Day 1: Arrival (And this is how I know I’ll fall in love)

*This post is more than 500 words. However, with how much has happened this day, it truly deserved it*          

I made arrangements to meet up with a fellow CUA OPUS student for the commute towards Oxford. Her flight arrived an hour and some minutes later than mine but I didn’t mind waiting if it meant going on the commute with one other person and splitting the cab fare. I told her I’d wait for her at the baggage claim which is basically what I had done. I got into Heathrow at 6:05 in the morning (United was efficient with time. We weren’t supposed to arrive until 6:20 am.) and I got through immigration by 7:10 am (after freshening up in the toilet, walking the long walk to immigration and waiting in line for about 45 minutes) and got my baggage by 7:30. I sat at the baggage claim until 7:50 until I realized that there were no Delta flights (Lieren’s flight) coming to Terminal 1 which was where I was. I decided to go through Customs (which was a breeze because I had nothing to declare) and look around. I asked Airport Information and they told me that Delta was at Terminal 4 and suggested that even if Terminal 1 is how you get to Central Bus Station, I should just go to Terminal 4 and wait for my friend. I took the advice, hopped on the lift to -1^st floor (yes, it is negative) and rode the free train to Terminal 4. I waited outside the Arrivals sign and thank God I found her! She and I headed to Central Bus Station together and by that point I was starting to crash (I barely slept on the 6 hour flight. I got about 3-4 naps in and out) Thank God for Lieren, we got on the bus, got to Gloucester Green and got on a cab with a girl for Azusa Pacific who was also on her way to Hertford College.

At Hertford, we got our packets and headed to our flats. After the cab had dropped off Lieren and Sondra on their street (the Azusa Pacific student), the cabbie and I had a conversation in which he asked what I was doing in Oxford, told me a little about the city and discussed with me the economy in the country. He dropped me off and I found out I was living with Suzanna, Joanne and Deborah who are all Catholic University Students. Our house is quaint and is obviously filled with character but it’s definitely enough. We have 2 floors with a kitchen, a bathroom, a washer and 4 bedrooms plus a living space and a backyard. It’s enough, really. Somewhere between 3 and 4:30, I crashed and fell asleep on my bed after talking with my flat mates, unpacking and tidying up my room.

At 4:45, my flat mates and I headed out to Westgate. We weren’t supposed to be there until 6 but we decided we wanted to walk around and see the city for a bit. At 6, we met with the rest of the CUA group and had a walking tour of Oxford. When we got to Broad Street, which is by far my favorite place in the city (and where the picture about was taken. This picture is a view of the Bodleian library and the Sheldonian Theater), I knew I was going to fall in love. At that exact moment and time, I was simply in awe of this new city that I am in and completely falling in love with it, fast. The architecture and the atmosphere were simply breathtaking. It was unbelievable and I can’t believe how lucky I was to be standing at that place looking at that view.

We had dinner at King’s Arms and walked over to one of the most obscure places in the city. (I won’t reveal it in this blog. I feel like it’s one of Oxford’s little surprises that only those who go here should discover.) I am going to bed completely content and happy with where I am.