The Arrival

I have now officially spent an entire day in England: a country flowing with rich history, culture, and beautiful accents. Everywhere you turn, a detailed brick building, a historic castle, a quaint little river, or a colorful pub makes itself known through the vibrancy and life of the city of Oxford. If it is not obvious enough, it did not take me long to fall in love with this place. Now let me backtrack and tell you more starting with my arrival.

In anticipation for my departure, nerves and excitement for what would soon be made it increasingly difficult to sleep the entire week before. I figured my lack of sleep would be good, however; maybe then I would be able to sleep on my overnight plane ride. Ha! That was a funny thought. As the plane ride commenced, my nerves were suddenly replaced with a sense of peace. Yet, the excitement still refrained my body from resting. I sat in the middle of two pretty incredible women. One on my left was a 24 year old Swedish woman who had already worked for a company in Sweden, South Africa, Singapore, New York, California, and was now on her way to London to work there for a couple of months. The one on my right was an older Indian woman who was born in West Africa, grew up in London, and now lives with her family in California, working as the regional manager for CVS stores in Southern California. Unfortunately, she was on her way to London for her mother's funeral. Both women were very friendly. They gave me a lot of beneficial traveling tips as well as a little taste of what to expect in England. How I enjoy little moments like this. Two very different people who have experienced so much of this world, and I had the opportunity to learn just a bit from both of them. What a blessing.

The flight landed at 9:45 am in London, which is about 2:45 am California time. Although I had still not received any sleep, I was no longer nervous about finding my way to Oxford. I knew what I had to do. I quickly and smoothly went through Customs, headed down to luggage claim where I immediately spotted both of my bags. Finding the Central Bus Station was a little bit trickier, but with a little help, I made it there just in time for the bus driver to take my bags, hop on board, pay my fee, and head to Oxford. I imagine it took about an hour before we arrived. Meanwhile, I was captivated by the countryside. When we arrived. I walked with all my luggage a block away to the taxi rink. Though I had no clue if I was going the right way, I kept walking and quickly found a taxi. I hopped in and had the taxi driver take me to Hertford College (which just so happens to be my college), where I would pick up my housing package. While doing so, a man and his daughter who had been traveling the entire day grew weary and asked the taxi driver if they could ride along. I said it was no problem, so we all piled in. They were going to Tesco's (a grocery store) in the city center (downtown area) where their car was parked, which was kind of on the way the taxi driver said. Later, we realized they were looking for another Tesco's, so the taxi driver said he would take the young lady (me) home first. I chatted with them, and they were very nice. I did, though, in the back of my mind think, "I hope he doesn't charge me for this extra driving around the city." We finally arrived at my new flat (apartment), and as I was trying to pay, the man and his daughter insisted that they would take care of it. Another little blessing.

My flat consist of four bedrooms (three rooms upstairs, one downstairs), two bathrooms upstairs (one with shower, one without), a common area, and a kitchen (fully equipped). I share the flat with three other girls, meaning we all get our own room. One of my roommates, Danni happens to be from APU as well. She is the other "sophomore" who snuck into the Oxford program with me as a "junior". The second is from George Mason University, and the third is from James Madison University. They are all pretty great.  Three more little blessings.

The rest of the day consisted of exploring the city a bit with Danni, mainly in search of food, and knocking out from about 6:00 pm (England time) to 7:30 am.

Bottom line: God is good. This place is great. And I am looking forward to an incredible semester.