Transitions & A Mixing Bowl of Summer Happenings

As could be expected, the last couple weeks have been full of transitions. With the end of Trinity now in the rear-view mirror, I have been started to shift from reflecting to moving forward.

Perhaps the biggest shift over the past couple weeks has been stepping into MCR leadership. I have scarcely taken the position and already I have already faced some interesting situations. I have filled most the remaining committee positions, but with a committee of fifteen members, that was no trivial task. Yes, the committee is comprised of fifteen positions, some of which are shared between multiple people. The committee consists of President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, Social Secretary, Men's Welfare Officer, Women's Welfare Officer, Black Tie Dinner Officer, Exchange Dinner Officer, Arts & Culture Officer, Sports Officer, Environment Officer, Equality Officer, IT Officer, and Cellar Steward. It takes a lot of people to make the MCR great, and I'm quite excited to work alongside the team that has stepped up!

Perhaps a more important transition that has transpired has been in the research realm. In the last week, I have moved into what I feel is the sprint towards the Transfer of Status. What does that mean? Any graduate student who arrives at Oxford spends his/her first year as either a Masters student or as a "PRS:" Probationary Research Student. Obviously since I am not the former, I am on research probation until I undergo my transfer of status into a full-fledged DPhil student. The purpose of this transfer is to ensure that the university is not wasting its time or resources on students who just want to faff off. Thus, after their first year, the fledgling PRS students transfer their status by successfully completing four assignments:

1. Writing and submitting a conference paper, or (in the absence of a suitable conference) a conference-style paper, approximately 10 pages single-spaced in length, describing and discussing the candidate's recent research.
2. Writing a 15 page double-spaced literature review and detailed research plan, outlining the remaining two-three years.
3. Presenting a 15 minute talk to a mixed-experience audience, with subsequent question and answer session.
4. Successfully sitting the 30-45 minute transfer viva, an oral examination, which is administered by an Oxford don and an outside academic.

I am now up to the stage where I can begin writing; A year's worth of reading and MATLAB number-crunching finally at a tee! Well... that's presuming the next week's worth of data manipulation goes off without a hitch anyway. Writing is due 1 September and the presentation and viva are both on 1 October. Fingers crossed, I will be able to leave the nest and fly come October!

A third transition has been the lethargic onset of summertime. Slowly, the unceasing clouds and drizzle have started to break up and yellow sunshine has begun to poke through once again. Even when the weather is damp, the temperatures have increased compared to three weeks ago: most days hang in the high teens C. I do not believe the temp has topped 80F yet this year, but perhaps it will come by the end of September!

Thankfully, since it is summertime, such is the time for summer events, like Wimbledon. On Wednesday morning, I groggily headed into the kitchen, rather unamused to face a dreary day of coding. I struck up a conversation with Nick (who has a fantastically interesting background which I will have to share sometime) before Zach, the Hopkins student, came wandering in. After a couple minutes of the two of them quietly discussing plans, Zach turned to me and asked if I would be interested in a spare ticket to Wimbledon that day. I hemmed and hawed for a moment, ran over to get the (jealous) approval of my supervisor, then swiftly prepared for a boring-day-turned-brilliant!

The four of us - including Zach's girlfriend Lark (also studying at Hopkins and taking a year abroad in Oxford) - started out a bit later than we intended, but since matches didn't really begin until 1300, we figured we would be fine. Indeed, even with a quick M&S grocery store stop for picnic foods and getting turned around in the Wimbledon neighborhood, we were really only 20 minutes late for the matches. Zach had procured two tickets to Court No. 1 - which Nick and I took up - and two tickets to the Centre Court for himself and Lark.

The complex was massive and superlative. The three main "show courts," which included ours plus the No. 2 Court, each had stadium seating. The remaining sixteen courts were fit together like a green Tetris board with little paths and minimal general seating surrounding each. Everything was green, purple, and white in the Wimbledon colors. The dark green, ivy-clad stadiums were interspersed with the freshly manicured green grass courts. Rising behind Court No. 1, the looming Henman Hill was packed with spectators watching the giant jumbotron.

Upon arrival, we split up and headed to our respective courts. Zach and Lark were already a bit late for the Federer(3) v. Fognini match, while Nick and I scooted into the Rus v. Stosur(5) women's match. At their respective conclusions a speedy hour later, we reconvened under a trellis laden with hanging flower baskets and dove into our massive picnic. We did not miss much, however; thanks to some passing rain drops (no joke), the host stopped all matches to protect the athletes and, I suspect, the grass. Lucky for Zach and Lark, the Centre Court is covered by a retractable roof, so after lunch, they returned for Wozniacki(7) v. Paszek and Hlavackova v. Clijsters, both women's matches. In the mean time, Nick and I passed the 'rain' delay by wandering around, grabbing some coffee, and looking through a tournament program that I bought. In due time, outdoor play resumed and we were able to see Baker v. Andy Roddick (30)! Most of the people were cheering for the Briton, but naturally, I supported Roddick, the American. As Roddick pulled out the victory, we rejoined the others for a cheeky snack before switching tickets to check out the opposite venues. Thus, Zach and Lark caught the beginning of Sharapova(1) v. Pironkova while Nick and I watched Djokovic(1) v. Harrison. Given that both world number ones were playing simultaneously (and the seats in Court No. 1 - immediately behind the baseline - were drastically better than the Centre Court seats 25 rows up in the corner), Nick and I were happy to reswitch after only a few games. Yes, it's true that Sharapova gives off an incredible shriek/squeal/grunt every time she hits the ball, but the match was still enjoyable and entertaining! All too soon (ok, at 9 pm), it became too dark to play (though sunset was still 30 minutes off); the umpire called the game (because there is no artificial lighting). We headed home and I happily reminisced the day's amazing shots and wonderful spontaneity with pleasure.

