Settling in Again

(The garden is almost unrecognizable now that the grass is actually green, the skies are actually blue, and the blossoms are out - spring in Oxford is AWESOME!)

I've been back in Oxford for just over a day now, and am finally starting to feel settled in. I've got an awesome new room, a huge single with two enormous windows that look out over the garden, and so am getting used to a new part of the house. It's weird to suddenly be one of a few people that actually knows how to get places (last night I was leading my friend back to her room and she was absolutely certain we were going the wrong way right up until we showed up outside her door), though since I still get lost on a regular basis I'm probably a pretty unreliable tour guide. In general I'm loving my new part of the house, which feels much more connected to the rest of the community than my old room over in "The Tower," so named because it was completely isolated from the rest of the house, complete with its own staircase off the side of the building.

(My adorable new room, looking as clean as it will all quarter)

The only downsides so far are the direct proximity of my room to a small kitchen that people so far have taken to enjoying banging pots around in at insanely early hours of the morning (read: 9am - wayyyyy too early in Oxford time!!) and the extreme remoteness of the shower, which requires going up two separate staircases and through a door--both not exactly convenient. I'm LOVING having my own space, though, so no complaints: I'll just get some earplugs and enjoy the stair-climbing workout I'll get every trip to the shower!

Class-wise, my two tutorials are falling into place: I met with my Art History tutor yesterday, and she seemed very nice though pre-warned me that she has a reputation for giving harsh comments on papers. Yikes! At least I'm forewarned! She seems very genuinely interested in helping me improve, though, so I'm excited to continue to grow as a writer with her help. I haven't met my Military History advisor yet but have been in email communication and will see her next week. I'm SO excited for that class; it should be a very fun change up from all the art history I've been immersed in of late! And getting to study World War II without constantly having to talk about "the homefront" (blah blah blah blah)? SUPER PUMPED.

I was also toying with taking one or two classes through the Stanford house, but have decided against it. Both the classes I wanted to take were overbooked and would have been really hard to schedule with some of the horse show trips I want to take this term, and so when they requested that some people consider dropping, I decided that it was for the best. Even though I'll only be taking 12-14 units (depending on whether I decide to go for the 7th unit in my two tutorials), I know that my two tutorials are still going to take up an incredible amount of time and effort. Combine that with the somewhat ambitious traveling schedule I have going (which may have just gotten a little more ambitious as of a few minutes ago! Fingers crossed!), and I think I'm going to be very much busy enough.

All right! I have to scamper off to opening dinner and then get packed for BADMINTON THIS WEEKEND!! =D