So I somehow survived first week, despite having somehow contracted freshers flu (I only went out once- the bop definitely did it!) It's been a long and hectic week, but to be honest I haven't really had anytime to even think about it. In fact, up until writing this blog I had pretty much forgotten about the world outside, as terribly egocentric as that may sound. I haven't watched the news for far too long and my conversations rarely revolve around anything other than work; essays, Italian poetry, translations, tutors, rowing or college life. I can feel it happening, I'm slowly sinking back into this old bubble I used to know so well. And although it's all happened pretty abruptly, it feels oddly normal. I haven't quite settled into a routine yet, but I can already tell that it won't be too long before I do. Aside from a few brief phone calls to the family, and of course the ritualistic weekend catch up viewings of the X factor and Downton Abbey with my housemates, I have completely lost sight of the world outside Oxford. There's just no time. It's only been one week and I have already wished for Bernard's watch about a zillion times. Why hasn't anyone invented it yet?!!
I'm already starting to feel a little bit like a robot. It's as though someone has just flicked a switch and my body has just gone into autopilot, cycling to lectures, going to the library, sitting down for hours reading and writing, eating, reading and writing some more, translating, going to class. I finish one piece of work, only to start another, with no time for rest or celebration in between. The worst thing in all of this is that just as they flicked this switch, my immune system also decided to switch off and I got sick. Sitting in a two hour seminar on Dante's Inferno and feeling like your throat is on fire is not a nice experience, I can tell you. I still found time to feel sorry for myself of course though and my housemates endured my constant moans very gracefully.
Fortunately, I somehow managed to get through it and by the time the weekend came around, I was well enough to truly savor that Friday feeling more than I had for a long time. The weekends are the best. Even though they aren't real weekends when you're at uni, it's still nice to know that even if you still have loads of work to do, you can do it on your own terms: where you want and when you want. Having 4 hours of constant lectures, classes and seminars on Tuesday (officially Domesday now) when my illness reached it's peak, really was nearly the death of me, and after that I absolutely appreciated the days when I had a little more freedom in choosing my working environment. Of course, after a week of acting like a machine, Friday was always going to be a wild one. It was so good to get dressed up and feel human again. Saturday suffered as a result though, so I couldn't revert back to being a human for too long. Today I transformed back into a robot again: I woke up and started writing an essay, then finally finished it and came back to the human world, only to realize it was dark and the day was done. At least my housemates keep me sane and I can live vicariously through the stories my friends at home tell me about their, far more interesting and exciting, lives. Being a robot isn't so bad though. It's a life free of emotional complications, that's for sure.
Hopefully this week I might have a few more human encounters to write about in my next blog, to make it a little bit more exciting than this one. Don't say I didn't warn you anyway.
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