I found Mansfield College as a perfect fit for my junior year abroad experience. The small and closely-knit community of students have extended their hospitality and friendship since Freshers Week at the start of Michaelmas Term. Though now at the end of Trinity Term, the fun has not stopped. I have become immersed in a world of bops, formal dinners, champagne and chocolates, excursions to London, and picnics at Blenheim Palace. Each and every myth I held about Oxford has been dissolved and I have immensely enjoyed my time here.

The Visiting Student program is very supportive and accommodating. I managed to complete requirements for my home university without any trouble and was presented with the opportunity to take one-on-one tutorials in subjects catered directly to my personal academic interests. For me this included Creative Writing and German Translation and Literature. Furthermore, the Oxford tutorial system presented a new and refreshing way of learning and has helped shape my future academic path.

Throughout the year I took advantage of various programs and societies that Oxford University has to offer. I participated in the German Society and took weekly German language classes at the Language Centre. Both activities nicely complemented my German tutorials. Additionally, I volunteered for Jacari, a student-run program which provides home-teaching to children whose first language is not English. The program paired me with a pupil only a few miles from my accommodation, enabling me to get to know my own neighbourhood of East Oxford and, moreover, the city of Oxford outside of the university. This summer I will continue to teach English as a second language when I join seven other Oxford University students to volunteer in Guangzhou, China.

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