Matriculation; and Balliol in photos, sort of

[raven]

Well, I've matriculated. It involved getting up at seven thirty in the morning, stumbling bleary-eyed through Oxford at the crack of dawn and best of all, being photographed mercilessly by the tourists up for the weekend, who clearly couldn't believe their luck at this genuine Oxford tradition (tm). It was wonderful, actually; I didn't mind the sub fusc or the cold walk to the Sheldonian or anything. Again, part of something; it was surreal and amazing to walk down Broad Street in full sub fusc and be shouted at in Latin. I am now a part of the university as well as Balliol.

Anyway, the pictures! I'm far too tired to do anything to these beyond upload them, so no cropping no matter how sensible that would be.

Firstly, I give you me in full sub fusc. The outfit in full consists of a white shirt, black skirt, black tights and black commoners' gown. The black ribbon goes around your neck and no-one has any idea how it's supposed to be tied. The men wear a white bow tie instead of the ribbon.



There is also a black mortar board that you never, ever wear unless you want to be at least fined and at most sent down. It is not for the likes of undergraduates such as us. It gets carried and nothing more. And you keep your pens in it come exam time.

Next, looking out from the hall into the garden quad. A mess of penguin colours.



They were doing the collgeges in batches, so we queued up on New College Lane, beneath the Bridge of Sighs. From left: me, Claire, Patricia and Liya.




And outside the Sheldonian we queued some more:



But it was worth it in the end. The inside of the Sheldonian, which I probably won't see again until I graduate, looked absolutely beautiful in the early morning light-



-and afterwards, when we'd listened to the Latin service and the Vice-chancellor's speech, it all seemed like a dream. Ignoring the sub fusc, of course. Afterwards came the hideously unhealthy pantry breakfast, which we all partook in-



-and a sudden realisation that we had to fill the rest of the day. I took the advice I was given and gave up on work for the day. Instead, I went out to the University Parks and walked and walked and walked. I managed to walk the length of the Parks and through to Marston. I did find the Cherwell-



-which, while not being the sea, was worth the journey. My camera is so nice to have with me, finally; I can show you all my lovely surroundings, and so I took the opportunity today to take lots of pictures in and around the college.

Here we have Balliol seen from Broad Street, with all the bikes rusting elegantly in the foreground:



The sum defences against the tourists:



The garden quad, usually called the back quad, facing towards the JCR:



Towards the front quad:



My room! Well, my attic. (The flowers are from the very wonderful lady_of_asheru. I bought a jar to put them in and so they no longer languish in a bucket.)



My brand of decoration. Send me postcards and you, too, can contribue to this bastion of marvellousness.



The view of the Ashmolean. I have a porthole! It is amazing. It is also the only window you can recognise from street level.



The drawback, of course, is that I live very high up:



But all in all, life is okay here. Better than it was a couple of days ago, although I'm sure I shall begin to despair again when logic kicks in at the beginning of next week. So I will leave you with my favourite photo of the bunch. This sign was found stuck to the tumble dryer.



People here are crazy, I tell you.

Okay, bedtime.

Comments

[eternalwings.livejournal.com]

Oh ym god you are so lucky its beautiful there!
I doubt I could ever, EVER get in I'll end up going to some backwater pond somewhere but anywho.
Am going to dig out some of the library postcards and send en masse!

[gwynnega]

Yay for matriculating and sub fusc and no spontaneous combustion! :-) It's so beautiful there...

[vj85.livejournal.com]

Hey, congrats on matriculation - you are now an Oxonian for the rest of your life.

I like your pics, especially the spontaneous combustion one, and the Bridge of Sighs (my college - yay!!) I wandered round today feeling ever so slightly jealous of the matriculating freshers; it's all still to come for them...nice weather you had for it, too.

Which other colleges did you matriculate with?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

You'll never know till you try! And it's a while until this happens for you, so don't speak too soon. :P

Send me postcards! Did you get the one I sent you?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

It's so beautiful I occasionally stop in my tracks on my way somewhere and just take it in. And it was artistically decorated with penguinesque freshers all day today, so even more beautiful. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Indeed remember I told you about my dad sitting on it?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, not that one. There's one I sent to the school's address that should have reached the library. Have you seen hide or hair of it?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Oh, there's a scary thought. For the rest of my life.

