Where I've Been
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All the places outside of North America and India, I have visited in the past year. And the blue line is the trip I have planned for this summer!
Hilary Term
Weeks 1-4
-I had a wonderful time over break, but I had to pay my dues when I came back. With an examination and term project due at the end of second week, I didn't see daylight for the first two weeks of Hilary term. I locked myself in my room and taught myself an entire term of Statistical Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics. (How well I taught myself….that is a different story in of itself ;) ).
-At the beginning of third week I found out I passed my exam and project...yay! I had become so immersed that it took me all of third week to "resettle" myself (I did 5 loads of laundry in one day) and most of third and fourth weeks to catch up with friends. I am soooo terrible at multi-tasking sometimes…especially with looming deadlines.
-On Sunday evening of fourth week Sol (a friend from Harvard who is currently studying in Paris) gchatted me asking if I wanted to go somewhere. We ended up deciding to go to Amsterdam for the weekend which was a blast!
Weeks 5-8
-Fifth week I don't think I really did anything other than sleep, eat, and chill.
-C.R., his parents, and his girlfriend visited 6th week. We had an absolute blast in London! We saw Cirque de Soleil, visited Kensington Palace, and took a trip out to Hampton Court Palace (where Mr. Sincock scored us a tour with what appeared to be the resident Lord!).
-I visited relatives most of 7th week, and 8th week was much like the final week of trinity term...it consisted of studying for my exam and preparing for my travels.
-I had a wonderful time over break, but I had to pay my dues when I came back. With an examination and term project due at the end of second week, I didn't see daylight for the first two weeks of Hilary term. I locked myself in my room and taught myself an entire term of Statistical Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics. (How well I taught myself….that is a different story in of itself ;) ).
-At the beginning of third week I found out I passed my exam and project...yay! I had become so immersed that it took me all of third week to "resettle" myself (I did 5 loads of laundry in one day) and most of third and fourth weeks to catch up with friends. I am soooo terrible at multi-tasking sometimes…especially with looming deadlines.
-On Sunday evening of fourth week Sol (a friend from Harvard who is currently studying in Paris) gchatted me asking if I wanted to go somewhere. We ended up deciding to go to Amsterdam for the weekend which was a blast!
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| Amsterdam |
Weeks 5-8
-Fifth week I don't think I really did anything other than sleep, eat, and chill.
-C.R., his parents, and his girlfriend visited 6th week. We had an absolute blast in London! We saw Cirque de Soleil, visited Kensington Palace, and took a trip out to Hampton Court Palace (where Mr. Sincock scored us a tour with what appeared to be the resident Lord!).
-I visited relatives most of 7th week, and 8th week was much like the final week of trinity term...it consisted of studying for my exam and preparing for my travels.
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| The Sincocks Visit |
Winter Travels Part II: The Family Visits
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| London w/the Family |
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| Family |
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| Winchester & Bath |
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| Madrid |
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| Brussels |
Winter Travels Part I
I had an absolutely amazing time traveling over winter break. I started in Barcelona on December 2nd, then headed to Fes, the Sahara Desert, and Marrakech in Morocco, crossed the strait of Gibraltar back into Spain and spent a bit of time in Tarifa and Seville, then flew to Milan, took a train to Venice, and spent several days in Prague before heading back to the UK on December 19th. I decided to start a travel journal when I left (thanks again for the brilliant gift Professor Sato!) and managed to write a bit in each city. Actually I managed to write alot, and I am glad I did because it is so much fun to go back and read it. The pictures on my picasa site (see the links below) tell most of the story about what I saw, but to give you more of a flavor of my experiences I have included a couple interesting stories and a quick overview of some of the highlights:
I met up with four of my friends (Ben, Brad, Christian, and Nick) in Barcelona. It is a great city to visit with a big group of friends. The weather was beautiful as well. We saw a few sights but spent most of our time eating tapas and paella, hanging out, and having a good time. Barcelona was also the first and only city in which I have ever been solicited for drugs in Punjabi.
Our time in Morocco started particularly auspiciously. At the airport, our cab driver was pulled over and arrested for reasons we couldn't deduce. The policeman politely asked us to take public transportation (a bus with holes in the floor that picked us up on the side of the highway) instead. When we arrived downtown, we relied on Christian's French skills to help us find a decent, but cheap hotel. The man who directed us to our hotel also introduced us to his English-speaking, Moroccan-American uncle - Mohammed Jene a.k.a. Gino. Gino was in Fes for a few weeks of vacation before heading back to work in the states. He volunteered to show us around for the time we were in Fes and serve as our English-speaking guide. From the very beginning I was HIGHLY skeptical of Gino. I just couldn't understand why he would want to spend all his time taking care of 5 random guys for two whole days in the middle of his own vacation. But he didn't end up doing anything but help us out and watch out for us the whole time (at one point even making going and getting Brad he found out Brad had gone to an internet cafe in the middle of the night). Its nice to see that kind of genuine hospitality. He showed us his house, the neighborhood he grew up in, the main market, several mosques, organized our trip to the Sahara, and took us to a Hamam (a Turkish bath) - the highlight of my time in Fes. As we were washing up and taking in the steam, our masseuse, a 5'4'' 250 pounds Moroccan man in a speed, walked in, grabbed me from behind, and put me in a painful arm lock of sorts. He proceeded to twist my body into shapes I didn't know were possible, manhandle me like a little rag doll (literally lifting me in the air at times), and make me practically hyperventilate because I'm so ticklish. He then proceeded to do the same to the rest of the guys. All the while, the locals in the bathhouse watched, laughed, and pointed at us. Just as I thought my experience was over, he poured a bucket of freezing cold water on my head with no warning!
