End of Week Two

Last Saturday, we had the matriculation ceremony. Everyone gets dressed up and wears a black gown, the length determined by whether you are studying at the undergraduate or graduate level. I can't seem to get the picture uploader working on my computer, but as soon as I do, I'll post a photo. We went to the Sheldonian Theatre, five or six colleges at a time, to hear a welcome speech from the Vice Chancellor. The ceremony was very short, about fifteen minutes, and consisted mostly of a traditional invitation to study (in Latin), the English translation, and a few thoughts on the upcoming academic year. The raging fresher's flu--credited to the diverse student body uniting the world's germs--meant that the speech was delivered over a persistant coughing rumble. Needless to say, the chancellor has been making a joke about it for years and it always draw a loud laughter.

We had another rugby game on Thursday. The score was very lopsided, such that I can't remember the numbers (although one was a zero), but it was still fun. The major discovery of the day however was that I can throw the ball like an American football. Since the Brits normally throw with two hands, their passes usually only make it about 15 yards at the farthest. My ability to throw the ball thirty or forty yards quickly earned me celebrity status (some of the players still think I'm using magic) and the spot of hooker on line outs. Now we have a play called 'Yankee ball' where instead of throwing the ball to one of the two towers (you may have seen pictures of rugby matches where one player is lifted four or five feet into the air) near the out-of-bounds line, I throw the ball to a waiting player in the middle of the pitch. The first time we ran it, the other team immediately started complaining that it wasn't legal.

My courses are off to a good start too. I have a nice balance between the theoretical side of my master's degree and the more practical side. This means that on some days, I am involved in discussions about why we study diplomacy, what the future of diplomacy is, or even more general questions about what knowledge is and how we inquire about it. Other days, we talk about the structure of the U.N., how embassies operate, or how game theory can be applied to negotiations. No matter the topic of discussion, there is always a large amount of reading! It is all interesting though and I see time and again where it will be valuable in the Army.