On Monday morning (1st day of class and Bod Card day!), I jumped out
of bed, anxious to start the day and then….
No hot water.
After turning the shower on (rather after figuring out how to turn it on), I stood there. And stood there. And stood there.
And no hot water.
I was all set to pull my hair back and sponge-bathe in my room when I realized that we had our first Formal Funday Monday that night and, thus, I had to look (and smell) lovely.
Just lovely.
I ended up just washing my hair in the shower (avoiding the cold water as much as possible) and sponge-bathing in my room, yet as the cold (and I’m talking ice cold) water surged through my hair, I had to laugh.
This was my Oxford Initiation. No robed tutors knocking at my door. No bench-pressing books (although I’m pretty sure lugging my Shakespeare anthology across Paris would’ve done the trick). No scavenger hunts in the cloister (this would be a great ice-breaker!). Just a simple, very cold—very short—shower. (The cold water was, of course, unintentional and fixed in two days, but at the time, I wasn’t so sure…)
It also occurred to me that my ice bath was the literal manifestation of the rebirth I was expecting while at Oxford; I just hadn’t expected to be baptized on the first big day. Nevertheless, I pretended that the water was a ceremonial cleansing for receiving my Bodleian Library Card that afternoon, in addition to attending my first High Table dinner.
The Bodleian Library Card is, undoubtedly, the best library card in the world. No joke.
Affectionately known as the “Bod Card,” it gives its reader access to not only one library, but to a network of libraries: The Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library, and the New Bodleian Library. Although readers are forbidden to remove books from the library, the Bod Card gives its holder access to over 10 MILLION volumes.
No hot water.
After turning the shower on (rather after figuring out how to turn it on), I stood there. And stood there. And stood there.
And no hot water.
I was all set to pull my hair back and sponge-bathe in my room when I realized that we had our first Formal Funday Monday that night and, thus, I had to look (and smell) lovely.
Just lovely.
I ended up just washing my hair in the shower (avoiding the cold water as much as possible) and sponge-bathing in my room, yet as the cold (and I’m talking ice cold) water surged through my hair, I had to laugh.
This was my Oxford Initiation. No robed tutors knocking at my door. No bench-pressing books (although I’m pretty sure lugging my Shakespeare anthology across Paris would’ve done the trick). No scavenger hunts in the cloister (this would be a great ice-breaker!). Just a simple, very cold—very short—shower. (The cold water was, of course, unintentional and fixed in two days, but at the time, I wasn’t so sure…)
It also occurred to me that my ice bath was the literal manifestation of the rebirth I was expecting while at Oxford; I just hadn’t expected to be baptized on the first big day. Nevertheless, I pretended that the water was a ceremonial cleansing for receiving my Bodleian Library Card that afternoon, in addition to attending my first High Table dinner.
The Bodleian Library Card is, undoubtedly, the best library card in the world. No joke.
Affectionately known as the “Bod Card,” it gives its reader access to not only one library, but to a network of libraries: The Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library, and the New Bodleian Library. Although readers are forbidden to remove books from the library, the Bod Card gives its holder access to over 10 MILLION volumes.
Yeah, be jealous. It’s literally a bookworm’s dream-come-true.
In order to receive a Bod Card, the reader must solemnly swear not to injure or remove any books from the library: "I hereby undertake not to remove from the Library, or to mark, deface, or injure in any way, any volume, document, or other object belonging to it or in its custody; nor to bring into the Library or kindle therein any fire or flame, and not to smoke in the Library; and I promise to obey all rules of the Library."
(I've always been very concerned about 'injuring' books; it took me a long while to get used to writing in them for class. In general, I always try to have one clean copy—in addition to a 'messy,' annotated copy—of the books I love, in order to preserve their original, perfect state. This oath, as you might imagine, tugged from every at my perfectionist, bookworm heart.)
(I've always been very concerned about 'injuring' books; it took me a long while to get used to writing in them for class. In general, I always try to have one clean copy—in addition to a 'messy,' annotated copy—of the books I love, in order to preserve their original, perfect state. This oath, as you might imagine, tugged from every at my perfectionist, bookworm heart.)
(Here’s a really awesome blog post
from another Oxford Student about the Bod Card I stumbled upon before my Oxford
adventures began: http://www.rabbitroom.com/2012/01/the-oxford-chronicles-bod-card/)
Note to self: visit the Rabbit Room as much as possible.
Needless to say, receiving my Bod Card was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Instead of a white and neon pink(!?) photo ID resting in my hands, I saw a key. A key to unlock any book I could imagine. A key to canonical texts. A key to philosophical works. A key to books I’d never even dreamed of.
And it was in my hand.
Never again will I look at a library card the same way. Now, every time I hold a library card in my hand (yes, even my well-worn Tiger1 card), I will imagine that I am again holding my Bod Card for the first time.
Needless to say, receiving my Bod Card was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Instead of a white and neon pink(!?) photo ID resting in my hands, I saw a key. A key to unlock any book I could imagine. A key to canonical texts. A key to philosophical works. A key to books I’d never even dreamed of.
And it was in my hand.
Never again will I look at a library card the same way. Now, every time I hold a library card in my hand (yes, even my well-worn Tiger1 card), I will imagine that I am again holding my Bod Card for the first time.
And I will smile. For every time I hold that seemingly normal library
card, I know that it, too, possesses the power to unlock a Narnia of literary
wonders.
This, with a baptismal shower, a Bod Card in hand, and High Table ritual, I became a student at St. Peters/Magdalen College, Oxford University.
This, with a baptismal shower, a Bod Card in hand, and High Table ritual, I became a student at St. Peters/Magdalen College, Oxford University.
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| Reading the oath to myself before receiving my Bod Card, otherwise known as basking in Bookworm Heaven. |
View more pictures from Monday, 2 July (First day of class, Bod Card, and High Table) here. (Link is currently out of order...will be repaired shortly!)
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