Biology Formal: The Saddest Formal :(

The departure date is getting nearer and nearer and It's making me very sad. In fact since two of my MCM friends have offered their houses to stay for as long as I want I may extend my stay and just not get on the flight home that I've already paid for...but I think it would be worth it.

It's too soon to say goodbye just yet.

But that isn't what I want to focus on right now. This entry is about the Biology Formal we had last night. This dinner is a Formal thrown by Martin (The head Biology Tutor at St. Anne's) where all the Bio students in college, from freshers up to finalists, and other tutors get together to have a lovely three course meal which is served to you.

Plus you get to dress up!!!

I did not manage to take pictures of the food this time around, but the presentation is always spot on. I wasn't expecting it to be as emotional as it was but when Martin pulled out his speech I was about to cry. He had something brilliant to say about everyone, including Reem and I.

I can't remember if I've ever spoken about Martin on this blog before but he is a character, one of a kind, there is no one else like him in the entirety of Oxford or the world for that matter. He's a free spirit with a huge heart and I'm going to miss him dearly.

Halfway through his speech, however, he was interrupted by another Biologist who he addressed in his speech as his "Designated drinking buddy, it says so in her contract." She had a few words to say about Martin herself, and in the end pulled out a folder with six new species she had discovered during her research. Her gift to him for being so remarkable was that she was going to let him pick one of the species and name it after him.

It was one of the most amazing things I've ever gotten to witness.

Right after, the finalists presented their gifts to Martin as well. They gave him a nice card, a book with the title "Save Water and Drink Wine', a nice bottle of port, and finally a water colour painting one of the finalists had done of an aphid. It's really only funny if you know Martin personally, he's obsessed with aphids.

After the gifting was over he went on with his speech until finally he came to Reem and I. I nearly cried. All of what he said, he had told Reem and I personally during one of our get together in his office. But never had he said anything in front of anyone else.

A few years back Martin had issues with a Biology visiting student and it did not end well. Not that it was a personal conflict with them but it was that they were very hard to get along/compromise with in the area of what she wanted out of the program/what her school wanted. And apparently, it was bad enough for him to never want to take on any more visiting students again. However, this year, Alex Binns somehow convinced him to try again and here Reem and I are. In his speech he raved about how happy he was to have made this decision, and that we were wonderful, fun to be around, intelligent, and all around amazing students. He also kept making sure we were staying a bit after our time here ended because he did not want to say goodbye just yet. Along with this he kept pestering us to make sure we felt as though we were part of the family. Because to Martin, the biologists of St. Anne's are just one big family, and because we are visiting students and very new to Oxford with such a short time to spend here, he wanted to ensure that we REALLY did feel as though we belonged.

Our answer was a very enthusiastic "OF COURSE WE FEEL LIKE PART OF THE FAMILY MARTIN!!!" And quite honestly this is no lie.

Once everyone had finished eating we returned to the MCR (which is a really nice room for graduate students to go when they want to do work or to relax, but Martin worked his magic and always holds his gatherings in there.)

I got to get a closer look at the new species, and discuss how she'd discovered them and what she was thinking about naming them, it was amazing!!! I never dreamed I'd ever get to see new species, much less speak to the person who'd discovered them! It's a Biologists dream to be quite honest.

Also, as I stated, Martin is all about having a good time --- and since this was a celebration...well that meant the famous 'cabinet' had to be opened....and so it was....

The Cabinet!

Reem, Millie, Allison and I having a good time and taking some selfies!

Needless to say it was a really fun and amazing night. From that point on it was all drinking and socializing and having the time of our lives!