While the beginning of summer has meant saying goodbye to the masters students, the city has not exactly become quiet. This is due to the arrival of tourists... and international students! Fortunately, thanks to my NCSU/Caldwell/Oxford/Engineering connection, Jen, I learned that NC State's annual study abroad group was arriving two weekends ago. Consequently, I had the delightful opportunity to accompany the group on their Saturday trip to Canterbury and Dover. Their advisor, Dr. Barnhardt from NC State, seems to be very knowledgeable in history and literature. It was exciting to hear a convincing recitation of part of the Canterbury Tales along with a synopsis of why Canterbury is important historically. As you may know, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior member of the Anglican Church. As such, the 1400 year old cathedral site has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. Even more notable, however, is the fact that the current cathedral dates back to the reign of my ancestor Henry II. Indeed, the Normans built the Canterbury Cathedral in beautiful Romanesque style, though it has been renovated through the centuries into the airy Gothic style. Anyway, King Henry appointed his friend, Thomas Becket, to be the Archbishop, but the newly appointed clergyman soon tightened up his morals and started to oppose the crown. Alas, a rift developed between the two, which was so deep that King Louis of France offered Becket asylum. Henry refused to let him go, and eventually they arranged to have a meeting to 'sort things out.' Well, the exact events that followed have been lost to history, but for whatever reason one of Henry's knights struck out at Becket in the Canterbury Cathedral, essentially beheading him. In his martyrdom, Becket - who had previously engendered only marginal support from the masses - suddenly garnered immense adoration and appeal; the Pope had him canonized within a couple years. The whole incident reflected poorly on Henry, who consequently agreed to a number of actions of penance, including the undertaking of a crusade which he never followed through with.

ANYWAY, the important part is that the cathedral is incredibly old and incredibly relevant. After spending a bit of time wandering the incredibly quaint town with some of the incredibly cool NC State students, we moved into the cathedral to have a look around. While the outside architecture seemed to be crumbling, the inside was quite sharp. In typical cathedral fashion, the nave was massive. The western window (at the rear of the nave) featured a tall, dark blue stained glass window dating - as with all the stained glass - from the 12th century. Looking towards the alter, however, the view was obstructed by a staircase leading up to a screen. Believe it or not, the original cathedral - the eastern portion - was elevated, presumably to accommodate the partially buried crypt below. Passing through the screen, I noticed yet another staircase at the end of the choir which lofted one up to the alter. Thus, the narrow sight-line from the alter through the door in the screen to the middle of the nave made a pretty steep angle with the ground. Naturally, the cathedral was classically stunning both inside and out, thanks to its old stone masonry and brilliant stained glass.

Soon enough, we popped back on the bus and relocated 20 miles away to Dover. The castle in Dover dates back to Roman times, but it has been refortified, moated, dug around, built up, and shelled throughout the years. Thus, on approaching the castle, it certainly resembled a fantasy castle, complete with impregnable walls, a lofty perch, and a proud British flag pulled taught in the wind. Immediately behind the castle, one could see the English channel churning in the icy breeze. Off in the distance - sure enough - the shores of France were clearly visible. Since coming to England and the British Isles, I have always felt quite distant from continental Europe, but suddenly for the first time, the mere 20 mile crossing put things in perspective. It's no wonder that Dover Castle has been an important stronghold from the Romans through WWII. In fact, I would have been utterly terrified to be living in Kent (the county including Canterbury and Dover) especially during the Second World War. Could you imagine hearing about the German advance across France and looking across the Channel with the understanding that your enemy was a short 20 miles away? That's not even to mention the Battle of Britain - which, admittedly, I know quite little about - which took place across the region? It gave me the proverbial heebie-jeebies.

The castle itself was amazing. Up close, the walls were just as imposing as they were at a distance. They rose with the weight of an elephant from the backside of what may have been a 50-foot deep moat. Crossing the drawbridge and passing under the portcullis, I was transformed into a five year old, giddy with excitement to explore this real life fantasy. We climbed on the walls and passed over another drawbridge to reach the castle's innermost courtyard, which framed a giant white tower quite similar to the Tower of London. Climbing again to top of the tower, we had a fantastic 360 degree view: Hills and woods to the north emptied into Dover village on the west; herds of sheep grazed at the top of the famous chalk-white cliffs to the east while overlooking the Channel and France to the south. Mind = Blown. Actually, I was suffering from a headache (a week of wind instead of rain has allowed every plant in England to bloom simultaneously, leading to death by pollen... yes, worse than NC and VA!) so my mind was, in fact, actually blown.

