Dear friends and family,
I know I sent out an email several months ago saying that I'd be posting updates to my blog from here on out. Enough people have been asking me about life at Oxford, however, that I figured I'd send out another one of these. Yes, Chris O and Dan S, it is indeed another rambling Aaron epic. Put on your PJs and enjoy!
Life has been a flurry of activity since leaving the West Coast one month ago, and it doesn't seem like things will slow down anytime soon. When I moved to Stanford from the Pacific Northwest a couple years ago I couldn't have imagined an environment more animated by students' intellectual energy and entrepreneurial passion, yet Oxford goes one step beyond. A friend of mine made the point that Oxford is really a sort of mega-University, a great description of Oxford's 40 or so independently funded, loosely associated colleges, each with their own student associations, sports teams, and choirs. Then there are the University societies, which are cross-collegiate and number in the hundreds. There are also the offerings of the Rhodes House, the Statistics Department, and St Aldates Church (more on that to come). These interlinked spheres of activity exert an immediate pull upon Oxford's students, and the task of managing one's datebook can be as daunting as the process of whittling down one's commitments to semi-manageable levels. For now the activities I've settled on are: Rowing, French, Choir, and the Postgrads fellowship at St Aldates. When I add classes, pub dates and dinners, and speakers and seminars to the mix my weeks get pretty full, but the pace of life is manageable nonetheless. Most of you know that I don't row, have never taken french, and sing off-key, but the freedom to explore is where so much of the joy in being here lies: I don't want to miss a moment!
Oxford is absolutely beautiful. While you get a sense of this walking about the streets, past ancient churches or beneath ornamented spires, it's once you step into the courtyard of Christ Church, or climb to the top of Magdalene tower, or walk the grounds at Worcester (my college!), that Oxford really begins to move you. Finely manicured lawns, weathered stonework, immaculately tended gardens, old oaks and willows, archways and fountains, and walking paths are all arrayed with incredible balance and proportion. The other day my buddy Pravin and I concluded a workout by riding or bikes through the Christ Church Meadows, a park that takes you past through the grounds of several of the University's colleges, and we both felt like we were cycling through a chapter of a Jane Austin novel, with cows, green pastures, swans, a winding brook and the whole bit (at least I've been told this kind of pastoral beauty is Austin-like). I could go on for a while, but really the best thing is to see it for yourself. I wanted to upload some shots onto my picassa webs albums, but for whatever reason it's telling me tonight that my camera files aren't formatted correctly. Check back in a day or so if you'd like to see some Oxford shots--some of my Alaska pics are up out there as well.
Oxford is really, really old. Last week I spent some time in the Bodelian Library--another scenic attraction on campus--and found a reading room in which I was surrounded by musty old books predating the founding of the U.S. by a couple hundred years. I hope it's not generalizing too much to say that a long and storied tradition leads to a much stronger sense of tradition, not just here at the University, but throughout this entire ancient country. For exams and matriculation, for example, I wear an outfit known as "sub-fusc," a dark suit with a white bow tie and a ridiculous black robe. The Warden of the Rhodes house told us that there have been many votes in the past among the student body as to whether or not sub-fusc should be abolished. Each time the students have voted overwhelmingly to maintain the tradition, and then gone on grumbling about how silly the whole business is! There's also a rumor that once a student showed up to his exams bearing his family sword, and requested the free beer to which he was entitled per the archaic tome known as the Examinations Regulations Handbook--legend has it they struck the "free beer for family sword" clause following the incident.
I took my preterm statistics exam seriously, and had the satisfaction of doing all right in the end. Today I had my first meeting with my departmental supervisor, a very nice man and former Berkeley professor named Nicolai Steinshausen. After explaining to me how to prove that Y = X1 + X2, where Xi~N(0,1) is distributed N(0,2) (I wasn't sure how to do this either) he handed me back my exam and said "the rest was pretty much good." Yessss! It's nice to be off to a strong start, and to know that my time spent doing maths and Western and Stanford amounted to something. This week's theory problem set is giving me a run for my money, though, and I have no doubt that I have plenty of challenging course work to look forward to. My classmates are awesome as well: I think when we're all in lecture together we more or less represent a cross-section of the U.N. general assembly. Students from literally all over the world have come to study here, and as I get to know them better I benefit not only from their intellectual brilliance but from the diverse perspectives they bring from their varied life experiences.
*I speak a bit about faith-related topics here. I know I write to a crowd of diverse perspectives, and hope that all understand that I am merely attempting to share my life and experiences with honesty. My care and respect for each person to whom this letter is addressed is independent of whether or not they have arrived at the same conclusions spiritually as I have.*
Finally, I have found a vibrant community of faith here at Oxford. At the recommendation of a friend who studied a quarter abroad here I went to St Aldates Church my first Sunday, and have been attending their ever since. I wrote this a couple weeks ago: "In America we often say that the European church is dead, yet at St Aldates the Body of Christ is certainly alive and well. They pray, they worship God in spirit and in truth, and there is a tangible presence of joy throughout the sanctuary." As at Stanford, the Spirit is moving here at Oxford--it is such an exciting to time to be a student! Last night I attended a showing of a debate that took place last year between John Lennox and Richard Dawkins (both Oxford Professors) in the Town Hall with several Rhodes scholars. The showing was in advance of today's live debate between the two men, on the usual subject of whether or not science has buried God. I believe that this generation is in a unique place historically: it doesn't desire a return to a brain-dead religion of unquestioned assumptions, but neither can it easily abide in the hollow, materialistic, meaningless world of Richard Dawkins. I had to chuckle two Sundays past when, while giving a sermon at St Aldates, John Lennox said "Aslan is on the move" :) Pray for us, that we would be sensitive to the God's leading and aware of opportunities we have to engage the campus.
The summary is necessarily incomplete, but these are some of the highlights. A couple folks have asked me for contact info: you see find my UK phone number and address at the bottom of this email. Thanks for reading, and I always hope to hear what's new on your end!
Cheers,
Aaron
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