"Brilliant"

As much as I would love to say that I am asleep at the moment... I am not. Yes... it is currently 2:30 a.m. here in Oxford. I went to sleep at 8, slept for 6.5 hours and I am wide awake. Ironically, so is my roommate Malia.
The plane ride was not so terrible, I slept for around 4 hours. We arrived in London at 10a.m. and went straight to customs. This was not so pleasureable. Apparently, within the past week the rules have changed as to who can come into the counry and take classes at a University. Basically, our group wasn't registered to enter the country. We sat in line for almost an hour. Within that hour, I decided "hey, let's take a picture." Bad idea. As soon as my flash went off, I heard, "hey come here" by a not so friendly looking British officer. I had to give him my camera and he deleted the photos. He exclaimed, "brilliant!" We finally figured everything out, grabbed our luggage, and took a 45 minute bus ride to Oxford.
If I could use one word to describe Oxford I would say PERFECT. For starters, there is snow on the ground, which makes everything glisten. After we unpacked and had lunch, we split up into two groups and strolled into town. Every building is unique and breathtaking. It's hard to believe that the buildings I see and the stones I walk on are older than our country. I saw a few of the campuses of Oxford University and they are everything and even more than I imagined. STUNNING. As we were walking down the pathway, I suddenly saw my first red telephone booth. Let me tell you, it is even more darling than in any picture I have ever seen. I kind of freaked out and ran over to the telephone booth. The phone really had a dial tone! You can definitely tell these telephone booths have been here for many many years. My teacher, Dr. Bennett, showed us where the ATM was and the currency exchange.. then he left us. We were on our own and we went directly to exchange our money. I gave the woman 173$ and I received 98 pounds. Goodness. I literally felt my heart break a little. Next, we went into a department store. Oh my goodness!!!! Chills went straight up my spine. I don't know if it was the lack of sleep, but that department store was the most beautiful department store in the world! Next, we went to a local grochery store. Honestly, I was completely terrified as I walked in, but it's just like an American grochery store. Later, we took showers, and went out to eat at Eagle and Child. This is were C.S. Lewis wrote his books. Yes, you heard me correctly. C.S. Lewis wrote his books in this pub. I ordered a chicken breast sandwhich and water to drink. Everyone else had fish and chips. Not really my cup of tea. While we were eating, we met two other Americans from Georgia!
I have to say that I feel like I'm leaving in a fairy tale. I've dreamed of this place for years and now I am actually here, living and breathing the Oxford air. I love everyone in my group. The guys are such gentlemen and they are hilarious. I am very grateful for them. They help us with our bags, carrying our grocheries, holding the door open, and helping us figure out how to plug something in the wall! I'm very excited to see our group bond even more!
Oh, and just some interesting facts.... the shower has an electrical box in it. The water goes into the box, heats, and then comes out as hot water. Ummmm.... I don't think this would go over very well in America. Also.. you push a button to flush the toilet.
My first day in Oxford England was terrific!
Cheers!