Name: Abi Allan
College: Christ Church
Subject: Classical Archaeology & Ancient History (Faculty of Classics)
Year: First Year
This is just my typical weekday, which is mainly spent reading in my college library, but some days I go out for brunch or afternoon coffee and read while I do that (those are the days when I need some motivation and a break from the library!) and some days I have more lectures or classes.
8:00am: I usually get to Christ Church library (a convenient two minutes away from my room) at this time. Our library isn't 24 hours like at a lot of other colleges, in order to promote healthy working hours (no all-nighters!), but is open from 8am - 1am. I prefer to sit in the Classics section of the library, simply because it feels cosier which helps me concentrate better. In the mornings I tend to do some Greek language practice, whereas in the afternoons I usually read for that term's Core Paper.
9:30am: Once a week in First Year I'd have a class for the paper I was doing that term - in the first term this was a Greek Core paper (from 550 - 450 BC), and in the second term a Roman Core paper (from 50 BC - AD 50). The classes were an hour and a half long and really interesting as you got to hear other people's thoughts and speak to your tutors, as well as watch someone do a short 10minute presentation.
11:00am: Usually back to the library , but sometimes I'd have a lecture or two about now!
12:30pm: This is when Hall opens in college for lunch, and so I go and get lunch with a small group of friends - I tend to get lunch with people that I don't really see at any other point in the day, so this is always a nice time for a catch-up!
2:00pm: I took a Beginning Greek Language paper this year and so had three one hour-long classes each week - my teacher was really lovely and laughed all the time, so the classes were really fun.
3:30pm: There's usually some sort of dog walk at this point with my best friend, most likely around Christ Church Meadow, then back to the library to work!
4:00pm: At some point in the day I might have to make a run to the Sackler Library, which is the University Classics Lending Library, to borrow some books, although usually Christ Church Library has the books as they have a really well-stocked Classics section (including archaeology as well as literature and philosophy).
5:00pm: I stop working around 5:00pm and in the winter go for a run and then shower before dinner, or in the summer just sit and chill for a bit.
6:00pm: Dinner in Hall - Christ Church has two Hall sittings each day: Informal at 6:00pm, where we get our food canteen-style and then sit down, and Formal at 7:20pm, where we have to wear our gowns. My friends and I tend to prefer Informal most days, mainly because we get really hungry!
7:00pm: We always take ages at dinner because it's such a nice time to just sit and catch up with everyone. Then we leave hall and in the winter tend to go to someone's room for tea and more chatting (or maybe even a film, although usually we can't decide on one in time!); in the summer we usually sit outside in Peck Quad and just enjoy the sunshine and then the sun setting!
9:00pm: In the summer I'll go for a run, usually around Christ Church Meadow just before the gates close! I absolutely love dusk and Christ Church Meadow is a beautiful place, especially with the River Isis running through it.
10:00pm: I tend to sit and read for quite a while before going to bed - but obviously some nights there are good events or club nights on around Oxford, so my evenings can look quite different!