England ut pictura 1- Oxford
Posted by: farahhanani on: September 7, 2009
Oxford:
Oxford City Hall property
Sheldonian Theatre. Major place for graduation
One of Oxford colleges grounds. They were massive. Horses can gallop comfortably on them.
The scholarly tradition seems to be imbued in every inch of this city.
Oxford projects a certain aura: a scholarly aura. Almost immediately there was an urgency to walk straight, chest out and look as cleverly as possible. Buildings and structures adorning the city is really ancient, with strong Beaux-Art influences. It was exam season at Oxford, and students crossed the roads and walked around in full Oxford uniform called the sub-fusc. See, if one happen to walk around in them anywhere else, it’ll look utterly ridiculous. To demonstrate how very un-21st century it was, it includes a tail-coat and a flower pin on the chest pocket. A real flower pin. Sub-fusc was nothing ridiculous in Oxford. Here, the sub-fusc have a certain perverse (or adverse, depends on your perspective) effect to residents not owning one. They certainly made me feel jealous. People look at you with a certain respect in that uniform. After all, its a mark to identify an Oxford scholar.
In essence, Oxford bore one similar trait with Montreal: it is a passionate bike city, where any residents with common sense ride the bicycle to navigate around instead of the car. There are no subways or metros, just the occasional bus. The highest polluting source would be the huge tour buses. The roads are narrow and sometimes cobbled. Like any other bike cities, Oxford is plagued with the same problems such as bike parking shortages and rampant thefts.
A-rowing.
It is a pity I did not tour the halls or insides of the colleges since it was a bit late (spent half of the day with my host in Southampton, with the highlight being the wicked Fererro Rocher milkshake) However, I am unnerved. I managed to sneak into one. Pretending my best to pass off as a student, touring the insides of halls induced a love-hate relationship. It was majestic and gorgeous and everything Harry Potter-ish however i hadto curb my jealousy in check. I was soo green with envy and one couldn’t help but have the occasional ‘ if only i was an Oxford scholar’ stray of thought once in a while.
Oxford in a nutshell: Nice, comforting place to visit. Beware excessive amount of jealousy.
Up next: Coventry and Shakespeare..
5 Responses to "England ut pictura 1- Oxford"
September 12, 2009 at 8:10 am
ps. cannot wait for shakespeare! i’ve been obsessing over literature these past few days, would be interesting to see the birthplace of shakespearean literature 
(i hope you’re referring to the theatre and not like some kampung mana nama shakespeare ke, buat suspens je haha xD)
October 5, 2009 at 6:06 pm
pictures! yes! *laughs* Eid Mubarrak Nani. Been busy so haven’t been around much. Hope you’re doing good over there~
October 31, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Girl, where’s your update? It has been too long.
I assume you’re going through final exam, and if that’s the case, you’re forgiven for temporarily abandoning.
But I’d like to remind you that we need our healthy dose of your articles.
I know I sounds selfish. Don’t blame me. It’s withdrawal syndrome.
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September 12, 2009 at 8:08 am
Hehe, I’ve always thought of institutional uniforms as a sort of retarded thing (as in kecoh2 tak tentu pasal), and it’s amusing to see this paradoxical regression in highbrow institutions like Oxford – we from the Malaysian schooling system couldn’t wait to get out of the school uniforms that we thought was somehow a feature of the compulsive obsession of Malaysians with protocol, to want to be able to go to colleges and unis (specifically private colleges and unis eg sunway or taylor’s etc) so that we can be free and expressive and individual, yet on the other hand when people regress back into this obsession for uniform wearing and protocol – as in the sub-fusc, which is apparently worn every exam season eh? o.O – depending on the institution, we view them with a certain degree of respect and envy kan? xD nak pakai uniform balik pulak. and don’t worry, i’m as guilty as you… cam besh je ada costume pegi exam =p and it looks pretty spiffy as well, with a coat and a bow tie lagi o.O dang. kiwi uniform would probably be more something along the lines of a three-quarters pants, flipflops and a round neck tee.
and haiyoh, if even a mcgill student can turn too green with envy visiting oxford, i wonder what me, an auckland kiwi bird, would feel in such halls… too inferior to even dare entry, most likely lol.
the buildings are very nice, i hope against hope to have the chance to see them myself someday ,@.@,
*berperasaan seperti hendak meng-shred something to very very small pieces… out of envy and frustration, and in terms of travel experience, that is haha*
September 12, 2009 at 11:23 am
I have a sense of pity as well to those students. Do you know how shiny their dress shoes were?Imagine having to polish that everyday when my meals consists of maggi mee each exam season. But my friend once remarked that these Oxford students behave like theyre trying to chase something in the stars and sky, and if polished shoes and elaborate wardrobe is an occupational hazard, i really dont think they would mind.
Anyway, i takdelah rase bagus sangat budak McGill, people back home associate Mcgill more as a brand of a ping pong table rather than a uni.