'ello mate!

Things that don’t make me feel at home:

1)   The driving is insane here!

The streets are very narrow because the city is so old, therefore the driving situation is very compacted. There are nothing but tiny European cars her,e and then their exact opposites: the gigantic double-decker buses that I am convinced are going to take out everything in their path, but they somehow seem to miraculously make every turn. Add to this the fact that they are driving on the opposite side of the road than I am used to, so I am often caught off guard and given quite a fright. 

Side note: the old people here put me to shame. They no doubt, have been traversing the length of this city longer than some of the buildings have been standing. Also, cars park half kind-of-crooked-like-it-might-have-been-an-accident-we’re-going-with on the pavement (sidewalk) and half on the side of the road.

2)   Stores closing at 5pm.

Because we are very far north, it gets dark ridiculously early. So when the sun goes down (at 5pm, more or less) almost all stores close. The Oxford night life is definitely alive and well…surprisingly, I mean I guess I should have expected it of any college town, it’s just a funny combination…but as for all of the normal stores, they are shut up tight and home early for supper.

Things that make me feel at home:

1)   Hearing absolutely anyone with an American accent.

There have been multiple times so far where, either I have been approached, or have approached someone once I have heard them talking. This works out well, especially when it is study abroad students from other programs. There is an instant connection most times because we feel linked together in this foreign land.

2)   American music.

I try to listen to the BBC radio every morning when I get ready, and the other day I heard “Sweet Home Alabama”. I actually find that song terribly annoying, but this time I ended up singing it all day. I am also obviously not from Alabama, which furthers the irony…oh well. I have actually been quite surprised at the amount of American music and references to American history and culture I have encountered. It’s all over the place!

It’s unfortunately been a little difficult to meet British students. Myself and the other people in my program are still “The Americans”, meaning we’re not quite to the integration phase yet. It’s been wonderful that within our group we all get along so well! And realistically we are coming in during the middle of their year and only staying for a few months, so it will be difficult to really make friends. I am thinking about joining a choir or some kind of extracurricular activity to fill up my time (sarcasm) and hopefully make some friends though!

Another very exciting extra curricular activity I am looking forward to is the Student Union. This is the University established debate society. Meaning, there are staged debates about once a week in which a topic is proposed, ex. “This House believes that: “Marriage is an Outdated Practice”, “We (England) Should Throw out the Alternative Vote”, “We (England) Should Make News First, Then Report It,” “The Right to Unrestricted Abortion”, etc., and then leading scholars in the field come to represent the opposition and proponent positions. This is a huge opportunity I am very much looking forward to attending often!