Traveling and Arrival

After Ryan got out of choir, we headed to the airport where we immediately found Patrick, Carl, Hannah, Mariah, and their accompanying goodbye parties. I'm glad that I said goodbye and headed through security before Hannah started crying, because I'm sure I would have been a mess of tears as well. Even though it's been difficult to say goodbye to everyone, especially my family and Ryan, it's been easier knowing that I'll be home to see everyone at Christmas time. Also, I'm so excited and still amazed that I really get the opportunity to study at one of the top universities in the world. 

 

Carl, Patrick, Mariah, and I were all on the same flights. First to Toronto, then to London. Our layover in Toronto was quite short, only an hour and a half, which was nerve-wracking at first, but we made it to the gate in plenty of time. On the two-hour flight to Toronto, coincidentally, Patrick and I were seated next to each other! I read Anglo Files by Sarah Lyall, a hilarious book that Hannah shared with me. It's written by a New York Times reported who has been living in England and writes down her witty and descriptive observations about British people. Patrick read his Rick Steves' Guide to England, a wonderful going-away present from the Oxbridge Committee. 

In the Rick Steves' Guide, we learned the differences between the terms "Great Britain," "Britain," "England," and "United Kingdom," which, it turns out, neither of us knew correctly before. I've made the picture extra-large so that everyone else can learn to!

On the seven hour flight to London, I sat next to a middle-aged man who seemed nice and completely uninterested in chatting with me. In my opinion, there's no better combination of characteristics for a stranger who is sitting next to me on an outrageously long flight to possess. I watched three episodes of the t.v. show How I Met Your Mother, mainly because it reminded me of Ryan and Josiah (Happy 21st birthday to Josiah, by the way!) Then I tried to watch the Orson Wells'  version of Macbeth, but could only make it about half-way through. In total, I probably slept about 45 minutes on the 7 hours flight. When we arrived in the airport in London it was 8:35am local time, but only 2:30am Missouri time. We made the heroic venture to central bus station in the airport, and, unfortunately for everyone else, they did not listen to me when I suggested that they also take advantage of the free luggage trolleys. I had a much less strenuous time getting my bajillion pounds of luggage through the winding passages of the airport than everyone else. The picture below only partially demonstrates the amount of luggage we were dealing with. 

From the bus station in London, we took a 90-minute bus ride to get to Oxford. The weather since we've been in England has been uncharacteristically warm and sunny. It's been absolutely beautiful!

Patrick: the ultimate navigator

It was around 10:30am when we arrived at the bus station in Oxford. We were met by current Oxford students who helped us figure out where to go. Carl and I took a taxi to Mansfield, where we collected our welcome packets, and then the taxi took us to our dorm, which is about a 15-minute walk from the Mansfield grounds. However, as soon as we arrived at the dorm, we realized that the young man who had been working the desk at the Mansfield Porter's Lounge had neglected to give us keys to our dorm-rooms. We were stranded outside our dorm with no idea how to get back to the college. Fortunately, another visiting student, named Jack, saw us in our confused, jet-lagged state and walked us back to the college, where we successfully retrieved our keys, and then made our way back to our rooms. After unloading our baggage, we ate dinner at a Mediterranean diner near our accommodation. I was absolutely exhausted, and fell into a deep sleep at 3:20pm.... I woke up, wide awake, at midnight, and unpacked all of my things, which took about an hour. I fell back asleep around 2:00am, and woke up at 9:00am. I haven't slept all the way through a single night yet, but I think the time adjustment is getting easier.