Yesterday was one of the most unusual, definitely unique days of my life: Oxford Matriculation. At its core, it was just a simple ceremony consisting of a few sentences in Latin and a short speech in English. But nothing here stays simple for long.
What it actually was started at 9:30 in the morning (a cold morning, in fact) where 200 Green Templeton freshers were wandering around the college wearing their robes, hats, ties and "sub-fusc" (that is white shirt, black skirt/pants, and black shoes for the girls and white shirt, dark suit, black shoes and white tie for the boys).
Then, after milling around and taking photos for 2 hours, we walked en masse to the Examination Schools, where the ceremony actually took place. And it wasn't just Green Templeton students who were doing this; it was every fresher in the city. Oxford was over-flowing with people in gowns and sub-fusc. The tourests sure had a sight yesterday.
After the ceremony, the day was filled with English-y things, including Pimms and croquette, the Eagle and Child, and the Turf pubs. All while looking a sight in sub-fusc. But that's the good thing about Oxford: no matter how ridiculous I look, somebody looks even stranger.
Oh, and yes, I did also have my first week of classes. It's taking a bit to adjust to the ways that social scientists think and research, but the work is interesting. My supervisor for my dissertation (not a thesis, at least not in this country) is the former head of the Oxford teacher training programme, so that's going to be very exciting. And, lastly, I'm trying out rowing. Who knows, maybe I'll be back in London in 2012 for the Olympics...
Probably not.
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