Lol ok ok. Fair. I still think the term is gross tho :/ I also don't like that the Brits call arugula "rocket"... that was the example I had in the first several drafts and I probably should have kept it lol
Fair enough! I've always been slightly offput by Americans use of 'eggplant', but then I've never really liked the vegetable itself. Rocket on the other hand, delicious!
The British tend to use the French words eg courgette while Americans use use Italian eg zucchini. I now live in Australia, which uses zucchini and eggplant (rather than aubergine). Even after 14 years, I still can’t get used to it, and menopause brain fog means I forget the UK words so now I can’t remember either version and just avoid them!
I’m typing this from County Derry… or is it Londonderry? Perfect illustration of how contentious ‘Britishness’ still is in the North of Ireland. Some villages you go through the kerbstones are painted red, white, and blue. But everyone we’ve met is lovely.
But I would also argue that even ‘English’ isn’t a unitary identity. I’m from Lancashire and we’re much nicer.
I think part of the problem was picking Oxbridge. They are not what University life is in the rest of the UK. But yes, at anything beyond first year undergrad, I would expect students to navigate books for themselves once given some kind of starter. It’s too late to offer the idea of getting Viva examiners to talk about their specialties - once they are comfortably mounted on their hobby horses, you canter home very easily.
It’s real. Suffered it myself, badly. Drove me back to Sydney where it’s ON at sunup and the whole place is out and about, unlike England where the Sun would creep in about 4pm by which time we’d all made others plans
Okay, so are we the same person because I also went to Oxford for grad school (English lit 1700-1830), got a confusingly worded acceptance letter, started with good marks and got progressively worse grades, realized I didn’t miss my bf, took up an obsessive hobby (rowing, what an Oxford cliche) to cope, and returned home to Canada, confused and disoriented about the experience I’d just been through. Or is this just the quintessential North American girl goes to Oxford story? 😅
Love this. We’re sold this idea that our 20’s are this fabulous, carefree time with endless possibilities when in reality it can be really painful and awkward.
Oh gosh, this really took me back, the tutorial system can be so brutal! (I only did undergrad so I’m sure it got worse). I do need to point out though that orange juice and orange squash are emphatically not the same thing!
I also moved to Britain in my 20s and subsequently had a mental breakdown. In my case, however, I decided it was caused by job, which I promptly quit to work on the railway, and discovered that I actually like Britain very much. This piece made me oddly very grateful I’m going to turn 30 this summer.
A nice memoir. Now I’m tempted to write my own reminiscences of grad school, which also included senior faculty informing me—very courteously—that I am an idiot.
To be honest, most ordinary Brits would probably find Oxford strange and forbidding.
I remember a TV interview many years ago with a Welsh tenor who’d been at Oxford as a student. One evening he was joyfully exercising his voice in the quad on a popular song of the period. Two snooty dons walked by. “What a dreadful song,” he heard one say to the other. From then on he felt that his Celtic soul was in the wrong place.
I’m starting grad this fall and now I’m scared, ha. This was a great read.
Have you read david lodge’s campus trilogy? It’s silly, but two English professors, one from England, one from a fictionalized Berkeley, switch places on an exchange program and the Californian endures similar angst about the gloom etc.
Thank you for the comment about what people mean when they say they are "humbled". I think it's not just grateful, but proud: i.e., the exact opposite.
Oh the uncanny relatability of it all! You have touched my heart with this essay as a fellow 22 year old Catherine who left behind the sticky floors of NorCal frat houses to pursue a one-year Masters' at Oxford. For a while I felt like I was adrift, transparent and haunted the spaces I entered. I would plan my days out in 15 minutes chunks in a desperate attempt to provide myself with structure. Eventually I moved my attention to appreciate the little things, by this time the days began getting longer, my circle wider and my feet way closer to the ground. Winter was a right of passage into spring! You are awesome!
However bleak your time at Oxford seemed then, this was a total delight to read!! I did my master's at St Andrews and I feel grateful that despite the Oxbridge-caliber intensity of the education, I had a wonderful year and was the furthest thing from depressed (at least until it came time to write my dissertation). So many of your observations about British culture are spot on & now I am longing for an anti-dark academia novel!!
Gosh you Paint such a clear and evocative image of that lifestyle. I'm currently tossing up a move to Oxford for my own masters from Australia and this has been food for thought as a person who struggled through undergrad in a similarly rainy and dark city. Your note on british flirting couldn't be more accurate- that was him trying his best.
I have to say that Oxford is not particularly gloomy or rainy by UK standards (I’m from Manchester and I couldn’t believe how good the weather was when I moved down for uni!) but obviously getting dark at 4pm is inescapable here :/
Brilliant essay! But orange squash and orange juice are different things! We definitely don't call orange juice, orange squash!
Lol ok ok. Fair. I still think the term is gross tho :/ I also don't like that the Brits call arugula "rocket"... that was the example I had in the first several drafts and I probably should have kept it lol
Fair enough! I've always been slightly offput by Americans use of 'eggplant', but then I've never really liked the vegetable itself. Rocket on the other hand, delicious!
Eggplant is insane, I agree.
The French call it roquette
Don't bring the French into this lol
The British tend to use the French words eg courgette while Americans use use Italian eg zucchini. I now live in Australia, which uses zucchini and eggplant (rather than aubergine). Even after 14 years, I still can’t get used to it, and menopause brain fog means I forget the UK words so now I can’t remember either version and just avoid them!
"Arugula" is itself a froufrou European import word. Americans who grew rocket in home gardens before 1970 called it "rocket." Hillbillies still do.
