Adventures Old and New

Its hard to believe this journey is so close to being over. In just two weeks time, I'll be departing Oxford for the last time; headed off to Italy and Paris before heading home. The last few weeks have been stressful at time, but have also encompassed some great experiences as well.

The Oxford term has ended, and it was definitely a challenging last few weeks of tutorials, to say the least. In international relations we covered several very complex issues including global trade and state sovereignty. Papers on apartheid in South Africa and the end of white rule in Zimbabwe for African history also proved to be immensely challenging and quite often overwhelming. Despite the stress and anxiety associated with researching and writing on these subjects, the conversations that I was able to have with my tutors made up for any sleepless nights to get to that point. Overall, I learned so much from each of them, not only about the subject itself, but how to better approach academic research and writing on the whole.

For these last three weeks we are doing seminars in British Politics in groups of four of five students. It should be much more laid back, but I just have to make sure I stay motivated and get through this last bit.
The last few weeks haven't only been work and papers though! A few weeks ago we took a day trip to London to celebrate Katie Shore's birthday with Katie Haz, Kiley, and Kristin and had a blast. We ended up spending most of the day wandering around to see some of the major sights including Trafalgar Square, the London Eye, London Bridge, and Tower Bridge.That night we went to experience London theater via the musical Chicago, expecting to sit in the nosebleed section, but were surprised when they moved us up to the second row! It was a great show and overall made for a fantastic day trip and a nice break from the books.

We also had another trip with OPUS to see the picturesque town of Cotswolds and the historic city of Bath. The cottages of Cotswolds looked liked something straight out of a movie, but I just wondered how warm they could possibly be. The Roman Baths of Bath were awe inspiring, not only for their beautiful architecture, but the level of detailed engineering that when into the various rooms and pools as well. The Katies, Kiley and I spent the rest of the time exploring the city and relaxed with a nice cup of tea. It was a beautiful day, mostly because we weren't freezing and we got to enjoy England while avoiding the stress of tutorials and papers.

Most recently, we had our spring break, which I spent with Kiley, her parents, and my APU roommate Greg. We spent time in London, Oxford, and Scotland, but I'll make that another post all about it, since this post is running long as it is. Needless to say it was so nice to get out and explore some of this beautiful country, especially the Scottish Highlands.

In other news, I recently found out that I will be an resident advisor (RA) for freshman guys in Trinity Hall next year and I am so excited! No doubt it will be a difficult experience, but I am really excited for the people I am going to be working with, great RARs (like Carrie Kunzmann, Sean Rollolazo, and Cody Moran), and the amazing adventures which will ensue. Plus training which includes a 10 day backpacking trek sounds pretty appealing too!

This summer, I'll be living in DC for the months of June and July, doing a program through The Fund for American Studies and Georgetown University. The program combines classes in comparative economics and American foreign policy with an internship. I recently learned that I will be doing my internship at the Peace Corps headquarters in DC. Its not a glamorous job, doing filing and data entry on applications for most of the time, but it will no doubt still be a great experience. More than anything though, I am worried about going back to a schedule and lecture classes. It will definitely be a change of pace from independent and unstructured Oxford.

However, before I head home, I've got one expedition left here in Europe. After the semester ends, the Katies, Kiley and I will be headed to the Continent for 12 days. We're keeping it simple and spending time in Paris, Venice, and Rome, which will hopefully allow us to really take in the culture of the places instead of just snapping pictures of all the sights. It should be a relaxing end to a hectic semester.

After that though it will finally be back to home (at least for a bit), but for now I have one tutorial and one paper standing in my way to freedom. This adventure has been great, but I can't wait for the next ones to begin!

Cheers!
Matt

ps. More pictures on Facebook soon!

Term Goes On

Oh what a crazy last few weeks it has been!

