Our Wildwood, Winter 2019, Volume 44

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE by Molly S. ’20

The Habits Go to Oxford

had to overcome. I again used the Habit of Collaboration to ask one of my classmates, who was from Australia, to check my work. Everyone else had used only the metric system, but I was most familiar with the imperial system. During my global issues seminar class and spending time with my new friends, I learned about what others thought of America and Americans. Some people, including those from countries at war, were concerned about my safety as a student because they heard of school shootings on the news. It was interesting to learn because I knew very little about how other people see where I’m from but also shocking. I also learned a lot about daily life in other countries. In my astronomy class I spoke to girls from Saudi Arabia about driving, as just weeks before women could legally drive there. Driving is something I take for granted, which made me appreciate it so much more. I learned about diverse backgrounds and types of education. One person I met said she speaks five languages almost fluently, her fourth or fifth being English, which was required for the program. Many others were polylingual and spoke English almost as well as I do even though it was their second or third language. This was interesting because I speak only English fluently and speak little Spanish. The city of Oxford is so much older than anything I see in my daily life. Although I was staying in the newest college, built in the 1960s, as I walked around the town to my classes and lunch, my friend pointed out that almost every building was older than the United States. This was startling and exciting. I came back to Los Angeles and Wildwood with a sense of perspective about the world

LAST SUMMER, I HAD the fortunate opportunity to study abroad at Oxford University in England with a program called Oxford Royale Academy. I went with Myles K. ’20 and Emily R. ’20, and we were three of seven Americans in a program with about

250 strangers living together in college dorms. We took classes in chemistry, astronomy, and global studies, and I became friends with people from all over the world, some from countries I knew almost nothing about. My first day in chemistry, while we were introducing ourselves, I realized I was the only American in the room and one of the only people who had never taken a chemistry class. I dreaded the day when I would have to say the word aluminum in front of people who pronounce it differently than I do or spell ionization when most people there spell it ionisation. I was uncomfortable, but I knew that I could use the Habit of Convention to meet the academic standards of my peers and the confidence that I’ve grown at Wildwood to speak even though I might be wrong. In chemistry, I suddenly had to do a group project with people I had only met the day before. I used the Habit of Collaboration and my experience with group projects to keep my group organized and productive. In my astronomy class, I had more difficulty with the content when I forgot parts of the metric system. This was one disadvantage due to being an American that I

“” I USED THE HABIT OF COLLABORATION AND MY EXPERIENCE WITH GROUP PROJECTS TO KEEP MY GROUP ORGANIZED AND PRODUCTIVE.

and different experiences of the many interesting people I met and learned with. I was able to take the Habits and skills I learned at Wildwood and apply them to my time in Oxford.

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