A pound and a prayer

Today commenced my second day at Oxford and more fun abounds. I should, perhaps, mention that they do not just set us free in our houses to do whatever. Each house has a Junior Dean. This position is somewhere in between that of an RD and an RA. Our JD's name is Graham Baker. He is a PhD student here at Oxford, doing history. More specifically, he's studying history of home based missions in New York so he's been to America more than once and understands that some stuff us crazy Americans do has nothing to do with our intelligence level but is rather because we are, in fact, American. His ear is attuned to some of the intricacies of the American accent: he actually picked up on the fact that I have a soft southern accent. Most Americans do not pick up on this fact. Graham is also a real sweetheart (and not too bad to look at, I will admit).

My roommates Libby and Heather are awesome girls. We'll have a great semester in our epic room. We have a sink in our room and a covered over fireplace. We have lot of space compared to what I'm used to and an amazing view.

I pried myself from my cozy bed at 8.00am, got dressed, and made breakfast. To the shock of Graham, who assumes that Americans drink coffee nonstop, I had tea with breakfast. I know, shocking. The coffee addict has already converted. Granted, I drank five or six cups of tea today instead of the normal two cups of coffee. Ah well. I should consider purchasing stock in PG Tips.

Several of us wanted to get a jump on procuring bicycles for our transportation around Oxford. Graham showed us the shortest (but semi-complicated) way into town and we went to two bike shops before scoring a good deal. My bike cost £89.99 with the addition of lights and a basket and the bike shop guarantees they will buy it back for at least 40%. I'll probably try to sell it independently for more but it's nice to know I have a guarantee. I also procured a towel, loofah, and blisters on the soles of my feet while in town. Sweet.

We had a BBQ today at the Vines today with the people at Crick. It was fun but these English people do not know a good burger. I spent time talking to a bunch of different people but after a while, I was all socialized out and retreated to my room. We rearranged the furniture the way we want it.

I would write more and actually write creatively but I am tired. It is 1 am. So yeah. Still more stuff to purchase.

AA batteries
shampoo
conditioner
body wash
face scrub
body lotion
nail file
comb
notebooks