First Week at Oxford

Dear family and friends,

I've just completed my first week in Oxford. We landed in London on October 2. I entered a rare behemoth of constant fog and its accompanying parade of the jousting black umbrellas, crumpets, and the most magnificent and Divine-inspiring buildings.

I have spent the past week at Course Induction for my Master's program. I am amazed by the resources of the University and within my course of Development Studies. A library complete with no less than 8 million volumes and fully extractable World Bank data sets. My department has an annual grant budget of $10 million. Every day, there are approximately 3 lectures across the university that I would like to attend (in addition to my courses), spanning from "Sudan and the ICC," "Trade Regime: Which Way Forward?" and "The Political Economy of IT Growth & Development in India." In addition to my course, I am auditing Hindi classes. Pravin (one of the American Rhodies) and myself are teaching ourselves Farsi- we meet biweekly.

I am also fully enjoying my college, St. Antony's. For those who are as confused as I once was and am still to some extent, Oxford is subdivided into 38 colleges, each with different academic focuses and co-curricular interests. In addition to residential and dining facilities, the colleges provide social, cultural, and recreational activities for their members. St. Antony's is a graduate college consisting of 400 students all with international relations interest. We have spent the week at pub crawls, bops (British-costume-themed parties), and afternoon teas getting to know each other and our future PhD dissertation topics. Nightly conversations on Israel-Palestine or why Vladamir Putin is our favorite global leader easily last until 3 or 4 in the morning. And of course, I have joined the Rowing Club, Bhangra Union, and the debating society.

I live in the attic of an old Victorian manor at St. Antony's. My housemates (all graduate students at Oxford) are both wonderful and wonderfully entertaining. They include a Polish-Floridian, a German political philosopher, a Canadian student of the American Left and Just War Theory, a Thai chef and a South African artist, and of course, me!

I am enjoying becoming a member of at least five different communities: the American Rhodies in Oxford and other ex-pats, the international Rhodes community, the St. Antony's College folks, the thirty-students in my actual Masters Program and the wider Oxford community. To be a student at Oxford is remarkably humbling- everyone is fascinating, intelligent and has a great story to be shared over cider. With these newfound friends, I've baked scones, explored Eid celebrations in London, spent six hours analyzing bikes before purchasing, and commiserated over our lack of internet for our first six days in town (heaven forbid).

Other random observations:

As consequence of traveling and studying abroad often as an undergraduate, I underestimated the difficulty of moving to England. I soon realized that it is a widely different from travel with a set end date. As humans though, I believe we find security in our ability to change. The independence and confidence in oneself that one feels after surviving being thrust in a new environment is indistinguishable and unparalleled.

Despite sharing a common Anglo-Saxon heritage and some joint historical experiences in the late 1700s ;), England is a very foreign country. When exploring Oxford, I am sometimes surprised to realize that I can actually recognize the language spoken around me. Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore!

Classes begin tomorrow!

Happy October!

Ishanaa

Bon Voyage Weekend in DC

Hello again.

Intense. Inspirational. Sleep-deprived. These three terms best describe our Rhodes orientation and send-off in Washington D.C. during the last week of September. All 32 American Rhodes Scholars and a few scholars from the Caribbean converged upon DC for a series of cocktail parties, Oxford informational sessions and networking events.

Intense in that we had nearly four events a day- spanning from the Supreme Court, to the Shakespeare Theater, to the Senate floor. Inspirational in terms of who I met, including; founders of women's shelter groups in Moscow and of Google; 22-year-olds who will have accomplished more by their quarter-life-mark than most will have accomplished in three lifetimes; and global citizens fully dedicated to social justice who are equally amazing public speakers (Nick Kristof). Sleep-deprived- in that I was determined to spend every minute getting to know my fellow Rhodies and hang out with some wonderful Oles (Meggie and Tony!) in the city for my last week in America.

Some highlights:
- Meeting with Senator Richard Lugar and his injunction to us to consider what "we would like on our tombstone" and to live as if we are creating a legacy.
- Recieving a tour of Capitol Hill from by Rep. Paul Sarbanes (of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act!) and hearing him tell grandfather-like stories of Congressional history.
- Panel session at the American Society for International Law on human rights related careers.
- Mac and cheese dinner at Lissa Muscatine's house, author of Hillary's DNC Convention speech.

