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...