Week 1 - Matriculation!

So here we are at the end of Week 1 at Oxford and what a week it has been! I started my classes, gave my first presentation, attended my first research seminar, and volunteered to give next week's presentation in my theory class. And now I've gone through the matriculation ceremony, which means I'm officially a member of the University of Oxford.

OK, so not the greatest picture but this was after standing in a damp, muddy field for about an hour. I defy anyone to have good hair after that! And yes, my hands are fine. I'm holding my mortarboard which, of course, you can't see. All the new students at Wolfson assembled at 9:00 this morning to check in and have a group picture out on the playing field. It was really something to see everyone in their sub fusc - women in black skirts or pants, white shirts, black ribbon tie, black shoes, and robes while the men wore dark suits with white ties and their robes - all lined up for the picture. It was really pretty exciting! After the group picture we were able to get individual portraits. The lines were long but the photographers were amazingly efficient. They even had rubber mats for the women to stand on so we didn't sink in the mud - thank God! We were all walking around on our tip toes to keep our heels from aerating the lawn so that little break was nice:)

Once the photos were finished we made our own way to the Sheldonian Theater. Some people walked but I wasn't really excited about the prospect of walking 1.5 miles in three inch heels - and quite a few people agreed with me! A caravan of taxis filed out of the Wolfson parking lot and dropped us at the Sheldonian. We all lined up in the quad according to college and just gaped at how beautiful the Sheldonian is.

Waiting to file into the Sheldonian!

The picture really doesn't do it justice. When it was finally our turn - matriculation occurs in shifts because the theater won't hold all of the new students - we filed in and took our seats. Wolfson sat on the main floor, which I think gave us the best view. The inside of the building is amazing and I spent most of the time before the ceremony taking it all in.

Inside the Sheldonian - so gorgeous! Below is a video of the interior. Enjoy!

I took the video of the Sheldonian last November, but it gives a better idea of what the inside is like than the picture. Pretty much every seat was taken and, finally, we were told to stand. The Vice-Chancellor processed in and took his place in front of a massive red-lined chair. The Senior Dean - or something like that - presented us to the Vice-Chancellor and then the Vice-Chancellor told us that we were now members of the University. All of this was done in Latin, so he had to explain it to us later:) It was very solemn and really pretty exciting. I have to admit, I am glad it's done. I couldn't wait to get out of those heels!  Now I'm back at my apartment - in sweats and Ugg slippers! - getting ready to start on the pile of homework I have to do for next week. One week down, seven to go (at least for this term)!