Learning Philosophy and Playing Music at Oxford (plus pics!)

Great news! I just got back my Week 3 essays and both of my tutors indicated that I am making good progress. This is really encouraging because I was worried about how I measure up to other Oxford students. However, it was silly for me to be so worried about that - not because I am as smart as capable as other Oxford students, but because competition takes a back seat in their education system. Instead of regular midterms and exams, they give you personal attention and focus on your improvement. I actually asked my tutor if he could grade my essays when he is reading/commenting on them, and he said he didn't really want to. He explained that everyone takes time to get used to the tutorial system and everyone gets better the more they study. It's definitely intimidating to present your work to your professors each week, but I think the system is less stressful overall. The other main difference from the American system is that they specialize much more here. We only take 2 classes per term (both in your major), but you go into more depth in those classes. At NU, the amount of effort people spend on studying for distribution classes seems to get everyone stressed without much added benefit. You can always go to lectures for classes you are not taking if you want to make up for the fact that you're not taking distros - I went to a really good lecture about the US Presidency and Obama today. I am not sure whether I am ready to say that this system is better, but it definitely has advantages.

Another great part about Oxford is the music. I am in the Oxford University Orchestra, which is AMAZING - the best orchestra I've ever been in. They play professional repertoire (I heard they played Rite of Spring last year!?) and they have professional conductors. It makes for an intense experience though - 3 hour rehearsals twice a week, and I am sitting next to a really talented music major. Another exciting opportunity here is the chamber music! I have met some other string/piano players in college, so we are probably going to get together to play some music for fun. Also, there are recitals in the college every once in awhile in which we can perform. The last awesome opportunity they have here is a music competition in which the winners get scholarships for music lessons. I've heard it isn't that competitive and I have a decent shot at getting some money, so I wish me luck! I am really excited to get involved in the Oxford music scene.

Last thing - we've gotten really lucky with the weather lately (sorry about the hurricane-force winds Chicago!), so I got some great pictures around Oxford. Check them all out here - Oxford Pictures. Here are some pictures from the album:

St. Anne's Quad (taken from my room)

 Tom's Tower - Christ Church College

Miss you all!

MT Week 1

Michaelmas Term (which is named after the feast of St. Michael the Archangel - if you were wondering) started last week on October 10th. You might be really jealous because school in the states starts about a month and a half before that, but I can assure you that we don't have it easy. On the first day of term, I was required to give a presentation to my tutor and a 4th year student, and on the second day of term I had an essay due, which I had to read aloud to my tutor. It was intense. Also, weekends don't exist at Oxford. I didn't believe them when they first told us that, but it's true - I have essays due every Saturday and Monday this term, so weekends are actually the busiest part of the week.

Wednesday, after finishing my tutorials for the week, some of my friends and I decided to go to the law society meet-and-greet downtown. We all had signed up for their email list at the Fresher's Fair, and it sounded like a good way to meet British students. We dressed up in really fancy clothes and walked downtown about half an hour early to make sure we wouldn't be turned away. When we got close, we noticed lots of people dressed up walking in the wrong direction. As it turned out, they reached their maximum capacity of five hundred people two hours before the party even started. It was a really funny scene - hundreds of very well-dressed students were roaming the streets of Oxford, not sure where to go or what to do with themselves.

On Saturday was the matriculation ceremony, which is a big deal here. The whole University emphasizes exclusivity, so to them the process of being initiated as students is just as important as graduating. Since we are visiting students we didn't officially matriculate, but we did dress up in our subfusc and take part in all the St. Anne's festivities! Subfusc is their official dress that is required for all exams. For guys it is a black suit with a white shirt and white bow tie. We also have a robe that goes over our suit that has tails - it's hard to describe. Anyway, it was a lot of fun.

Fresher's Week!

Hey everyone,

After two weeks of orientation I have finally found time to get together my blog for this year. I spent one week in London with the study abroad program and one week in Oxford for Fresher's Week!

Fresher's Week entailed an inordinate number of lectures where I learned one thing - Oxford people like to talk. Some of them like to talk because they are able to grasp the audience's attention and get a couple of laughs along the way. Others merely want to show off their intellectual abilities. Still others want to tell you to remember to set your alarm clock because your mum isn't going to wake you up in the morning anymore.

Fortunately, there were lots of fun events in the evening that got us through the week. The Fresher's Dinner was incredible. Everyone dressed up in their nicest clothes and met in the best building on campus for pre-dinner champagne. We mingled with the other students and the tutors before going into the hall for dinner. I had the honor of sitting at high table that night, which is only permitted if you are either a  fellow of the college or their guest. Since we were seated by subject, they chose the PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) students to sit at the high table that night. We then enjoyed a 3-course dinner by candlelight and learned about some of the college's history in a speech from the Principal.

The next night was the consummation of Fresher's Week: the bop. Note that here they don't call them dances or formals - it's simply a bop. The theme of the bop was "Superheroes and Villains" so I just had to wear my superman costume. I got a lot of compliments for my outfit when I was walking downtown, so I think I might have to wear it more often!

More on matriculation, academics, and USA-UK rivalries to come!

To see pictures, go to this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067046&id=1228590369&l=a947038231