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Oxford part 3

So I have a few minutes here to tell you more about Oxford. I'm staying in an area called Jericho, north of the city center. I'm on Walton Well Road, a little tiny street lined with Indian restaurants and the like. I plan to try one of them eventually; I'm told they have excellent curry. The house is kind of old (much like other things in England) but it's comfortable. The previous students here left some food, so I've been snacking on the granny smith apples they left for us.

Showering is evidently fairly new here... there's a box thing in the bathroom with a button next to it. The button is labeled 'start/stop'. It's built for much smaller people I assume. Or claustrophiles. The floor is sheet metal, and I feel like I'm going to fall through it.

Today for breakfast, Tommy and I went to the little French place across from the OSAP office. I bought a croissant, and the lady asked if I wanted anything else. "A Snapple," I said, holding up my bottle of flavored iced tea. She handed me an apple in a bag. I took it anyway, it was only about 20 pence. I gave it to Josh, who got up late and thereby missed breakfast.

The weather has been lightly rainy, which is apparently pretty nice by Oxford standards. We toured the colleges last evening between showers. It's fascinating to see the great old buildings and hear about why they were established. It's said that Oxford was founded in 1090 after a bunch of Englishmen fled Paris when the Pope decreed that it was legal to kill an Englishman on sight. The first college was built around 1300. A few decades later, New College, the school which we're part of, was built. New. 1370. Go figure.

We went to the Turf pub last night, for a round of fish & chips and political discussion. The pub was established in the 1500s and has catered to students ever since. I believe it's owned by St. John's college, so they keep the money around. I think Magdalen college owns another of the pubs. Seems like a great policy to me. There's a way to fix the state budget deficit.

I have no idea what time it is on the west coast, but almost no one is online. It's so strange.

Today's lectures were about Life at Oxford, Oxford Customs and British Traditions, Class in Britain, and European Security. They were very interesting and fun. I'll try to mirror my journals here as soon as I get around to writing them.

I've been taking a few pictures, which I plan to put on a DVD when I get back. If I have time.