The Most Beautiful City on Earth

It has been exactly two weeks since I arrived in Oxford. What can I even say about it? Where do I possibly begin? It is without a doubt the most beautiful city I have ever walked through, and I have strong suspicions that it is also most likely the most beautiful city on earth. I have only been here two weeks, but I can say in all honesty that it feels like I've been here for many, many months. I still feel like I'm walking in a dream, yet in reality I'm halfway around the world studying at one of the most renowned universities in the world. Strange. 

Port Meadow

Our flat

Well, to give you an idea of what my life here is like, I live in a flat with five other students: 2 girls from APU, 2 boys from Virginia, and another boy from Boston. I love all of them, and even though we are all quite different, somehow it just works. Our flat is literally just down the street from the city center of Oxford. Oxford University Press is in our backyard, The Eagle and Child (the meeting place for the Inklings, including CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Charles Williams, etc.) is just down the street, and the there are moments where, as ridiculous as it is, I feel like I'm walking through a scene from a Harry Potter movie (which is actually quite possible since many of the scenes were filmed here in Oxford). There is a wide meadow just a few minutes walking distance away that stretches out for acres and acres with the Thames River running through it. Even the high expectations I arrived in Oxford with did not even remotely match up to the utter beauty that is found in this city.

In Jericho

As for my classes, I absolutely love them. Since the University of Oxford uses the tutorial system, they are not exactly "classes" per se. We meet one-on-one with our professor, someone who specializes in the exact field and topic we want to study, once a week for one hour. He or she then gives us a reading list of books (which we can find at one of the endless number of libraries at the university) and the topic for our next essay. It is very independent, and you have to be quite self-motivated. But honestly, I love this style of teaching. Because the tutorials are designed to fit your interests and what you want to study, you are never stuck reading about something you don't care about or have no passion for. I have sat in the library and read for hours upon hours without even noticing how much time has gone by. You have an endless amount of resources the university makes available to you. It is heaven for those who love learning and have a hunger for knowledge. 

Thames River

Even though I have only been here for a couple of weeks, I am already scheming in my head different ways I can return here to study later in life (no, not next year). Maybe graduate school? Who knows. I feel so thankful to have been given this opportunity. I feel like it really is an "opportunity of a lifetime" kind of thing. After only two weeks, I am already falling completely in love with this place.