The tally is in: 11 hours, 40 pies, dozens of volunteers, countless dishes, 65 bottles of wine, 80 pounds of potatoes, 96 pounds of turkey, and 150 people later, that's a wrap for Rhodes House Thanksgiving dinner! Admittedly my organizational role took me out of the kitchen for most of the day (though I did run a few errands and help with the salad dressing), but the dedication of the people who stuck it out with cooking -- and peeling all those potatoes! -- all day was truly impressive. The food was delicious, the company was just as good, and everyone remained in high spirits all evening even when the edge of our enthusiasm spiraled into the lethargy of feeling stuffed. I'd never been part of such a huge Thanksgiving feast, and despite all the people who swarmed into the hall and filled their plates and their stomachs we still had plenty of leftovers. (A bunch of us from the organizing/cooking committee gathered last night to try to finish off those leftovers, to no avail! We'll need to continue Thanksgiving all weekend.) The day made me feel, again, very grateful for the community here.
Another reason why I wasn't in the kitchen for much of the day on Thanksgiving: this week was the annual Christ Church novice rowing regatta, in which my boat from St. John's took part. We didn't have quite enough novice rowers to fill St. John's Women's Novice B, so had to recruit some more advanced rowers to have a full squad of eight -- which meant that our boat was classified as a "friendly" boat, and therefore ineligible for competition past two races. We had our first race on Wednesday, which we won handily, and then raced again on Thursday afternoon. The Thursday race we lost, alas, despite rowing hard and nearly catching up to the other boat by the finish. I got to try out my new (still rather questionable) rowing skills in the stroke seat of the boat, and while I'm not sure I succeeded in setting an even pace I still had a good time. Getting out on the water amidst all the boat club excitement surrounding the ChCh regatta, and giving my body over to the heat of competition, was a fun way to spend those two afternoons this week.
Despite that, however, I don't think I'll be continuing with rowing next term. Why, you ask? Well, the communication on the water is a little too difficult -- doable, but frustrating, since I miss all the coach's instructions and misunderstand the cox half the time. The people in the St. John's boat club have been willing to adjust their communication styles for me thus far, but another part of it is that I don't enjoy rowing enough to want to persist in getting out on the dark and freezing cold river, with those people, during the winter. I've been reflecting on my time at Oxford thus far (especially since that time has gone so amazingly fast) and thinking about what I truly want to get out of this entire experience. Rowing isn't one of those things. I'd rather spend more time exploring the surrounding area on foot through taking some walks or bike rides, scheme to get myself back on a horse more often, or enjoy different sports such as squash or even croquet and cricket in the spring. And I'd also rather spend more time writing, reflecting, and chatting with people, even more than I already have.
Speaking of which, off I go to write for most of the day! Paper is due in less than a week (or, at least, I'm making myself turn it in then), then it's off to the sunshine of Portugal with some good friends next weekend. Cannot believe the end of the term is nigh, but I'm excited for the adventures that await!
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