Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.

Abandon ship

One helpful fact to know is that if you lock your deadbolt and leave the key in the lock on the inside, it is probably impossible for anyone to come in and evict you. Technically, I was meant to move out this morning. In practice, I doubt anyone from the college is out enforcing rules on a Sunday. Alex and Kai are already gone, and I am trying to deal with the mass of food, random stuff, and dirty dishes that has been left behind.

Anyone in Oxford who wants some food, random stuff, kitchen supplies, office supplies, etc should come by 2 Church Walk ASAP. Anyone who takes a significant amount gets a free bottle of wine (while supplies last). This must be what headlong military retreats are like, when you abandon large amounts of equipment that you otherwise would not as a result of being propelled by larger circumstances.

PS. Happy Canada Day!

Morocco photos, second batch

Ali ben Youssef Medersa detail

Some of the detail from the Ali ben Youssef Medersa.

Mosque in Marrakesh

Mosque in Marrakesh. It’s interesting how different they look from the ones we saw in Turkey.

Shine in Marrakesh

Shine in Marrakesh

Moroccan donkey

For some reason, I like the look of donkeys. They seem dependable and worthy of respect.

City walls in Marrakesh

Marrakesh has a large wall around the whole of the old city, as well as smaller dividing walls inside.

Refraction

Refraction

This has been an acutely unusual evening. It is hard to leave friends behind for an unknown period of time. Of course, it is best to do so when at a barbecue very well provided for with food and drink. Antonia deserves a commendation for putting so much effort into it.

My profound thanks go out to those who I met and befriended while in Oxford. That is especially true for Antonia, Claire, Alex, Kai, and Kelly. I am gladdened by the thought that we will probably see one another again, some time in the next few years.

PS. Price of shipping books and files to Ottawa: 0.77 iPhones. That does not include whatever Zoom Airlines will charge me for excess baggage, given that I have four bags instead of two and they are definitely over the weight limit.

Everything must go

If you are in Oxford and you are interested in some cheap (possibly free) office and kitchen supplies, consider dropping by 2 Church Walk at some point today or tomorrow. I have a three hole punch, large clear plastic box for hanging files, binders, a stapler, frying pans, an electric kettle, a clock radio, and various other things of that sort. More information is on this page.

I should be around for the next few hours. If you are interested, send me an email, give me a call, or leave a comment here.

Exodus

Claire Leigh

Our evacuation from this flat is beginning to feel like a desperate retreat: unplanned, sudden, and highly wasteful. It feels as though many of the physical products of the last two years are being burned away or abandoned. Of course, things tend to unwind to a state of maximum disorder, then begin to progress towards comprehensibility again.

It is quite startling to think that I will be in Vancouver in two days.

M.Phil results

This afternoon, after my final meeting with Dr. Hurrell, I got back one copy of my thesis and my grades for the M.Phil:

To put those in perspective, have a look at the scale of marks. The thesis grade is a bit of a disappointment, especially considering how I expended well over one hundred times more effort on the thesis than on the exams. I only began serious exam revision after getting back from the Lake District on June 3rd. Based on the very crude method of taking the mean of the five grades, I got 70.2 overall.

Since the thesis is now publicly available in the Bodleian, it seems appropriate to make it publicly available online as well: Expertise and Legitimacy: The Role of Science in Global Environmental Policy-Making.This version has about two dozen minor errors corrected. If you find more, please let me know and I will make the appropriate changes in the electronic version.

Morocco photos, first batch

Koutoubia mosque

The Koutoubia mosque is the largest in Marrakesh, standing out prominently near one corner of the Djemma El Fna.

Marrakesh rooftops

From the terrace of my first hotel, you could get a glimpse of the old city from above.

Marrakesh museum

This is a courtyard inside the Marrakesh museum, which I found by accident while I was completely lost in the souq.

Marrakesh museum

The largest open space in the Marrakesh museum is a great place to have a rest and read.

Ali ben Youssef Medersa

The Ali ben Youssef Medersa is very open for a museum, allowing you to wander all over the place.

Morocco videos

I am still working on processing my photos – alongside packing and saying goodbye to friends. That said, I did shoot some short and extremely amateur videos in Morocco. Much as I appreciate the power of photographs to overcome entropy, there are certainly some visual spectacles best served by video. The resolution here is low, and the camera work shaky, but the capacity to shoot video is far from the primary function of my cheap digital camera.

Marrakesh:

Essaouira:

Ouzoud:

If you want to see some good videos, have a look at my brother Mica’s site.