October 1st

Today was my second full day in Oxford, and already I feel fairly well settled in; that’s not to say I’m not a tad daunted by the prospect of all that is left to do before class—not to mention the amount of work that will accompany those classes. Part of the problem is that it’s relatively unclear what precisely I am supposed to do—this has been a common theme in my experience thus far, beginning with my student visa ordeal and continuing through accommodation and finances and various pre-term details. Getting ready for a year at Oxford is made somewhat more complicated in part because of the tri-partite nature of the school; the University (Oxford itself), College (St Hilda’s), and Faculty (History) entities each have their own way of doing things, their own tasks, own advisors, own locations, own cultures, own libraries…I even have separate email addresses for my separate college and faculty roles. However, the exceedingly (and, at times, seemingly needlessly) complicated process has been made more manageable in part because of all the fellow graduate students I’ve met. That’s not to say we are able to offer each other much in the way of information about what exactly it is we are supposed to do, but there’s something to be said for commiseration and the herd mentality. Knowing that we are together all adjusting to the Oxford way of doing things, an incredibly well-established but often counter-intuitive way, is a comfort. Also, the staff people at Oxford are quite friendly, and being at Oxford itself makes all manner of hoops worth jumping through. I’m going to for the most part skip the various tasks that threaten to bother me at times, and aim for an account of my broader Oxford experience.
So, back to the beginning. I arrived in London late Tuesday morning, and slowly made my way to Oxford. I didn’t really know how to get there, or to my college or house, but managed anyway—with a well-ordered public transport system, most things are possible. Upon arrival at St Hilda’s (my college), I ran into a fellow American whom I had met at the UK consulate in Chicago, where we both had to go to procure our visas. I quickly met several other Hilda’s students…but that is jumping a bit ahead. The first fellow Oxford student I met was on the bus ride from Heathrow Airport, a Harvard graduate and a nice guy, though undoubtedly jealous of my superior undergraduate education. There were a few other Americans Oxford-bound on the bus, although we more or less split ways upon arrival.
Oxford is quite a busy place, with students, locals, and tourists flowing ceaselessly through the well-worn streets, but always above the crowded thoroughfares are the spires and old stone walls of the University offer a timeless commentary on the daily progression below. My college is on the banks of the Cherwell, more or less opposite Magdalen College, a pleasant little place with lots of old trees and green lawns. I’ve walked (it feels like) all over my side of Oxford; my house is about a mile from the Cherwell, so I put quite a lot of distance in each day…though not enough to be a bother, at least not yet. Things may be different on dark, rainy winter days. However, if the miles of walking aren’t enough to keep me in shape, I pass by the gym on my way home; incidentally, the track here is where Roger Bannister first broke the 4-minute mile record. Also incidental, the first coffee shop I visited (not, in fact, for coffee) was founded in 1646. Relatively old, I would say.
My first full day in Oxford (yesterday) started off with an introduction talk(s) for international postgraduate students. It was a lot of information; a mixture of things I already knew, things I needed to know but have basically already forgotten, things that will surface on their own, and things I probably don’t need to know. It was a bit disorganized, but there was a free lunch so I can’t really complain. I did find out about a free dinner that night, which happened to be hosted by the Graduate Christian Union—so I of course went, along with Scott (the St Hilda’s guy I met in Chicago) and some other Hilda’s people. It was good to get connected to a Christian society right away, and the table I sat at during dinner was full of great people—four of which I already knew, with four more who spent the rest of the evening with.
A quick description of these people: Scott, from Wisconsin, is working on his master’s degree in the social science of the internet; he’s a computer science student, among other things, who spent the last year teaching English in Japan. Kate is from North Carolina, and I think she’s working on her master’s in Women’s Studies…her friend from college was also present, visiting her in Oxford after several months spent working in Nepal. She’s not a student currently, but blended in quite well. Then there is Lia, a Romanian who has lived in Boston for the past 12 years, including her undergraduate career at Harvard. She is studying Art History, and hopefully she’ll give me a tour of Romania some day. Next came Alex, a German who is studying Computer Programming; then Nike, a Canadian studying for a D.Phil (basically a Ph.D) in Quantum mechanics; then Cecile, from Paris, working on a D.Phil in Physics—with an astro-physics/astronomy bent; Deborah, from Bombay, who is working on a D.Phil in English Literature and was our more experienced host of the evening. After the dinner Deborah took us out to a pub (one advantage to the British culture—even at a Christian gathering it is recommended we go out to the pubs after); we went to the Turl Bar, which we reached by going through another pub and down a quasi-underground alleyway area.
My house, as I mentioned, is a little far out (although I’ve met several people with a longer distance to walk). It’s a nice little place though, 3 or 4 stories (depending on whether or not you count the loft, where the landlord/owner/fellow resident resides). It’s rather like a duplex, pretty narrow but with everything necessary for a good time in England, including an apple tree with ripe apples in the back garden. I have 4 flatmates, including the owner; all of whom are British and none of whom are Oxford students, though one does go to Oxford Brookes University, another school here though not affiliated with Oxford University. I like the fact that I’m living with Brits, because my days have been mostly filled with hanging out with other international postgraduates, most of whom are American. Although the British postgraduates should be coming in this weekend, it’s good to have a default British household.
Today kind of flew by, although I had my first meeting with my advisor (my faculty advisor, who happens to be my college advisor as well—such an overlap is, I think, a rarity). And so I have a bit more of an idea what is expected of me, academically speaking. Hopefully I will fashion a much greater understanding in the weeks to come. Also, I went to the grocery store for the first time here, which is of course a noteworthy milestone—I will be able to eat. I also met my first Rhodes Scholar here. And, I had a late lunch/early dinner with three other postgrads, including a home-made apple pie from apples we picked. I cannot say I did much in preparing the meal, other than watching…but I did cut up the apples, which was about the limit of my cooking skills. Tonight I will have a late-night snack, Kebab-shop style—something I have missed from my year in Scotland. This one goes out to Chris Ballantine.
There is so much I could say, especially if I went deeper into my appreciation for Oxford and this opportunity I have…or if I started talking about what this term will look like, what sort of things I will be studying, where I want to travel, or if I began writing about Oxford history/trivia and describing the scenery, or what all I have to do over the next couple weeks. But, I think this is about it for one posting; pax vobiscum (I’m supposed to know Latin now…do I? That remains to be seen).