I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Well, I've done it. I have successfully survived a term at Oxford!!! It was touch and go towards the end but all in all, the term was AMAZING. Here are some facts and figures for anyone who cares:

Number of weeks: 8
Number of essays written per week: 2
Total essays written: 14 essays, two sets of extensive notes and outlines
Average pages per essay: 8
Total pages written: 112 (plus some)
Number of complete meltdowns: 0

I would say thats pretty good...and I am, of course, oh so modest and humble.

This is going to be my last post for a while because at 12:30 tomorrow I am going to be flying from England back to the United States!!! I'm going home for Christmas and I'm really excited. I did realize today that I will certainly miss Oxford while I'm gone. Even though I haven't been here for very long, I sometimes feel that I've been here forever and that I'm more comfortable and feel more at home than I have in my two years at Sarah Lawrence. I'm flying back on 12 January.

Since it is Oxford, I do have work to do over break. I've also, typically, made myself a reading list. Will it get done? Probably not, but I will have plenty of leisure time as my family is going on vacation over break in my grandfather's RV. Oh yeah, thats right: Ridiculous Vehicle. So I shall be bringing my computer, a collection of DVD's and a stack of books. It will be lovely. My history tutor did not give me a reading list or essay question for over break but I am guessing she will email me when her end of term stuff settles down. My other tutor, Allan Chapman, the most typical Oxford don ever, will be doing the History of Science with me. My first essay is on the Copernican Revolution. I'll be doing a bit of astronomy, chemistry, physics, medicine, general biological sciences, etc. The point: 1) have Allan Chapman as my tutor, 2) take history and 3) get science credit for taking history. So excited.


On Friday night, the last night for students who live in college to stay, we celebrated Wadham's Christmas Dinner. There were two sittings in Hall and they were both full. Everyone dresses up really nicely, eats amazing food and gets slightly tipsy on wine provided by the college! The Chapel Choir (of which I am a part) sings carols from the balcony looking over the hall. It was incredible. Most of the carols we sang were ones that I either didn't know very well or didn't like--none of the standards that I learned as a Caroler because apparently the Brits like different carols....not sure why that surprised me so much. The best one was "The 12 Days of Christmas." Normally, I don't like that carol; it bores me. From now on, it is my absolute favorite carol. As soon as we started singing it, everyone in Hall cheered and I was a bit confused. Then came the "five gold rings part." The first time, about 70% of the people stood up on the benches, raised their hands in the air, did spirit-fingers, and shouted "FIVE GOLD RINGS." The second time, more did it. By the end, they were shouting the numbers as we counted down and after the final "five gold rings" they cheered and clapped. The best part was at the second seating. They clapped along and demanded an encore. Also, at both seatings, there were fellows and dons sitting at the high table and they participated in the "five gold rings" tradition too! We were talking today at lunch about what the best part about Oxford has been so far. While I have loved every moment of my time here, the absolute ultimate part of my experience has been Oxford Christmas. I will never forget how amazing every bit of Oxford Christmas has been!



Also, we went to London for the day yesterday and did a whole bunch of touristy stuff and a TON of walking. We ended the day by going to Trafalgar Square to see the Christmas tree and then wandering down to check out the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben at night before catching the double-decker bus back to Oxford. Every year, a 20-30 metre tree is sent from Oslo, Norway to London as thanks for the help recieved in 1940-1945. This tradition has been going on since 1947.