+65 to +44

Caveat: I have an essay due tomorrow.

On the 30th of September, Mum drove me to the place I'd be spending the next 3 years of my life. We loaded my two huge suitcases into Auntie Sarah's little red car (which they had cleaned specially for the occasion) and drove off from Ixworth, saying goodbye to Grandma and Auntie Sarah (who had spent the morning trying to catch one of their rabbits which had disappeared the previous day).

As we drove, we didn't talk too much about actually starting school. Mum told me instead that she hoped I would fall in love with the seasons - Autumn for it's golden, rich hues, winter for cold, crisp walks and remembering that there's life underground. You can't see it, but it's there.

We pulled into the front of Murray Edwards College. I'd been here once before - in June on a drizzly day with Dad. At the time, I hadn't thought much of it. Everything looked so grey, although I thought the flowers in the front were quite pretty. I'd not ventured in - I didn't want to know everything before I came in September. But this time, it was gorgeous. The dome looked beautifully white, the flowers were so bright, so blooming beautiful, and I was so ready to begun.

Mum and I got my room keys and then drove round the back entrance which was nearer the undergraduates' house. I took a while to get to my room, not simply because I get lost always and didn't find the right building initially, but also because I was taking in the tennis and netball courts with grape vines curling round the fence, and a little 'Free book library', which encouraged you to take out any books you liked, on the condition that you replaced it with another book for someone else to take out!

My room was bigger than I hoped for and - wait for it - HAS A BALCONY! Mum and I couldn't figure out how to open the window to the balcony, but since then I have figured it out and stepping onto the balcony to feel the cool breeze and look into the garden is one of my favourite things when I come back from a run all hot and red.

I set about putting things away in places putting things up and shelving things, before heading for lunch with Mum, in the Dome cafeteria. I know I had potatoes (because I had potatoes almost every day that first week) and I think roasted carrots, some sort of vegetable soup and a crusty roll, and a salad bowl. So far the Dome's food has been pretty decent - I've had sweet potato fries, lots of jacket potatoes, steamed veg, once I had roast veggies and couscous which was really delicious...

Mum and I headed to the market after that, picking up some coconut and shea body soap, some shampoo and nectarines and berries from the market square. On the way back we popped into the health shop that is between my college and the city centre, and although we didn't buy anything at the time, since then I've been back to buy little bits and bobs including coconut oil, coconut yogurt, cacao nibs and rolled oats.

The International students had a pre-fresher's week programme, and although I can't remember much of it, here were some highlights:

1. I got to go punting one sunny sunny day. I had about 5 minutes to try steering and actually punting the punt, which meant our punt had a crazy zigzag path during those 5 minutes.

2. We went for a formal at Churchill college, where I saw first-hand someone penny someone else's drink. Pennying is apparently a Cambridge tradition, begun somewhere in the 13th or 14th century. What happens is that one person slips a penny into someone else's drink while they are touching or holding their glass, and the second person is then obliged to drink it all in one go. I also saw someone penny someone else's dessert, which I didn't even know was a thing!

3. We had a pizza night, but due to a miscommunicaiton, the pizza came much later than all the international freshers. That meant I had plenty of time to talk to people from my college and from other colleges. I had a really interesting conversation about Singlish (it's famous!) with Irene from Italy, and books and space law (it exists!) with Kevin from Australia.

On Saturday, the British girls arrived. I felt slightly overwhelmed as the number of undergraduates expanded suddenly from about 30 to probably more than 200 - and so I went for a long run, and spotted some cows on the way back!

On Sunday morning I tried to do power yoga in my room after I woke up, and fell over backwards whilst attempting a handstand, thereby bruising my shins on my desk. Thankfully the walls are thick and my neighbour, when I asked her, hadn't heard anything.

During the garden party we had later that afternoon, I bought a ticket for a Fitz bop - it was 90s themed and I thought it sounded like there would be cheesy music and board games and quizzes (and possibly a screening of Clueless?)... I also met Kevin again and found out that he runs. He said we should go running together some time but according to his Facebook page he runs actual MARATHONS so I'm pretty sure that isn't happening. I met heaps more people at the garden party but the thing about Fresher's week is that you introduce your namecollegecourse and then talk briefly about something inconsequential, and then move on the someone else, like some sort of social roulette, and the prize is embarrassment when you see the person again and completely cannot remember their name.

Natalia from Poland and I went to St Andrews the Great for their 5pm service, and I really really loved it. It reminded me of the church service I'd been to in St Helen's in London - warm, serious about the Word, and God-and-community-centred.

After the service, I headed back to college for dinner and then got ready for my first 'pub crawl' (although I only planned to go to one pub, since I don't drink) to experience something that seems such a large part of British social culture.

Unfortunately I was turned away from the entrance because I had forgotten to bring my ID.

Have I introduced you to this very familiar friend of mine, bathos?

The next evening I did manage to get to a bar, and I didn't quite like it. First, my arm was grabbed by 'HI-MY-NAME-IS-CHRIS-WHAT'S-YOURS' who then tried to 'LET-ME-INTRODUCE-YOU-TO-MY-FRIENDS' (who were evidently other poor people he had arm-grabbed). After I had tactfully extricated myself from that (I need to use the bathroom) and re-entered, carefully avoiding him, I got talking to a Greek guy who obviously was just as uncomfortable as I was since we both sheepishly admitted to one another we don't drink and have no legitimate reason to be in a bar. He was a nice conversationalist, but unfortunately the bar was very loud and he had to keep leaning in and saying 'Sorry?' and I nodded and smiled to a lot of things I couldn't hear. I left early, with Andrea from Hungary.

The next day was Matriculation, which is probably the most hyped up part of fresher's week, when inall honesty it is just wearing a gown, taking a picture, listening to the history of your college (which I actually really liked - I'll include what I know about it at the end of this post ) and then having a fancy dinner.

So fancy that the dessert literally rose out of the floor in a tower, with flashing lights.

And that, friends, was the end of fresher's week.

Murray Edwards College - a short history by Miriam Yeo

Murray Edwards is one of Cambridge's youngest colleges, and one of two women's-only colleges in the University. It was initially founded as 'New Hall' in 1954 (my Practical Criticism Supervisor went to the college when it was still New Hall, as did Dame Barbara Stocking our President) I used to tell people the college's name changed 'because some rich guy donated lots of money'. which is partly true. It was founded in 1954 by Dame Rosemary Murray, but was named New Hall, because, well, that's what it was at the time. In 2008, an old student, Ros Edwards and her husband, Steve Edwards, decided to donate £30 million pounds to the college, and so the college took the last name of it's founder as well as the last names of it's financial saviours, and became Murray Edwards. Our coat of arms bears a dolphin (which looks to me like a fish with a duck's beak, but then I am not a visual art student) as well as other symbols. The dolphin symbolises 'a youthful spirit of exploration and discovery, and a kindly intelligence' (wikipedia.com) and always reminds me of the dolphin that saved Arion. We have the largest collection of women's art in Europe, and an edible herb garden. Sue Perkins (from the Great British Bake Off), Tilda Swinton (Moonrise Kingdom) and Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell (a famous science person) are all alumni. Our current President, Dame Barbara Stocking, really impressed me. She worked in the NHS and as the CEO of Oxfam, always in fields she was passionate about and which help people, which I think are two big indicators of success.