Looking to optimize our time, the portion of the group I was wandering around with decided to try to get a better view of the famed white cliffs. Thus, we recrossed one of the drawbridges and headed towards the coast, which was still within the main enclosure. Finally, we reached a spot with a memorial to Admiral Halsey and a dedication to the fishermen of Operation Dynamo, who rescued almost 340,000 cornered and cut off British, French, and Belgian troops from Dunkirk, France in 1940. From the top of a concrete lookout post, we had a fantastic view of the coastline and the brilliant, pasty white cliffs which dropped sharply into the Channel. One needed to think heavy thoughts to keep from being blown over by the strong winds, but this was made difficult by the light-hearted sign suggesting that throwing things from the platform would result in the death of unwitting sunbathers below (this is humorous because the only thing at the bottom of the cliff was an industrial ferry terminal and the interchange for the Chunnel. No beaches. No sunbathers).

I guess one major failing thus far is that I have neglected to discuss the NC State group. I have not yet met some of them, but I quite like the many whom I have met. As might be expected for a group taking a Shakespeare survey class and 'History of Britain in the 20th Century' (is that even history here?), many of the students are humanities majors; very intrigued about all facets of life at Oxford. Since the trip, I have spent a bit of time with them, taking a subset on a picnic to Port Meadow on Sunday before showing the whole group around Keble and the Pitt Rivers Museum (remember: dodo skeleton and shrunken head collection) today.

And that reminds me.. today is the Fourth of July! Happy Independence Day to one and all! As typical for American holidays, the British went about their daily business as usual. Aside from the tour, I spent most of the day in the lab before going for a run and heading to the King's Arms Pub for some Pimms with the NC State group. Not very American, I must say. That said, the arrival of the NC State group has led me to reflect quite a bit on the differences between home and here. Indeed, the southern accents and mannerisms are actually in quite a bit of contrast with the British. We've talked about Raleigh and Oxford, Washington and London, comparisons in campus life and the ever-different vocabulary. It has been a really good experience to be around those from 'home.' I still miss Raleigh and NoVa, and of course I am proud of my American (/English) heritage.

Returning to the MCR, the only other notable thing that has transpired this week has been trying my hand at cricket! On a beautiful Sunday evening, I met up with David (the incoming sports chair, from Wales), Patrick (a Greek and Latin studies masters student from Canada), and Jonathan (a doctorate in Chemistry (?) from France) to learn the basics of cricket! After an hour or so, David had taught me some of the finer points of the sport, such as the importance of not throwing/swinging like a baseball player, and we even did a bit of a mock game with a tennis ball. I'm really looking forward to making this a regular Sunday event! Thankfully this coming Sunday we don't have a Euro Cup final to go watch (remember soccer in Vienna 08? The current tournament just ended this Sunday.. England didn't do very well. Spain won... again). Yay for more cricket!

CULTURE CORNER
Hypothetical question-arguments. I have realized in the last week (due to my own adoption of the habit) that the British are notorious for asking questions when they really intend to be making a contradictory statement. Consider the following (hypothetical) conversation.

Hypothesizer: Have you noticed how the sky is light well after eleven now that it's the heart of summer?
Opposition: Indeed, it's very nice.
Hypothesizer: It's a shame that people haven't been out in the parks taking advantage of it.
->Opposition: Well I don't think they would have had the chance, given that it has been quite rainy until today, now would they?
Hypothesizer: I suppose you're right.

In spite of the question format, the Opposition really means to say, "Actually, since today is the first day of sunshine this week, no one has been outside due to the rain. Obviously." But for whatever reason, the locals seem to love these question-arguments. I don't know if it is because the statements soften what may be perceived as a confrontational opinion, or if it is simply a means of extending a conversation by allowing the Hypothesizer to defend his theory. In fact, more likely is the fact that such a question is used to subvert the original hypothesis by making it sound stupid. Thus, it often seems quite clear that the Opposition is in the right, but nonetheless, the question is asked all the same. As I mentioned, I've started using this conversational syntax in my own speech. I know I'm not British, but surely that doesn't mean its bad, right?

Word of the Day
Today's word of the day actually does not come from the cultural realm, but the research realm. The word is a function in MATLAB. Upon laughing at its usage, I was informed by my supervisor - in a way only befitting an Oxonian engineer - that its meaning actually has a long history, although it is often misused in modern context. So...

decimate (v). To reduce (a sample, a population) by a factor of ten. (NB Often misused in place of annihilate, which means to destroy utterly and completely.) Etymology: When Roman troops returned from the front having performed particularly poorly, their punishment was communal. Each deserving military unit was divided into groups of ten. Among each group of ten, one was chosen at random, removed from the group, and promptly executed. Thus, since one in ten was removed from the sample, the word follows from its prefix, 'deci-' meaning ten.