Hey, you're at Hertford? I know one fresher there - wadiekin - but have got very lost trying to find the lodge. It took me ten solid minutes of wandering about before I found it the other day.

I'm not sure - I think Magdalen was one, and there would have been one other, but I don't know which.

[vj85.livejournal.com]

Yeah, with three very spaced-out (probably in both senses!)quads, it can be a bit difficult to find stuff here.

Oh, and if you want to see the Sheldonian again, just go to a concert or public lecture - there's something on two or three nights a week. Incidentally, did you notice the ceiling panels are missing? They're usually blue and covered in paintings of clouds and cherubs and things, but a year or so ago, someone noticed the roof was about to collapse, so they had to shore it up and take the ceiling away for repair. Must have been fun getting thirty-foot panels over the railings...

:)

[tau_sigma]

Oh oh oh! It all looks so beautiful. *sigh* Even your room is beautiful! And, yes, of course Oxonians are crazy ... did no-one tell you this before you applied? *g*

*squees some more at the beauty of it all*

Glad things seem to be going better. Kick logic back!

[quackaquacka.livejournal.com]

I'm going to cut in here, and say - no.


There is a rather amusing Wallace and Gromit postcard in the library rack. It's got stickers!

[hips-lips-tits.livejournal.com]

that is breathtaking, iona. i am truly jealous.

[kuteki.livejournal.com]

OMG your window is LOVE!

Did you matriculate at the same time as us, first it the morning? I think it was Univ, Merton and Balliol first, people did mexican waves! :D

[tafkarfanfic.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for putting up these pictures! I love learning about life at Oxford, and you're doing a great job of showing me.

Also, if you send me your mailing address, I'll send you a postcard or three.

[jessikast]

Holy crap, that's a beautiful university.

A friend of mine is there studying history (deepbluemermaid) - part of the great kiwi take-over conspiracy - and she's posted pictures of the sub fusc, but not of the buildings.

Would you like some postcards from NZ to add to your wall?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Sadly, no-one did. I was misled, I tell you.

Hee. Logic is still causing me pain.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Hey, come and visit! :) I'll show you round the prettiness.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Isn't it? No wonder my battels are extortionate.

I did, yes. Univ, Merton and Balliol sounds like they did them in order of foundation!

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

If you should ever come, I'll show you round properly. The offer stands. :)

My mailing address. (http://www.livejournal.com/users/loneraven/449732.html) I would love some postcards. *g*

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*g* It really is. You never quite get used to it.

Oh, wow, that's cool. Which college is she at? (I wonder if I've run into her at all.)

That would be amazing, thank you! I'll send you my postal address.

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

I wish my ex-flatmates had given me such good reason to do whatever it was they were asking me to do on their sticky notes :D
xx

[amchau.livejournal.com]

Yay for all that, and pictures too! (I see my postcard!)

Do you have a landline telephone in your attic? (I'm wondering how easy calling you is.)

[illusive-blue.livejournal.com]

OH MY GOODNESS!!! WE MET AT HPSOC AND DID NOT REALISE!!!!

I am Kirsty, in Slytherin, from Magdalen!!!!

*dances for random, unrealised meetings*

[jessikast]

You know, I havn't a clue which college she's at. She's doing post grad, and lives now near a street with lots of restaurants and stuff on it. And I think there are lots of other international students there too.

Postal addresses certainly help with the directing of postcards.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Oh-muh-guh. That was you?!

LJ, she eats my BRAIN!

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

There are three postcards from you up there! Be proud. :)

I do indeed, and I'll email you the number. I can't make outgoing calls, but it's an ordinary local rate number in all other respects.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

"Lots of international students" indicates Balliol. That would be v.cool. But "lots of of restaurants" indicates St Peter's or Nuffield. What's her name?

Indeed they do! Watch this space. :)

[jessikast]

Meredith, aka. Mediff. She's involved in the student mentoring programme, where older students help younger students to write essays that make sense and stuff...

How is it decided which college you go to, anyway?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

You decide yourself. There are some that only take postgrads, and one that only takes women, and if you don't get your first choice another college may well take you, but mostly you choose your own college.

[jessikast]

Ahh...so, they're like halls of residence.

Except, I think, more prestigious and cooler than the four or so which cater for my uni.

Do students at Oxford ever just go flatting? Or is living in a college more common?

[pinkishmew.livejournal.com]

Incredible. Never heard of matriculation before, and then one LJ post after another describes it. I have quite a few friends at Oxford, it seems.

