Where have I been?

I am being much more of a failure at this than even I anticipated.

So where am I?

Well, it's 6th week. I am currently writing my second essay* for my Medical Genetics tutorial. It is much more like what I am used to than the Population Genetics** I studied Weeks 1-4. My tutors have been great so far. Tutors at Oxford are truly committed to helping students learn and master their studies; however, they are surprisingly hands-off about it--if the student doesn't have the motivation, the tutor truly doesn't care. It is very much up to the student to make of their time here what they want. Because there are no formal grades until the final examinations at the end of their third (and final) year of study, students must be disciplined in the time leading up to those final examinations. I can only imagine what that takes--it reminds me of every time I have put off studying for an exam until the last minute (as I am sure most of you reading this also understand). Imagine if what you put off studying was not just a semester's worth (or even half a semester in case of mid-terms) of information, but three years' worth of work. Add that to your list of "Why people who graduate from Oxford are super legit."

I have made some good friends here, and I know I will continue to make more. I do spend a large amount of my time alone, but I promise I am not completely a hermit (although it is pretty darn close). In fact, my last week or so has been quite busy!

Jess and I on election night

Last Tuesday was November 6--Election Day. One of the best friends I have made here, Jess, is the visiting student representative for the Catz JCR*** and she set up the most awesome party for Election night. The JCR gave her a £250 budget (awesome!) to buy food and drink for everyone (and to decorate!). There was a surprising turnout. At the beginning of the night (around when the first states started reporting) there were at least 150 people there, if not 200 or more. As the night continued on, I thought this number would dwindle. However, there were still at least 50 people or so around 3 am! Most everyone left by around 4 or 5; however there were about 10 of us that remained until it was all said and done. I even stayed up to watch the speeches (watching them live from the other side of the planet was an experience I was determined to partake in). I walked home in the daylight as people were going to work and went to sleep around 8 in the morning. All worth it!

I voted!

This past week has also included quite a bit of rowing (hello 6 o'clock mornings!). Christ Church Regatta**** is NEXT WEEK, so we are doing a ton of preparation. Hopefully the river cooperates so that the event can go on as scheduled! Maybe it will even encourage me to finally***** take some photos...


Okay, this is probably long enough for now (as you are probably fatigued from reading, or looked at the length and didn't read at all AND I need to get back to work).

Cheers,

Jordan xx

Further proof I am not a complete hermit! Here is a picture from

this past Friday's Entz. The theme was "Rubik's Cube" (hence

the colors... I promise I don't walk around dressed like this). With

me in the picture is Kelley; she is a visiting student (also pre-med)

from the University of Texas (but I have forgiven her for that!)

*Of course it takes some procrastination to get me motivated to blog...

**Which went surprisingly well and was surprisingly interesting. I can now tell you all about population structure, nucleotide diversity, bottleneck events, variance, quantitative traits, linkage disequilibrium, molecular evolution AND argue whether or not Neanderthals spoke a "human language." It's amazing what you can learn in four weeks.

***JCR: Junior Common Room. Basically the main hangout place at college. Catz has the largest (and most awesome) JCR of all of the Oxford colleges. There are always people around watching football (soccer) or playing pool or darts. The JCR also houses our college bar (which is also the largest and most awesome of the Oxford colleges). However, "JCR" also refers to the society for undergraduate students. Every undergrad is a member of the JCR and we have representatives like a student council: president, treasurer, et cetera. In addition to the standard positions, there are also people in charge of fun things like Entz and even people that encourage you to get chlamydia testing done. Ha!

****A regatta put on each year by Christ Church College in which only novices (people who never rowed before this term) are allowed to compete.

*****You caught me. I haven't taken any pictures since I have been here (other than periodically on my phone). I am going to swing this a positive way and say that this shows that I really feel at home here and not like a tourist. See? Now it doesn't sound so bad :) I did TRY to take some pictures at the Election Party, but when I took out my camera, it was completely dead. I guess that happens when it sits around for weeks without being touched...

Weeks That Start With F: Freshers' and First

I can't believe it has already been nearly two weeks since I have arrived here in Oxford. I wish I could tell you all that I am completely settled and have my routine down-pat; but that just isn't the case. Don't get me wrong--my bags are unpacked, I know my way around, etc etc etc. I just don't feel home yet, you know?

