Swiv's Idea of University
Created | Updated Mar 19, 2003
Swiv's Idea of a University: part XI
Here we are again, happy as can be! Except this time I'm trying to write two essays. For the record – I finished the one on Tiberius Gracchus, and it goes in at the end of the week. It provided a nice bit of background for last week's seminar topic, which meant I got the confidence up to throw in my two cents. I'm normally really bad at that – especially in Ancient History where everyone else seems to know so much more than me, and I have to get over my fear of seeming foolish in front of the smart people – current plan being to get to know them a bit. Seems to be working, I hope.
Anyway – now I foolishly decided to get another deadline covered before the holidays and write an essay on Roman Law. Haven't quite decided what essay yet, just having a look at the texts – a good hundred pages of transcribed inscriptions! – and background reading to see what leaps out. I might be in a coma by the end of the night, given that Cicero unfortunately (he being interesting) falls outside of this semester’s timeline. The other essay is the beginnings of my first Modern History one, on the primary causes of the Jameson Raid (1895, Cecil Rhodes decided to try and overthrow the Transvaal government, it all went a bit wrong). I have a huge pile of books for it, but it's still falling behind the Ancient course since the deadline isn’t till Good Friday.
Other than that the study side is just ticking over nicely. And I've been out running round having a bit of a life too – very exciting. We had the wonder of the Breakaway AGM just over a week ago – Jack is now Vice President, and seems to have coped with his not winning the election. The secret ballot worked too. I stood down from the committee to let the bright, enthusiastic first and second years get involved, but I’m still trying to negotiate the maze of tangled links to being insured to drive the Union mini-bus for the club. I also went on half of the Committee training weekend to brush up skills and attempt to get confidence to lead walks (which I still don't have btw – I can get myself around fine, but there’s no way I want to lead
15-odd people).
I came home early to sleep and do some reading, and because I didn't think I could cope with that much enthusiasm for mountains. In fact it went better than expected: the day I was there we went for a short walk (all of 6 miles), which took us a good 5 hours as we kept stopping for
practise with compasses and first aid. All these people kept falling down in the grass or off gates so we could 'rescue' them, and I demonstrated my ability to make a sling. I also got to spend some time with Jack, which was nice. Mary has a gammy back so wasn't hiking, and it was actually my first hike with him – he being a Monroe-bagger and all – and it was quite fun! The day working didn’t work too well – I was sooo tired from general lack of sleep that I fell asleep on top of reading about British expansion in West Africa, and now have no idea about why we kept fighting the Asante, or what creeping colonialism is about for tomorrow's seminar. Still, with the tutor for that I don't really have to talk until the week I do a presentation – after Easter. For which I have just ordered a copy of 'Zulu' for research! Well, it is a presentation on British misunderstandings of Zulu tribal culture and whether or not they were responsible for war in 1879, so I thought it might be a good time to finally watch the film. I'm trying to think of what else has been going on, since I seem to have been perpetually running around (although that might just have been to the library). Everyone around me seems to be coupling-up – first my roommate from first year goes doe-y eyed, and then Clare finds a guy on the train to Manchester whilst on the way to house-hunt for next year. So I'm trying not to tease her too much about that one. And then my cousin is coming to visit on Wednesday (from Hampshire, for the day, lunatic) for an Open Day, so I have to be entertaining. Which means I have to take some time off, and therefore must go and work, again…