Your room and general living-space looks utterly beautiful, you lucky thing. [cuddles] Glad you're feeling a bit better.

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

That's it. I need a cheap digi camera just so people can see what UTTER SQUALOR I live in comparison to you. (Actually, I live in utter squalor in comparison to everyone else at bloody St Andrews.)

And how DAMNED AWFUL my gown is.

I am going to come and see you now if I have to WALK.

[amchau.livejournal.com]

That's okay-- I usually end up calling you, anyway. :) When you e-mail, you might also want to let me know when are good and bad times to call, since I fully intend to do so asap.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

It's not just Oxford - Cambridge, Durham and St Andrews do it too - but it's really quite an archaic and pointless ceremony. But lots of fun to take part in.

Heee. I'm glad you're feeling better, too! :)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Not like halls of residence, really. You are a part of a college above and beyond being a part of the University - you're taught here, you socialise here, you use libraries and most other facilities here, you belong here much more than you do in Oxford in general. Each college is autonomous, for the most part - some things are governed by the University, but not many.

The best bit is college stereotypes - ie, Christ Church are snobby, Magdalen are stuffy, Jesus are Welsh, Wadham and Balliol are gaygayGAY socially progressive, Oriel are very conservative, etc, etc. Some stereotypes are more accurate than others. :)

In my second year, I'll have to get a flat. I'll still be a Balliol student, just living out. Whether you have to live away from college at some point usually depends on which college it is. Most people live out for one year of a three year course.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I want to see where you live! And please do remember - six flights of stairs to the nearest bathroom. It is teh suck.

And I definitely want to see the infamous gown. *grin* Come and see me. We will eat ice-cream and bitch about rich kids. :)

[just-the-ash.livejournal.com]

Iona, we've never met in realspace or even talked on the phone. I'm just a bunch of ones and zeroes forming pixels on a screen from across the pond. But you have no idea how proud I am of your achievements and sub-fusc-Latin-shouting experiences. *applauds*

[lady_of_asheru]

And a very lovely jar it is too. Plus I want a porthole! (I have two skylights; it's not the same).

I never had to contend with homesickness in the same way (I grew up in Cambridge and went to college here, so could cycle down the hill to my mum's anytime I wanted to) but living in one place does ruin you for living anywhere else (when I worked in Leeds for two years I was the only poncy southerner I met, and HATED EVERY MOMENT of it).
One good thing about Oxbridge is the terms are so short! (Plus...no one ever really DOES all that work...!!)

Hugs
Sxxx

[gamesiplay.livejournal.com]

Eee! Look how pretty and big your room is! And your campus, too. These pictures were so exciting to see.

(I do mean to send you a postcard; just need to find a spare moment. I just got yours from Egypt, too, and laughed out loud about your staring contest with the Sphinx.)

[lilka.livejournal.com]

Oooh, you look spiffy!

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*ducks head* Thank you very much. I'm really touched.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*g* I couldn't afford a vase. A jamjar seemed a thrifty alternative. Skylights are also fun! I tell people I live in an attic and then they're all disappointed because I don't have skylights.

Ooh, I never thought of the poncy southerner point of view! That sounds painful.

Ah, yes, short terms in which they pack everything including the kitchen sink! I suspect I'll be much more grateful for them in December. :)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*g* My room is so lovely, it's worth everything. Most of the time. And the same goes for most of Balliol's prettiness.

(Oh, yay, it got there! I was so afraid it had got lost by now.)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Heee. Not "like a penguin"?

[walkertxkitty.livejournal.com]

*dies of envy AGAIN* You're going to make me use up all of my nine lives if you keep this up!

The outfit doesn't look comfortable and yours looks like it didn't quite fit right. Does it pinch as much as it looks like it would?

Random wandering geekophile thought: Harry Potter.

I like the room, it looks cozy.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*frantically revives* I'm sorry!

It looks a little peculiar because mine was an open-necked shirt that I had to pin for the ribbon to be tied correctly. It's actually a much more comfortable ensemble than it looks.

Eee, Harry Potter. Sadly Balliol didn't play host to any of the film shooting, but the Bodleian did, and the great hall, which is like ours in most particulars, was filmed at Christ Church. Hogwarts is basically Oxford. :)

Ah, I love my room. It will be especially cosy when it begins to snow, which I'm informed it will do. :)