Classes? What? - July 6th, 2009

First day of classes today - I am definitely not too excited. Why can't we study abroad without the studying? Oh well.

I don't have class until 9:50, so I woke up early this morning and decided to go for a jog/exploration journey. I stopped off to ask the porter (he's kind of like a doorman, I suppose, he works in the front office there is one always there 24 hours and they are really nice and know basically everything) for advice on where to go, and he suggested University Parks. He gave me directions, but of course I forgot everything he said as soon as I got out the door. I got a little lost, but I did manage to find the park. And it was beautiful. I will definitely be venturing back there in the mornings. Very relaxing as well.

We did have our first classes today - I'm taking British literature and Fine Arts of Oxford...they should both be pretty easy, even if a bit time-consuming. I like that we are focusing a lot on things in Oxford, so that when we read about something we can go out and see it. That's the coolest thing.

For lunch I had a baguette with ham and cheese in my room, since we were heading off for an epic walk shortly after lunch. Today was the Iffley walk, so we followed the Thames and the Iffley rivers to the village of Iffley, saw this really old, beautiful church, stopped at the pub, and headed back. Overall the walk was 5 miles, so it took most of the afternoon. It was absolutely beautiful though.

The weather here is ridiculous, btw. It can be sunny and hot and within 3 minutes it will be raining and you have to break out the umbrella. Of course, as soon as you get your umbrella out it stops raining. It's insane. You have to pack a jacket, an umbrella, and sunglasses at all times if you want to be prepared.

After our epic walk, I rested for a bit before dinner. Dinners in the hall are amazing. Everyone is seated and we are served a 3-course meal. Imagine that for campus dining. And the dining hall is beautiful, along with the rest of the college. I'll have to take pictures around campus soon and post them on my facebook.

After dinner we got dressed and did a bit of reading for our classes - I know, having to do actual work. Awful. We spent some time hanging out in the college bar for a little while, then headed out to a club called The Bridge to go dancing. We met some more new people, and it was a lot of fun. Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I'm not going out every night - promise. School comes first :)

I love Oxford.