A Master abroad – Oxford, UK

Oxford is too beautiful for words and I cannot adequately describe how lucky I feel to be here with words, so I’ll keep the blabber short and let you look at pretty pictures of the University of Oxford and surrounding areas.

To start, here’s the gorgeous view from the newly constructed Maths Institute shot on one of my first days in town and posted on the insta (@geewilki – check it out). Although I am not a math major myself, I must say that the building is a calculated masterpiece from the acoustics to the decor.

Shortly after our arrival and before the start of the semester, some good friends and I took a trip out to Blenheim Palace where the Duke of Marlborough resides and where I had the pleasure of receiving a private tour from his brother! I have photographic evidence if you don’t believe me, but his face is not as pretty as the scenery so I’m not including it in this post. Anyway, if you’re ever around Oxford, definitely worth a visit – the gardens are breathtaking and make for a wonderful walk around the grounds. The museum inside the castle features a well-curated exhibition of the life and times of Winston Churchill and friends.

A small example of the overwhelming charm of the city. Every corner has little local shops, old-fashioned buildings, and scary speeding cyclists. I consider myself a part of the slow, harmless cyclists.

And last, but by no means least, my favorite sight of all! The beautiful Christ Church Meadow. I think I take at least five pictures every time I walk down this path to rowing practice in the wee hours of the morning. Now that the leaves have started turning colors, it has become increasingly gorgeous and it always brightens my mood no matter the circumstances.

Some fun facts about the English language:
-pants = underwear.. don’t tell anyone you like their pants.
-marmite is this weird thing that tastes like chicken stock and is oddly amazing on a heavily buttered crumpet, but again what isn’t good on a heavily buttered anything
-good things are “brilliant!”
-no one says cheerio or pip pip
-Q-tips are cotton buds
-Band-Aids are plasters… clearly America is a brand whore
-a “bap” is a breakfast sandwich
-if something is “quite” good, it’s only mediocre
-apparently a lot of English folk don’t like Earl Grey tea (I do!)

There are probably several more that I’m forgetting, but I’ll throw them into another post.
Oh.. another thing before I go! Try a London Fog (Early Grey, steamed milk, pump of vanilla)! But not in England, because no one will know what it is and you’ll get weird looks. I’m speaking from experience.

Anyway, thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far, and stay tuned for more sweet photos of my study abroad adventures! My tickets for Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany are all booked (Dec 16th – Jan 11th)… PUMPED! In the meantime, back to that 500 page textbook I’m supposed to have finished reading in three weeks.

Cheers!
AW