Laugh, Learn, Live

This post is dedicated to things I like here, things I've learned here, and things about here that make me laugh. It may be the first of many, seeing as it's only week 3. :)

• "Cheers!" is some kind of go-to British word. It's lovely.
• I take my tea with a spoonful of sugar and a bit of milk. PG Tips really is the best.
• The Brits don't understand coffee.
• Most people here seem to go through the same stages of paper-writing as I do. These stages include: procrastination in all its forms, snacking incessantly, general late-night wackiness.
• We can go on field trips to palaces, London, ancient ruins, and the seaside....and all of these take about the same amount of time to get to....and include so very many photo-ops.
• Writing about Trafalgar might be more difficult, but the books are really easy to get to before [everyone else].
• In church, we learn about the wr-oh-th of G-oh-d. And it's S-oh-m, not Sam.
• When in doubt, always say trousers.
• Cracking the windows might keep out the mold, but it lets in the cold. And bugs.
• There don't seem to be storms in England, but there is soooooo much rain. So much.
• If I wear grey and brown, it only means I look more local...no one asks me if I'm okay. :P
• C.S. Lewis is a big deal here, too.

That's all for now! Mostly because it's 1am and I might ought to go to bed before tomorrow's field trip. Cheers! :)

Maybe I Don't Try So Very Hard

:) Well, the reason I haven't updated is because I've been having such a great time here in Oxford! Also there was a paper. First one of the term, and kind of a doozy. But it's finished, and the next ones aren't due for another two weeks. Today was a day for celebration: I hung out with some friends at the Eagle and Child, then we came back and cooked a (late) delicious pasta dinner and also yummy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. My friend Sarah (not the JBU one!) makes the most wonderful tea ever, and she's so sweet to make it for us practically every night. Right now a small group is watching movies in our common room, which has incredibly comfortable couches. Fargo first, now Cool Runnings. It's been quite a marvellous first-paper celebration, and we imagine it will also be a great weekend :)  -Hayley

I try :)

Wow. I'm pretty awful at this blogging thing, huh? In all fairness, I knew I would be. :) Been kind of a crazy weekend, spent all day Saturday in London(!) doing wonderful and fun things with friends. Spent Sunday wishing I could work on my paper, but accomplished nothing. I did, however, get to Skype (well, FaceTime and GoogleChat) with Karson and with my parents, so it wasn't such a waste of a day. ;) Everyone here at the house has been pretty intense on this paper we've got due on Thursday night, and for good reason--it's a doozy! Or so we're learning. After spending all afternoon in the library, most of us now "have an idea" where we're "going with it" or something along those lines. A few enterprising students are way ahead, but we're pretty sure they don't sleep. :P Had fun tonight taking a study break to hit the store and then make cookies with the girls--just like back home. :) Still missing everyone, some times more than others, but it's hard to be too sad in Oxford, because it's just so beautiful and marvellous, even with wind and rain (of which we had a taste today).  -Hayley

My Week So Far

So on Monday we did make it to The Eagle and Child, and it was so very nice. The fish and chips were  (was?) good, and we had a lot of fun hanging out. Prior to that was our first day of orientation, which really wasn't so bad. :P We got to meet a lot of the staff and such, and hear more about what this first month is going to look like. It was so funny to have everyone in the living room tonight looking through possible essay topics and not being able to decide on one. :P Also, today was the first bike ride for me, and was quite successful! Got a bit tired on the way back, and it was a little drizzly, but it was fun, pretty easy, and so much faster than walking! Still don't think I'd be comfortable on any main roads, but the paths and back roads are really nice :)

There was so much else going on this week.....well, I wrote the above paragraph and then didn't post it immediately due to an imminent skype date. ;) But most of all that's gone on this week (so, Tuesday and Wednesday) was just orientation/academic stuff, so not incredibly exciting anyway. :)

Today--Thursday--we went on our first field trip! This one I think was the one everybody knew about/was looking forward to; we went to Stonehenge, Old Sarum (Iron Age castle-fort), and Salisbury (to see the cathedral there, mainly). It was a little chilly in the morning, but we made the best of it as only college students can: being silly. Some of the guys took it upon themselves to start creating "Humanhenge" (I think that's what they called it), and the rest of the group quickly joined, at least in the photo taking. :P It was a longggggg day, but totally worth it for all the history and fun. :D -Hayley

Weekend Update!

Right then. It's Sunday night, today's been quite nice! Headed out to Wycliffe Hall (the "main campus" of the program, if you will) for afternoon tea, and hung out there for a bit before moving on to Christ Church for evensong. We had some nice leisurely (and beautiful!) walking around time before and after, including a stop at The Eagle and Child (famous for C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and the Inklings) and a tasty pizza place. We hopped a bus back pretty early in the night (like 9!) because we were afraid it might rain, which of course it didn't. At any rate, it's been a pretty nice and quiet day, culminating in some house-bonding over board games and Pride & Prejudice. :) I do wish I had a bit more to update on, but as orientation and such starts tomorrow, I imagine more will come. Still love and miss you all!  -Hayley

Made It!

Considering it's 1:30am here, perhaps I ought to keep this post short and sweet. :)

It's been kind of an overwhelming week, which you may have seen if you're keeping up on facebook. I arrived in London Tuesday morning with Ginger and Sarah, and we hit the ground running (although a nap may have found its way in that afternoon). After a lovely (and busy!) few days in London, we hopped on a bus to Oxford Friday morning, and--after maybe just a few missteps--arrived safely at our new home, The Vines.

Friday evening was spent meeting the other thirty-odd residents here at our ginormous house, eating pizza, and sleeping. Saturday, most of us slept in (as this will likely be our last chance for a while) and enjoyed some "BBQ" while we got our bikes assigned. Many of the girls chose a lovely red bike...myself included. We've opted to go into town for ribbons at some point, as we'll need some way to distinguish them. :)

We also made it briefly into Oxford City Centre, where all the shopping and such takes place. Popped into a department store for towels, then hoofed it back home (it's a nice 30-45 minute walk, depending on how far into town you need to go). Met up with some fellow students back at The Vines after that, then walked the opposite direction out into Headington (some sort of suburb, I've gathered) for dinner at a chain-style pub (so less local, but still quite good).

Tonight was mostly spent trying to find somewhere I could stream the Hogs game (finally successful for the last minute or so of the first half!) and chilling with the roomies--both of whom are quite nice. Haven't had much chance to film things or take photos, but that will come. Tomorrow being Sunday, we've got just a bit more time to relax before we have "orientation" on Monday and jump into schooly things.

And so I retire, with my first blog post done and the knowledge of a looming Razorback victory. I miss everyone back home quite a bit, and I wish you could all be here with me :)