On Having an Oxford Moment

What is "Having an Oxford Moment?"

An Oxford Moment is being invited by a French lab partner to a massive crepe night for Mardi Gras. Everyone brings savory and sweet fillings to share. They each attempt to flip a crepe in a frying pan while also holding a Euro to bring long life and good fortune. Apparently my good fortune will come after my fourth attempt ;-)

An Oxford Moment is visiting another college (in this case, St. Edmund Hall) and being completely blown away by its beauty and serenity. Step through its doors and one is immediately drawn miles away from the bustling High Street outside. Cross through a passage way and be transported to the most beautiful graveyard, complete with blossoming wildflowers, lush green trees, and unquenchable sunshine.

An Oxford Moment is attending the St Edmund Hall (aka Teddy Hall) 'Chocolate Enthusiasts Society' with one's dance partner. Participants respectfully smell, taste, and discuss the qualities of fine chocolate as a connoisseur would do with wine. Furthermore, upon tasting a St. Lucia chocolate, I was immediately reminded of my time in Belize; easily the closest I've felt to Belize since I returned from the trip, nearly a year ago.

An Oxford Moment is going to Magdalen Evensong and Formal with two other lab partners. Evensong was in the intimate candlelit Magdalen chapel. The acoustically splendid hall perfectly hosted the mens' Gregorian-style chant, beautifully harmonized by Magdalen students with a local boys' choir. Dinner was a step up from that of Keble in formality, requiring coat-and-tie dress. In spite of the oft-mocked panna cotta, the dinner was delicious. The evening concluded with a complementary glass of port and long conversation in the Magdalen MCR. (I add for the Barkers: this was Craig Mullaney's college. In all likelihood, he spent many Sundays having this very experience :-) )

An Oxford Moment is spending every Monday night at the Royal Oak pub, not to drink, but to rack my brain with 10 of my Keble compatriots seeking pub quiz superiority. Quiz topics range from current events to world politics, classical to pop music (yes, I came up with Lili Boulanger as an answer in the category 'French Impressionist Composers'),  "who am I" to "finish the sequence," literature to engineering. While our average rank is 7th out of 15 (standard deviation: 1), we have placed 4th and 3rd in the past two weeks respectively.

An Oxford Moment is seeing a Spanish play in three acts, directed by yet another lab partner and loving every moment... in spite of having to (frantically) read the English subtitles.

An Oxford Moment is playing cello by candlelight for over 25 fellow MCR members.

An Oxford Moment is appreciating an architectural landmark (the Bridge of Sighs) more and more every time I see it.

An Oxford Moment is drinking tea with biscuits in the kitchen every evening.

An Oxford Moment is refusing to text a friend in English, opting for their native German instead.




Basically, an Oxford Moment is a wonderful thing.



CULTURE CORNER
Correspondence. I've come to realize over the past month that people here tend to be much more formal with their emails than we are in the US. Without fail, emails have the following format:

Dear Mr _____,

(body of letter)

Kind(est) Regards / Best Wishes,
xyz

Never would someone start a message with just "Dan" or "Hi" or "Good Afternoon," but it seems that the initial formality is taken quite seriously here. Also, I have yet to receive a message concluding with "Sincerely" or "Thank you." Thus, it appears that I have to step up my game, since my informality is not entirely befitting of this setting. In the long run, however, I'm sure this will prove to be valuable in the business world.


Word of the Day
Hob: n. a device used to fry food on, i.e. a stove top

Hob Nob: n. a type of biscuit, similar to a digestive, but made with oatmeal in addition to flour, giving it a softer, coarser texture.

Digestive: n. a type of mealy biscuit consisting of a two inch diameter wheat-meal round, optionally with one side coated in milk or dark chocolate. Typically, digestives are somewhat grainy in texture. While the name does not sound particularly appealing, the biscuits are, in fact, delicious and supposedly provide a good source of fiber (hence the name).