Welcome to Oxford!

To prevent myself from having a nervous breakdown brought on by lack of communication, (thank you very much AT&T, Skype, and particularly Oriel College at Oxford for tucking me away in a 500 year old turret with stone walls and no wifi signal...), I will be recording a travel diary. Please note, I said diary. I did not say anything, for example, that starts with a 'b'. Or rhymes with clog. Nevermind the web address.

So, let's get caught up to speed! I arrived here early Sunday morning, after shivering my way across the pond, courtesy of the staff at Virgin Atlantic, who seem to be labouring (I'm in England...) under the misapprehension that only three people per flight might like their blanket. Anyway! I made it in one piece and, after sleeping for approximately 7,000 hours, am starting to feel like a happy, healthy member of the human race again!

Monday was my first day of classes, which consisted of plants, followed by plants, more plants, and a side dish of Shakespeare. I have a pass for the Oxford Botanic Garden (which is nearly 400 years old, and contains representatives of almost every known plant family on earth...), and when I'm not there or in classes, I have a fair amount of free time to spend looking around. Yesterday I met the dean of Oriel College, (where I am staying and one of the 34? 38? colleges that make up the University), rumpled shirt, barefoot, 'trousers' rolled up to his knees drinking wine, eating cheese, and playing croquet on the lawn. As far as I'm concerned, America can keep baseball, I much prefer picnicking as a national past-time. You really can't turn a corner here without running into someone with a book, blanket, bottle of wine, and their red-and-white-lined picnic 'hamper' lounging under a tree or on the riverbank. So romantic! On that note I'm off to sleep, and leave you with my view of the punters along the River Cherwell from yesterday's picnic in the park: