goodbye atlanta & hello oxford

wow, it's hard to believe it, but i'm finally here

after months of dreaming about this day.

from now until december 1oth,
i will be in oxford, england
attending the UGA @ Oxford fall semester study abroad.
through this program, i will have associate membership to Keble College
as well as access to some of the most highly regarded academic facilities,
such as the Bodleian Library 
(one of the oldest libraries in the western world).

surprisingly, the getting here part wasn't even the biggest trouble.

it was the packing part.
i am, by no means, a light packer
& that makes things difficult when i am only given a limited space and weight
to put my belongings into.
a huge thank you to my mom - she is a master packer.
seriously.
we folded, stuffed, & pressed
until, finally, my luggage magically fit delta's requirements.

my parents dropped me off at the new Maynard H. Jackson International terminal
it's quite large and full of light,
due to the entire wall of windows.

here, we said our goodbye's.
(i miss you guys already!)

my lovely new backpack & carry-on.

after a peaceful 7.5 hour flight + 5 hour time difference,
during which i watched snow white & the huntsman
and then slept for about 4 hours,
i made it to london-heathrow airport!
the customs people and everyone else that i asked for help
treated me with kindness and patience
which made me feel just a little bit less lonely in this new place.

somehow, only with the help of God, did i manage to carry & pull
my weight in baggage
all the way to my hostel in oxford.
(the coach bus from the airport to my destination was wonderful,
as it provided a nice one hour nap for me)

for my first meal,
i decided to stick with something simple -
a baguette sandwich at La Croissanterie.
it was delicious & so i decided to go back again the next day
for a salmon/cream cheese bagel.

here are some photos from my exploration on day one.

a carnival-esque street fair

tesca's - a pretty popular grocery store over here.
i just bought a bottle of water because i didn't have a fridge
to store food in yet.

i also stumbled upon some interestingly-named restaurants.

this one reminded me of Dianna Zheng, who is a lover of all things "giraffe."

a chinese restaurant named for a drug.

& a japanese restaurant with a hip appeal.

in case you didn't know, even the taxis over here are classy.

lastly, i included a picture of the street that my hostel was located on.

all in all, i love the fact that almost everything within the city
is in walking distance.
i'm not used to seeing so many people
of all ages
walking and talking on the streets.
i can't wait to continue exploring over the next few months.

this morning, i moved from my hostel
to my real oxford home
(104 Banbury Street).
at this location, the UGA @ Oxford program owns a victorian mansion
that the 40 of us on this trip get to live in.
it's has four floors,
& it is absolutely beautiful.
my room is nice and spacious
with a window overlooking a sprawling green lawn.
i won't give too much away, though, because i am going to upload the pictures that i took of it
in my next post.

so, for all who are reading this, thank you immensely for your love and support.
know that i miss you very much
& will be thinking of you often while i am away!