Arrival at Oxford

July 17, 2005
We woke up around 9:30 and Amber & I went downstairs for the continental breakfast. They had pastries, toast, cereal, fruit, apple & orange juice. I had a croissant and some cereal and a banana. It was really good. The bread here seems so much fresher than in the states. Dustin came down a little while later, and then Kelsey came down. We ate and went upstairs to pack.

We checked out of our hotel and got on the subway to head towards the train station. We purchased train tickets to Oxford and waited for our train. Kelsey and Amber read Harry Potter (because they had purchased it the night before and they’re OBSESSED!). When the train came, we got on and ran into two guys who had been backpacking and were now going to the Nebraska at Oxford program with us. They sat in the coach behind ours. I wrote in my journal for most of the way to Oxford.

We arrived at Oxford and lugged our bags and souvenirs to Mansfield College. When we finally arrived, I met my roommate Loui who was originally from Hong Kong. My other roommate hadn’t arrived yet. I set my stuff down and walked across the hall to say hi to Brittany (who was in my Early Christianity class during ht first three week session this summer). We talked for a few minutes. Then I went back to my room to lie down. I was really hot and felt gross, so I decided to take a shower. I showered and changed into my sundress, then climbed into bed to take a nap. I napped for about an hour, and then went to orientation.

At orientation, Dr. Holmes introduced himself as the director of the program as well as Lizzie who was in charge of the extra-curricular activities. Then, all the other girls working at the program introduced themselves.

They explained the schedule and the rules of the program. Then, we went to dinner. We sat in a large dining hall with many long tables. We had several courses including an appetizer salad, bread, the main course (lamb) and chocolate cake.

When we went back to our dorms after dinner, I went up to Kelsey and Amber’s dorm and we talked about which activities we wanted to sign up for. We were about to leave when Kelsey realized her paper cash was missing (about £70); we looked all over the room for it and then Amber checked her purse. Her money was gone too. I went to my room to check my wallet and found my money was missing as well. We went downstairs to report the theft and found that a bunch of other girls were already down in the office. In total, over £1,000 had been stolen from 11 different people. All the doors were locked, so the thief had to have a key. Dr. Holmes called the bursar and the local police. Apparently the security cameras had been turned off during the time of the theft. Homes was pissed and he promised all of us that we would get our money back.

Amber, Kelsey and I went downstairs to the pub in the college and had a drink. Then, we headed back to our dorms to get ready for bed. I called Ryan’s cell phone to make sure he, Siobhan and Markus had made it back safely. Then, I unpacked my things and got my laundry together. My other roommate, Megan, had arrived by then and we talked for a while before I turned on my iPod to try to go to sleep.

I tossed and turned a lot. I’m not sure if I was nervous or hat, but I wasn’t able to get to sleep. Then, everyone came back from the bars in the middle of the night and woke me up with their loud talking and slamming the doors. (Grr!)

July 18, 2005
Breakfast was at 8am. I woke up at 7:30 and got there early. They had fruit, muffins, cereal, toast, milk, orange juice and a traditional English breakfast available. Breakfast included a large sausage, beans, eggs, Canadian bacon and hash browns. I just had hash browns.

We had our first lectures. I don’t think the classes should be too hard. After class, I went upstairs to the computer lab and updated my web log. I had just finished checking my e-mails and sent a couple when Lizzie came to get me so the police could interview me. It was actually rather strange because I followed her upstairs and saw the two police officers. She got their coffee orders and brought both of them coffee. I don’t think that happens in the U.S. usually. They needed to see my room, so one of them talked to another one of the girls while the other followed me to my room. He sat at the desk and took my statement. I had to sign a bunch of paperwork and then he let me go. I went back upstairs to the computer lab and typed several days of journal entries and posted them in my blog.

I went to dinner and after dinner a group of the students went to see Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” It was REALLY strange but funny. There was only one female in the entire cast and the other three women’s parts were played by men. The play was adapted and also included some singing of popular songs. The basic plot of the story was what two women who were wives of wealthy men received the exact same love letter. Then, after realizing it, they played a trick on the man who sent it which also turned into a trick on their husbands, one of whom was a very jealous man. During this entire time, the other family has to deal with suitors asking to marry their daughter. In the end, both the wives and the husbands work together to get back at the man who sent the love letters (because all he really wanted was their money) and the daughter tricks everyone and runs away with the man she loves (who is poor). The play was outside and my feet ended up very cold by the end of the night. I did, however, have a very good time.

When I got back to Mansfield, I went to bed, but I had a bit of trouble getting to sleep. I did sleep well after I finally got to sleep though.