The honeymoon is over

Sorry I've been out of contact, folks. I ran into a bit of laptop problems... and when I say a bit, I mean a pretty significant and extremely obnoxious, ill timed problem. Meh.

Let's see. The day after I arrived in Oxford, I had a NINE HOUR orientation to the OPUS programme (the program that I am studying abroad through). The director is dignified Indian man named Deepak. He is now being fondly and somewhat irreverently being referred to as Tupac by myself and some others. He doesn't know. :) Tupac was the MC of the orientation day, and although he had lots of excellent information, he could have also presented it in a more compact manner. It was somewhat depressing to sit in a room for hours while watching all of the daylight hours slip away through the windows. But then again, good and vital information was had. After the orientation was over (finally), I was able to borrow a phone from the good people of OPUS that I will be utilizing for the duration of my stay in Oxford. I am 99% sure that I had an exact replica of this phone 5 or 6 years ago. It is an interesting experience to regress in technology, to say the least. Upside: it has Snake on it. Holla.

It's difficult to sort through which things have happened on which day over the weekend. Basically I've been hanging out a lot with my flatmates and the people living next door. My flat (222 Abingdon) is essentially a Siamese twin to the flat next door (224 Abingdon), and it's safe to say that the peeps over there are in the same echelon of awesomeness as the peeps over here. They are also part of the OPUS programme, so they're all Americans. Four of them go to APU: Daniel Hildebrand (deadpan humor galore... think Zak Galifianakas), Alan Stauffer (sarcastic punkass, but laughs easily and can take what he dishes out), Jonathan Monson (also extremely deadpan sarcastic whilst being friendly), and Lauren Bugg (sweet and bubbly, but holds her own amongst all the sarcasm). The other four are Maggie (outgoing, goofy, and adorable... sensible with an edge), Kate (bubbly, friendly, also adorable), Mel (a little cutie that packs a punch), and Parker (goofy, laughs easily, good sport, will tease/sarcasm you with a smile on his face). All seriously chill, fun, sarcastic people... just how I like em. :) Two nights ago Andrew and I invaded their flat for their family dinner, and last night after my flat's family dinner I made Kookie Brittle and a bunch of us hung out over at their place. Excellent times with excellent people.

Other than that, I've just been exploring and getting my bearings in Oxford. I can now confidently say that I know the majority of the main street names and major landmarks. I look forward to exploring and finding all of the back alleyways now. :) I had lunch at The Eagle and Child this weekend, the place where The Inklings used to chill. :D So cool! And the food was delicious: Bangers & Mash (Google that ish). I am also working my way through the cafes of Oxford. It's my personal goal to try every one of them before I leave... we'll see how that goes. There are TONS. A group of us also hit up the Ashmolean this weekend. The Ashmolean is one of Oxford's free museums, and what I saw of it was gorgeous. Someone gave me this advice: "When you go to the Ashmolean, sample it. Go in and look at a room, leave, have a coffee, and come back the next day. Don't give yourself cultural indigestion." Better advice could not have been given. We only looked at two rooms, and that was plenty to take in... there were just so many beautiful artifacts. Even the simplest utensil or weapon reflected gorgeous craftmanship. There was pride and care in the construction. NNNGAH, I love museums and galleries. I greatly look forward to returning for another sample of the Ashmolean very soon.

I think that about covers the basics of my first weekend in Oxford. :) OH, other than my lame laptop problems. Long story short: my power source got fried, so I've been without laptop access. This evening I went on a wild goose chase to try to diagnose the problem, and it resulted in an ill spent 5 pounds, a drained cell phone battery, sore feet, and a near emotional breakdown. But I got the information I needed at long last, and my power source will be replaced shortly. So I've had my first miserable experience in Oxford. Thus, the end of the honeymoon. But I'm definitely still in like. ;)

Grace and peace.