I'm Here!

After an unbearably long airplane ride, a less than soothing bus ride, and a four block journey on foot while dragging my two large suitcases over side walks that changed to cobblestone without warning, I finally arrived at St. Michael's Hall where I will be living for the next few months.

We met Fiona Kilby, one of the people who will watch over us during our stay here, when we arrived. Mrs. Kilby is a blonde slender woman who has an unmistakably Britsh air about her. In addition to Fiona, Dr. Philpot will be primarily in charge of making sure that we are comfortable during our stay. I haven't met him yet, but Aimee and Kevin describe him as a large jolly man.

It was difficult to get used to the time change at first. We ate dinner and breakfast on the plane so I wasn't hungry, but my stomach was making some odd noises. Kevin, Aimee, and I arrived a day before the rest of the students because we wanted to make sure we were not delayed due to unpredictable Chicago weather. So the entire building was empty when we finally went to sleep for the night. Like most buildings that I have encountered in Oxford, St. Michael's Hall does not seem to have any logic behind its layout. There are several narrow halls decorated with pictures of past students that lead to staircases in the strangest places. The five story building seems to have so many different staircases and landings that I'm sure I still haven't seen all of them.

This morning the three of us were up at 8:00 am and very hungry for some breakfast. We decided to head to an open air market that we passed on our way to our hall the day before, but it was not open. In fact, most of the town was still dark. Finally we found a small deli style restaurant were we could fill our stomachs. We discovered that a "bap" is a sandwich after Aimee and Kevin ordered one expecting something else. I settled for a few pieces of fruit and a piece of chocolate chip shortbread that was similar to a scone.

We wandered around the city taking pictures and marveling at how old and beautiful the buldings are. Before heading back we stopped at a grocery store where I learned that "quib" is money and a "till" is a checkout counter. Hopefully the fruit and microwave noodles that I bought will last me for a while.

Shannon arrived shortly after we returned to St. Michaels along with the rest of the students who will be studying at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Orientation begins tonight at 5:00 pm. I'm very excited for the days to come. We will be taking tours of Oxford tomorrow and visiting the Tower of London on Sunday. Also, Kevin discovered that Daniel Dennett is going to be giving a lecture in London in March that we hope to attend.

The first day was a little rocky, but after getting somewhat settled I feel like I'm going to have a great time here.