during our first full day of the uga @ oxford program,
we were taken on a tour of oxford itself.
oxford is a thriving, yet moderately-sized town
centered around the
38 colleges
that make up the University of Oxford.
we met up with our enthusiastic tour guide, debbie,
right outside of trinity college.
this past weekend was actually a very significant weekend in the city,
as the university opened many of its colleges
and academic institutions
to the public.
the reason this is such a huge deal is that it only happens
once in years
for many of the venues, such as All Souls College.
& it was estimated that over 60,000 people
would come for this city-wide event.
this is the front lawn of trinity college.
there is an unspoken rule that undergraduate students
are forbidden from standing, walking, & sitting
on the grass.
we often question which lawns are okay for sitting
and which ones must strictly be avoided.
dining hall @ trinity college.
& now, the back lawn
(where it is permitted to walk on)
debbie and some of our oxford group.
ornate architecture and decor is found all over oxford,
especially these various emblems.
apparently, if you stand fully under this bridge
with your eyes closed,
& make a wish - it will come true.
(we'll see about that)
my lovely roommate, Eunice, & me
on cornmarket st.
this is one of the major streets in oxford,
and it contains a mcdonald's, burger king, barclay's bank, and boot's (the drugstore/pharmacy)
this is the restaurant where we ate lunch.
it was tucked away into a small alley,
but it was delicious!
this one is for all you harry potter fans out there.
the building pictured above
is the exact location where several scenes (i.e. the infirmary, the library)
from the 1st movie were filmed.
also, i learned that emma watson (aka hermione granger)
is currently working towards her m.a. at oxford.
perhaps i will bump into her one day while i'm out and about?
i don't know what i'd do with myself.
getting inducted into the bodleian library.
we nearly had to promise away our lives for these membership cards,
in addition to vowing that we will never try to:
a) bring any books/materials out of the library
b) kindle a fire inside of the library
the bodleian library is amazing.
each day, it receives about 1,000 books to add into its collections.
it is located in various buildings all across town,
and because it is not a loaning library, you cannot check out its books.
they must be requested and retrieved
before they can be used.
it is a complicated process that i am only starting to familiarize myself with.
after the induction,
we were free to roam the city!
our first stop was westgate,
which is similar to the shopping malls in america.
primark, primark, primark.
this store basically contains clothes
that are similar in style to forever 21 and h&m
at the price and quality of walmart clothing.
essentially, it is one of the only stores that we, as students/tourists can afford.
it's very large and carries a wide variety of items,
from shoes to towels to umbrellas.
lastly, here i am modeling a furry hat - just one of the fun items
carried by primark.
the first week of school is nearly over.
it was nerve-wracking and a bit scary, but it all went well.
somehow, i managed to choose the two most rigorous courses
(modern british literature & tudor/stuart history)
with the two most infamous professors of the program.
i have many, many papers and readings ahead of me,
but i intend to approach them with vigor, curiosity, and courage.
p.s. the first picture in this post contains one of the
most famously recognized buildings in oxford.
it is the radcliffe camera,
which is a part of the bodleian library
that is connected by an underground tunnel.
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