Welcome to Oxford

Today marks Day One post-arrival to Oxford, and life is… Well, different. Very independent. Quiet. Pretty sweet, actually, seeing as my room is HUGE compared to my previous abode at Holy Cross (no offense HC, but you can’t beat having your very own sink – it really is a beautiful thing).

Oxford is by far the most upbeat, though classically beautiful, town I’ve visited since arriving in England. The city is busy, with people bustling among the streets and side walks throughout the day and late into the night. Before heading to bed last night, the sounds floating through the crack in my window might’ve convinced you I was in a toned-down New York City. Which was comforting, seeing as it’s what I’ve been used to growing up in the Twin Cities. And comfort, on a day like yesterday, was a good thing.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed my week spent with Sarah at our friends’ home in Bristol, as my train pulled away from the station early yesterday morning I was excited to unpack my suitcase for good and finally get settled into my new home. However, arriving at Oxford was a little more – shocking is the wrong word… Lonely, maybe? – than I expected it might be; as one of only two Holy Cross students already at Mansfield (and being the only person currently living in my section of the building), I was left to move in all by myself (something not so familiar to students in the United States, where moving into college is practically a mandatory family event in and of itself). I’m used to having people there – someone to help unpack your things, someone to say goodbye to. But this time, I would have to do it on my own. I turned up the tunes, threw open my jam-packed suitcase, and proceeded to fill in the empty cupboards, bookshelves, and closet of my single bedroom in Rhodes Wolfson. Twenty minutes later I was completely unpacked, sitting in my desk chair as I perused Facebook and the New York Times website. I had absolutely no idea what to do with myself… And then I kind of realised how much I loved it. Yes, I missed having people around, but I’m about to embark on an educational experience so utterly different from what I’m used to; rather than leaving my room at 7:30am and not returning until 9:00pm, sometimes even 10:00pm, like I usually do at Holy Cross, I’ve been given this amazing gift called free time. Not to say that I won’t be kept busy by my tutorials (I surely will, with up to twenty pages of writing a week), but I now have the time to do things I otherwise couldn’t if I were back home in the States: learn a new language, attend lectures, grab coffee with a friend (or a drink with a friend :p)… The possibilities are endless! So on that note, here’s to new beginnings in a new place with new people. Cheers!

HRH

_________________________________________________________________________

New Words of the Week

1. proper (adj.): something that is done satisfactorily or correctly, or that is just plain impressive, i.e. “That is a proper bit of engineering right there!” [our friend Jen’s father Phil, in reference to a bridge]

2. cheers: I had always thought this phrase simply applied to either (1) expressing good wishes before drinking or (2) bidding someone farewell, but I’ve learned during my first week in country that it can also be used informally as an equivalent to “thank you,” i.e.:

Fraser [Jen’s younger brother]: Hildie, can you pass the salt?

Me: Yeah, sure – here ya go.

Fraser: Cheers!

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 27th, 2015 at 1:14 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.