The Eagle Has Landed

Yes, I am here. Very tired and with a killer headache, but present, in one piece, and functional (somewhat) in my flat. I took various pictures on the way to document the trip, but don't want to bother uploading them now, so I will have to do those later. In the meantime, after a very VERY long flight, in which nothing much happened except my butt got very tired of an airline seat, I finally landed in Heathrow with my internal clock completely out of whack, navigated my way through a rabbit's warren of passages, escalators, trains, and signs, and finally managed to locate the bus which would convey me to Oxford. This also went off without mishap. I found the taxi stand and, after a brief misunderstanding in which the driver thought I said Wolfson College instead of Wadham College, finally got to the right drop-off, where I got my keys and packet, then jumped straightaway back IN the same taxi and got ferried to Iffley Road, where my new flat is located. It is not a bad flat. Four small bedrooms and two small bathrooms, with a downstairs with a nice living area and kitchen. After I got most of my things unpacked, but did not bother to make the bed (I'll do that in a minute) I set straightaway back out again, as there was the mild problem of a) my electronics deciding not to work, and b) I needed food.

I had a small map of Oxford at my disposal, but since it was useless at first, I had to steer by relying on the rather daunting task of recognizing streets and buildings from the way in. I did manage to do this, since I have a good sense of direction, even though I often had no clue if I was on the right track or not. Then I recognized a few of the street names on the map, and promptly went the other way from where they ended. Then I got hit on twice in the space of ten blocks by random guys, which was mildly flattering if somewhat creepy. And then I sorted my way through all the roundabouts, bought a mobile phone (the deal is that you pay for it as you go, and then I forgot to find out what my number is and now can't top it up since I spent my first amount calling home to let my mom know I was alive. So, which means I am going to have to hope the reserve kicks in, or I'm gonna have to traipse all the way BACK there and ask them what the deal is). I also managed to fry my power strip and briefly wonder if the electricity was going to work, which it did eventually. Long story.

In any case, orientation starts tomorrow and I'm going to have to go into more detail then, because I am wiped. The clock says 9:07 pm and even though it's only 2pm back home (wweeeeeeird) I have NO trouble believing it. Shower, make the bed, read some stuff, we should be gooodggzuzh.