Matriculation!

Ok, I kind of lied in the title. Today was Matriculation, but as a visiting student, I was not allowed to participate in the actual ceremony. However, we were included in the freshers' photo and the ridiculous amount of photo taking afterward so we didn't feel too left out. As one of the shorter/est people in the college, I was in the last section of people to be fit onto the risers and wound up almost directly behind the Master in the front center. I will be easy to spot! We got some amazing Tufts in Oxford photos as well. Here are pictures:

There's the Master! We can purchase the official photo later and I think I might. It's every one of the freshers plus most of the visiting students. Hopefully a good souvenir! We are all wearing "sub fusc" which means robes plus black and white nice clothes. For formal hall we only have to wear the robes over whatever we have on. I tend to dress up a little more for Sundays because it's the fanciest dinner and we get served wine!

I'm hearing the bells at Christ Church ring for 1:00 (or 13:00 as they call it here). I like being so close to the bell tower; I can see it out my window. Actually, I think we're going to hall at Christ Church tonight for dinner. Pembroke does not have hall on Saturdays so they give us the option of going over to our neighbors'. I haven't been inside yet so I'm really excited to see it! Apparently the Great Hall in Harry Potter was based on their hall! I'll try to take some pictures, Mom!

Week 1 DONE (almost)

I am almost done with my first full week in Oxford. It has been an eventful one. I met my tutor and I am incredibly excited about my tutorials. I am taking Renaissance literature and

Milton. She assigned us our first papers for the week. I definitely had to buckle down and write them. It meant 2 nights of little to

no sleep but they are done! If anyone is interested (which I doubt unless you are an English major), I wrote my Renaissance one on power and self-destruction in 3 of Marlowe's plays and my Milton paper on the idea of conception and the womb in Paradise Lost. I was fairly pleased with the results and was excited about discussing them in class. Unfortunately, my tutorials were canceled because my tutor has the flu. We are going to reschedule.

I also have been going to some lectures at the EFL (English Faculty Library). We go to them to supplement what we are learning in tutorial. I loved the one I went to on Milton and it gave me some good ideas for my paper. The EFL is a little ways away, about a 15-20 minutes walk but it's been fine because the weather has been so nice. I was expecting rain every day but it

actually has been beautiful.

A group of us went out for Rachel's birthday on Monday. Happy birthday, Rachel!!! We went to the Duke of Cambridge which was a really nice bar. We were the only ones there for a bit but had a great time and took some fun pictures.

One of my favorite things I've done this week is join the Oxford archery team! I am SO excited about it. I'm going to have my first practice on Thursday or Friday. Wish me luck! Hopefully I won't be too awful/ shoot anyone.

Tomorrow we have the freshers' photo where we all get dressed up with robes and take a huge picture of all the new students at Pembroke. It's right before matriculation but visiting students don't get to take part in that because we are not actually getting a degree from Oxford.

I'm off to get started on some more reading!

'ello London! (and Oxford)

After a few great days in London, I am successfully situated at Pembroke College. My dad and I had a fantastic time in London (largely thanks to Michael) and were able to do a bit of sightseeing and British fun. The flight was fine and we arrived ready to go. On our first night, we went to La Famiglia and ate dinner next to Paul McCartney! It was a great start to my time in England.

The next day (Thursday), Dad and I stopped in at Michael's store (which was very impressive) and then made our way to th

e Tube. We decided to visit the British museum on a whim and it was fantastic! We were both really impressed by the architecture of the main lobby which is covered by a beautiful glass ceiling. Their Egyptian and Greek collection is amazing. We saw the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin marbles. SO COOL. Right before we went in, we discovered a shop called "It's All Greek" which sells reproductions of Greek and Roman antiquities. I think I am going to have to go back there to get some decorations for my room. I have my eye on a Greek bronze helmet...

We then walked to Westminster Abbey, going by Trafalgar Square on the way.

We decided to go to Evensong at the Abbey which was really interesting. The abbey itself is beautiful and the service was attended by the high commissioner of Cyprus. We headed back to Michael's and had a great dinner/ club experience.

On Friday, we visited the Natural History Museum which was a lot of fun. The building itself was great. Then we swung by the Sherlock Holmes Museum which was a little weird but kind of quaint. I got my picture taken with Dr. Watson! We decided we still had some time left and headed to the Tower. They were having a Henry VIII exhibit which was very interesting and very well done. We then made it back to Michael's to change and headed out to dinner with some friends. Dinner was amazing and I had a wond

erful time and a lot of fun.

After a quick stop at Portobello Road, Michael drove us to Oxford on Saturday. We wanted to move my bags in early but the master's son was getting married so I decided I probably should avoid disrupting the wedding. We headed to the Tilbury Inn and then back to town. We walked around Oxford for a bit, said goodbye to Michael, ate an early dinner, and returned the the inn for an early night. Unfortunately, I have come down with a cold so I didn't sleep too well.

I finally moved

into Pembroke on Sunday morning! Dad helped me unpack a bit and then I walked him to the bus station. I'm glad we were able to have such a good time in London! I walked back to Pembroke and unpacked some more, met up with Tufts (and nonTufts!) people, met the coordinators of the Tufts-at-Oxford program, went shopping for bedding, had predinner drinks, and had dinner in the impressive dining room. But they weren't done with us yet! The JCR staff (orientation leaders) took all of us out to a local cocktail bar and we had a great time mingling and getting to know each other. Everyone is so nice here!

Today hasn't been that exciting. I'm about to go take a tour and go to a

talk or something. I'm trying to learn as much as possible about the way things work around here! It's going to be a very busy year!