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 :)
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| 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
