After my last post which described Mallorca, Munchen, Garmisch and my final days in Prague, I headed home to GA. It turned out to be a long trip... involving a very delayed flight from Prague to JFK, SPRINTING for my connection to ATL, making the connection and then not getting a seat, taking a shuttle to Laguardia and making a Swedish/American friend named Prudence, sleeping in the airport, not getting on a flight until the next afternoon and generally just being really tired and gross.
This summer was a bit of a challenge to adjust to being back in Madison at first, but more than that, struggles with Daisy's lameness and financial stress to pay for all of her diagnostic work and treatment along with paying for Oxford. I spent a lot of time the first few weeks gardening and house/pet sitting and then I started working for a financial planner in town, Erik. I haven't always had great experiences with bosses in the past (some pretty good but mostly really bad), and so it was a huge relief that Erik and I got along really well and he was a great boss, educator, and in some ways, friend. I really enjoyed my time there and I'm looking forward to helping out there more over breaks. I also got to ride some this summer, and judge 4 horse shows, which I loved. Once life slows down, I would love to get my actual judging license.
The high lights of the summer were seeing the people I love. I got to spend so much time with Mom and Dad. For those of you who don't know them, they are pretty much the greatest people ever and feel more like friends than parents. I had lunch with Mom almost every day and Dad and I hung out watching football every Saturday. I also got to see Pepops on a whirlwind trip to Idaho, New Grandma, Uncle Norris, Tracy, Noah, Zoe, Liza, Uncle Curtis, Aunt Carol, and Andie on a whirlwind trip to NC, and Daisy, Ashley, Patrick, and other friends while in Philadelphia. Thankfully, I even got to see Greg in August.
It seemed the whole summer like Oxford was a very distant pipe dream and then suddenly... it wasn't. Before I knew it, I was on the way to the airport to board a flight to London. After being judged (nicely) by the check in agent for the amount of luggage I had (2 suitcases around 48 lbs each, a very heavy backpack and a bulging duffle bag) I headed to my flight. I got business class, which was great, but the flight crew was not one of the friendlier bunches I've had. Upon landing, I went to customs and after a LONG wait, got to the front of the line. I handed over my passport (with my student visa), my student # for Oxford, and let them scan my fingerprints, and that is when the trouble began. When they scanned my fingerprints... nothing came up. Then, nothing came up when they scanned my visa. They couldn't find a record of it electronically. I was detained for about an hour while they sorted it out. I know an hour really isn't so long, but when you are exhausted and jet lagged and worried they might not let you into a country... it feels like a really long time.
Finally, they let me through. By this time, my baggage had been stowed as "unclaimed" so I had to hunt it down which took awhile. Then, I had to find the bus to terminal 5 and take it over so I could catch the bus to Oxford. I somehow managed to get all my bags on the bus, and then back off and find the ticket counter for the bus. Several buses came and went that were too full for any more luggage, but I finally got on one. I was planning to watch the trip from Heathrow to Oxford, but I promptly fell asleep. When we arrived to Oxford, I hailed a cab (the driver wouldnt load my bags... "too heavy" he said!) and took it to my college, St. Antony's. Here, I finally met someone helpful. The porter helped me get my bags to my house and showed me where my room was (though he did draw the line at doing more than getting my bags inside... I was left to carry them up 2 flights steep, winding stairs by myself!)
My room is very tiny, I posted pictures on facebook. That said, I don't mind small and cozy (besides, it's easier to heat and stays warmer.) However, I really dislike some other things about the house. Mostly, that there isn't a bathroom on my floor other than a toilet, with no sink, on the other side of the house. The other complaint is that there are 3 "kitchens"... but only two have stoves/ovens... so over 10 people share each of those and people are very territorial about kitchen space. These issues, plus my difficulty meeting people made for a very lonely first week. To be honest, I'm still quite lonely, though it's getting better.
Difficulty meeting people? You might be thinking I'm nuts... I'm on a college campus surrounded by other new students... meeting people should be easy. And in some capacity, it is. I've certainly met a hundred people easily... but as a pretty serious introvert, large, loud group settings just overwhelm me. I know I can't rush friendships... but I am so ready to have a group of friends rather than 200 acquaintances. I miss the constants in my life and change has never been really easy for me. I push myself to make big changes and travel and do interesting things because I always end up loving them and I know they will be worth it... but the first few weeks of adapting are always a bit hard.
My department, Geography and the Environment (Nature, Society and Environmental Policy) has thankfully helped a good bit with that. We had 5 days worth of induction, starting Friday over a week ago and running through Tuesday. I really like the other people in the program and we've already had a roof-top gathering, trekked through some beautiful English countryside, suffered through the driest fictional documentary I've ever imagined existed, and gotten drinks at the Eagle and Child (where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to "think and drink") and contemplated attending a university almost 1,000 years old. I'm also really enjoying the academic discussions already taking place surrounding commons, land ownership, land use, food scarcity, green growth, etc etc etc.
Thankfully over the past few days, I've been offered a new place to live (though the college has to approve it which could happen Tuesday... fingers crossed!) and I'll move into a 3 bed room, 1 bathroom apartment just across the quad with a German (Ali) and American (Adam) guy. I'd have more space to cook and a much bigger room and a bathroom across the hall (!) and I think I'll like it a good deal more. I've also borrowed a bike from a girl I horse showed with as a child (her fiance is here while she's back in the states). Her bike is stuck in a high gear which makes the one hill I have to go up very painful, but I am already enjoying cycling and it's so nice to get settled before having to buy my own, so I really appreciate her generosity and it's looking like I'll end up buying one of my own soonish. I've also started to meet people who are slowly feeling more like friends than acquaintances, though it's still slow going.
If I actually wrote about everything I've seen/done since I've been here, this would drag on for pages and pages more, but I'll just say that I've been incredibly busy with orientation, buying a cap/gown (which I have to wear for exams and special ceremonies as well as graduation), buying things for my room and getting settled, meeting people at socials, parties, themed parties, dinners, and lectures, departmental induction events (including multiple field trips), joining clubs, and getting lost (aka learning my way around and checking out gorgeous old buildings. The weather has been a mix of some sunny and lovely days, and days like today... barely 50 degrees and pouring rain.
Classes start tomorrow and I'm already behind on my reading so I suppose I should get back to that. Hope things are well for everyone back in the states or wherever you're reading this from.
No comments:
Post a Comment