Last Friday I had my first Health and Disease seminar at Oxford and it's definitely my favorite class so far. We had a lecture about the risk factors of cancer given by a researcher specializing in breast, cervical, and prostate cancer at the university. Afterwards we had small group discussions about various study designs used in epidemiology. The lecture was incredibly interesting and the group discussion was very engaging and interactive. They didn't let any of us get away with not knowing how to answer a question. While it was a little intense when we first started (had to give a 30 second summary of a paper abstract without hesitating or filler words like "um"), it was actually really fun and I can't wait to go back.
Of course I had to check out the Chinatown here to scout for places to eat on Chinese New Year. But being honest, I was a little disappointed. I saw every street lined with restaurants except for maybe a handful of buildings. What I didn't really see were the cultural aspects that show there's a community living there. Don't get me wrong, I love food and I'm sure some of these restaurants are good, but it didn't feel complete. Maybe I'm just used to a different kind of Chinatown but I was hoping to see more of the local community and culture because that's what Chinatown should be about.
Park of the Week! I stopped by Kyoto Garden in Holland Park while I was exploring the city and was pleasantly surprised. There I found peacocks hanging out around a beautiful pond filled with koi fish. The peacocks are pretty friendly too, the one above was 2 feet away from me. Definitely a personal favorite so far.
The food adventure continues with: three types of baklava (picked from 20 different kinds!!!), a cheese wheel that gets melted and scraped onto potatos, giant meringues, spiced lamb turkish pizza (looks simple, tastes delicious), shaved ice with matcha powder, red beans, and condensed milk, and a whole roasted pig. Yum!
Ending this post on an exciting note: I'm going to Paris this weekend! So stay tuned for an upcoming blog post about that!
Kevin V Au
<p>I was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. I am currently a Junior at the University of Rochester majoring in Psychology and planning to become a Physical Therapist. I love food, obstacle course racing, martial arts, drawing, and getting into philosophical discussions with my friends. I will be studying Health Practice and Policy in London and I'm excited to share my experience abroad!</p>