Just like some call it eggplant and others aubergine. Who cares? At least you didn’t moan about them driving on the “wrong” side.
Welsh = British. Some Irish too. Nice piece though…
Different vibe though
Welsh=fun
I’m typing this from County Derry… or is it Londonderry? Perfect illustration of how contentious ‘Britishness’ still is in the North of Ireland. Some villages you go through the kerbstones are painted red, white, and blue. But everyone we’ve met is lovely.
But I would also argue that even ‘English’ isn’t a unitary identity. I’m from Lancashire and we’re much nicer.
It absolutely isn’t, but what is?
I think part of the problem was picking Oxbridge. They are not what University life is in the rest of the UK. But yes, at anything beyond first year undergrad, I would expect students to navigate books for themselves once given some kind of starter. It’s too late to offer the idea of getting Viva examiners to talk about their specialties - once they are comfortably mounted on their hobby horses, you canter home very easily.
I‘d guess they came up with SAD, then found 3 words that worked
It’s real. Suffered it myself, badly. Drove me back to Sydney where it’s ON at sunup and the whole place is out and about, unlike England where the Sun would creep in about 4pm by which time we’d all made others plans
To be fair, May through to July in Scotland you have daylight from 4am until 11am. It’s not a perpetual state, it just requires more seasonal living.
And yes, light if you have SAD
Starting graduate school this Fall (in sunny California) and this piece thoroughly entertained/inspired me. Thank you, Catherine!
The sun will help for sure <3
Okay, so are we the same person because I also went to Oxford for grad school (English lit 1700-1830), got a confusingly worded acceptance letter, started with good marks and got progressively worse grades, realized I didn’t miss my bf, took up an obsessive hobby (rowing, what an Oxford cliche) to cope, and returned home to Canada, confused and disoriented about the experience I’d just been through. Or is this just the quintessential North American girl goes to Oxford story? 😅
Quintessential, haha.
Love this. We’re sold this idea that our 20’s are this fabulous, carefree time with endless possibilities when in reality it can be really painful and awkward.
Absolutely. I was completely lost, but probably looked like I had my life together from the outside.
Great piece but slightly disappointed that you think of Marxist as an insult.
Wait but why does the guy toast his bread the night before?
He told us it was to "save time" in the morning.
Stop! I can’t. I hope you ridiculed him mercilessly.
Oh gosh, this really took me back, the tutorial system can be so brutal! (I only did undergrad so I’m sure it got worse). I do need to point out though that orange juice and orange squash are emphatically not the same thing!
It really is! Understood, but the phrase irks me the all the same lol.
Haha, fair enough, I was trying to describe squash to an American colleague only this week and it did strike me as odd as I did it!
I also moved to Britain in my 20s and subsequently had a mental breakdown. In my case, however, I decided it was caused by job, which I promptly quit to work on the railway, and discovered that I actually like Britain very much. This piece made me oddly very grateful I’m going to turn 30 this summer.
A nice memoir. Now I’m tempted to write my own reminiscences of grad school, which also included senior faculty informing me—very courteously—that I am an idiot.
To be honest, most ordinary Brits would probably find Oxford strange and forbidding.
I remember a TV interview many years ago with a Welsh tenor who’d been at Oxford as a student. One evening he was joyfully exercising his voice in the quad on a popular song of the period. Two snooty dons walked by. “What a dreadful song,” he heard one say to the other. From then on he felt that his Celtic soul was in the wrong place.
I’m starting grad this fall and now I’m scared, ha. This was a great read.
Have you read david lodge’s campus trilogy? It’s silly, but two English professors, one from England, one from a fictionalized Berkeley, switch places on an exchange program and the Californian endures similar angst about the gloom etc.
I have never heard of this, but now I have to check it out!
Thank you for the comment about what people mean when they say they are "humbled". I think it's not just grateful, but proud: i.e., the exact opposite.
Exactly. Annoys me to no end. It's not a crime to say you're proud.
such a good storyteller! I really enjoyed this Catherine!
<3 thank you
Oh the uncanny relatability of it all! You have touched my heart with this essay as a fellow 22 year old Catherine who left behind the sticky floors of NorCal frat houses to pursue a one-year Masters' at Oxford. For a while I felt like I was adrift, transparent and haunted the spaces I entered. I would plan my days out in 15 minutes chunks in a desperate attempt to provide myself with structure. Eventually I moved my attention to appreciate the little things, by this time the days began getting longer, my circle wider and my feet way closer to the ground. Winter was a right of passage into spring! You are awesome!
However bleak your time at Oxford seemed then, this was a total delight to read!! I did my master's at St Andrews and I feel grateful that despite the Oxbridge-caliber intensity of the education, I had a wonderful year and was the furthest thing from depressed (at least until it came time to write my dissertation). So many of your observations about British culture are spot on & now I am longing for an anti-dark academia novel!!
Gosh you Paint such a clear and evocative image of that lifestyle. I'm currently tossing up a move to Oxford for my own masters from Australia and this has been food for thought as a person who struggled through undergrad in a similarly rainy and dark city. Your note on british flirting couldn't be more accurate- that was him trying his best.
I have to say that Oxford is not particularly gloomy or rainy by UK standards (I’m from Manchester and I couldn’t believe how good the weather was when I moved down for uni!) but obviously getting dark at 4pm is inescapable here :/
It’s actually quite damp and marshy, everyone gets sick their first term there.
Do they though ? I didn’t. I think this is all a bit of an American whine
Oh, that didn’t happen to me! As I said, I am from a damper place though!