Freshers Week

Alice (another VSP) and Keith at the Turf Tavern

Freshers Week (equivalent to Freshman Orientation at an American university) officially started Sunday afternoon, when all of the “freshers” moved into college, and ever since then it’s been one crazy, fun, jam-packed ride. We first got the chance to meet all of the first years (some of which are our college “siblings”) at a local pub called the Turf Tavern, where we shared drinks and food and mingled among other Mansfield students. Since then, every day there has been multiple events – teas, lunches, dinners (lots of free food), club nights, extracurricular fairs – that we have had the option of attending. Since there’s been so many cool things we’ve been able to do, I figured I’d share with you three of my favorites:

Freshers and VSP (this stands for “Visiting Student Program”) Dinner

Wednesday night the college hosted a (free!) formal dinner for all first year and visiting students in the Chapel Hall. We had a blast getting dressed up for the occasion, and it was great meeting some of the tutors that are going to be working with us on our studies in the coming year. The only bummer is that we’ve now realized just how many nice outfits we’re going to need this year… Shopping, anyone?

Freshers Fair

There were two freshers week fairs: one hosted by the college and one by the university. The Mansfield fair was very small and closed a little earlier than planned, so unfortunately my friend Keith and I missed it. However, we did still get there just in time for me to sign up for rowing, which I’m really excited about giving a try (rowing is literally non-existent in Minnesota, so this is going to be brand new for me!). The university fair was much, much, much larger, and had nearly every kind of club or society you could think of (yes, even Quidditch). Though a little overwhelming, I have to admit it was a great way to become exposed to all of the different things we can participate in while we’re here in Oxford – a necessary evil of sorts. The free stuff wasn’t all that bad either 😉

Ice Skating

Last night some of the second and third year students took the freshers and VSP’s ice skating at the local rink, which is located about a twenty minute walk from college. It was the first time I had skated since I left the Holy Cross Women’s team after my freshman year, and so – of course – I loved every second of it! It felt so good to be back in my (well, rental) skates, and was a welcome reminder of home. Plus, it was disco night, and who doesn’t love throwback 80’s music and rainbow lights?

So there you have it: a very, very condensed summary of Freshers Week 🙂 Stay tuned for news about the start of term (tutorials and lectures begin on Monday!).

Xxxx (here they only use “kisses,” so no o’s for you!),

HRH

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New Words of the Week

1. man•ky adj. (slang) – dirty, filthy, or bad; worthless, rotten, or in bad taste, i.e. “Do you want a new piece of gum? I know those can get manky after a little while.”

2. bop n. (slang) – a dance or party

3. pige n. (slang) – short for “pigeon hole,” which is your mailbox

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