I am staying in Exeter College, one of the
oldest in Oxford where the likes of JRR Tolkein are from. Outside my window I
can see the grounds of Trinity College and the very famous Blackwell’s
Bookshop. Around the corner is the Eagle and Child Pub, where the Inklings
(Tolkein, CS Lewis etc) gathered to discuss their ideas and latest writings. My
lecturer on the Contemporary Middle East fled Iran on the last plane out of the
Revolution. My colleagues come from America, Britain, Denmark, Italy, Russia,
Belarus, Spain, Portugal, Australia etc etc. My lecturers are Oxford scholars
with multiple Masters degrees and PHDs. They have incredible years of
experience in every country of the world and are a wealth of knowledge.
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| The view outside my window, with Trinity College and Blackwells Bookshop. |
It’s safe to say I feel out of my depth!
While I have just started my Masters Degree in International Relations, other
students are still undergrads in a variety of fields, while many other students
have completed several Master’s degrees or are just here for the fun of it!
Being here, knowing that I am studying at the University of Oxford is still
surreal. It hasn’t sunk in that I can put it on my resume yet!
I’ll write now about life at Oxford, and
I’ll leave more detail of my studies for the next one I think. I am staying in
an ‘undergraduate’ room, which has a bed, desk, chair, little coffee table,
bookshelf, small wardrobe and a sink. Which is more than I expected! Some of
the students were put in postgrad rooms because of space issues, and these
rooms have a bedroom and adjoining sitting room; a couple even have a piano!
There is a toilet and shower or bath on every floor. That’s right, my floor
just has a bath, no shower. Bit of a surprise!
All meals are served in Hall. Imagine the
Great Hall out of Harry Potter books, just a bit smaller and that’s where I
eat. The tables are long, and set for each meal complete with glasses, tea cups,
placemats etc. The welcome dinner was quite fancy and full of tradition, again
I felt a little out of my depth! Everyone stood while the scholars entered and
sat down at the High Table, only then did everyone else sit. No one started
eating until the high table guests did. I thought I was pretty good on cutlery
and etiquette, but even I struggled with 10 different pieces of cutlery for 4
courses! I did better than most I think!
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| The menu for our Welcome dinner! |
The food here is amazing. Breakfast and
lunch are self-service, buffet style. For breakfast I have the most amazing
muesli with seeds and dried fruit, with what I estimate to be about $30AUD of
fresh blueberries, raspberries and strawberries per breakfast. The taste and
quality is amazing, we are very spoilt! Lunch is a buffet of cold meats, many
types of salads, fruit, big wedges of cheese and muffins, donuts and cookies.
The food is a little different every day, with yesterday’s menu including
scotch eggs in individual packets.
Dinner is another story altogether. I
admire the kitchen staff and servers, as there are a stupid amount of different
dietary requirements. I myself am gluten and dairy free, but there are vegans,
vegetarians, fish eating vegetarians, demi vegetarians, egg free, chicken free,
red meat free, yeast free, the list goes on. Every person with a special
requirement has a card that they bring together so that we are all served the
right meals. I estimate the kitchen cooks at least 8 different types of meals
to accommodate all of this, on top of catering for about 60 people that eat a
‘normal’ meal. Their organisation is amazing!
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| Yum! |
Dinner is served in two courses, a main and
a dessert, and so far I have not eaten anything remotely similar twice! Roast
lamb with potatoes and veg. Crispy smoked chicken breast on bone with spiced
baked potato and sour cream. Fillet of fish with some exotic unidentified
glaze. Lasagne with Yorkshire puddings. Artichoke pie with asparagus and tomato
salad. And that’s just the mains. Desserts have been just as incredible. Apple
and date tart. Watermelon and lime sorbet. Crème caramel with raspberries.
Chocolate tart and fresh berries. For those of you that know me well, you know
how much I love my food, and the gluten free equivalents have been just as
amazing. Meals are accompanied by fresh bread rolls, and one of the servers
always works out where I’m sitting and brings me a fresh gluten free bread
roll, which tastes as good as real bread, something I have never experienced!
That’s probably enough for now. Stay tuned
for news on my actual classes and how incredible the quality of teaching and
experience is!
All my best,
Gemma xo
Gemma xo
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