Last Thursday on OUS course we visited the Pitt Rivers museum, located at the back of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. When I first entered the Pitt Rivers museum I immediately recognised it as different, it has its own unique atmosphere and an incredible amount of interesting artefacts. One particular thing that caught my eye were real shrunken heads! These are heads of the Shuar and Achuar tribes who live in the Upper Amazon, they killed their enemies to capture their souls and harness their power, a practice that ended in the 1960s. The heads were made by firstly skinning the flesh and removing the skull and brain, then “hot sand treatment” was carried out several times over a few months, meaning the skin was immersed in hot water and then hot sand poured inside. The facial features were shaped after each treatment and the eyes and mouth were sewn shut by cotton string and the skin darkened with vegetable dye to prevent the soul from seeking revenge on the killer.
From the inspirational OUS lectures, I have learnt both vital skills along with useful facts. I have enjoyed the diversity of topics, from how to be successful to food waste and science. My mind has been broadened and I have learnt valuable information to make use of in the future. I was stunned to discover that 15 millions tons of food is thrown away in the UK every year. Both the lecture and discussing the topic further in my seminar group have made me far more conscious of my own personal food waste and the importance of change. Furthermore I found the gender inequality and violence towards women and girls talk the most important lecture of all. To this day the number of rape cases, unfair treatment and lower pay for women is rampant around the globe, hence I believe educating children young adults is essential to necessitate change.
On the whole I have found the course an enlightening and positive experience. The syllabus has been interesting, the teachers excellent and all of my classmates friendly and easy to get along with. I have found that the main challenge this term has been the transformation from six form college to university. I feel more guidance and structure before starting the task, would have been helpful for all of the modules.
In many ways, the course has been different to what I expected. From the description of the course I thought that there would be more focus on essay structure, report writing and the foundations of the degree I plan to pursue (Business Management and Marketing). However I cannot fault the content of the course. From the study visits and Thursday, Friday lessons, I have learnt irreplaceable knowledge, to the extent that it changed my life in terms of food and better planning, hence producing less waste. The lecture, lessons and coursework on Human Rights have reinforced my belief in equality for all and also taught me about different rights and what they entail. I enjoyed writing an essay about article 26. It produced important feed back from my tutor regarding the Harvard System of referencing, which is already proving essential to university studies. 
The OUS course and lessons have produced challenges for me. I have learnt that I learn best through the Kolb method of diverging. This is were individuals learn more effectively by feeling and watching. I have applied this by paying close attention when lecturers and other students present, to establish what works best in communicating an idea to the audience. My presentation skills have grown tenfold, the improvement proved to be exceedingly helpful for my presentation on the British philosopher John Stuart Mills.
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