Edwin Boadu – 1st Year – MML
Hey, I am Edwin and I am a current first year, who studies Modern and Medieval Languages (Spanish and ab-initio German).
9 am – My alarm wakes me from my deep slumber of roughly 8 hours. The perks of being an MMLer is that you do not have many 9 am classes (I only have one, on Tuesdays). I normally lay in bed until 9.10/15, and contemplate for the first few minutes whether I should learn vocabulary for German or log onto Instagram. But the latter ends up being the most appealing option.
10 am – German grammar class. The beauty of Trinity Hall’s location means that I can leave my room at 9:40, and walk, slowly, to Sidgwick (where my lectures/classes are held).
11 am – German oral supervision in Newnham College. These oral supervisions are organised by your faculty, rather than your college, and they take place after week 4 of Michaelmas. Whilst it may seem daunting that you are having oral supervisions in a language that you practically started two days ago, you will quickly realise that the supervision can be fun.
12 pm – Back to Sidgwick for a Spanish grammar class (use of the language). These are weekly classes that help you learn or revisit grammatical points and consolidate them. From these, you will get grammar worksheets (weekly). On top of this, depending on who teaches you, you might receive fortnightly short essays in the targeted language (roughly 200-400 words).
1 pm – Back to college and have lunch with friends, or sometimes meet with people outside of my own college and have lunch elsewhere.
1.30 pm – Nap time! For the majority of Michaelmas and Lent Term, I napped pretty much every single day for about an hour. These are a vital part of my day, as they help me to function properly throughout the rest of the day!
3 pm – Go down to either the college bar and grab some coffee or stay in room and do some work. Usually after my naps, I spend some time working on my extra-curricular activities. In Lent Term, I was part of the poetry sub-committee for the Mays, which is a literary publication that takes submissions (poetry, prose and artwork) from Oxford and Cambridge students. On average, I would get 150 poems per week, so it was crucial to set some time aside and go through these. The committee met weekly, usually on Sundays, to discuss the poems. In Easter Term, I was the Arts Section Editor for Varsity, a student newspaper. After I would spend an hour or so on my extra-curricular activities, I would do some actual academic work! Usually, I would get rid of the small things, such as the grammar exercises that I would receive from the German and Spanish classes.
5 pm – Spanish extra grammar supervision. These were incredibly useful, as we usually went through points in the grammar classes that we did not understand, and even if you did understand them, it would be nonetheless good to go through them again, to build consolidation.
6 pm till 9pm – Back to college to have dinner and catch up with friends. I then get some more work done in either the library, college bar or my room.
9 pm till late – Go and meet a friend in another college. If it is a Friday or Sunday, I sometimes go to the club with my friends. Otherwise, I go back to college to either get some work done, or stay with the friend that I had met up with in the other college.