Sophie Ibbotson
Sixth Form College,
Hampshire
Second-year student,
reading
Oriental Studies (Hindi)
I chose Oriental Studies
because of the huge variety in the courses. At school I couldn't
choose whether to carry on with history, literature or a language
and so, when I discovered the possibility of doing all three (and
more) in the Oriental Faculty it was fantastic. I chose Hindi as
my language and so I, along with the four other Hindi students and
the university's sole Sanskrit undergraduate, am studying in the
South Asia department. The literature, history and culture courses
you take are all related to the region of the language you are studying
and the very small number of students ensures that the course can
be fairly flexible and cater to people's interests. All the courses
in the faculty are for beginners, so having a prior knowledge of
your language, although helpful, isn't a pre-requisite for getting
on the course. I only studied French at A-level and German to GCSE,
neither of which has been much use for learning Hindi, and so although
it feels like you're being thrown in the deep end, pretty much everyone
is in the same position.
Every department within
the faculty offers at least one language, from Akkadian (no I hadn't
heard of it before either) and Arabic through to Japanese, Persian
and Urdu. There are compulsory language units, but after the preliminary
year you can choose additional options in line with your interests;
next year I intend to take Indian cultural history, Society, Politics
and Media in South Asia and the pan-Asian film course that is offered
throughout the faculty. Most (although not all) of the courses include
a period of study abroad and this is surely an unrivalled opportunity
to improve your language skills.
If you have any doubts
about which college to apply to, Clare is the place to be. Old Court
is stunningly beautiful and Memorial Court offers some of the best
first-year accommodation in the university. The college lives up
to its reputation for being a really friendly place and it's in
a good position for the Sidgwick site and the centre of town. Clare
bops are famous throughout Cambridge and the bar in the cellars
is both cheap and full of character. I can't think of anywhere I'd
rather be living.
The best thing about Clare,
and the university as a whole, is the huge range of extra-curricular
activities available. I play netball for the college team and am
on the May Ball design committee: Clare has one of the best balls
in Cambridge . I play baritone sax in the university-wide Zephyr
Ensemble, Selwyn Jazz band and CUJO, as well as helping to lead
the newly-formed Gatehouse Jazz at Clare. These offer a great opportunity
to take a break from academic work and also the chance to meet people
from other colleges. This is important for me as the Oriental Faculty,
and the South Asia department in particular, is very small and although
my course mates are great, it can sometimes feel a little isolated
from people who actually have ‘real' lectures as opposed to sitting
around a table, chatting and drinking tea. Clare and Oriental Studies
suit me down to the ground and, given my way, I have no intention
of ever leaving unless chased out by a mob with large sticks.
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