First Weeks at the University of Oxford with a Side of Pandemic

First of all, I am very happy with my choice of college. Corpus Christi is known for being friendly, and for a good reason; the people that I have met here so far have been amazing, and I have made good friends already. Within the College, students are split into households, which are groups of about 6 students which do not have to socially distance from each other. That means our household spends a lot of time together and we get to know each other quite well. The other physicists at Corpus are very friendly as well and it is great to see that they are also very passionate about physics.

To me, the eight weeks that I have been here in Oxford seem like forever, but also like a very short time. I have spent several of these weeks in self-isolation, literally just within my room, which obviously is not ideal, but I have found that one really does get used to anything in a difficult situation. And there is a fair deal of things we have to get used to: like probably every other university in the world, the University of Oxford is currently dealing with a pandemic. That comes with numerous restrictions that completely reshape our daily lives.

However, one thing that has not changed in the slightest is the amount of content covered in the course and the overall pace of one’s studies. We have already managed to get through a wide range of topics in Physics and the questions sheet for tutorials are very challenging and intriguing. I believe that in the tutorials, I display a very good understanding of the topics at hand and a passion for the material, and so, I am happy with my progress so far.

The experience of first year students this year is historically unique. All the lectures are online, all the labs are currently online due to the lockdown and even some tutorials have to take place over videocalls as some people are more vulnerable to the virus. After two weeks of compulsory quarantine for international students, the infamous Freshers’ Week began – a week filled with events during which the first years are meant to socialise and find their way around Oxford. This year, however, everything had to be conducted in a socially distanced manner. Oh well.

I firmly believe that once the restrictions are lifted and I can participate in all of the other things that I love doing, I will enjoy my time at Oxford even more.