A Tragedy and a Triumph

"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." -Ernest Hemingway

After a good nights sleep I managed to wake up at 11 AM and managed to go through the morning routine with relatively no mishaps. I've managed to borrow a towel and I grabbed a curling iron as well, which hopefully will also work as a straightener of sorts. The one thing I have to buy is a straightener because *surprise surprise* it won't work. I used my converter and all, but it blew a fuse and I was then told that it would be much better (read: safer) to just use one that is from the UK. This was my tragedy, not so much because it was actually that bad, but it was very stressful not having what I needed.

My triumphs, thank goodness, have been multiple. The first isn't so much a triumph as it is a true blessing. As I arrived Friday and settled my first arrangements, I entered a small, yet cozy room that I share with a really nice girl, Andrea. We have very similar interests and personalities, but are different enough where we don't annoy the life out of each other...at least, not yet ;) The first obvious blessing is that I have a good roommate! The second is that there is only one roommate, which is a big stress reliever for me. The third is that we have a little sink in our room! So far, we are the only room to have a sink and our thought is that, since it's a rather

small room, it might have been a bathroom at one point. Nonetheless, it's very nice having a little sink to ourselves, since the bathrooms and showers (there are many, but the toilets and the showers are all separate) are all communal.

((Can you find Jeffrey the Gnome in the picture?))

My second triumph was finding a two-pence on the street! I went with a group of five or so on a leisurely walk in to town. We ended up walking probably over six miles (getting into town takes a good 15 minutes...getting back to the Vines took a bit longer--uphill for a good while). Amidst my travels I got to know some more people that live at the Vines and at one point noticed a coin on the ground. Fully aware that one pound coins are pretty valuable, I picked it up...but it was just a two-pence. But, that is about 3.5 cents! So yay for that triumph.

My third triumph was finally learning to play this game called "Mafia" and although I didn't win, I had such a blast.

Quick Facts From Oxford:

1. Garbage= "rubbish"
2. A "quid" is slang for a pound sterling (right now £1 = $1.77 or $1 = £0.57). This could stem from the name of a mint in Quidhampton, but is more likely to stem from the Latin phrase Quid pro quo, ("this for that") which  means an exchange of goods.
3. 'Cheerio' is outdated term but 'cheers' is not (that I know of)...

Overall, I had a great first (whole) day in Oxford and I'm really excited for what tomorrow brings! I could give hints away now, but I'd rather surprise everyone tomorrow (although, it should be noted that I have stayed up far too late and that my next post for "tomorrow" will, in fact, be today!).

Cheerio ;)

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Note to self:

-put picture of gnome on first blog

-upload video of bells ringing