August 7th - Final Day of Classes

Hi, today was the last day of classes, something I can hardly believe has come so quickly.

The day started out normal enough, with my technical communications professor reviewing the progress of people's essays. All of a sudden, the fire alarm went off and we were all forced to get out of the building. There was some sort of conference going on in the hall next to ours so I hope it didn't provide too much of a disruption.

After class, I went back to my dorm to finish my essays and study the Abrahamic religions for my final exam. I took a break to have lunch, which was the stuff from the afternoon tea yesterday. I had the box in the fridge so everything stayed relatively fresh. The little sandwiches, wraps, and cakes were tasty. 

Just before the exam, I realized my pencil had broken, so I dashed upstairs to borrow one from Connor and made it just in time. Later, I learned from my professor that I had done well on the final! As if that wasn’t enough good news, I also received an email from Alexander, the man who gave us a lecture at the synagogue earlier this term. My professor had shared with him my reflection paper on that visit, and Alexander told me he was “in awe and truly humbled” by what I had written. He asked for permission to feature my piece in the community newsletter to encourage more people to volunteer for educational presentations. I immediately wrote back, thanked him, and told him he could use it however he wished.

Before leaving the exam room, I retrieved a hidden thank-you card for my professor and began circulating it for signatures. I also picked up a gift for my scout, the person who looks after my dorm and keeps things running smoothly. Oxford tradition calls for a token of appreciation, so I chose a package of biscuits filled with Nutella. I hope she likes them!

Then, it was time to prepare for the final dinner. It was a formal dinner being held at Exeter, so I showered, shaved, put on a nice suit, tied my tie, and put my best foot forward. I went out to the gardens, grabbed some Prosecco, and mingled with my peers and professors before we all gathered to take pictures and go into the dining hall for an amazing dinner. 

Me with my professors

The first course was smoked duck with with caramel and orange chicory, orange segments, and roasted walnuts. This was paired with 2023 Chardonnay, Central Valley (Ladera Verde). 

The second course was a little palette cleanser: a simple raspberry sorbet.

The main dish of the night was a roast rump of lamb with rosemary creamed potatoes, roast baby plum tomatoes, samphire salad, and salsa verdi. This was paired with 2022 Le Pavillon, Ch Beauchene (Cotes du Rhone).

Dessert was a cardamom custard tart with gin poached rhubarb and vanilla chantilly. Tasty!

After dessert, they brought out coffee and locally hand-made truffles. They also brought out the Exeter College Fine Ruby Port. 

After the final course, each of us stood and gave a small speech about our experiences in Oxford. When it was my turn, I said how unforgettable this summer had been and how truly humbled I was to study in such a remarkable place. I was also pleasantly surprised to have been given multiple shout-outs from a whole bunch of people. Some were from my peers in world religions, who wanted to thank me for helping them achieve good grades in the class. Connor also gave me a shout-out for all the wacky antics we did throughout the summer, like walking to Blenheim, going to Thorpe Park, navigating the Parisian metro, and going up the Eiffel Tower late in the night. Hearing everyone’s memories and gratitude was emotional and deeply moving.

Now that the semester has officially wrapped up, I want to share my own thanks:

I would first like to thank my world religions professor, Fr. Douglas Bailey, the Campus Minister for my university. He made the semester really interesting with his different field trips!

I would also like to thank my technical communications professor for the second half of the term, Dr. Henry Mead of Worcester College, Oxford. He was incredibly nice and gave me outstanding feedback for my writings. 

In addition, I'd like to thank Heather Wautlet, the Study Abroad Director and Coordinator. Without her, none of this would have been possible!

I'm also thanking my roommate, Connor. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to room with me. He was always funny, witty, easygoing, and full of energy. We would talk for hours about all different kinds of stuff. Thanks to my friends across the hall as well, Piper and Giulianna. We did a lot of fun things together, like cook, watch movies, and attend a showing of Twelfth Night.

Finally, I'd like to thank my mother, father, and sister for encouraging me to go on this incredible voyage. I'd also like to thank you, the reader, for keeping up with this silly blog of mine. Whether you’re family, a friend, a coworker, or part of my university or scholarship programs, I hope reading these entries has been as enjoyable for you as writing them has been for me.

I'm getting slightly emotional now, so I'll stop here.

Thanks for reading! I'll provide you with a final blog posting when I get home safe.