On the River Isis

I skyped back home on Sunday, and my mother's new favorite question was, "Are you warm enough?" Well, it might be a good thing that she's an ocean away, because on Monday morning, she would have fainted. Why? Because I dragged myself out of my cozy bed and into gym shorts, a long sleeved tee under a short sleeved tee, and my jacket, and headed out the door at 5:45am to go rowing. Yeah. That's right. I am rowing at Oxford, and yes, I do feel quite pretentious; thanks for asking. No, but it was an experience, for sure. See, our crew of eight novice rowers met at Regent's Park bright and early (except it was not so bright and a little too early), and we made our way to the university boat house. Guided by the very intense coach, Felicity, and coxed (steered and directed) by Lottie (one of the rowing captains), we made our way up and down the river Isis. Actually, fun nomenclature fact--the river Isis is really the Thames, except that it does a name chance while it passes through Oxford. In a way, it's like the artist formerly known as Prince. Anyway, I was rowing bow, so I was at the front of the boat, which was nifty. We must have been on the river for at least an hour as the sun came up and other colleges started their training. The best feeling was getting into a steady rhythm with the three other guys rowing "bow four," and Felicity shouted from the bank, "Good work, bow four. Not bad." Oh yeah, validation in the a.m.!

I would like to impart some new knowledge that I gained Monday morning. First, when not using your oar, you should cradle it. Yeah, just cradle it in your arms like a tiny baby. Because, I guess oars need love, too. And, if you kill a goose, it's bad news. Once, Felicity's crew actually killed a goose with their boat while crossing the finish line of a race. In theory, you're then supposed to write a letter to the Queen apologizing for goose-icide, but I don't think anyone really does that. Still, how hardcore do you have to be to kill a goose with your oars?! Well, I have to get to bed now. Tomorrow I am rowing at 6am and then again at 3:30pm. I may or may not have arms on Friday. We'll see.