Hi everyone!
After a whirlwind of a week, I have so many updates!
Since I last blogged, I met with my supervisor on Thursday. The supervision (also called the tutorial) system at Oxford and Cambridge is radically different from the systems of learning in the United States. The system enables students to explore subjects deeply, discuss/defend their work, and receive weekly feedback. It’s an environment that allows you to grow and explore your own thinking and perspective. Every week, in addition to weekly lectures and other classes, I have to write an essay on a given topic, and meet with my supervisor (usually an expert in the field) one on one (some people meet in small groups, usually less than six students). During our meetings, we talk about my paper, I get feedback on my ideas, and we discuss next week’s assignments.
Pembroke College Library
I’ve had one supervision so far (my Philosophy of Mind course), and it felt just like office hours at Wellesley! I loved talking through areas of interest and the readings from last week. We settled on an essay topic and I’ve been working on it since! I’m excited to see how I progress and grow during my semester under the new system.
Besides academics, things have been so exciting here! Our program hosted a day trip to Audley End House and Gardens, a beautiful 17th century country house (think: Downton Abbey). To give you more of an idea of what it was like, episodes of The Crown have been filmed there! It was a beautiful excursion, and the gardens were so expansive and took my breath away. We took a few tours, and learned about behind the scenes life in the house during the 19th and 20th centuries.
A cute lil wheelbarrow at Audley End
We went punting on the River Cam Sunday evening as well! For those who don’t know, punting is a very English thing to do. I’m glad I experienced it – it’s a type of boating designed for rivers and shallow water (according to Wikipedia). The punter (person moving the boat) has a huge pole and uses that to propel the boat by pushing it into the river bed. Sounds easy, right? 😉 Nope. It was extremely complicated. We had a huge group of 16 (all the visiting students!) go, and we were spread across three boats. There was a definite learning curve to it…I didn’t try it this time (I preferred to sit back and take in the view) but next time, I will!
Our punt
And finally, last night was our matriculation ceremony. I am an official member of Pembroke College, Cambridge now! We wore the official Pembroke gowns and signed our names in the very old book. Fun fact: the current Master of Pembroke college was an undergrad student here decades ago, and his name as an undergrad is recorded! So cool! To sign our name, we used a fancy fountain pen (sadly not a quill, but close enough) and took many, many pictures after!
Matriculation, in our gowns and all fancy
So much has happened this week…I can’t wait for all the adventures that await me. This Saturday, I’m planning on visiting London (A Wellesley friend is studying abroad at UCL!). I will of course keep you all updated.
Currently listening to Lana’s new album on repeat,
Shreya