We left Fes at 5AM and headed through the Atlas Mountains towards Merzouga. We stopped a few times along the way to take in some panoramic views of the mountains. We arrived at a base camp at the edge of the desert around 4 in the afternoon. After a bit of tea, our guides tied Bedouin turbans on us to shield the sand from our faces. We watched the sunset over the mountains; got on our camels and headed out into the desert as it got dark. The night sky was absolutely unbelievable. Words don't do it justice. For almost the entire two hour journey into the desert we all were silent, awestruck by the stars. The sky was so clear that we saw 10+ shooting stars during those two hours alone. After we arrived at the campsite in the Sahara, we got situated in our tent, played hearts and ate dinner. After awhile we went back outside, climbed up the nearest sand dune, and stargazed for a good while. It was a bit cold, but the view and utter silence were amazing. Complete and utter silence can be a rare thing. It was a bit surreal at first, but definitely added to the experience...it was just me, my own thoughts, and the stars for a good 45 minutes or so. We woke up early enough to catch a stunning view of the sunrising over the desert horizon and then headed back to the main base camp on camel back.
I spent most of my time in Marrakech bargaining in the city's wonderful markets and sampling local cuisine. After a brief couple of days we took an overnight train to Tangier.
We crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from Tangier to Tarifa via ferry. Our original plan was to head straight for Seville, but when we got to the bus station in Tarifa we discovered that a bus strike was scheduled that day. It was quite fitting to have my first trip to mainland Europe delayed by a strike. At the same time, it ended up being a blessing in disguise as we had a great time spending the afternoon in Tarifa relaxing on the beach and watching the dozens of kite surfers there.
Seville was a wonderful change of pace for my trip. Rather than doing anything adventurous, I spent a few days relaxing, reading, writing, and walking through the cities wonderful parks. My friends and I were all a bit tired of eating out everyday, so we took a couple evenings to cook for ourselves (the hostel we were staying at had a nice kitchen).
Both cities were visually unique: Milan because of its stark contrast between gorgeous buildings (i.e. the Duomo and Teatro Scalla) in certain areas and pervasive graffiti in others and Venice, obviously, for its canals. The food was excellent (the gelato and coffee in particular). It was nice seeing both cities for a short time. It will be better to visit both for longer stays later on in life when I am older (and have more financial liquidity ;) ).
Prague was the most aesthetically pleasing city I visited. It wasn't bombed during World War II, and maintains a beautiful "old European" feel because of it. Unfortunately my camera broke, and I wasn't able to take many pictures. I had a bit of a cold the first couple of days I was there, and spent a lot of time in the hostel. After that my friends and I split our time between sightseeing, and relaxing in random cafes. Prague at night gave me a it of a flashback from my Las Vegas trip senior year…we visited a casino or two and were offered free rides to cabaret's every 100 yards we walked. At one point in the early evening a drunk man yelling in Czech put a knife up to my friend Drew's throat for no apparent reason. The man apologized, lowered his knife, and moved on after Drew told him he was from England. Late in the evening on December 19th, I caught a Ryanair redeye flight back to the U.K. a bit weary from all the traveling.
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| Barcelona |
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| Fes |
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| Sahara Desert |
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| Atlas Mountains & Marrakech |
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| Strait of Gibraltar & Tarifa |
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| Seville |
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| Milan |
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| Venice |
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| Prague |
5th-8th weeks
-I relaxed in oxford for all of fifth week. Looking back, this is when I began to develop a terrible sleep schedule: staying up until 4-5 AM, sleeping for a few hours, waking up for class, and then going back to sleep after class. I am such a night owl…it is sooo much easier for me to stay up late than get up early. Towards the beginning of the week, eight rhodies, including myself, managed to convince the Rhodes House Porter (Bob) to join us in a small weekly poker tournament at Rhodes house. We played for the last 4 weeks of term and I managed to get lucky enough to win twice ☺.
-Sixth week I did some major catching up on my schoolwork. After having observed how crude my Punjabi skills were in relation to many of my Punjabi friends here, I decided started to (re)-learn how to read and write Punjabi. I enlisted Saheb, a graduate student studying South Asia, as my tutor and have been slowly making progress. On the weekend I went to London to celebrate Diwali at Amia’s house (a U.S. Rhodes Scholar whose family lives in London) and visited the British museum with Alp, a friend from Harvard who was in London for work.
-7th week was highlighted by yet another trip to London, this time for a big Thanksgiving dinner party at the Hayden’s house. On the weekend I attended the Diwali Ball back in Oxford. The food was terrible, but the fireworks show and live Bhangra singers more than made up for it! I woke up sore the next day from dancing so much (and because I am fat and out of shape, haha).
-8th week was a hectic mix of catching up with friends before they left for break and preparing for my December travel plans.
-Sixth week I did some major catching up on my schoolwork. After having observed how crude my Punjabi skills were in relation to many of my Punjabi friends here, I decided started to (re)-learn how to read and write Punjabi. I enlisted Saheb, a graduate student studying South Asia, as my tutor and have been slowly making progress. On the weekend I went to London to celebrate Diwali at Amia’s house (a U.S. Rhodes Scholar whose family lives in London) and visited the British museum with Alp, a friend from Harvard who was in London for work.
-7th week was highlighted by yet another trip to London, this time for a big Thanksgiving dinner party at the Hayden’s house. On the weekend I attended the Diwali Ball back in Oxford. The food was terrible, but the fireworks show and live Bhangra singers more than made up for it! I woke up sore the next day from dancing so much (and because I am fat and out of shape, haha).
-8th week was a hectic mix of catching up with friends before they left for break and preparing for my December travel plans.
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!
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!
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