Settling In

Out of the twelve days that I've been in the UK, nine of them have been spent in some sort of Orientation program or another. Needless to say, I am now absolutely oriented (... now that I've said that, I will find myself hopelessly lost tomorrow as I trek over to Hall for lunch). I parenthetically say "trek" in the most lighthearted way imaginable, for despite the 15 minute walk to Hertford College proper from my British abode (more on that later) I really enjoy walking - especially when it means walking past beautiful English buildings, over the Thames (or as Oxfordians call it, the Isis), and/or through misty fields. I even like walking in the rain.... because it is British rain.

The Hertford Crest
(Hert = Stag)

Because Hertford's Orientation was frighteningly similar to Kenyon's Orientation at the beginning of freshman year, I will instead focus on a couple useful things I learned during orientation but not BECAUSE of Orientation. Catch my drift? (Also, before I continue onwards, I probably should explain what exactly "Hertford" is. Unbeknownst to me before applying here, Oxford University is made up of anywhere between 38 and 40 [I have yet to hear a definitive answer/number and each of the various officials who have talked to us have said different numbers each time... ] different, self-governing academic institutions. Hertford is one of the many colleges that belong to Oxford and is known to be the friendliest college - who knew?! They certainly have lived up to that reputation so far). 

Okay back to some useful (or, rather, curious) things that I've learned:

- Articles such as "the" are often left out in UK English. For example, an American would say "I need to get to the Hospital! I just broke my arm!" This formation is not for the Brits... instead, they say "I need to get to Hospital! I just broke my arm!" As you can see the omission of "the" really saves them some serious time. Okay, joking aside, the unnecessary article of "the" is often left out in phrases such as "I'll meet you in [the] college" and "Dinner's always in [the] Hall." Leaving it out is harder than you might think, although I did successfully achieve this article-dropping earlier in this post. Can you find it? (haha Interactive fun!)

- "Lodge" or "Porter's Lodge" - The best equivalent I can come up with for this place is Security for an American University. This is like the front office or reception desk, where you can check in for directions to a room in a college. Also, this is where you check out your keys, check in your visitors, and check out formal robes to borrow. Also, this same place is the mail room. The Porter, the man who sits behind the counter answers calls 24/7, makes sure doors are locked, delivers mail, and is quite a busy, but very friendly person overall. 

- "Pidge" is short for Pigeon Hole, which is what Hertford students call their mail slots. Unlike a Post Office, the Lodge's pidges are all open faced. This means you can "pidge" something to one of your friends or tutors by placing it into their labelled pidge. As you can see, pidge can also be a verb. I like this word a lot an will be using it as often as possible.

- "Tutes" short for Tutorials. We don't have classes, we have tutorials. Similarly we don't have Professors, we have Tutors.

- Zebra Crossings are the best things ever invented. Remember that iconic picture of the Beatles walking across the street? (Click here if you need a quick reminder.) Wonder why they weren't hit by a car while taking this picture? It's because once a pedestrian sets foot into one of these striped walkways, all traffic MUST STOP to let them cross. Kenyon should definitely get one of these for where Middle Path crosses Wiggin Street.

Some of the International Students
and Myself before the Bop:
 A Zebra, a Panda, a Flower,and a Bird

- A "bop" is a dance. Hertford had one last Saturday with the theme of "Jungle Nights." Unlike American students (or at least my experience with American students at American universities), Hertford students take the theme quite seriously. I will never forget being passed by a group, or rather a herd of Hertford boys dressed like Zebras on my way through the city of Oxford as we headed to the bop. That's right, everybody, no matter how "cool" they may or may not be, dresses up and walks through the streets of Oxford in costume. I think the residents of Oxford proper have gotten used to this phenomenon because the lady tending the bar at the pub we stopped by didn't think twice of serving a tiger a pint.

- "Uni" is short for University. (Pretty self explanatory, really. I would also like to take this moment to point out the copious amounts of abbreviations - abreevs - that the Brits use. I think this is just sups fab!)

.... okay, well now that I have exhausted myself (and probably you, my poor reader) I will stop this lengthy post. I promise I'll get around to telling you about my (amazing) accommodations and about my first experiences with the tutorial system and even more.... but that'll be later.