Freshers' Week and Carl's Birthday

I'll start off this post with some photos, because I have a feeling that it might end up being rather description heavy.

Another view of the dorm that I live in, "Dale"

Mansfield College Library

Mansfield from the side

 Patrick's House! 

Where Patrick lives is beautiful....but it's REALLY far away from city center and from his college, Regent's.

 Views from around Oxford:

This week has been never-ending. It's been incredible and so much fun, but also exhausting. Here's the reason: Sunday marked the beginning of "Freshers' Week" 2011.

All of the first-year students ("freshers") arrive on Sunday, and starting Sunday afternoon, the week proceeds non-stop. Upperclassmen continually say that freshers' week is the best time of the year and we're really encouraged to participate in everything we can. Visiting students (like me) are treated also exactly like first-years this week, because we're also new to Oxford and Mansfield and everyone else, which is great, because it feels like the visiting students are really being integrated into the college as well.

Every day this week, starting around 9:00am, we've had academic meetings and inductions to attend. Meetings with the Principle of the college (like the President), the director of the visiting students programme, the college doctor, tutor for welfare, the porter, and all of the other important adult figures to know at Mansfield. I've had two library inductions, one for just the Mansfield library and another for the Oxford libraries in general. There are so many of them! It's incredible. I will never run of of ways to study. Unfortunately, the library system is a lot less straight forward here than in the States, and often there are books you aren't allowed to remove from the library. It's alright though- the libraries are all so amazing, I don't think I'll mind having to stay in them to study.

After the academic initiations wrap up, usually around 4:00pm or 5:00pm, the social events start. Almost everyone attends, and these events are how I've already met so many British students, freshers and upperclassmen (although, I don't think they use the word "upperclassmen" here). Ice cream socials, pub quizzes, lots of tea, tours of Oxford, house parties, pub visits, club nights, and more.

I've taken a photo of ONLY the social schedule to try to give an impression of how insanely busy this week has been (and will continue to be until Saturday night).   Insane, right?

A note on alcohol consumption in Oxford:
At William Jewell College, in Liberty, MO, where I normally attend college, things are entirely different. Students can get in tremendous trouble for drinking, even the ones who are over twenty-one sometimes. Jewell has extreme limitations about who can drink, what they can drink, how much, where, ect., and I think most US institutions are similar. But not in England. The drinking age here is eighteen, so most of the incoming freshers have just recently become of age and are excited to drink legally. There's been alcohol at almost every event I've gone to, even some of the academic ones, and EVERYONE seems to drink. It's really kind of funny. It seems that the college has decided that the best way to get everyone to make friends and feel comfortable at Oxford is to give them ready access to alcohol. I think if Jewell were to try this, it would be chaos. However, in Oxford it seems to work pretty well. Drinking here is different, because most kids have grown up drinking wine with their parents for dinner, or being around alcohol in pubs (which are good for a lot more than drinking; I've discovered that families often go to pubs in the afternoon or early evenings for good meals and fellowship.). Drinking is much more casual here than in the States, where is seems like when students drink, they drink to get drunk and be stupid. But in England, it's almost just like a fact of daily life.

Don't worry though! I've been told by all my new second and third year Mansfield friends that after Freshers' Week the pace of social life entirely changes. Everyone becomes overwhelmed with work, and most people only go out with their friends once a week, if that. They say that Freshers' Week is such a huge deal because it's the one chance that everyone gets to have fun together in Oxford before being consumed with academic life. Oxford has huge winter and spring breaks, but most people either go home or try to travel during them, so Freshers' Week ends up being the only time that everyone is in Oxford together without loads of work to do.

I, however, already do have some work to do! I have had to read two plays, and a bunch of literary criticism, and I will soon be writing an essay for my Shakespeare tutorial. I've sat out on the social events two nights to work on academic stuff, but I am trying to be as involved as I can, because the social events are really when everyone meets each other, especially when the visiting students get to spend time with the freshers, because they all live in a different dorm, and we live with finalists (third-year students) and graduate students.

Wednesday night, the visiting students and freshers all attended a formal dinner that took place in the Mansfield Chapel, hosted by the college. It was incredible. William Jewell College, take notes. It was a lot like High Table at Jewell, only so much better. Before dinner, we had champagne with our tutors and other college officials, socializing and meeting people. At dinner, I sat near the director of the visiting students programme and Dr Alison Kelly, who is going to be teaching my Shakespeare tutorial this term, and with other visiting students studying English. The food was incredible. Three courses, including dessert, and then chocolates and coffee after the dessert, and, of course, lots of wine. Evidently, Mansfield has it's own personal brand of both red and white wine, and I thought they were both really good. Of course, I don't know that much about wine...yet. Two Acapella groups provided entertainment, and the Baroness (the president of the college) gave a nice speech. In the end, the dinner lasted almost three hours. It was delicious, and fun, and really a very encouraging way to start the semester. 

Yesterday from 2:00pm-4:00pm the Mansfield freshers' and visiting students attended the Oxford University wide freshers' fair. It was the most extreme welcome fair that I've ever been to. It took place in the Exam Schools, which are located in this gigantic, beautiful, intricate building near the center of the city, and there must have been at least 200 booths and informational stalls in a maze weaving throughout three floors of the building. I put my name on twenty or so emailing lists for various Oxford clubs and organizations. There will never be enough time for me to participate in all of them, but I thought it would be nice to know about some University events happening around the city.


Yesterday was Carl's (one of the other two Jewell students at Mansfield with me) twenty-first birthday! Instead of going to the pub crawl and club night with the other Mansfield people, we met up with Karen, Patrick, Jess, Mariah, Travis, Annie (other friends from our school in the States), and also Richard, our third-year British friend who lives on my floor, celebrated Carl's birthday with Caterpillar Cake and wine, and then drinks at a pub.

Richard got Carl a book on philosophy and physics. I got him a Caterpillar cake and wine :-)

Left to Right: Richard, Travis, Carl, Me

There's much more to say, but unfortunately, I have no more time. After the craziness ends on Saturday, I am certain that I will be better about posting to this blog and communicating with everyone. 

Thanks for reading!