The Oxford Term Begins

So many of my friends here at Oxford have started a blog to tell their friends all about their Oxford experience this term.  I decided that this would be a great idea, so I copied them and now officially have a blog!  I have been at Oxford for about two weeks now and during that time have had to adjust to a lot.  First off, bus drivers are very difficult to understand so make sure you know your stop very well.  When I first got to Oxford I missed my bus stop and had to travel the route again, get on another bus, and eventually get to Pullens land to arrive at my oxford home The Vines.  

This is my house that I live in with about 36 other SCIO students from around the United States.  It is a beautiful house with a lot of room.  All of the people that live here are wonderful as well.  We all get a long very nicely.

After we got here we had an entire week of Orientation where we went around Oxford learning the area, the schools, and the libraries.  There are SO MANY libraries in Oxford, over 100.  In all of these libraries there are a total of 12 million books circulating around Oxford.  Because there are so many, they have to keep some of the books in salt mines and underground bunkers.  This entire city is a history lesson waiting to happen!

Orientation week was interesting because we were able to get a feel of what tutorials and lectures would be like before they started.  We were all freaking out because it is a completely different teaching style than the States.  We have a primary and a secondary tutor.  We see the primary tutor ever week where we have to read a certain book list and write a 2,000-2,500 word essay based off of a question given to us.  Our secondary tutorial meets once every other week (or in British terms: a fortnight) and we have the same requirements of a reading list and an essay.  We also have lectures that are not attendance based, but as SCIO students we are required to go to 32 during the term.

The Saturday after orientation week many of us from the SCIO group took an optional field trip to go to London.  I now had the chance to act like a real tourist and take tons of pictures!!  Here are some of the pictures I took:

London was sooo beautiful! I absolutely loved all the scenery.  London was a great end to the orientation week.

Last week was my first week of lectures and tutorials.  They went well and I survived what I thought would never end.  Because of the amount of work we have at Oxford, every week feels like finals week at Olivet, but even though it is difficult, it is worth it.

I am off now, I hope you guys enjoyed my first blog and there will be more to come soon about my Oxford experience.
Tata for now!,
Katie