Human Addiction

Hi, my name is Jarred, and I'm a People-holic. I love meeting new people, getting to know them, and finding out odd details of their lives. (It's kind of why I wake up in the morning.) I'm admitting my addiction because this week end was the kick off to Freshers Week (or 0 Week, or Naught Week as it is sometimes called), and Saturday night we had a noodle dinner in the Junior Common Room (the JCR--the on campus hang out for undergrads) where I was able to meet the freshers and other international students like myself. First, the other internationals are all Americans from either Kentucky, Missouri, or Minnesota, and most of them will be here for a year, although a handful will only be here for Michaelmas Term (until Christmas). They are a great bunch, and I feel like making friends with them is easier since we share a similar background and are all dealing with life in a new country. However, I'm making it a special point to get involved more with the British students.

As for the British freshers, they are a very clever group! I enjoy hearing about their experiences in the British school system, as well as their social lives. For example, last night I heard about "gap years," something that was not quite familiar to me. A gap year is just a year off from uni (short for university) to travel. Some went to Fiji, Germany, France, the U.S., and it sounds like a great thing to experience before throwing yourself back into the academic fray. Also, I met a lot of enthusiastic freshers filled with questions about the States. They wanted to know where I was from, what was it like, how was the weather, and all of those standard questions, but my favorite question was, "So, I have a relative that lives in Houston, and I am so afraid for her. I mean, what's it like with everyone having a gun? Do you miss your gun?" I laughed a little--I have no gun--and I explained to them that it's not THAT bad, and that I've never been robbed at gun point. The girl who asked that seemed relieved because she really wants to go to the States. Also, I explained to them how I really can't wait to get rid of my car and live in a place with great public transportation like in the UK. Well, they were shocked, and one girl said, "You mean like here? Really?! The transportation is rubbish!" I then explained how in Columbus, public transportation is not reliable, or safe--when the buses come towards me, I am actually afraid for my life. This shocked them, because one guy really wanted a car!

And I can't forget about some of the English English students I've met! This one guy absolutely adores Walt Whitman, and he told me that once, when he had gotten into a debate with another student about how American poetry is always dead, he broke out some Whitman and yelled, "I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs!" I liked that story. Also, I met this Norwegian student at a big international orientation who is not going to Regent's Park, but to another college within Oxford University. Anyway, I told him I studied English Lit, and that I really like Ibsen (who was from Norway, fyi). He was all like, "Yeah, of course, I like him, too. National Pride and all... Where are you from?" I replied, "The States--Georgia. So, the South."
"The South?! Have you read any Tenessee Williams?!"
"OF COURSE!!! I LOVE WILLIAMS!"
He said, "ME, TOO! I saw a production of A Streetcar Named Desire and I LOVE Blanche DuBois!"
I'm glad to see that the Southern taboo of insanity and sexuality has transcended the Mason-Dixon Line and has crossed into Norway.

So, I am extremely happy, what with the meeting of all of these new people from all over the world. I'm not going to lie; there was a point last week where I was shaking from New People Withdrawals. It was pretty bad. But now I'm learning that Oxford--if you're brave enough--can be a town where our multicultural world can mingle and become a truly global community. Yay!