40 days in Oxford, Mississippi, and boy has it been one for the books! As you can guess by our very delayed and overdue blog post, we have been keeping busy down here which is a blessing because we’ve definitely been maximizing our time!
Right from the get-go, before Dhwani and I even left Calgary, we were faced with such friendliness, welcomeness and kindness from our liaison, Sally. Imagine sunshine in human form, that’s Sally! And that’s not just exclusive to Sally, most people that we’ve encountered down here have made us feel so welcome and comfortable. Southern hospitality is real and it’s something you can count on!
Now, I would like to quickly outline our first week in Oxford, which was spent settling in and getting familiar with the town, Ole Miss campus, high school and public transportation system.
- August 28, 2022: Dhwani and I landed at the Memphis airport. Sally (our liaison) picked us up and brought us to Panera Bread to get some lunch, and Kroger to buy some groceries. She also gave a brief drive-by tour of the high school and town square, and then she dropped us off at the Ole Miss Inn, which would be our accommodation for the next two nights (arranged for us by the Dean of Education since we couldn’t move into our actual accommodation until the 30th)
- August 29, 2022: Sally picked us up in a golf cart and gave us a brief tour of the campus as we made our way down to the School of Education building, aka “Guyton Hall”. We sat in her office, and she gave us a run-down of some of the Ole Miss courses we could sit in on throughout our time here. After that, we got connected with Scott, who is an advisor at the Study Abroad office, and he brought us to the ID center to get our student IDs done (our official titles are “visiting scholars”). Then he proceeded to give us a tour of campus. I had never seen such a grand, picturesque university campus before. It truly felt like it was straight out of a movie.
- August 30, 2022: We got picked up by a graduate assistant who we had met the day prior, and she graciously brought us and our luggage to our accommodation, which is an Airbnb condo just a 5 minute walk away from the downtown square! This day was also our first time experiencing the Oxford University Transit system, when we went to buy some groceries. We learned the hard way that public transportation here is not as structured as it is in the big city. More on that later.
- August 31, 2022: Our first day at Oxford High School! Dhwani is teaching Grade 12 English, and I’m teaching Grade 9 Pre-AP Biology, so we have our own respective partner teachers, both of whom are very welcoming, easy-going and competent! Oxford High School is HUGE – we’re talking 220,000 square-feet versus my high school in Calgary which is approximately 150,000 square-feet. There is also an abundance of safety protocols set in place, for example, only administration can allow you access into the school, and only teachers have key cards that allow access from building to building. There are also police cars stationed around the perimeter of the school throughout the day. Because this school is so large, the only people we interact with regularly are the front-desk secretary, our partner teachers, and our students.
- September 1, 2022: Our first day as students/auditors at the University of Mississippi! We attended our first education class, which is titled, “Education, Society, & the K-12 Learner”. In this class we talked about the purpose of education, American education system, legal system, child and adolescent development, and diversity. Education classes here are very small and intimate, with only about 10-15 students per class, so there’s this rapport between the professor and students that I really admire. Our professor gave us a chance to introduce ourselves, and our new classmates were also very good at making us feel welcomed. Later that evening, we went to a “22 & Good 4 U Dance Party” at the local theatre called “The Lyric”, which was basically just a night of singing and bopping to Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo songs.
- September 2, 2022: Another day at the high school! It was an exciting day because they had a pep rally, and it was their first one since the pandemic, so everyone was ecstatic. I, personally, was in so much awe because of how grand all of the festivities were. The cheerleaders, dancers, football team, announcements for homecoming queen and king – again, just straight out of a movie! (My High School Musical dreams came to life that day).
- September 3, 2022: AMERICAN COLLEGE FOOTBALL! It’s everything you could ever imagine and more. The School of Education gifted us tickets for the Ole Miss vs. Troy game, and they weren’t just any tickets, they were special because we got to sit in the “Field Club” which is where I assume all of the VIPs are seated. Thankfully, that also meant we were in the shade a little, however it was still hot enough to cook an egg on a sidewalk. Something to know about Ole Miss is that they take their football very seriously; it’s a whole social event. First of all, there’s a dress code – there will be specific colours that you’re supposed to wear to certain games, and that’s going to be either white, red or blue. Another thing to know is that only clear bags are permitted into the stadium, for safety precautions, so make sure you get yourself one of those before going to the game.
After our first week, it still took us another week or so to get acquainted with the bus system and expectations for our placement, but we eventually established a solid schedule, and this is what it looks like:
- Mondays: Dhwani and I have our respective “methods” classes which are education courses that are specific to our specializations. We attend these in-person at Ole Miss (4:15pm-6:45pm CST). Following that, we have our online UofC course on ‘Indigenous Education’ (7pm-8:30pm CST).
- Tuesdays: Dhwani and I attend an Ole Miss class together on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, which is the one I mentioned earlier about “Education, Society, & the K-12 Learner” (9:30am-10:45am CST). Then we have our online ‘Design for Learning’ class with UofC later on in the evening. This class takes place bi-weekly (7pm-8:30pm CST).
- Wednesdays: We don’t have any classes at Ole Miss or UofC on Wednesdays, so that’s when we clock into Oxford High School for the day to get our observations going! Both Dhwani’s and my partner teachers only teach from 1st to 3rd block, which means we’re typically done by lunchtime.
- Thursdays: We have our morning class at Ole Miss again, and that’s all for the rest of the day!
- Fridays: This is the next day of the week that we go to the high school and observe. In America, they don’t have half/shorter days on Fridays, so the schedule for the day is identical to how it is on other weekdays.
- Saturdays: Since it’s football season, it’s game day almost every Saturday, so you better believe people are coming from all across the country to watch the games and take part in all of the tailgating events. Since Oxford is a popular tourist destination, they really hike up the prices everywhere you go. This includes paying entrance fees to get into certain restaurants and bars on the Square, which can range from $30-$80. For that reason alone, Dhwani and I have historically stayed in on the weekends to avoid the madness, but we’re definitely working on getting out there more so that we can experience Oxford to the fullest!
- Sundays: We rest and prepare for upcoming week!
What do we do on our free time?
- Coursework (i.e., readings, group zoom calls to work on assignments, individual assignments, etc.)
- Grocery shopping (our grocery store of choice is Kroger. They also offer delivery which is very handy!)
- Workout at the Ole Miss gym (Turner Center)
- Go out to eat at restaurants (the local food scene in Oxford is very impressive)
- Attend events held by the university
- I attended a Civil Rights Tour outlining the integration of education in Mississippi as this year marks 60 years since James Meredith became the first Black student enrolled at Ole Miss.
- I also attended a formal event which served to honour James Meredith, his work and his legacy. It was a very moving night because James Meredith was there and addressed the crowd, and there were also local authorities, educators, and poets present who shared very powerful messages.
- Dhwani attended a piano concert by Bruce Levingston.
That’s what I have to share for now, but of course, there’s a lot more where that came from! Since this has been a lengthy post, I will save the rest for another time. I’ll dedicate a future blog post to outlining all of the culture shock moments I’ve made note of throughout my time here, pertaining to the high school system, university life, town culture, and even American culture! I’ll also share some valuable tips and tricks that I wish I knew before coming to Oxford which would have made settling in a lot quicker and smoother.
Thank you for reading, and until next time, HOTTY TODDY!
Rachel Yee