Month: April 2010

It’s quite weird. As my friends at Holy Cross are preparing for their final exams and beginning to pack up, I’m just getting ready for Trinity Term. Luckily, I wasn’t in Europe when the volcano erupted, so I’m all set for term (some of my friends are still making their way back to Oxford. Transportation has been chaotic to say the least). It seems that my first semester of senior year is all planned; I know where I’m living (I have a single in Healy!) and what classes I’m taking. It’s just odd since I won’t be finished at Oxford for another two months, and then I’ll be here for the summer. But let’s not talk about me leaving, shall we? Let’s focus on the present.

Term officially commences tomorrow. How frightening is that? This term, I’m taking Medieval Female Mystical Literature with Lucinda Rumsey as my primary; I’m going to be focusing on Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich. The latter occupies a significant amount of my thesis, so I’m quite excited to have eight weeks of intensive research on Julian with one of the world’s most knowledgeable Julian scholars. For my secondary, I’m taking the History of the British Isles c. 1024-1215 with Hugh Doherty (remember him from first term?). I’m really excited to continue with Hugh. During my first term with him, I focused on the transition from Britain as an annex of the Roman Empire back to its Insular/Germanic tribal traditions. This term, I’m going to focus on the breakdown of those tribal/chieftain traditions and see how England transformed into a veritable kingdom with stark European influences. I’m so excited for both of my tutorials; they’re both going to be a lot of work, but I’m excited for them nonetheless.

And, of course, you all require an update on ballroom dance, which has consumed more of my free time (if that’s even possible). The Oxford team is gearing up for the Varsity Match against Cambridge; since we lost the boat race, we’re all seeking revenge (yes, this is the second most highly anticipated Varsity event…okay, so maybe I’m dreaming). The beginners had a training day this past Wednesday; it’s a miracle that we could walk out of the practice hall after Bruce and Neil went over every aspect of the Waltz, Quickstep, Cha, and Jive. As for my other competitions, I actually have one tomorrow, and I’m dancing two dances that I’ve never danced before with a new partner. It’s going to be interesting! But, yes, ballroom has taken over my life since I have a ballroom related event practically every weekend this term. I think my only free weekend is next weekend, and Margaret and I are planning to go to Blenheim Palace to see the Jousting Tournament and Falconry display. Yes, we’re pretty cool people if you ask me!

Now, I promise that I’m not always either in the library or the dance studio. Believe me, the weather has been too beautiful for the past couple of weeks to even fathom that! This term, all of the JYAs are planning several punting trips, picnic lunches in the meadows, trips into London (I’m going to see Hastings one weekend, actually), and just trying to enjoy the last term that we have at Oxford University.

Yesterday, one of my best friends from Holy Cross, Grant, visited me. He’s spending his (extended) Easter Break in London, and he came to Oxford to visit this place that has claimed my heart over the course of the past six months. As I gave him a tour of Oxford, we kept on talking about how Senior year at Holy Cross is going to be so different since our group of friends has had such a vast array of experiences this year. It’s always been in the back of my mind, but my conversations with Grant just made me remember that I am returning to Holy Cross at the end of the summer – it seems obvious, I know, but there are times that I get so wrapped up in my life in Oxford (and England in general) that I forget. My conversations with Grant also made me think about how I’m going to acclimate back to Holy Cross. This year, I have grown personally and academically, and my friends weren’t there to experience it with me. Of course, I wasn’t there to experience their own growth. It’s going to be interesting to return to Holy Cross and see how my friends have grown; I don’t feel like any of us will have changed to the point that we won’t recognize each other, but I am excited to see how we’ve all changed after a year.

In addition, my life at Holy Cross seems to be back in action. Between housing selection, advising sessions, and class enrollment, it almost seems like I’m back on the Hill. I can’t believe that I’m already planning out my senior year. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was that small, awkward freshman who had no idea what was going on? Now I’m signed up for the GRE in September and trying to figure out what my next steps are after college. My, oh my! How things change!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Now, if the above photo doesn’t capture the quintessence of an Oxford spring day (daffodils, foggy weather, Magdalen Tower in the background), then I’m not sure what will.

For those of you who remember, I spent Easter break last year at Holy Cross due to my large amount of work that I needed to finish. And while Easter dinner really wasn’t the same (sorry, Kimball, but nothing can really compare to my mother’s cooking), the spiritual experience was worth me missing my mother’s macaroni and cheese and baked ham. Believe me, when you’re one of fifteen students on campus, you’ll have at least two intense spiritual discussions with the Jesuits, especially when they invite you to the “party” after the Easter Vigil Mass. This year, I stayed at Oxford for several reasons (yes, work was one of them). My spiritual experience wasn’t necessarily the same since I wasn’t as heavily involved with the liturgical side as I was last year. However, it was delightful to observe all of the liturgical celebrations this year; I think my year off from serving as a liturgical coordinator, altar server, and lector is beginning to affect me, though. At Mass this morning, the liturgical coordinator forgot to place the aspergillum (the sprinkler thingy mabob. Yes, my definition is as technical and precise as a NASA engineer’s calculations!) by the holy water; I almost retrieved it from the sacristy myself. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but my year off is really beginning to affect me. I can’t believe that the next Mass at which I’ll serve is going to be the Mass of the Holy Spirit for the incoming class of 2014 (!!!). How my time at Holy Cross has flown!

Don’t worry – despite having to cook for myself, I still had an Easter roast. Okay, so Margaret and I did take the easy way out – we just went out to a restaurant instead of cooking our own meal. It was fantastic nonetheless!