Here's an overview of my time so far:

Freshers' Week

Freshers' week is orientation week for first year students at Oxford (Freshers) as well as visiting students. There were a crazy amount of events all week: club nights every night, Freshers' Fair, sports club meetings, Catz's first Entz, and more. I didn't go to most stuff, as it really does seem more geared toward the Freshers. I went to a club one night and found it was a TERRIBLE way to try and get to know people. Freshers Fair seriously deserves its own post, but I am going to try and describe it here: basically, all of the Freshers & visiting students get corralled through the Examination Schools and there are thousands (okay... I am terrible at estimating numbers. At least hundreds... but it felt like thousands) of booths for different clubs, sports, restaurants, banks, bookstores, you name it. If it is in Oxford, they had a booth at the fair. It was an interesting experience. I put my name on the list of so many clubs that I had no interest in because I am simply too nice not to (i.e. two clubs for two different kinds [they made sure I understood they were different] of martial arts). The Entz (short for "entertainment," these are fortnightly "bops," or dances, at my college) was the conclusion of Freshers Week, with the theme of "The Name Game." So everyone had to come dressed up as something that started with the same letter as their first name. I went as a jack-o-lantern (which was confusing for some Brits... apparently they just call them pumpkins! I had to explain that we call them pumpkins too--before you slice them up!). 

One day, I sat and studied at a cafe near my
house. I had a yummy cappuccino :)

First Week

The conclusion of Freshers Week meant it was time to get to work. I had my first tutorial on Thursday, with the corresponding essay due on Wednesday. For the first four weeks, my main tutorial (meets every week) is in Population Genetics. It isn't really a subject that I particularly enjoy, but it is nice to have a window into an area of biology that I don't frequent. It is also great because my tutor is an expert in the field, so I am getting a good idea of what happens in the world of population genetics.

I have to admit, getting back into the swing of writing again was immensely difficult. I understood all of my readings, but then converting it into a well-organised and well-thought out essay proved very challenging. I stayed up most of Tuesday night in order to finish it on time. Here's hoping this week goes a little better :)

The library at St. Catherine's College

Yesterday (Friday), I had my first lecture for the other course I am taking this term. The course is called Health and Disease; BASICALLY, it's public health. I think it will be a pretty interesting class. The setup is kind of confusing, but I will still explain it a bit here. I have lectures every week this term (8 weeks), but I will only have four tutorials. This class spans over this term (Michaelmas) and next term (Hilary); however, I will only have 5 lectures next term, but I will have 8 tutorials! From what I understand, this isn't the typical setup for tutorials here, especially because I will be having different lecturers and tutors each week. I am excited about the things I will learn in this class, and I know it is going to help prepare me for medical school. Best part about this class so far? The lecturer brought his dog. I was in heaven.

Last night, my dear friends from Jewell (they are studying at Regent's Park College and Mansfield College) came to visit me to celebrate me getting my MCAT scores back and officially being done with that darn test! We had a fun evening drinking wine and cider, eating snacks, making a food run to Hassan's (the local kebab stand), listening to music, and catching up. Even though we are all here at Oxford, we don't get to see each other often. These times are incredibly special :)

Bring it on, second week :)

Jordan x

One week.

I have been here in Oxford for one week now. I promise more of an update soon, but for now it's essay writing, not blog writing, for me :)

Jordan

Introductions, Explanations and the Like (I'm in Oxford!)

Image from http://oxshire.co.uk/

I was on and off the fence quite a bit when deciding if I wanted to write a travel blog. All previous attempts of mine at blogging have never ended well, but I decided that having this experience archived within the world-wide-web is probably a good idea, not only for myself but for friends and family back home to keep up with me.

What travels, what experience you ask? (If you are reading this, you most likely already know... but entertain me, will you?) Well, this academic year, I am studying at St. Catherine's College of the University of Oxford. In fact, I just arrived in Oxford today after quite a long trip from Oklahoma City, USA.

I am going to keep this first post short and sweet, even though there are a million things I could tell you about (hello material for future posts--stay tuned!). For now, here are some photographs from my day of travel! These were all posted to Instagram, so follow me there (username: jlemons) for more up-to-the-minute updates via photos :)

xx Jordan

All of my luggage! Combined, it all weighed more than I do.

Luckily, I am living in City Centre and didn't have to drag it

very far from the bus stop. (S/O to Rebekah for the help!)

Patrick and I at the OKC airport.

Leg 2 Round 1! Or is it Round 2 Leg 1?

Either way, we're getting quite good at this.

Boarding the 8-hour flight from Chicago

Flying into sunrise over beautiful England