Hello! I am a first-year undergraduate student reading Medieval and Modern Languages. This sounds rather
fancy, but essentially I study German and Italian. As a Humanities student, I don’t really have a fixed
schedule (apart from lectures, translations and grammar classes, and tutorials).
Learning from my last term, which was… interesting to say the least, I am trying out a technique my tutebuddy suggested: timetabling my work. As pedantic and rigid as this sound, it is actually really beneficial and
motivating. Unlike the sciences, a lot of our work is not location-specific, and so to see it physically written
down and realise how much time you have to finish them gives you the push that drives you through writing
those essays, translating passages and churning through pages of secondary reading.
So, Wednesday… basically the most frantic day of the week for me. (Or HT14/1.3 – coding dates is much
easier for referencing!!) This term, I fortunately don’t have any 9am classes, lectures or tutorials- HOORAH!
So my first tutorial on Medieval German Poetry was at 12pm. This was incredibly exciting as we combined
with literary elements analysis of diachronic variations and the linguistic development of the German
language as a whole. (Also because I find Middle High German pronunciation quite amusing.) After that, I
had a one-hour break, which I spent with a friend from Christ Church, having coffee as well as collecting TED
Talk Oxford tickets for this Sunday. This is the thing I find with being an Oxford student: eating is obviously
necessary, work needs to be done but socialising is absolutely essential. Part of the Oxford experience is to
be able to meet awesome people and participate in extra-curricular events. Work is key but it’s not
everything. ;)
The day continued with another collection in Italian Prose Translation at 2pm (in which I translated armchair
with the word for celery… Ugh), then German Grammar class at 3pm, and another German tute at 4pm….
AND to finish the day off, an Italian tutorial on Dante’s Sonnets at Keble, which was brilliant- my Italian tutor
is very inspiring and so it was fantastic to discuss medieval poems written by a world-class poet from
centuries back with a world-class academic in the field. (He is also very into classical literature and
encourages us to read about classical allusions, so it was as if relics of antiquity were being awoken and
brought to life by our dynamic discussion!)  slight exaggeration there but also so true!
Today was indeed quite hectic and I was rushing from one end of Oxford to another (the joy of being a
Magdalen linguist!). BUT despite all that, it was genuinely really interesting to argue my view point with
other students who are equally as intellectually stimulated as me, especially with Medieval Literature
because it is quite different to anything I have really done before. Particularly when considering that our
social codex and backbone, which we so often rely on when discussing literature, is completely dissimilar
and far-removed.
Well I got back to my room at 8ish and had dinner. Wednesdays are normally Park End Night (a club) but
given it was the first Wednesday of term, and with such a timetable, I felt quite tired so I just relaxed in my
friend’s room, had an INTENSE discussion on the existence of moral truths (he was wrong!) and caught up
on other things. Maybe next week…
I also managed to write the introductions to my two commentaries as planned, went over the vocab list for
a test tomorrow, caught up on BBC iPlayer, and procrastinated for a bit (well-deserved). My evening
normally extends into the early hours of the next morning, say 2 or 3ish. This is the perfect time to watch
German/Italian TV, read a bit in the languages and de-stress before bed (though I don’t think this is the
norm…).
<---- Baguette Art (a.k.a. procrastination)
So what I am trying to say is that, despite being at Oxford, we are just normal people
who too have ups and downs and indeed have very busy schedules. But the underlying
attribute we all share is a genuine intellectual dedication to our subjects and being here
makes it acceptable to be a geek about it!