Matriculate

One of the distinct and unique traditions of Cambridge University life is the matriculation ceremony. This means that every fresher, during their first week in College, formally swears to uphold the traditions and regulations of the University and College, and then signs a register as a record of this oath. And being Cambridge, this of course requires dressing up and wearing academic gowns. As a new student of Downing College, I was a part of this ceremony, even though I will only be here for a year and will not be receiving a degree from Cambridge. We all gathered in our robes right after lunch for a group picture (made slightly more difficult by an intermittent drizzle and a gusty west wind) and then one at a time throughout the afternoon read out our promise to the Master and the Praelector of Downing college. The more important part, of course, was dinner afterwards.
We wore our robes, and sat at candle-lit tables in the dining hall:

Clara at dinner in the hall

This is a really bad picture, but it shows the fancy and bewildering table settings:

table setting and friends

The meal was three courses, so there were two sets of forks and knives (salad and entrée) next to the space for the plate. Also a bread plate and knife; cup, saucer and spoon for coffee; fork and spoon for dessert; and glasses for water, white wine, red wine and dessert wine. Yes, that’s right. Wine served at a student dinner. Since the drinking age in England is 18, a drink with dinner, or wine at a department reception, is perfectly ordinary. In fact, students are only admitted to Cambridge if they will be 18 when they arrive, since being of legal age is taken for granted in so many parts of College and University life.
The candlelight is another notable feature of formal hall. Once everyone had arrived and Grace was said, the room lights were lowered so that the candles were the primary source of illumination. Formal hall and chapel are also the only places were candles are allowed, since these buildings are old and wooden and fire is undesirable.
As a new member at Downing, while not really a first-year academically, I was assigned to a College family. Like the fraternity/sorority system of siblings, College families are a network of mentoring and friendship, and provide first-years with a source of wisdom, College advice, and unconditional love. Thus I have a new mother (a second-year in English) and a new father (a second-year in engineering), along with a sister and brother, first-years in English and Engineering. Perhaps academic fields are a heritable trait, or vice versa.
In our department-based dinner seating plan, I was surrounded by engineers (yay!) and seated next to my College brother:

Can’t you see the resemblance?