The workload has really picked up and it has been a struggle to read everything and write quality papers on time. A sinus infection didn't help either and put me out of commission for more than a few days. Still, I've finally recovered and gotten back into a more consistent work pattern, though as always in Oxford it is non-stop. My tutorials have really stretched me, but I am loving them for it. My tutors continue to challenge me to explore difficult topics and try to get a full perspective on issues and events. On top of it all, I know my academic writing has improved by leaps and bounds and research comes much easier to me now. Nonetheless, these last two weeks of term are going to be packed! I have two more international relations tutorials and one more African history paper (on apartheid in South Africa), and then they are over. It will be sad but also a relief!

I haven't had too many great adventures since my last post, as the workload has kept me consistently busy! Still there are two events that were once in a lifetime experiences.

The first is on the ridiculous side. Last Saturday I was studying at Starbucks with my friend Kate from APU (how American of us), and after becoming frustrated with are inability to focus, we decided to stroll around the city center. After wandering through Mark's&Spencer (think Nordstroms plus a grocery store in the back of the ground floor) and the Covered Market (think a market, but permanent structures), we were about to head back to our respective homes. However, before doing so we noticed a large crowd gathered on the main street (which is closed off to cars) and went to investigate.

What we found was a fire juggling/dance show with two wiry British guys. We watched and laughed..and then of course it happens...the guy picks me out to help him with a trick. What was my role you ask? Well, he juggled a flaming stick using two other sticks, and it was my job to hold the "distraction stick." The distraction stick was used to distract the crowd in case he happened to drop the flaming stick, which of course, he did. This meant I had to dance around the circle waving the stick in hopes of distracting the crowd's attraction. Of course my humiliation wasn't over; next a female volunteer and I got to lay down feet-to-feet as the other performer put another flaming stick in his mouth, did a handstand, and preceded to walk over us. It was a ridiculous experience, which (un)fortunately Kate documented on her phone (pictures to follow...maybe).

My second adventure occurred at the Oxford Union last week. The Union has been a great resource and the debates have been one of my favorite experiences in Oxford. I've been to a few debates now and have really enjoyed when the speakers get passionate about their arguments. Last Tuesday did not disappoint, and the debate which took up the proposition "This house would decriminalize prostitution." There were definitely some interesting opinions on the pro side, and the speakers were very engaging, especially with each other which is always interesting. It got very heated, and a few of the visitors, including a female "pimp" (who was taller then me) from New Zealand (where prostitution has been decriminalized), had some rather distorted views on the virtues of such action. I had a real hard time accepting the idea that doing so was "empowering women," beyond maybe the extent that they were empowered to become objects of clients.

The way the debates work is three speakers from each side speak in succession, and then the floor is open to several speakers from "the floor" who are members of the Union. I had been waiting all term for the opportunity to do so, and I felt really strongly that I had a few good points to make. It was a very intimidating experience, but I felt I managed to make a few good points about the way we view women, why it is not empowerment but degrading, why decriminalization would not provide protections for the industry (that is what legalization does, create a government structure to manage it), and attempted to repel several questions from the crowd. Although I'm sure it was far from perfect, it was still an experience I will never forget.

More adventures to come this week, as I'm headed to London on Tuesday to celebrate Katie Shore's birthday and Bath on Saturday with the OPUS program. Then in a few weeks it will be travel break and I'll be headed to Scotland!

Oxford has been a lot different then what I expected it to be, and at times it is a very lonely semester. You spend a lot of time working alone, and making time for relationships and experiences is difficult. I have more than once felt homesick, and APU-sick, which I didn't think would really hit me. The last few weeks the Olympics have been both a good break from studying and a comforting reminder of home. Despite the difficulties, the experiences that I have had and the knowledge I have gained make it all worth it, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.


Missing You All, But Loving It Here
Cheers!
Matt

ps. I got two more "nibs" published in The Oxford Student. Check them out below!

Published !?!

So I finally got involved in something: a student newspaper!
I went last Saturday and asked to write for The Oxford Student news section. They gave me two "nibs" (100 word articles) to start off and see how I write. They must not have been too bad cause they published them this week! Check them out below (click to enlarge):

Hopefully I'll get to write more!
Cheers!