I made it to Oxford! There weren't any major flight delays or problems, I caught the correct bus, I had the right addresses, and I made it to the house in plenty of time. I met my housemates (6 girls, 1 boy - sorry, Charlie) and I'm writing this blog post from my fourth floor room (we nicknamed this floor The Tower) while drinking earl grey tea. It's only been about 38 hours since I got to the city, but I've fallen in love with it already. We haven't started tutorials yet, but I'm glad, as I get to spend hours walking/bus riding and learning this amazing city. Yesterday, as I was walking to the city centre (downtown) with my new housemates, the craziest thought was that this beautiful city is my new home for four months.
As for what we've been up to (since no one has classes), we've been busy. So far, we've named the house, picked a rep, had orientation, rearranged budgets, established dinner, walked a TON, and had a house foot bath (to be fair, not everyone did that last one). What's important is that we are all figuring it out for ourselves, and yet we are all figuring it out together.
A couple cool things have happened so far, but one of the best surprises was how nice it was to be disconnected. For all of yesterday and most of today, our house had no WiFi and I didn't have a SIM card for my phone. Aside from the fact that my first meal in Oxford was in Starbucks (I needed the WiFi to tell my folks that my plane hadn't crashed), I loved not having the connection. It helped facilitate a house vibe and kept us all interested in making new friends and figuring out life. However, the instant we got WiFi, everyone in the house crowded around the router like the flock of white girls that we are.
Christchurch College
Sunrise over the Thames.
Before I left, I decided that this would be an adventure. Everything from day one landing to getting back off the plane at LAX would be a part of the Grand Adventure that is the rest of my life. So far, everything from lack of WiFi to "I need a warmer sweater" to slapshod Mexican food family dinner, it's been an adventure. I know that there are only more adventures to come. And maybe that's the point, not just of this trip, but of life. Life is meant to be a series of adventures, a grand journey of there and back again. If that is the point, I'll let you know. For now, I'm going to drink my tea and enjoy the first chapter of my Oxford Adventure.