welcome to wycliffe hall!

the next thing i knew was that we woke up at wycliffe hall. there were cars EVERYWHERE. not at all what i had expected. from what it sounded like to me, and the rest traveling with me, was that oxford was a sleepy, studious, town with lots of greenery and gardens. not these beautifully old, worn buildings with many, many cars, people and a lot of noise. the town never stops. people walking and riding bikes everywhere, cars, buses. it was - strange. after grabbing suitcases, we were signed inand given room keys. i already knew what room i was assigned to - #11. now one would think that this was on the first floor. well - maybe in america. but not in wycliffe hall. no, rooms 9 - 14 are up in this tower somewhere called the old lodge. we went through a hallway . past a little chapel and library. up 4 narrow stairs, turn, up a flight of stairs, then another hall, more turns, 4 more stairs, turn, flight of stairs and another flight of stairs. then our floor. we don't even know what floor we are on and if it is even classified as a floor. there are about 11 of us up here and most of us sharing rooms. everyone else is in singles on the complete other end of the building - as in through the millions of stairs that we hauled luggage up, common room, up more stairs and such. my roommate is jill and we have a cool room. it's decently sized with lots of random furniture. 2 beds, 2 desks, 2 deskchairs, 2 bureaus, 1 dresser, 2 chairs, 2 end tables, 3 lamps, a sink, shelves and a randomly placed coffee table. it's under the sink. and it juts out. completely weird. and i think there is a closet, but it's blocked by a night table and dresser - maybe for a good reason? there is a shower room right out side our door and a bathroom right down the stairs. the sinks have a faucet for cold and one for hot water. the only way to get warm is to plug the sing and run both to get a pool of warm. 0 - and did i mention we have a balcony? i stole a chair from the hall and was writing out there. you have to crawl through the window but it's worth it - a view of many old buildings, lots of chimneys, trees, wycliff's backyard and all the cars and buses driving on the left side of the street.

lunch was served in the cafeteria, just off to the main enterance. their food is likable but not home's. we had pizza or chicken for lunch, myself choosing pizza. then there is a cold food area to the side with salad's and other type things - i call them this because i'm really not sure what they are. there is usually turkey and salami there too and bread. there is usually fruit also and i ususally stick with a banana. on the table they offer ketchup, salad cream (which looks like mayo - we don't know. but they put everything in it - mustard, salt, flour, santhum gum...) and brown sauce. the latter 2 look really questionable. but hey - whatever english people. to each their own. there is milk, but i'm so picky with milk, i don't drink it. multivitamins are my workaround. and the water actually tastes ok.

ok...i'm going to stop here...i haven't even got through my first day yet! tomorrow i have a full day of classes though, but later i'll write to you about my first glimpse of the rest of oxford and a little about all the amazing history they have here...talk to ya later...

andi