A Horsey Post

I miss this. Who wouldn't?

But the good news is I made it out to play polo again today. The weather actually warmed up a bit, and I felt more confident with whacking balls than I have before - which, believe me, still doesn't mean I'm good! We got to play a bit, three-on-three, and the action of sweeping across an arena surrounded by other pounding horses and riders, eyes fixed on the small orange ball, did get quite thrilling. This was only my third time playing polo, or indeed getting on a horse, since arriving in the UK - something that I find a bit disappointing, but that doesn't seem all that unusual for student life here. I've found that sports and hobbies aren't as all-consuming in the UK as they are in America, even at the university (varsity) level. Athletic clubs and teams aren't nearly as well-organized, and I haven't found them that physically grueling, even rowing. Other Stanford students here have echoed similar sentiments. For Oxford students, "sport" isn't as central to life (you won't find anyone here cheering "Beat Cambridge!" like Stanford students do "Beat Cal!"). For one thing, there's too much schoolwork to worry about. And in general, these students seem to have different goals and a different work-life balance. I've enjoyed striking this new balance through travel, and with some upcoming day trips and time running short, I likely won't be able to make it out to play polo again. Still, I'm glad to have had the opportunity.

That said, in two weeks I will be done with schoolwork and the Oxford term - then in three weeks I'll be on my way home! Yikes, time to start cramming in some last-minute adventures!

Study Overload

Okay, let me take a moment to confess how insanely intense the Oxford academic system is. Stanford is a challenging place academically, but not like this! I've spent virtually all day, the last three days, studying in my room or in the library. Every night I feel like I surface for a brief respite of air (i.e., sleep) before diving back into it again. I've never been expected to read or write so much, or so sophisticatedly, in my life. My brain feels like a bloated sponge.

Admittedly this week will probably be one of my worst: I've got three full-length papers due in the space of four days, and a ton of reading to finish besides. But still, prodigious amounts of work seem to be the norm for everyone. As one of my friends put it last night, "Every week here feels like finals week!" For sure.

Just to give a bit of perspective, here at Oxford I am "only" taking three classes (including my tutorial), whereas at Stanford I've always taken four, plus many hours of extracurriculars. Here at Oxford, I am "only" taking 15 units - fewer than my usual load at Stanford. And I still feel like I'm drowning in work. By the end of this quarter, I'll be either really burned out or really good at cranking out those scholarly papers. (Probably both.)

But alas, there's still time for fun, and I've had plenty of that here as well. Photo of the day: I love fall. (And can it really be November?!)