Trinity - Week 9

Even though classes were out, week 9 was full of special events. 

Vicki, an OII professor, held an end of term party at her house on Sunday for the students and faculty/staff (and their kids), though the adults who came consisted more of staff than faculty. Vicki was one of the professors who team-taught my politics class. The walk over to her house was long but pretty; we went over the train tracks and through some of the Oxford countryside.

Her backyard backed a meadow where horses were running around, and she had a chicken coop in her backyard.

There was a great spread for lunch with lots of delicious and colorful foods. I had hummus, grilled chicken, roasted eggplant, lentil salad, and more. There was also a nice selection of brownies, pies, and cakes for dessert. 

We were lucky to have such great weather that day.

The three of us who walked over together were able to conveniently get a ride home from one of the Dphil students who has a car.

I went to the Royal Ascot on Tuesday with Janine and Kate. It was the first day of the races, and the weather was perfect. We had tickets to the Silver Ring - the cheap seats. There is no dress code in the Silver Ring, but many people still like to dress in the spirit of the races.

There was an area with bleachers, but most people were scattered around the grounds and at the tables in the area. We sat ourselves down right next to the track.

Women in the Grandstand (the middle level) are required to wear hats, and men in the Royal Enclosure (the most elite section) must wear morning suits and top hats.

Each day starts with a parade in which the Queen and the other royals come into the stands. Apparently the Queen loves horses and watching the races.

Races took place every 45-60 minutes or so. A band played pop/rock songs in the silver ring in between races. We didn't place any formal bets, but we did verbally share with each other which horse we were going to root for in each race. 

We saw a horse and jockey fall in one race, which the crowd was sad to see. 

Later on Tuesday evening, we got the class together at the Rickety Press (a pub in Jericho that is decorated with books) because Janine was moving out of Oxford the next day. She left Oxford so early because she was about to go on a family vacation to Iceland for 2 weeks and didn't want to pay rent for the last 2 weeks of July since she lives in England. 

Encaenia took place on Wednesday morning. The ceremony occurs every year on Wednesday of Trinity 9th week. Honorary degrees are awarded and the university commemorates its benefactors. Eight honorary degrees were given this year. Aung San Suu Kyi was receiving an honorary award, so getting tickets was difficult. She is an Oxford alum and gave a speech at the end of the ceremony. Since I didn't have a ticket, I joined the crowd lined up along Catte Street outside the Bod/Sheldonian to watch the procession from the Radcliffe Camera, through an arch in the Bodleian quad, and into the Sheldonian Theatre.

Later on Wednesday, I met with my thesis advisor and attended the mini St. Cross Encaenia garden party. I call it a mini garden party since attendance was fairly low and it was just drinks and canapes in the front quad. 

After the garden party, I went with St. Cross friends to Wagamama (Japanese food) for the first time in Oxford. Back in my days at Cambridge, we used to love going to Wagamama, but my OII friends were never interested in going. Since I had not seen Kelsey, one of my STX friends, in a while because of her exams/thesis, I went with her after dinner to meet up with her friends at a pub and then the Purple Turtle, a small dance club off Cornmarket Street. 

Some of Kelsey's classmates are in sub-fusc because they just finished their exams. Most Oxford courses (for undergrad and masters) conclude with a grueling series of tests (rather than being tested throughout the year). Yes, undergraduates grades are determined by a bunch of tests that cover their 3 years at university (at least grad students have fewer years worth of material to "revise"). Students traditionally wear carnations (that someone else is supposed to buy for them) on their sub-fusc to represent how far into their testing they are - white for the first exam, pink for middle exams, and red for the last exam. When students leave the Exam Schools after their final exam, their friends will be there to "trash" them. This can be as simple as handing them a bottle of champagne and throwing confetti on them, or can involve throwing powder, paint, eggs, etc. all over them (so students have learned to wear bad clothing). The town residents and university have gotten upset about the way the streets look after the trashing, and the University has sent messages about avoiding destroying the city. As such, you can now see the dirtier trashing occurring away from the Exam Schools, such as in alleys and the parks.

I went to the Apple store in Reading on Thursday in order to get the harddrive of my laptop replaced. Reading is a city about midway between Oxford and London and is a major transfer point for trains. I saw a bunch of people headed to Ascot in suits and fancy hats, and my train car to Reading smelled of alcohol. Once in Reading, I saw all sorts of people boarding the train for Ascot. Thursday was "Ladies' Day" - the most "fashionable" (or crazy) day of the races. This lady pictured below looked like she stepped out of Alice and Wonderland. I saw one lady on the train ticket line in a bright green dress with a matching hat topped with margarita glasses and palm trees. And let's not forget the groups of girls with zebra stripes from their fake tans. Unfortunately for race goers, it started pouring in the afternoon.

I had my first actual rowing outing on Thursday evening in a foursome, which is harder to balance than a boat with 8 people. I learned about how the boat is moved from the boat house to the water, and I was told to row in the 2nd seat on the stroke side (known as port side in the US). I was told that English rowing uses slightly different commands than US rowing.

I headed to the airport late on Thursday night to go to Italy.