The Beginning

So.

I've been at Oxford for a total of four days. It has been a mixture of fabulous and frustrating. Let me explain.

My plane touched down as the sun rose over the snow-covered city of London. I gathered my bags, went through customs (there was no one there - strange), wandered around until I found the bus stop, and proceeded to wait outside in the bitter cold for almost 45 minutes while we waited for a bus that usually comes every twenty minutes or so. Seeing as this is the hardest winter they've had in 30 years, everything shut down and was running behind schedule. (Side note [and perhaps the only comment I will make in critique of this new country]: I thought it was rather hilarious that the country basically shut down due to 1 degree Celsius weather and 7 inches of snow. But that is perhaps since I am used to that kind of weather constantly in Connecticut. Anyway.). I caught a bus (with an extremely rude bus driver, I might add), waited around for a taxi, and made my way to the check-in office. This warm and friendly office cheered me considerably. I received my key, found out that I would not have to wait several days to receive ethernet access as they had recently installed Wi-fi in all of the flats, and was driven to my flat (a good 20 minute walk away from the office, and 30 minute walk away from my college).

The view from the plane.

Since the cleaning ladies had been snowed in, I was greeted by a disgustingly filthy, though rather adorable, flat. (We've had a series of misfortunes with this flat. We have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small sitting area, and a small kitchen. The shower in one of the bathrooms leaks, and I emerged from my five minute shower into an inch of water covering the floor. Not to mention the horrid smell left by the flat's previous tenants - boys, of course. Over the next few days, we lost heat, hot water, and electricity in our outlets - all of which have been restored. The shower still leaks, so we use the shower in the other bathroom. Unfortunately, the drain is quite clogged, so the innocent showerer is likely to find herself standing in several inches of water after two minutes of being in the shower. The problems will be fixed soon, I hope! We'll manage!). I began to settle in to my room, and met my first flatmate shortly after (Amanda - she's a sweetheart). The two of us, upon realizing that we had not eaten for several hours, proceeded to wander the slushy streets of Oxford, found the local grocery stores, priced cell phones, actually did not end up eating, and discovered that our pretreated suede boots were, in fact, not waterproof in the slightest. The town is adorable. Bustling streets lined by old buildings, with modern shops residing at street level (see the picture below!). Then, dinner and drinks with all of the OSAP (Oxford Study Abroad Programme) people, where we went to a local pub, ordered dinner, and I purchased my first legally alcoholic drink - Kopparberg cider with fruit. Delicious! The people are all wonderful - smart, driven, yet laid-back. I am so going to enjoy working with all of them over the next several months, although only one other person is in my college. I'll explain that in a later post.

Shops in the centre of town.

The next day we sat through several informational sessions, had lunch out, and proceeded to take a walking tour through Oxford. I'm pretty sure my feet almost froze, as the weather was below freezing and my boots and two pairs of heavy socks were completely soaked through. The scenery was lovely. I cannot wait to be inducted into my college. My flatmate and I (our other flatmates had not yet arrived) went to the grocery store, bought three days worth of groceries for 16 quid (about $30 - amazing!), and returned to our flat only to venture out again for a night of socializing at various pubs. I must say, I quite enjoy pub culture. People have one or maybe two drinks, sit, socialize, listen to music playing in the background, laugh, and enjoy themselves. Nothing like you'd find in an American bar, where the intent is usually to get as drunk as possible in as little time as possible and find someone to take home that night. There are a few nightclubs which bear a striking resemblance to American bars and clubs, but far more common are the leisurely pubs.

The next few days were spent socializing, reading, frantically cleaning my flat after being overwhelmed by its grotesque state, hurrying around the town attempting to find cheap, waterproof boots (which I did manage to find, though they have absolutely no traction - I have slipped and slid all down the streets, and only fallen once, something of which I am rather proud!) and to locate the least expensive cell phone provider. For anyone considering going abroad, Skype is definitely the cheapest way to make calls (though you cannot receive them!).

We've been rather stingy with our food money, and thus today at lunch was my first complete meal in several days (don't worry - I'm not being malnourished. Pasta, frozen pizza with vegetables, and crumpets with tea have been the staples of my diet thus far. That will change with the arrival of our fourth flatmate, delayed by weather, at which point we will be able to split the grocery bill four ways). We went to a pub (they have ridiculously cheap food!) around lunchtime for a traditional English breakfast. Unfortunately, they stopped serving it an hour earlier, so instead I had the delicious meal featured below. Yum!

Sunday roast dinner.

It isn't what I expected, though I didn't really have any idea what to expect. I am enjoying myself. The country is beautiful, I'm excited for my classes, and I'm excited to see what the next three months will bring. I'm rather amazed at how easily this "go with the flow" attitude has come to me. I suppose my control-freak tendencies are instead manifesting themselves in the spotlessly clean kitchen and bedroom, not that I mind. We'll see how much traveling I can accomplish, and how much I can learn. I can't wait.

(Note to self: in the next post, discuss the colleges, and the theory of learning and education Oxford has!)

More pictures to come!