Blogging from OXFORD!!!

First and foremost, my apologies for such a ridiculously delayed update. There is SO MUCH I have to tell ya'll about!!!!

I feel like I need to address the end of my backpacking journey because it was so much a part of this blog. After Florence and Naples, there was no internet in Rome. We went to Pompeii and then, we spent the last 3 days of the trip in Rome, which was absolutely incredible. I'll start with Pompeii. The feeling of standing in such an archaeological and historical splendor is one that can't really be described in words. It was surreal, especially since I've learned so much about Pompeii over the years (high school and college), so seeing it in person was mind-blowing. The same goes for Rome, which by the way, was one of my favorite cities we visited. Rome is fantastic because there is history everywhere. You'll see a modern building next to ruins of the Roman Forum; the Colleseum is right in front of a metro stop; and, St.Peter's Basilica is visible from most places in the city. When in Rome, we went to the Vatican (a must. I am Catholic, after all, and going to the Vatican was an intensely spiritual experience), we went to the Colleseum, we walked around the Roman Forum, we made a wish at the Fontana de Treví, and we successfully ate all things delicious. I think I consumed at least 1 gelato a day when I was in Italy!!

After Rome, we took a night flight to London and stayed near Gatwick Airport for the night. The following morning, we boarded a coach bus and were offically Oxford-bound. Side note: Coach busses in England have free WIFI. Can you believe that? Talk about progressive.
When we entered the city of Oxford, I was hit with anxiety. So much excitement that I couldn't contain myself. Was this real life? Was I going to be studying at one of the world's most prestigous universities? Was I really going to be living in a multi-million dollar house owned by UGA, with 30 other students? Yes, yes, and yes. And answering yes to those questions didn't do anything to calm my nerves.


Molly, Laura, and I literally flew from the taxi to the door of our Oxford house (Malvika wasn't with us because she'd gone into London to pick up luggage from a family friend). The crimson door and the regal facade: Winning.
A lot of people had already checked in by the time we arrived, but everyone was sleeping because of jet lag. This was not an issue for us since we'd been in Europe for three weeks and had slept at a really nice bed&breakfast in Gatwick the night before, so we literally ran up and down the stairs of the house and then frolicked in the gorgeous backyard garden. Later in the day, we had a house orientation, where we listened to rules and signed forms, etc. Everyone was dead from travelling, and it was quite amusing. The first weekend had a group excursion in store for us, titled "Prehistoric England." What does that mean, you ask? STONEHENGE!!!!
Except Stonehenge was not what I expected at all. The mystery surrounding it and the analysis of the meaning of the placement, etc. is very interesting, don't get me wrong..but it is literally located off the roadway. I thought the bus would take us to some random hills, and then we'd have to walk a mile to behold Stonehenge in the distance and its glory. No. Instead, you see it from the road, you pay a fee to get an audioguide, and you stand behind ropes to look at the stones and hear about its history. Still amazing to have seen, but that is just my honest impression of the situation. We also went to a few other towns that had stone circles. The highlight of the group excursion, though, was the White Horse in Uffington, which was transcendental. I don't know if I've ever been so at peace before. The sound of wind literally takes over you, and you get lost in the landscape. AH. amazing.


So, that was the first weekend. It has now been almost a month. We are all a family now in the Oxford house. There are couples emerging within the group. We all have bikes and ride them around town. It is altogether too precious, and I really never want to leave.

Let me describe a few things:

1) The house: UGA has owned it since 2003, I believe, and it is situated on Banbury Road in quite a posh neigborhood of Oxford. We are between Oxford's City Centre and the neighboring city of Summertown (only 5 minutes away on a bike, so we go a lot). It's a Victorian house, hundreds of years old, that has been renovated, and is beautiful. There are three levels and about 20 bedrooms. I am in a 2-person room with Malvika. Some people have 1 roommate, others have 2-3 -- it depends. There is an in-house library, where I am personally most productive, a huge kitchen, tons of bathrooms, a huge dining hall, and a TV room. For the most part, there is always a party in the kitchen. Lately, we've been using the TV room. The garden in the backyard is ridiculously gorgeous and the grass is perfect!! The weather recently has been in the 70s and 80s, so there's been exceptional use of the garden. Also, back to the kitchen, apparently our group is more culinary that any past group. We cook all the time, and we have legitimate food wizards in the house. It is glorious. I literally sit in the kitchen and watch people cook as a pasttime.

