Sunday, January 12, 2014

Before Term Begins

This post is going to be short with a slight lack of pictures (due to my lack of taking them). My first weekend at Oxford is over, and I have to say that I can't complain!

On Friday night (the day I arrived), I ate supper with my fellow Wycliffe Hall-ians, giving us all a chance to get to know each other better. Following dinner and dishes, most of us headed out to a pub. We were looking to go to The Eagle and Child, where C.S. Lewis and the Inklings hung out. However, they were full so we headed to another pub across the street, which, sadly, was also full. Finally we headed to Turf Tavern, a pub hidden in a back alleyway. While I didn't actually drink anything, I did enjoy the courtyard of the pub and meeting new people. Here's a couple pictures of my adventure:






On Saturday, our group headed over the The Vines (the other place of residence) for an afternoon barbecue. The walk was an hour long, ending with a gigantic hill. Not fun at all. But the afternoon itself was enjoyable. I met many new faces and had some delicious chili and tea. Saturday night consisted of watching Legally Blond with, surprisingly! a bunch of the Wycliffe Hall females (what a shock!). 

Sunday morning brought with it a visit to The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. I didn't know what I was getting into. Being an Anglican church, the service contained liturgies and Eucharist. Being the innocent person that I am, I didn't realize that the "wine" from communion was actual wine. So, after a very odd tasting wafer, I had my first alcohol ever. (And I have to say, yes, it was just about as disgusting as I always thought it would be.) Plus, sharing the same glass with about 50 other people grosses me out. So in all, it was an odd experience for me. Not that the service was bad at all, it was great, but I don't ever need to participate in communion at that church again. 

The rest of the SCIO (my program) students came over in the afternoon for tea and scones. We hung out for a while, making up interesting board games such as Chesskers (so named by Dr. Seuss in our imaginations). A bunch of us headed to the Christ Church's Evensong, a choir service. The singing was amazing!

Following the service, a couple of other girls and I explored a staircase that we ran into...


Look familiar to anyone? This may be why...


Yup! That's right! I saw the stairs that Harry Potter was filmed on! (I know some or most of you don't care about this, but I find it exciting). The dining hall at Christ Church (which hopefully I'm eating in sometime soon) also inspired the Great Hall in the Harry Potter films. 



So that's my adventures in Oxford so far! It's been great so far, but orientation starts tomorrow, so it might get crazy very soon! Wish me luck!


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