Hello, mates!
So after a 10 hour trans-Atlantic flight, a 60 minute bus ride through the English countryside, and a short cab ride later, I have finally arrived in Oxford, England, my home for the next four months! My friends and I-- I'll call them L and K-- arrived at our new residence at about 10AM English time, which is 5AM EST so you can imagine how sleepy we were, as the jet lag set in instantly.
After lugging in the 9 pieces of luggage between us, our first order of business was to check out our room and the rest of this fabulous English manor. Built around 1860, this house boasts three stories, approximately 20 bedrooms, a number of bathrooms, two kitchens, libraries, and a cute little patio complete with a plush, manicured lawn. L, K, and I are sharing a large room on the ground floor which has its own bathroom and a back door which opens to that cute little patio. (Aka the best room in the house-- lucky!).
Once we were done taking in our surroundings, we were famished so we decided to walk to the city square to grab a bite to eat. Along the way, about a mile-long walk, we were passed by a considerable amount of bicyclists. Not even in NYC have I ever seen that many people riding bikes as a mode of transportation! When we finally arrived in city center we, unfortunately, realized that most restaurants do not open until about 11:30AM for lunch. As hungry as we were, there was no way that we could have waited that long for food so we decided to grab food from a locally founded sandwich shop and cafe called "Pret A Manger." (New Yorkers, sound familiar?). On my many trips to NYC, I'd always seen this place but never had a desire to test it out. Founded by two English university students, Pret specializes in gourmet sandwiches to go with its distinguishing factor being that the sandwich are made fresh in store every few hours.
Making the mile-long trek back after lunched, the three of us literally crashed once we got back home and have slept pretty much the entire day. (The only reason I'm up now is because my body has reached nap capacity for the day). We did manage to take a break from sleep to attend an orientation to learn more about rules, regulations, and places to shop in Oxford. Because we were beat, we decided to call for delivery and opted for Indian takeout. Although the food was good, it was very pricey-- £30 for dinner for three (about $49 USD)-- so we definitely plan on cooking dinner for the remainder of the semester to save money.
Tomorrow, we will visit Stonehenge and Avebury, two famous, ancient stone formations in England. I am super excited to see a piece of history that I read about as a child in person! I will be sure to update you all with pictures of it all as soon as I can!
Until then, cheerio, mates!
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