Non-Academic Orientation
Trip Start
Jan 05, 2006
1
5
12
Trip End
Apr 13, 2006
Oxford,
United Kingdom
Monday, January 9, 2006
Today we had our first day of orientation which, for me, started bright and early at 7 am. We left the house and walked about 40 minutes to the other SSO house, the Vines, on Headington Rd. Our trek took us through a muddy but beautiful park with nearly neon green grass, swans, Canadian geese, and other flora and fauna whose name(s) I don't know. I will go back and take pictures when we're not in a rush. In the course of the morning's agenda, we went over non-academic policies such as emergency information, library locations (there are over 100 libraries in the city), cards, and procedures (the Bodleian runs rather similarly to the Library of Congress, requesting books at least a half a day in advance and directing them to whatever reading room you prefer), computer information, etc. After lunch, we broke off into assigned groups for a "Treasure Hunt" (scavenger hunt) about the city. I found out at tea that this is the first time they did a hunt instead of taking us students on tours
01 Stained Glass
. The items on the list were too many to check, but we did explore a good bit of the town and colleges. We went a little off-book and peeked into Christ Church Cathedral - those are the pictures (one of which is a video with some audio - just me chatting). It was exquisite. Radcliffe Square (where the Bodley and Radcliffe Camera are) was also breathtaking. Sorry no pictures for them, either. That was the last thing we looked at, and I was rather ready for tea and treats (and getting a bit crabby, I admit). Met some neat people who are mentioned in the photos. The office I'm sitting in is Simon Lancaster's - the Tutor of Student Affairs (general chaplain and counselor for us). He's an Aussie (from Perth) and very nice. That's all for now. We may be watching a film tonight and I want to go socialize some more before everyone's overly concerned with their studies. Much love! Nicole 
