory perspective it was nice enough - beautiful singing and candles. But during the service itself I often found myself unable to participate because I found the whole thing so ridiculous and authoritarian (as I suppose any monotheistic religion must by necessity be). I've continued watching Around the World in 80 Faiths; I think I will add Jainism to the set of religions I actually respect.
I am now on the Amnesty International Committee at Oxford and was theoretically meant to help organise Letter Writing Week, which is next week. I was so bogged down with work (one essay for Wednesday, one for today) that in reality the other Letter Writing Week Coordinator did almost all the work, but I'll contribute some more once it gets under way. It feels so good being on the committee and actually doing something good.
Spanish classes are hard. I should not have joined as a Lower Intermediate when I had never learnt Spanish before. However, my comprehension is surprisingly good due to similarities with French; my speaking is slowly getting up to scratch, I think.
I had two fancy dinners this week, which is surprising as I rarely do fancy dinners (they are quite expensive). Monday night was Scholars' Dinner, paid for by the college. All the scholars, people who got a first in their first year exams, were invited as were their tutors. It was pretty good. Then, on Tuesday, we had "Halfway Hall" - so named because it marks the halfway point of our university careers. It feels so strange that one and a half years have gone by. It was very enjoyable anyway (except I couldn't go down the bar afterwards due to my essays); here are two photos. One is of me with my Norwegian friend; we had to wear black tie, which is somewhat foolish but makes photos look nice, and we had candles, which I absolutely love.
Here is what our hall looks like:
It gets a lot of light in the daytime as it's up a flight of stairs with windows on both sides. At night, when it's a formal affair, I love the candlelight. Also, notice the hart's head (somewhat blurry) between the doors!
On the subject of halls, I'm still not entirely comfortable with being waited on. I suppose it's no different from what happens in a restaurant, really, but the socialist inside always feels uncomfortable about it.
I think that is all for now, really. I'll end with something that really amused me. I have to go to Jesus college for tutorials this term. This is one of their toilets:
Yes. That is a fireplace. That is an armchair. That is a table, what looks like a footrest, and two more chairs. Madness! Only in Oxford...