University of Edinburgh, Semester in Scotland 2011: Weekend at Oxford University

Last Friday I made the long journey by train from Edinburgh to Oxford. It was about seven hours with one stop in Newcastle in between, giving me lots of time to study for my exams (fun...) The lengthy ride was well worth it though because I was able to visit a friend from high school who is there as a study abroad student, and a friend I met at Christie's last summer who is a full time student at Oxford. Once I arrived I met Liza at a pub about a five minute walk from the train station right as she and her friend were leaving. She explained that part of getting the full Oxford experience is eating "truck food" and ordered me a massive falafel wrap (definitely a good idea). We then walked to her dorm in St. Catherine's College. Oxford University works under a collegiate system, meaning that there are 38 separate colleges within the Oxford umbrella. Some have their own cathedrals, deer parks (seriously), and sporting grounds and all have residence halls. It's a really cool system that allows the university to feel much smaller and provides for tons of social opportunities. Later that night St. Cat's put on an "Entz" which is one of the college's many socials held in their common area, which was really nice. Cat's is a little different from some of the other colleges in that it was built later on and has much more modern architecture from the seventies, but it's still really nice. The theme of the party was animals and there were lots of great costumes. Lucky for me, Liza ran to Primark (British Walmart) and bought me cow print PJ pants before I got there, so I was well prepared. It was such a great time, and I met all of her friends who were really welcoming (one was from Ceder Rapids!!)

On Saturday morning, Liza took me on a tour of Oxford. Unsurprisingly, it was so beautiful and so different from Edinburgh! The buildings are all sandstone and very collegiate looking. We walked by Christ Church and through the park surrounding it. I got to see the Thames and some Oxford rowers, which felt very British. It seemed like everywhere I turned there was someone playing cricket or croquet, and apparently the university teams are really serious there, even though it was hard for me to get past how stereotypically British everyone looked. We also went into the Ashmolean Museum, which I was really impressed with. The collection of paintings was awesome, so naturally I was excited. We also walked by some of the more historic university buildings like the Bodleian Library, which can be used only by Oxford students. It is forbidden to take out any of the library books because most of them are so old, and it houses some of the oldest manuscripts (so cool). Liza also told me that often the only way to get a book is by climbing rolling ladders, just like in the movies! I so wish I could have gone in!

rowers on the Thames River

croquet players in front of Christ Church

the famous Bodleian Library

downtown Oxford

Later on we ate dinner at one of Oxford's historic pubs. Liza took me inside one of the oldest ones called Eagle and Child, famous for being the favorite writing place of CS Lewis and JR Tolkein. The atmosphere and super low ceilings definitely felt medieval, which was pretty cool. After fish and chips for dinner, we headed back to Cat's and had a movie night.

On Sunday morning we woke up to two of Liza's friend dressed in all white asking if we wanted to go with them to a Holi Day paint fight. Apparently it is a Hindu spring tradition to have a giant paint fight to welcome the new season. Lucky for me I had a white shirt that I didn't care about! It was so much fun and all of her friends from Cat's were there. Afterwards we went to a sandwich shop and ate on the Bodleain steps covered in paint, such a good time!

Holi Day paint fight!

Afterwards we did a little more sightseeing and saw the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. We also saw the Magdalen College Deer Park, one of the many amenities of the Oxford University colleges... Later on I met my friend Hattie at Kings Arms, which is a favorite student pub. It was so nice to see her since she lives in the UK, and we have so few opportunities to get together! For dinner we bought sandwiches and ate with Liza's friends on the steps of Cat's. I'm so glad she's met such great people at school, and I was so excited to get to know all of them!

University Church of St. Mary the Virgin

Magdalen College Deer Park

On Monday morning we woke up early and went to breakfast at the Grand Cafe, which was a favorite of Chelsea Clinton's when she attended Oxford. We were feeling very British as we sipped tea and ate crumpets, which I realized are really what we call English muffins at home. We also grabbed a cookie for the road from a well-liked place in Oxford's covered market. On the way to the train station, Hattie biked over to say goodbye, which was really nice! Then I was off to Edinburgh. I had such an amazing weekend and was so grateful to be able to experience Oxford with people who actually go there since it is such an amazing and prestigious place.