Hello collegiettes™!
I’m writing to you from across the pond, in Oxford, England. My name is Heather and I am one of the writers here at Her Campus USF. This semester I am studying abroad through an exchange program at USF. I’ll be living as an exchange student this semester at Oxford Brookes University. I am so excited to be able to share all of my travel adventures with you through Her Campus. I’ll be using this weekly trael blog to talk about the logistics, ups, downs, and everything in between that is involved with studying abroad. As always, if you have any questions you can contact me directly.
With the mountain of paperwork done, the next obstacle to come my way before even getting to the airport, was the business of packing. I had no idea how I was going to bring everything I wanted in two suitcases. Four months in two suitcases?! Somehow, it all worked out and I had just a tiny bit of room to spare. While these slew of tips might be obvious to some, they will make a big difference.
The flight from Newark to London was six hours and then there was a two hour bus ride from London to Oxford. It was a long overnight journey. I was travelling with my roommate from USF, Michelle, and a fellow USF student, Ashley. Our flight left at 7:20 p.m. and landed at 7:05 London time, or 2:25 Eastern time zone. I packed a few carry-on essentials that made the flight much more comfortable.
The air in the cabin was so dry, so I raided Bed Bath & Beyond’s travel section for a moisturizing face cream, hand lotion and chapstick. Before I went to sleep on the flight, I used a facial cleansing wipe to get all my makeup off and cleanse the face. It was so refreshing.
When we were an hour outside of London, I just went back to the bathroom, put on some more moisturizer and pressed powder. While a lot of people recommend bringing a toothbrush and toothpaste on board, I went with Colgate Wisps. I found that these were more compact than a toothbrush and toothpaste, and they were disposable which was quite convenient.
After, we successfully found the bus and made our way to Oxford Brookes University. I had packed in two duffel bags, one two pound and one forty pound, so carrying them from the bus stop to my flat was a little more than difficult. My two travel companions packed in rolling suitcases, and they had it a little easier. I chose to pack in duffel bags so I could fold them up and store them under my bed, but they seem to have done alright with storing their luggage on top of our wardrobes.
Day 1 in Oxford was exhausting, but we made the most of it. We bought some preliminary groceries, had lunch, explored the city centre, and went out to dinner at a pub. Day 2, or the first full day, was much better! Sleep was important, and although it was difficult to power through Sunday without having slept on the plane, I felt much more adjusted to the time zone on Day 2. Good thing too, because Day 2 was jam packed!
We did some more grocery shopping and found a store that sold cutlery. My flat has six single rooms, a toilet room, a shower room and a kitchen. Being able to cook will save a lot of money, more for travel! Then in the afternoon, my uni was hosting a free historic walking tour of Oxford. It was genuinely one of the best ways to familiarize myself with the city. The tour guide told us about things and showed us places that would have required hours of online research and getting lost. Below are some photos from the tour.
Reading Room at the University of Oxford
Sunset on a side street off of CornMarket Street, a large shopping area
Christ Church College: the largest college within the Uni of Oxford system and where the opening scenes of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was filmed.
There will be lots more adventures coming next week including orientation, a day trip to Bath and a day trip to London. Stay tuned next week!
HCxo,
Heather
Photo Credits:
http://www.meganotravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EuropePacking-345×600.jpg