I knew I needed to arrive in Oxford by today, as I have to take some Greek preparatory classes before classes actually begin, and that began today. With a test. I spent the majority of my first day unpacking, meeting the family I’ll be staying with, and studying. Less than exciting, I know, but it’s what needed to be done.

This will be a quick post because, as my test showed, I have a lot of studying to do!

I accidentally slept in until 11 today. My first day here and I slept through half of it. My cell phone alarm did not work (due to the time change), so I got a few extra hours of shut-eye. Which was probably a good thing, as I am feeling pretty well rested. Really haven’t felt the jet lag at all, which everyone has been surprised about.

The family I’m living with had already left when I woke up (which I felt terrible about), but I met them when they returned from Felix’s soccer match (Felix is their youngest, he’s 10). They invited me over for tea that afternoon, and we talked. It was great. They have an amazing home. Very large. With a beautiful back yard. We talked over tea for a bit. They told me they were at the oldest museum in the world last night (which just happens to be right here in Oxford) for a private dinner party. I told them I spent an extra hour in Poland due to a delay and all I could hear was Polish when I went to sleep.

I was off pretty quick after tea for my exam. It was at Christ Church. Only about a mile away. And a beautiful walk.

Oh, by the way, I walked by this on the way to my exam…

For those who don’t know, the above picture is of CS Lewis’ favorite watering hole, The Eagle and Child, where he used to go with friends like Tolkein and others.

If you haven’t seen pictures of Christ Church, do a Google Image search for it. It’s breathtaking. I remember visiting the school when Jen and I came over last summer and telling Jen, “How cool would it be to actually take class here?” Now I am. Crazy.

I really enjoyed meeting my Greek classmates. They all seem really nice. And they’re from all over the world. It’s pretty cool. We were going around the world introducing ourselves, and I couldn’t help feeling like I had woken up and all of a sudden I had found myself in the middle of a Harry Potter movie. I couldn’t stop smiling. I was so excited. Picture a shaken up bottle of champagne with a smile drawn on the front, and that’s a good picture of what I looked like.

We were supposed to be competent in the first five chapters of our Greek textbook when we arrived. Due to all the craziness of the last couple weeks (visa snag, moving, etc.), I just simply did not have the time necessary to devote to this. As a result, I didn’t do nearly as well as I had wanted to on my exam.

We had a class dinner after the exam. And social hour. To meet our classmates and professors. It was the awkward kind of dinner, where the food is really good, and you really want to eat it, but you can’t actually eat it, because you’re standing the whole time, trying to have a conversation. I managed to do an okay job of eating most of it, though, and it was actually quite good. A chicken and pepper dish. Beef stew. Pasta. Rice. Salad. Potatoes. All very good.

I found my professor and apologized for my nightmare performance on the exam. I explained that I really was a good student, and a hard worker, and I planned to catch up. She told me not to worry at all. That I’d be just fine.

I went on to explain how I had gotten here. How Lewis had influenced me and uprooted me from the states to pursue this dream. That put a smile on her face. She is very friendly. Incredibly bright. And quite funny. She told me one of her former students is now living in C.S. Lewis’ home. And that he is actually staying in the room Lewis used to live in! She then went on to tell me how she had stupidly (her words, not mine) never made it over for tea, but that she’d have to contact him and have the both of us go over for tea! That was the point I began drooling all over her. Not really, but I was stunned.

Which is why I need to get going now. I don’t want to let this professor down. I’ve got to make it to Lewis’ old place for tea!

So, lots of studying to do tonight (it’s 11 p.m. already here), and then I plan to study in the morning again before class. Things are going to be busy, that’s for sure. But it’s going to be amazing, too. Here we go…

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