09/13/09 - 09/14/09

Okay.

First post.

Before I start, however, I'd like to write a little preface. I want to send my most sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone from Minnesota who helped to make my time there one of the best singular months I've ever had. You were (and are) all remarkably warm and kind-hearted people and I have to say that you make up some of the most interesting and remarkable people I've ever had the great pleasure of meeting. Thank you so much. The day I had to leave you guys was one of the most difficult 24 hours in recent memory. I wish you were all here with me.

That said, let the blog begin.

09/13/09

So unfortunately travel day was awful. Everything that could have gone wrong did. To start off with, my little movie player thing stopped working after the first movie. Had I known I was only getting one, I wouldn't have wasted it on I Love You, Man. AMIRITE LADIES?! Anyway, after getting off the plane, I was supposed to meet Steph at baggage claim. Little did I know, our baggage claim places were in different terminals. :| Two train rides later, I stumble into Terminal 3, which was significantly more populated than Terminal 4. It should be noted that the entirety of this journey includes me dragging circa 80 pounds of incredibly unwieldy luggage around. I also discovered that I may as well have my phone surgically implanted in my head because I'm apparently totally helpless without it. So, I wandered around the airport searching for Steph's equally confused face among the throngs of people. After about an hour of fruitless searching, I gave up and decided to continue my journey. Another train and a bus ride later, and I'm plopped among the streets of Oxford with incredibly vague directions to University College. All we were told was that it was 50 meters from the bus stop. Not which direction, no landmarks nearby, nothing. In order to help you understand my plight, I've made a series of cute little diagrams:

Key:
X = Ian
O = People I asked for directions
U = University College (which doesn't have a sign and whose doors were closed. Not locked, but closed)

First try:

--- XO --------- U ---------------

O says: Oh, it's down along this street.

Second Try:

--------------- U ---------- XO --

O says: Oh, it's back the way you came, I think across the street.

Third Try:

--------------- U ---------------

-- XO ---------------------------

And so on.

Yeah, not great. But I finally arrived and found out Steph was basically running parallel to me and got there like 5 minutes after I had. She also had wandered the airport looking for me, took a different bus line (though at the same time) and was wandering the streets of Oxford at the same time.

It was lovely getting to know my fellow Pomona students as I didn't know many of them very well prior to the trip. We all headed down to a pub called The Kings Arms which was basically everything you'd think of when you picture a British Pub. You could even order two braised faggots. :D

Anyhoo, after a few beers and 22 hours of travel, this little boy was ready for me.

Suffice it to say, I slept for like 10 hours that night. And I mean like deep, uninterrupted REM sleep. It was awesome.

09/14/09

Today was MUCH better than yesterday. We shopped, found phones and plans, ate a delicious and super cheap lunch and got internet access. Basically every wrong the universe tossed at me yesterday was righted. And it was good.

After exploring a bit, we had an orientation meeting with the delightfully old and admittedly forgetful Dr. Brian Loughman. He's adorable, but it takes him awhile to actually say anything. And when he finally does finish talking, most of us are too busy trying to figure out why he's talking about bus passes when we asked about the interary to actually absorb anything.

This evening we had a gorgeous three course meal comprised of figs with brie cheese, endive, and pistachios for the salad course, braised lam with a sweet brandy sauce for an entree and blackberry tarte tartin for dessert. We were told to dress "smart casual" for the dinner, which was probably the least helpful way to describe the attire and after asking for clarification six or seven times, most of us were still totally lost. Nobody said anything or gave us dirty looks, though, so we must have done okay.

Afterward, we headed to the Grande Cafe for some half-priced cocktails and amicable socializing and then meandered back to Univ for sleep.

Speaking of which, I should probably get on that since we have to be up early tomorrow for Library tours. Hooray! (If you know me at all you know I'm 100% serious about that exclamation)

Everything is beautiful and I'm safe, fulfilled and happy.

I miss you all terribly and promise to write a better blog soon-ish when I'm not totally debilitated from jet lag.

-Ian