Hilary Term is over

My second term has just ended, and I got home for my six-week “vacation” (I’ll explain the quotes soon). I have to say that this term was even more intense than the previous Michaelmas term, primarily due to a greater amount of academic duties and my attempts to enjoy Oxford’s opportunities as much as possible. Our tutors didn’t spare us, and I didn’t spare myself either, as far as sports and other activities are concerned.

Several more or less important events took place since my last post. First, let me remember the end of the past term when the Czech and Slovak Ambassadors, Mr. Michael Žantovský and Mr. Miroslav Wlachovský, respectively, accepted our invitation and came to Oxford. A meeting and a formal dinner with the Ambassadors was organized by the Oxford Czech and Slovak Society members on the occasion of the 17 November anniversary. I was so happy as to sit next to both gentlemen during the dinner, and I had an excellent opportunity to meet them in person, albeit in passing. An interesting experience for sure.

Another thing worth mentioning is my involvement in the university’s volleyball Blues Team. The Hilary Term is the busiest season every year. The division round was over, so were the Nationals, and the Oxford-Cambridge Varsity match was the pinnacle of course. We won the division, which means we move forward and will be playing in the first university league next year. We played the Nationals, a national tournament of universities, in Norwich and came ninth in all of the UK (but I am convinced we should have fared much better!). Varsity was played at Oxford this year, and as with all other volleyball matches, there were many spectators and fans from both universities. Sadly, after a fierce duel we lost 2:3 in tiebreak, so the cup went to Cambridge this year. We have to fight back on their home turf next year.

But I shouldn’t talk about sports only. As I wrote at the beginning, academic requirements and the amount of assignments from our tutors increased greatly. But I feel I have gotten used to Oxford a bit more, so I’ve been able to use my time, lectures and tutorials more effectively than in the previous term. As an example of what Oxford sometimes asks of Materials Science students (but things are similar in other programs too), let me describe the seventh week of the Hilary Term, which was the most difficult for me. Tutors “dealt” us 5 tutorials (usually two students and one teacher), and you have to prepare a Problem Set for every tutorial, which takes between 6 and 8 hours of work. We were also asked to prepare a lab class report, which usually takes at least 15 hours of work. Along with that, we of course had lectures in the morning and two three-hour classes in the afternoon, Crystallography and Engineering Drafting. As you can imagine, such a period takes all your effort and truly tests your skills to the utmost. Then again, what you get (if you survive, that is) is a better idea of what you are capable of. Simply put, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Now my vacation between the Hilary and Trinity terms has started, and the word “vacant” as the origin of “vacation” is misleading in this case. Given the approaching Prelims – the exams that cover all the stuff we learned during the year – we have a lot to rehearse. In the next term, we will be given just about enough time to rehearse the stuff learned in that term. And we are to prepare the report on the lab class, which we did in the last week before the end of the term, again. By the way, the lab work was a true test of patience, as two full afternoons of grinding and polishing metal samples in resin cast required almost meditative calm and concentration.

Despite all the hardships that are the high demands of the university, I believe that the school and environment at Oxford help me push my limits. Also, the incessant tests – at school, in sports, in time management, or elsewhere – make me feel like I get to know myself better: my abilities and my limits. After all, if it was easy, first, it wouldn’t be Oxford, and second, it would be boring.

Laboratorní práce - Bubble raft


Poznámky od tutora z tutorialu na kvantovou fyziku. Kdo pozná?


Nationals v Norwich - pozorování ostatních týmů a hledání jejich slabin


Společné foto Oxford Volleyball Blues team po Varsity (Ox. vs. Cam)