Once we disembarked from the bus, we recieved our bags and were pushed in the direction of our school. Once inside the large wooden doors and wrought-iron gate, we were given a key-fob to unlock the automatic gate to allow us "student access" into the school. Inside, the school was absolutely amazing. The greenest grass I've ever seen, all mowed and pushed into patterns on the grass. Perfectly manicured hedges and flower gardens on every wall, and hundred year old trees in every courtyard. It literally was something I can't even imagine! Through several arch ways of limestone we passed until we arrived at the final large courtyard with a straight path leading to another magnificent gate to the outside of campus. We had arrived in Trinity College, and Stairway 12 room 4 was my assignment.
Once inside, I entered the code to my 19th century door and opened it to reveal a massive living area complete with a quaint fireplace, antique desks, a full set of furniture, and 2 little bedrooms with a very modern bathroom. It was something out of a book! All the modern amenities of home! I was so excited to see such a great living space, clean, full-service maid daily, and a meal plan... But how would that turn out. Food in England has NEVER been great in my experiences. So a large group of us gathered to try some local pubs for lunch. We finally found a little pub whose speciality was London Fish 'N Chips and ale, and it was DELICIOUS. We finished off the evening by purchasing a U.K. cell phone and meeting the group at the School Trinity Bar (yes, a fully school subsidized bar--on campus). The next day was sure to be full of exciting adventures, as we were to meet our Oxford dons who would be leading our classes for the next several weeks.
I awoke full of nerves, because I knew it would be a telling day. Our day started with a wonderful tour of the school--and boy was I overwhelmed. This school is so large--39 different colleges to be exact, and each one with so much to offer. The biggest 9 of them have their own fortress style campuses, each with their own gate (mostly elaborate iron gates with ornate details) and their own dining halls and large chapels, libraries, and pubs. They also each have their own gardens and courtyards, which are perfectly manicured EVERY DAY. No wonder it costs so much to go to this school! So as we continued the tour, we were blown away by the vastness of the campus and the prestige that Oxford continues to hold all around the world. We walked through the schools of Bill Clinton, Rowan Atkinson, all the Prime Ministers of Great Britian except 4. And we walked through the schools at which J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis taught and were schooled. We also saw (and were promised admission and library card access to) the Hogwarts Library and the offices as seen in the movie. We saw the dining hall of Hogwarts, and we saw the actual campus where Alice In Wonderland was born.
Just some facts for the Alice in Wonderland lovers: (Alice Day is Saturday, we will be going. Its an all out festival all around the city dedicated to nothing but Alice in Wonderland)
1. Alice was a real person, her name was Alice Liddell and she was a student at Oxford University.
2. Alice's journey through a mythical world was recorded by Lewis Carroll, otherwise known as Ludwig Dodgson, an attendee of Oxford University.
3. Alice's father was the dean at Christ Church College in Oxford, and he was seemingly always late to any engagement he was attending, constantly checking his watch and complaining about being "late, late, late for an important date." Alice's father became the white rabbit.
4. There were 2 especially odd plump twin boys at the school, and they became Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb.
5. A tree (which I stood beside) in Christ Church has a branch that sticks out which was oddly always occupied by a cat whose tail swung back and forth. This cat became the Cheshire Cat.
Later that night, we were taken to a large common area where were introduced to some of the most prestigious and intimidating people I've ever seen -- our Oxford dons. We had meetings with them and recieved our (rather thick) syllabuses, and they told us our personal tutorial times and in their private offices of course. They described the courses in general and told us what to expect, and finally we were led through the bushes to the large field in front of Trinity with perfectly manicured and pushed grass. A large tent had been erected where they gave us all an unlimited supply of Pims 25 and Wine. We enjoyed an hour of cocktails, and then we walked to the dining hall where we would enjoy our first Oxford meal--and boy was it a meal. Upon arrival, the servers scurried to the side of the room to man their stations, and we entered (in suits and dresses) to see each place setting perfectly arranged with 2 wine glasses (one for white, one for red), 4 forks, 2 spoons, 3 knives, 2 plates, candelabras lit, and tablecloths down. It literally looked like a banquet for the queen. When we all arrived behind our chairs and the dons had lined up as well, they spoke a Catholic prayer and everyone was allowed to take his or her place after the dons had done the same. We were served a 4 course meal of Tomato Pesto Goat Cheese, Duck with Mash, Creme Broule, and Coffee and Mints. IT was a wonderful start to a wonderful trip.
Since this first magical day, I haven't had a class yet. Since we have private tutorials with our dons, we have them only once a week, and my first class is tomorrow. I am very excited, yet I am very nervous because of all of the work I have put forth to keep up with the readings and finish the 10-page paper due tomorrow (yes a paper due in 2 days). I have frequented 3 libraries already, and I know that there will be many more of those days to come. But I'm studying at Oxford; what did I expect?
Andrew
