Paige and I during during our train ride to Oxford
Excitement was in the air as when we arrived in Oxford, albeit three hours later.
Upon arriving to Oxford the first thing that hit me was the overwhelming cold. I, assuming that it would be warm had dressed light ( a mistake I wont ever repeat).
We were met at the train station by a wonderful Rotarian. We were the escorted to be registered and meet our host family for the weekend. I had the pleasure of staying with Jan, she was wonderful! She brought me to a Thai restaurant for dinner and I had my first taste of Thai food, it was fabulous!
Saturday morning Jan treated me to a pancake breakfast- the British way with lemon and sugar. It had a refreshing tangy taste, quite different from the usual syrup. After breakfast she took me to the conference centre for the sessions. The sessions were informative, interesting and allowed me to meet other scholars. I felt humbled and inspired by the extent of the work of Rotary in the lives of many people across the globe and the fact that I was chosen as a scholar to assist in building awareness of this organization. Saturday afternoon had me doing unforgettable tour of Oxford University... again, I felt inspired but this time in the academic sense of the word.
Saturday evening the scholars and their hosts attended a barn dance. Its hard for me to express the extent that the 'dance' differed from the Jamaican sense of the word. It was different in a fun way! Sadly, I have no photos to tell the tale of my dancing adventure as my camera's battery died.
Sunday morning Jan an I went to the Ashmolean! It was fabulous. I have decided that I must visit again as one visit is not nearly enough to digest all that the museum has to offer. it was great!
Picture of the interior of the Ashmolean.
Sunday evening found me back in my new 'hometown'- Leeds. The weekend was great! I made new friends and made promises to visit scholars all over the UK. However, the importance of the event as to prepare me for my responsibility as a scholar was not lost and as I meet the challenges of the year ahead I am glad that I have my Rotary family every step of the way.
Shaniek
