I'm leaving on a Jet Plane...

  

I don't know when I'll be back again (read in the tone of John Denver's hit song). But seriously, I don't know when I'm coming home. I only bought a one-way ticket!

Anyway, my British Airway flight left BWI at 9:30pm. No window seat, which was kind of a let down, but I had complementary red wine with my meal as I watched a bit of Monster's University... it seemed appropriate as I was on my way to Uni! Can't say I enjoyed the red wine though. It's an acquired taste that I have yet to acquire... I couldn't even finish the whole bottle, and it was a small bottle!

SO, exactly 7 hours later, the plane landed at Heathrow Airport at 9:30 am. It was a pretty 'dank day in London' according to the pilot, and I can't say I disagree. While waiting in line for the bus to Oxford, I had a lovely conversation with a woman who had just finished 5 years at Oxford with a PHD. Within 10 minutes on the road, I had my first sheep siting, but it definitely wasn't the last! After I got off the bus, it took me a while to find the taxi rank even though they were all lined up right in front of me! I guess I was looking for a yellow car, not a black one! The inside of these cabs are pretty cool! There is a lot of floor space, so you keep your luggage with you as opposed to putting it in a trunk (or a boot, as the English call it... I know that thanks to Isabel!).

Anyway, the cab driver took me to Mansfield's porter who was incredibly sweet. I got my keys and then headed to Dawson street (which the taxi driver had never heard of before). He found the street and dropped me off. I knew I was looking for a creepy alley because I had seen pictures of it from blogs I've read from other students who had studied at Oxford and lived in Ablethorpe (my building, lovingly referred to as Dale). Had I not done this research, I never would have found it. The ominous alley leads to an ominous gate with the Mansfield crest on it. Home sweet home!

Ominous Alley

Ominous Gate

I'm on the 3rd floor... seemed appropriate. At Dickinson I've always been on the 3rd floor or higher. Only this time, my dad wasn't here to carry my bags up the steps! And for those of you who were wondering, how I, Amy Fly, the person who took 2 cars to move all her stuff into Dickinson last year, was able to bring a years worth of things in such little luggage, I DID IT! Despite my mother continuing to push me to pay $65 extra to bring another suitcase, I was able to fit everything I needed (and wanted) in these bags! Still not happy to carry them up three flights, though :(

My room isn't all that great. The walls are paper thin, and there's very little lighting and closet space (thank God I didn't bring that extra suitcase! I wouldn't have room for anything else!). One of my first purchases was a desk light. During the day, you can't even tell the ceiling light is on, and at night, the light barely does anything.

My window is my favorite part

Terrible picture, but this is the view from my window. There is this little courtyard area in the middle of the building. Essentially, anytime anyone comes or goes, I can creep out my window and see :)

Cute little sink and the ceiling light that is the bane of my existence... 

No dresser... just this! But it works! 

Random chair next to my desk...

BUT, I don't mind. I don't plan on spending much of the next year locked up in my room. The room also came with sheets, a pillow, and a strange comforter that looks like the thing you put under the sheets to make the mattress softer. It was surprisingly comfortable! 

So cute!

Not the color I would have chosen, but beggars can't be choosers!

So, as tempted as I was to go to sleep when I got to my room because I'd been up for over 24 hours, I decided to explore! I was actually on a mission to get my passport scanned and get my ID card at Mansfield. I thought I'd be able to find it from memory based on the taxi drive. But I have very bad spacial memory and I am directionally challenged, so the first turn I made off of Dawson Street was the wrong one. After asking a bunch of people for directions, I finally found it just in time before it closed for the evening! The walk should have taken me roughly 15 minutes... It took me about 2 hours! Once I found the land mark Magdalen bridge, I was okay. I had looked at the route on google earth over the summer so often that it all started to click!

I got my ID card, although I was disappointed because they used my passport picture, which is absolutely dreadful... so I won't be posting that pic!

I saw the 'hideous and out of place' statue in the middle of the quad that got mixed reviews after it's recent appearance. It's so strange seeing this stuff in person after an entire summer researching it all!

 I was going to explore the inside of the college, but I wasn't quite sure what was open now and when I walked up to one of the doors (picture a giant wooden door of a castle, it's actually the door in the picture above!) it literally opened by itself which was a little creepy. So I decided to explore other parts of the city and wait until I had company to mosey around the inside of buildings!

At that point, I still hadn't emailed my mom yet to let her know I was alive (no phone and no internet in my room), so I started looking for computers. I happened to stumble upon the Radcliffe Camera, one of Oxford's University Libraries. 

Beautiful Building (ignore the construction)

Inside... There is a spiral staircase in the middle of the building. Fitting considering the structure of the building.

Luckily I had my Uni card, because they don't let you in without one... they also check your bag before you leave.  I was very surprised by the computers in there! They are so outdated and don't even have Microsoft word. The only thing they have is the internet. That's it! Plus the keyboard is a bit different, namely there is the symbol for the pound (£) where the @ is on our computers.

So that was my first day, mostly exploring the streets as opposed to inside buildings. I thought I had gotten rather far and seen a lot, but based on my exploration the second day, I just got lost many many times in a little tiny circle! I saw so much and even saw (and pet) Mansfield's famous cat, Erasmus, outside the University Club! The very first day, and I found the cat already! That must be a good sign!

Sorry for the lengthiness of this post, but a lot happened in one day! More to come! Stay tuned! 

Oh, and Stephanie made me promise to say hi to her in my posts... So, Hi Steph :)