I am heading back for Hilary term (the second one) at Pembroke. Break was a bit strange because my life in Chicago is so radically different than my life in England that it was beginning to feel like a distant dream. Christmas break was a fun time to be back home and see family and friends, but I am excited that my British and European adventures are not yet done; when I left in December I felt like I had just gotten into the swing of things and still had much unfinished business. In Hilary term I will be “reading” Middle East in the Age of Empire as well as Religion and Politics in 17th Century France, both of which sound extremely interesting.
In order to write this blog, I went back and read my first post I wrote back in September before arriving at Oxford. I said my goals were to join the rowing team, the Oxford Union, and rekindle my love of music. I tried rowing, but ended up playing lacrosse, I joined the Oxford Union, and now only have left some aspect of music. However, a theme I have decided upon for this middle term is that it will be fully British. I hope to travel around the UK on day-trips during the weekend, fully immerse myself in my coursework, and explore much more of Oxford. Last term I was just getting the hang of things, as well as traveled quite a bit with Georgetown friends. Additionally, due to the nature of coursework at Oxford, I have had much more free, independent study time and last term took my spare time to go to pubs, take naps, or read books for pleasure. That’s the give and take at Oxford: a day of intense work followed by three days of pleasure. This term I plan to take French classes, study for the LSAT, prepare for the Cambridge lacrosse game, and go to as many lectures as possible. That is the benefit of having a whole year at Oxford: I can change focuses and reevaluate at the end and beginning of each term.
