My First Week Abroad: or, How I Almost Got Kicked Out of England and Eventually Found the Land of My Dreams

As an English major with an irrepressible love for all things British and all literature even remotely related to the Romantic and Victorian Periods (which I really should have been born in), I don’t take suggestions like studying abroad in Oxford, England for six weeks lightly. In fact, I re-read the major works of the Brontë sisters, re-watch every episode of Downton Abbey, sew my own garden party dresses, scrounge up every penny and generally obsess over every detail of the trip an entire year in advance. So when it finally came time to board the plane this last Monday, I was a bundle of excitement and anxiety.

Look at that smiling face, so ready for adventure!

For one thing, I had never flown internationally before or even been out of the country. For another, I had reserves about whether Oxford would match my expectations and whether I would meet Oxford’s. Nevertheless, I hopped on a plane leaving Tampa and headed to the unknown. (For any Tolkien fans out there, I should note that as I was walking in the tunnel to board my first flight, I thought about Bilbo crouching in the mountain tunnel before facing the dragon and coming to terms with his greatest fear. I sometimes need the direction of fictional characters to make sense of my life. Again, it’s an English major thing).

Together, my flights made for a very long, overnight trip lasting roughly 11 or 12 hours overall, but I was content reading my book, A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599, in preparation for my Shakespeare course but also for the country and culture I was about to enter. *Cue disastrous circumstances* Although I was fully expecting to breeze through customs when I arrived on British soil, I was horrified to find that even with a passport and a whole packet of information, I couldn’t receive the correct passport stamp or enter the country without an official letter from the OSAP/WISC office confirming my acceptance into their study abroad program. These letters had arrived at Mississippi State University too late for our professors to give them to us before we left. So here I was, thousands of miles away from home and rejected from the country I had built up in my mind for the last twelve months. Let’s just say, I was ready to pull the crying card if necessary. Luckily, after twenty minutes of intense interrogation, the customs officer finally believed my story and allowed me to pass through. So I managed to make it through the first leg of my adventure a bit discouraged but ultimately unscathed!

When I met up with my professors and the group of MSU students studying abroad with me, we all boarded a bus and traveled through “the shire” to Oxford. The OSAP office put us into our cozy flats (which are really more like cottages). Although I had been warned about the conditions of English housing weeks before, I was pleasantly surprised at how adorable/clean/safe our little cottage is. I even get my own room! Oh, and did I mention it’s right on the Thames River and only a five minute walk from Christ Church college where I’ll be studying this summer?

The Thames River at Sundown

Outside of Our Cottage

Our Backyard

My cozy little room, nice Shakespeare collection!

 The OSAP office received us for a welcome party that evening where we met several students also studying abroad from the US and other countries, and, almost 48 hours and no sleep later, we eventually dragged ourselves to the store to pick up a few necessary items and then to bed.

Check out the American section of this British store. I feel that the choice of items - Twinkies, Candy Bars and Crisco – may reveal something about how we’re viewed here. Hmm...

Cut to day two, where I am dragging myself out of my snuggly bed to greet a surprisingly clear and bright English morning. Is this real life? Together with the other lovely ladies from my cottage, we took to the streets of Oxford to find the OSAP office and begin our first day of orientation. Then, it happened. They took us to the Bodleian Library (the library of Oxford University and home to 11 and a half million books all at my fingertips). I felt like Matilda when I got my official library card. Throw back to childhood. You’re welcome.

Outside the Bod

Inside the courtroom of the Bod. I'm not sure if that's a throne or not, but let's assume it is.

Even the ceilings are gorgeous!

(Note: I didn't take many pictures of the library this time, but I'll be sure to include more in the future!)

But on a more serious note, visiting the library was the first moment in the trip in which I realized that I am actually in England in this incredible place of knowledge and history. Walking through the doors of the Bodleian is a surreal experience. I felt an overwhelming urge to be completely silent and to consider, in awe, the abilities of man to create this beautiful building and to fill it with the beautiful thoughts that have shaped our lives and our culture for centuries. I often struggle to explain to people why I choose to study English, but I felt at that moment that if anyone who doubts the importance of literature could stand on the threshold of that library and look inside, I would never have to explain myself again. So goes the enchantment of Oxford.

After swearing never to “bring into the Library or kindle therein any fire or flame,” we joined the rest of the OSAP students and enjoyed a walking tour of Oxford. I’ve forgotten the name of our guide, but he was lovely, and he said “Cheerio!” when he left us. I almost died.

Here are some highlights from the tour:

These little guys hanging out on the side of a church

This guy protecting the Bod

This spot in the center of Oxford where people were burned at the stake for heresy

Countless winding streets full of Medieval buildings

This cake of Christ Church College

This Harry Potter shop

That time that I took a creepy picture of Alex and Lien from behind

Fun Fact: Many of the colleges in Oxford were built with defensive maneuvers in mind. Check out those spikes!

This circular library called the camera... but it's not actually a camera

Cobblestones streets a.k.a. one hundred-and-one ways to break an ankle

The Bridge of Sighs

This famous bookstore with the largest basement/book-selling space in the world

We finished out the night by having dinner at The Eagle and Child, a pub that Tolkien and Lewis frequented during their time at Oxford. I’m starting to think that it’s almost impossible to stand anywhere in Oxford that wasn't made famous by some incredible writers, thinkers, scientists, political figures, etc. 

The MSU students!

Oxford has 38 separate colleges and over 100 libraries. This is truly a place where learning never stops. It lingers in every pub, on every street corner, in every garden. As I write this, two students are sitting outside of the adjoining cottage discussing philosophy. Could this place get any better?

Change scenes to day three and four. The students who were selected to study in Christ Church College (like yours truly) were led on a tour of the campus. In case you were wondering, yes, this is Hogwarts. Or at least the place where many of the scenes from Harry Potter were filmed, including all of the dining hall scenes and the stair scenes. Naturally, I tried to keep my nerdy love for the Potter series from spilling everywhere in front of our guide, a fourth year student of Christ Church. (Yeah, he lives in Hogwarts, NBD.) Naturally, we ate lunch in the dining hall and snapped a million pictures so that we could be as conspicuous as possible, and we even talked to a very nice gentlemen majoring in art history who told us all of the things we should do in Oxford and London during our time here. He, too, finished the conversation with “Cheers!” Afterwards, we stopped by the grocery to pick up a few things which I only mention because it’s the first time I used pounds to buy something, my purchase: toilet paper (glamorous!)

Side Entrance of Christ Church College

They have porters guarding the doors!

Dining Hogwarts style

The Harry Potter Dining Hall

This morning, I went to my very first class here at Oxford. I’m taking a Shakespeare course with Dr. Anderson, and we’re opening the term with “Titus Andronicus” which we will see performed live in London in weeks to come. In the coming days, I will also start my one-on-one class on the Brontë sisters with an actual Oxford don.  

There are so many adventures ahead of me still! I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to live out one of my dreams in this beautiful place. I am completely in love with Oxford and with England. Thanks for sticking with me through this long post. Next time, my first tutorial, adventures in London, and more!