Every morning, breakfast is served at 8:00. I’ve become so used to waking up at that hour that my body has just adjusted to it, I suppose. This morning, I was in the middle of a deep sleep, and I woke up at 7:58 quite unexpectedly. So, huzzah for having an internal alarm clock!
This morning, it was sunny and quite refreshing outside. When I left breakfast, it was overcast and cloudy. When I was walking to the Radcliffe Camera, it began to rain. This weather change occurred within a span of thirty minutes. Welcome to England!
I had reserved a book that I need to read by Monday, and I had it delivered to the Lower Reading Room of the Radcliffe Camera. This is how the Bodleian works. You look up the book that you need; you’re lucky if it’s already on the shelves. If not, you have to request it from the stacks. The librarians find it in the stacks, send it on a cart, and deliver it to whatever reading room you so desire. I haven’t studied in the Camera yet, so I thought it’d be great to do that. I walked over to the Camera this morning, and my heart sunk. The gate was closed. Usually, the Camera is open on Saturdays, but apparently not this one. I was lucky enough to find another copy in the Social Science Library. The only problem was that I have never been in there before, so I had no idea where anything was. I eventually did find my book (it analyzes all the rhetoric and language that Saddam Hussein used to promote his Ba’thist regime. It’s really quite an interesting book; it’s kind of like linguistics meets political science.). I missed lunch at the college, so I went to the Covered Market to find some food. There’s a place (Brown’s Cafe) that has takeaway fish & chips for £4.95. When my meal was ready, the cashier/server/person asked me if I needed ketchup. I told him no, but malt vinegar and salt would be fantastic. He was really confused after that! My accent wasn’t meeting the stereotypical taste buds! My mom’s voice popped into my head, and I decided that I probably should get some fruit. At the local grocery store, apricots were on sale. So, I picked up a box and had a delectable meal of fish & chips and apricots! Afterwards, my roommate, Cathleen, and I went out for high tea again. I love the British – they give you a random and unjustified excuse to have cake in the middle of the day!
After dinner, I guess Mom’s voice wasn’t popping into my head, and I thought it’d be a great idea to go take pictures of Oxford in the rain. I might be soaking wet right now, but at least I have some amazing pictures of Oxford! Because of the rain, there’s not that much to do right now. Cathleen was an English major at Holy Cross, and she’s doing a summer tutorial on Virginia Woolf. We did a book swap – she’s reading The End of the Affair, and I’m reading Mrs. Dalloway right now. It’s really just a nice, relaxing night in this amazing city.
