Settling In

Settling into Oxford has been quite an experience. I think the effects of Jet lag have been quite subtle for me. I find it difficult to wake up early due to the fact that I feel like I am still supposed to be asleep and my bed looks much better than the rather cold air about me. As a result, I loose a lot of my mornings. I also am not as capable of carefully measuring out the hours and the days go by quicker than I expected. Similarly it is quite easy for me to stay up until 1am like your normal college student. So on a whole, my sleeping habits have been characteristic of everyone else at college and I don't seem all that abnormal at all.

The first few days of being in town have been mostly exploring and buying things that I need for the flat. The city of Oxford has more shops than your typical american shopping mall. Oxford is quite economical with its space and most of the buildings and pubs remind me of the Tardis from Doctor Who. They are quite bigger on the inside than they look from the outside. When you think a pub or a shop doesn't have much space, it is likely in reality a labyrinth of rooms and seating utilizing at least two floors of space.

Food at Regent's is provided for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday but the process is a bit more convoluted. By 2pm the day before, you need to go on-line and book the meals for the next day, specifying whether you are vegetarian or have some kind of allergy. For meals on Monday, you must book before 2pm on Friday. The dining hall is at the far end of the quad (pictured below) and is a quite beautiful and the hall has a number of paintings depicting current and former presidents and other members of title in the college. Meals are served to you, unless you choose to eat the self serve salad bar. Dinner includes an appetizer, main course, and dessert. The waiters and waitresses are nice and I try to thank them for their work at every meal. There is only one option at each meal which makes it most different from the meals at college in America which feature a buffet style. Almost all the food has been quite good and there is always plenty of food to go around. Also, it is customary to stand behind your chair until someone has said grace at the beginning of each meal.

We have had one formal meal at Oxford which requires students to wear a commoner's gown which is most like a black vest with a collar with long strips of cloth that fall down the arms. This is generally worn over business attire/nice clothing. Wine is served with formal dinner and the food is also marginally better. Coffee and Tea are also served after.

Continuing with that line of thought, I have finally gotten the chance to explore the grocery a little more. The idea of convenient food is a fairly new idea in England. Frozen meals that are easy to heat and preprepared packaging are few and far between and often not very good. You are better off cooking when you can, and the grocery is well stocked with all kinds of fresh produce, meats and cheeses. I have settled with peanut butter and bread and pasta, at least to start with.

To finish my discussion of settling in, I will talk a bit about the beauty and architecture of Oxford. I am going to include some images from a walk I took with my fellow study abroad student, Ben. We went to one of the more beautiful parks at Christ Church Cathedral and I got the chance to take a few pictures. When walking down the streets of Oxford, each moment is one for a picture. Moss and nature intermingle with stone buildings mostly inspired by Gothic architecture. In the streets you wont see any animal life except pigeons but go a mere five feet behind the building lined streets and you can find cows and swans and all sorts of creatures.

The week before classes is called Fresher's week and I will be giving a full report of this week some time this weekend. There is a lot to say and I feel like it deserves its own post.