Pictures...

Here are some pictures of my school...







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Matriculation

Amongst all the quirks of the University of Oxford is the matriculation ceremony, which is essentially marks the formal induction of all students into the university. Some say that this is perhaps the single most important formal event here; getting into Oxford is a big deal for most people, and the matriculation ceremony is really a celebration of this. Once you are in, you will most likely pass and graduate, which almost becomes, in effect, a non-event.

Our matriculation ceremony happened on the 13th of October, a Saturday. The matriculation ceremony is a college event, and we congregated at Mansfield college at 11.00 AM for some photographs. Unfortunately the excesses of the previous night had left me hungover, and the evidence can be seen in my face and puffy eyes. I guess I am no longer of the age where such excesses can remain concealed.

We were dressed in what is called the sub fusc, which includes a specially made graduate gown and a mortarboard over a dark suit, white shirt, black socks and shoes, and a white bow-tie. Look at the pictures to see what I mean. Incidentally, we can only formally carry the mortarboard right now, and can only wear it after we have graduated (posing for photos is probably excepted).

Anyway, we marched in procession to the Sheldonian Theatre, the scene of all such major ceremonies, and which will be the venue of our graduation in about a year's time. The event was lasted about 20 mins, wherein the chancellor of the university Lord Patten gave a short Latin speech and a long English translation, and we were deemed 'matriculated'. The overall pomp and feel of the occasion was fantastic, something I'm going to remember all my life.

Fittingly, we spent the rest of the day celebrating; the finale was a graduate bop (an Oxford word for a theme party) with the theme 'sexy sub fusc' at Linacre college. We drank and danced the night away with a few hundred others like us.



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Initiation

It's been a month since I last posted on the blog. In some ways, I had expected this to happen; however, before moving to Oxford I had been determined to find the time to keep updating the blog. Guess I was wrong. I knew the one-year programme would be extremely demanding - I just hadn't imagined the magnitude to which this would be true.

To let you all catch up, here's briefly what has transpired over the last 4 weeks:

I arrived at Oxford on the 24th of September, and spent the next full week making all necessary arrangements - ID cards; college registration; bank account and loan; moving in to my new flat; and meeting up with people I was going to be spending the next one year with. So far, so good.

Week 0 started with a bang - 2 full days of orientation, but then three days off to take care of any remaining formalities. Explanation: in Oxford, each term is divided into 'weeks', starting at week zero and finishing at week ten, when the exams for the term are conducted. Week 1 is when the term, and classes, start in real earnest.

Week 1 started on the 8th of October - and straight away we knew we were in the thick of it. Lectures, pre-lecture reading, post-lecture reading, homework, career and personality sessions, CV preparation...I was already having 18 hr days - with 15 hrs spent each day in school. The library became, indeed has become, my second home. Subjects I have never studied before - Finance, Financial Reporting, Decision Science...were being taught at an unbelievable pace. The one-year programme has its draw-backs, and one of them is the rapidity with which new topics are covered. We are supposedly covering in one week what 2-year programmes cover in three. There is relatively little time to grasp and internalise new fundamentals, and by the time you have mulled over and understood one, the lecturer has moved on, leaving you completely in the dark about the issue being discussed now. On top of all this, we are already having to complete group assignments - assignments that would take 2-3 hrs when done individually are taking 10-12 because of group dynamics. It is a part of the learning curve, though, and I am certain we will be able to optimise this soon enough.

Week 1 was chaotic, stressful, and extremely demanding. Gradually, I began to get used to the routine, and the beginning of week 2 was a lot more relaxed. Then towards the end of week 2 I began to realise that I couldn't possibly keep up with the pace of the teaching, and the stress closed down on me again.

We are now in the middle of week 3, and I am beginning to relax, just a little bit, again. Our next assignment is due in about 8 days, so we have a day or two before we need to get back into high gear. I guess these swings are going to become a part of life here.

Whatever happens, one this is for sure - it is going to be a very interesting year ahead. And I had thought we would be able to party as hard as we worked.....!

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