2) Classes: So, the study abroad program that I'm doing is not an exchange. This means that I am taking Oxford classes, but getting UGA credit because I am still a UGA student (as opposed to being enrolled at Oxford for a year). For that to happen, the program had to be 12 weeks and include 4 classes (at least 12 credit hours). The problem with this is that Oxford has 8-week terms versus 2 18-week semesters, and they only take 2 classes during those 8 weeks. So...the program brings us to Oxford 4 weeks before students get here, and we have 2 Seminar classes, arranged for us by the program. I have been taking Tudor/Stuart history and British Common Law. Let me just say that I completely lucked out with my two courses. My professors are both brilliant and both quite young. They are extremely interesting, but not intimidating, and they both know how to conduct a very laid back class. The length of seminar is 2 hours, and we meet twice a week. I have 3 papers total due in the History class and literally nothing due for the British Common Law class. (On the first day, my professor Ben was like "So um..grading. How about you just make valuable contributions to discussion during class?" We were all stunned. My life is a dream.) There is a lot of reading involved for both classes. Basically, during the week, everyone has their head buried in a book. I mean, Oxford doesn't have its reputation for nothing! It is definitely academically challenging. I really don't enjoy the History class, but I have so much respect for my professor because she is just so sweet. My British Common Law class, on the other hand, is so great. I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed it, and kind of had an existential crisis for a moment, considering being Pre-Law instead of Pre-Med. Don't worry, I am back on track. Med Med Med Med
Seminars are coming to a close this week because THE OXFORD STUDENTS ARE HERE!!!! Just a bit of lingo for you: Oxford students are referred to as "gownies" because of the traditional gowns that they all have to wear. Length of gown reflects your status in the school. I.e. Undergraduates have shorter gowns, Scholars and Graduate students have longer gowns. The longer the gown, the more prestigous you are). Anyway, tutorials start next week. I will be taking Genetics and Physiology in the traditional Oxford tutorial style. This means that the student to teacher ratio is approx. 2:1. We will meet with our professors once a week per class, and the rest is independent study. I met with my Genetics professor (called "tutors" here, so I'll use that term from now on), and she seems really great. Actually, the best part of my Genetics class is the building. It's the New Biochemistry building, and it is SO COOL. I think I will live in there.

3) Oxford: A brief background on the university. There are 38 colleges within Oxford University. We are associate members at Keble, so that's where we are most of the time, but my seminar classes are actually in Trinity and Christ Church College. For my Harry Potter peeps, Emma Watson is at Worcestire, and we are on the lookout for her. The entire city of Oxford exists around the school. The city centre houses a handful of the colleges, along with plenty of shopping, pubs, and history. The central library is in the city centre (though there are libraries everywhere), along with bookstores and cafes, and all things glorious. I'm about 10 minutes away from Oxford's City Centre if I ride a bike there. I really have been bad about taking pictures, but I have a few that I will upload to facebook tonight after doing my homework. It is BEAUTIFUL. Notice how many times I say "beautiful" and how many times I use all-caps font. I just am so overwhelmed all the time. I randomly just smile to myself as I ride my bike places (Btw, such a struggle. Riding a bike is literally the most athletic thing I've done in my life..and it shows. I go at snail pace. but I still love it...sometimes). It is required to wear a gown to every meal, when term starts. Not a formal gown, but the Oxford gown,which is really more of a fancy black vest. You just wear it over whatever outfit you are already sporting, but it's a kind of formal uniform. You eat within your college and do social activities within your college, but of course, it is easy to meet people everywhere.



Okay, that is my update for now. I hope that suffices, and I'm officially restarting blogging. If I'm on top of my game, I won't have to write an entire novel for each blog post!! So get excited!! Let me know if there's anything in particular you want to hear about :)
Cheers and love and everything good, from Oxfordshire.

Katherine