Above all, I enjoyed being able to meet other members of my class. We were able to spend time with each other out in Chinatown, around Dupont Circle and even at Zaras. It was wonderful to make friends who inspire and unsettle me, challenge and support me. Michelle Sikes, my roomie in DC, and I bonded the moment we met and and even more so after I fell asleep in front of Justice David Souter.

We all left together on October 1 for England. London, baby!

Ishanaa

curry on capitol hill (DC, part one)

In the words of John McCain, "My friends,"

I have nearly completed my first few days in our nation's capitol. My main purpose was to engage in advocacy for the Hindu American Foundation on the Hill. In addition, I had the opportunity to see a good friend, Tony Olson, who is working with Teach For America in the DC public schools.

I spent the day on Tuesday observing Tony, or should I say, Mr. Olson in his classroom . It was tremendously uplifting to see the energy and enthusiasm he conveyed to his students. Tony was a natural! He embodied the best of an Ole and Eastview alum- truly living out ideals to action. This Obama-inspired hope was juxtaposed by the conditions of the high school in which he taught, the disrespect & vulgarity in the classrooms and on the basketball court, the fighting in the hallway, and the metal detectors at the entrance.

I then traveled to the Congressional offices, a few blocks in distance, but a world's away from Coolidge High. Joined with other members of the Foundation, we visited Congressional offices to advocate on behalf of the nation's 2 million Hindus. We spoke to Senators, Congressman and their aides on the issues of misappropriated aid to Pakistan, continued human rights abuses against religious minorities in Malaysia and the growing erosion of the divide between church and state (legislation to introduce the teaching of creationism in schools, inaccessibility of Bush's Faith-Based Initiative to members of minority religions, etc).

What was most moving was to meet fellow Hindus and Indians from my generation, who are achieving great success professionally, but still remain committed to their cultural and religious identity. At times, especially in the Midwest, I have felt rather isolated in my faith. To me, it is wonderful to feel that I am part of a larger network and community. We ended the session with a reception in the main Capital building and were proud to achieve our highest and most decorated (in terms of guests) attendance to date.

Tomorrow, Rhodes orientation begins. More to come soon!

summer days drifting away

Edward Teale once stated "For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad." Luckily in these past few weeks, I have been able to experience both phenomena.

At the end of this month, I head off across the pond to begin graduate school (Master's Program in Development Studies at Oxford). Amidst packing, frantically completing sixty texts of required summer reading that was assigned in mid-August, finding every excuse to make multiple trips to J.Crew, I have had the opportunity to spend time with those I care about most- all of you.

It is said that it is only in the season of summer that laziness finds respectability. Hence, my summer sought to be as respectable as possible. Hesistant to leave my home and nest for the last 21 years, I found work at the St. Olaf Admissions Office. Here, I memorized the 45 different majors and concentrations offered at St. Olaf, and made some wonderful friends. I also finished research for the Hindu American Foundation and am excited to present such work next week on Capitol Hill.

A true Yankee at heart, I had the opportunity to discover some of the beauty of this country through many road-trips. I ran my first marathon on the North Shore of Lake Superior. I traveled to Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone with my family in our big red minivan and to Denver for Erica's wedding. Sarah Palin would be proud of my trip to North Dakota where I attempted to lasso a cow at a rodeo. And, the highlight, was heading to Madeline Island with Nathan, Katie and Lindsay!

I also grew infinitely closer to my family. We celebrated my grandparents' 55th wedding anniversary in Trinidad and my brother's graduation from good ole Eastview in June. I even got to spend time with my aunt, uncle and cousins from Miami three times this year! I also got to play big sister by moving in the same younger brother to St. Olaf a few weeks ago. Papa Rambi has begun every day with a 20-minute life lesson that he imparts to me over breakfast and then ends every day with five Gita verses and their meanings.

And now, off to the biggest adventure of my life. Please e-mail me whenever possible ishanaa@gmail.com or utilize the great American invention of facebook or even skype me at ishanaarambachan. I will be home for a week at Christmas and then off to Israel to visit Tyler!