BVW & 0th-4th Weeks

Bon Voyage Weekend
I left home September 22nd for Washington D.C. The “weekend” (5 days actually) was an opportunity to meet the other American Rhodies for the first time as well as meet lots of older American Rhodies. I quickly realized why the interview process included a cocktail party: we literally attended 3-4 cocktail parties every day in D.C. and have had at least one a week since we arrived in England! I have never felt as socially drained as I did after the first week...constantly interacting with new people all day for a week is tiring!!! The most interesting events we had included breakfast with several Senators and Congressman, a talk with Justice Souter, a visit to the World Bank, a Nationals game, a talk with General Wesley Clark, and dinner at the Cosmos Club (self-proclaimed social club for “Washington’s intellectual elite”….whatever that means, lol). The main highlight, however, was meeting the other scholars: a group of people with an amazing and diverse set of experiences!

Noughth Week (“0th” week, the week before school begins)
The thing that struck me the most when I first arrived in Oxford was the architecture. You literally feel as if you have been taken back to the 15th century…or straight into a Harry Potter movie! The beauty of the buildings is complemented by the many gorgeous parks and gardens owned by the various colleges. One cannot help but feel a bit academic (whether or not one is actually studying) in the midst of the grandness of the university’s atmosphere. My college is a bit drab compared to most, but I take solace in the fact that Rhodes house is absolutely gorgeous ☺. The first weekend here at Oxford we had an opportunity to meet the Rhodes scholars elected from the other countries where the scholarship is given: Canada, Germany, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, Jamaica, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Pakistan. Oxford in general has an enormous international community as well. It has been a wonderful opportunity so far to meet people from all over the world. The Warden of Rhodes House, Sir Colin Lucas, brought up one of the more interesting subjects of debate within the Rhodes community in his opening address when he asserted that Rhodes scholars must accept Cecil Rhodes as a man of his time. We as Rhodes Scholars directly benefit from Cecil Rhodes colonialism in South Africa (Debeers was Rhodes’s company, and Rhodesia was named after him), but by accepting the scholarship must we accept his legacy without objection as well? It is an interesting subject to ponder and is one that has been the subject of many discussions since we arrived.

1st Week
The main highlight of first week was matriculation. In order to matriculate, all fresher’s are required to dress up in sub-fusc and attend a ceremony involving the recitation of a few latin phrases. The sub-fusc dress code mandates a dark suit, dark socks, white shirt, white bow tie, and gown for men. You literally are not allowed to matriculate if you do not follow the dress code. What is even more startling, however, is that we have to wear full sub-fusc whenever we write exams! I think the sub-fusc tradition is representative of Oxbridge snobbery as the only universities in the UK where you have to wear it are Cambridge and Oxford. A few other interesting arcane Oxford rules: if you are caught wearing your mortar board before you graduate your are fined 50 pounds and if you walk on many of the main college quads you are fined anywhere from 20-100 pounds (the only people allowed to walk on the grass in those colleges are the Fellows of the college)! After matriculation I had a chance to watch the England-France World Cup Semi-final at a local pub with some of my English friends...the crowd was not as rowdy as they get for football/soccer games, but it was a great atmosphere nonetheless. During first week I was also introduced to how inefficient/slow Europeans can be; it took me over a week to get a cell phone and even longer to get a bank account.

2nd Week
Second week I had a chance to go to my first “formal hall.” This is a three course meal served to you in college. You have to wear your gown and the atmosphere is very much like Harry Potter. It’s a nice chance to sit down for a long meal and chat with friends. The food isn’t bad (for British standards at least) and is subsidized as well. In general, however, British food tends to be quite bland. As a result I have taken up cooking for myself. I actually find it quite enjoyable and have realized that it isn’t that hard to make simple meals that taste quite good! As for late night food, nothing (not even fastfood) is open. All the restaurants close before 10 and all the pubs close at 11pm….which seems sooooo early to me. The only option available a trip to a Kebab van…and as a result I have become a big fan of doner meat (as one of my flatmates put it: “don’t ask what it is made of, just eat it”). On the weekend I had a chance to see some of the English countryside, Blenheim Palace (where Winston Churchill grew up; apparently his father was a Duke), and Stonehenge as well as a couple other ancient stone structures.

3rd Week
My third week was highlighted by getting yelled at in class for the first time since I was about twelve years old! Hahaha. I was falling asleep, so my Professor slammed his pointer stick on my desk and told me not to fall asleep in his lecture. It was a well-deserved scolding, but humorous nonetheless. The reason I was falling asleep: an Oxford Bhangra Society Party the night before ☺. I made my first trip to London on the weekend for a massive party that Google put on for the current Rhodes and Marshall scholars. I understand Google has money to waste, but its still not clear to me why Google spent so much money on us. It was a great time though, so I’m not going to complain. While I was in London I had a chance to visit the Tate Museum of Modern Art, watch the London Symphony Orchestra play Prokofiev’s 5th Symphony (with Anne-Sophie Mutter as guest soloist), visit the National Gallery, and celebrate Diwali in Trafalgar square. I had a great time the whole weekend, but the National Gallery was my favorite. I have always loved art museums and the National Gallery is one of the best in the world!

4th Week
I spent most of the week catching up on sleep and work. I sat down and made myself study for the first time as well which was a positive development. For the weekend, I went to Coventry to stay at a friend’s house. I had a chance to visit Stratford-upon-Avon and see Shakespeare’s home. I also had a chance to see John Harvard’s childhood home (which is in Stratford as well). My friend’s father took us to a black tie business charity event…but didn’t tell either of us that it was black tie, so we showed up VERY underdressed. It was absolutely hilarious, though, because everyone kept on giving us double-takes. It made the night so much more entertaining than it would have been otherwise.

A few general thoughts on my experience so far:
-I absolutely LOVE being a grad student. The freedom to think about things at my own leisure and really define my own experience entirely has been a great boon. It has been tremendous to finally slow things down and have a chance to pause and reflect rather than constantly pushing forward. I really needed some time for that and am so grateful for the opportunity.
-From a cultural perspective I have two observations 1) It has been a cool experience being a turban-wearing Sikh in England. Whereas in the states, the connotations of turban tend to be quite negative, wearing a turban here often evokes a measure of respect from all types of people. It has been a pleasant but very different experience to have so many people treat me with more respect for my identity rather than less. 2) While much of British cultures is very similar to American culture, there are many small differences. For example, one of my first nights here five or six of my friends greeted me by saying “you alright?” I was utterly confused because I didn’t feel sick or tired and I didn’t think I looked it either. So finally I asked and realized that it is simply a greeting here, not a literal question. I find the process of recognizing and decoding these types of subtle cultural differences so fascinating and enjoyable. I can’t wait until I get to travel Europe and engage more distinct and confusing cultural differences!