Jacqueline Moruzzi

“I wonder anybody does anything at Oxford but dream and remember, the place is so beautiful.” W.B.Yeats

While I can attest that I did more there than just dream, Yeats’s words capture the wonder of the city. Upon my arrival, I was immediately struck by its beauty; it is architecturally stunning. Its aesthetic loveliness roused me from my jet-lag on the bus there from the airport. In days and weeks after, I learned more about the fascinating culture and ambiance of the city. In addition to my gratitude for being in such an aesthetically and culturally rich place, I was thankful for CMRS and the opportunities in which I was able to partake. I joined the social running club and happily made friends both within and outside of the program through running. Academically, the workload was rigorous and demanding. At first, many of us were intimidated; however, the kind faculty assured us that we were all capable of handling it and should we need any guidance or advice, they were always there to help. I found both to be true. I am so grateful for the opportunity to partake in a very different academic structure and culture from that which students are used to in American universities. My home institution doesn’t offer courses in Celtic studies, so the opportunity to have ‘Celtic Middle Ages’ as one of my tutorials was wonderful! I enjoyed spending hours reading about the week’s topic and my tutor was very knowledgeable and engaging. Overall, even if I were to write an entire paper on my time in Oxford at CMRS, it would not be sufficient: I’m not sure I would be able to adequately express how wonderful my time there was in every respect.