Not you, naan bread.

Here is more stuff I've done. It's probably out of sequence. I don't care.

Saturday, September 29th
9am coach to London. We went to the Tower of London and had a tour by a quite amusing Beefeater who told us lots of bloody stories. Abbey and I went to the café and I got a cocoa and a little strawberry jelly. I ate me jelly and then we went on a boat up the Thames, which was beautiful. We passed under many bridges, and saw the Globe, the Eye and many other things. I waved at people on bridges. The Tower Bridge is the most beautiful bridge. We got off at the Houses of Parliament, where we went through all this security and then had a tour. It’s odd to think we were walking around where the MP’s and the PM and the Queen hang out. After that we explored London on our own. I got a sausage roll and Cornish pasty which was heaven. We wandered around and actually ran into Carnaby Street, which had been sadly gentrified, but I still thought it was cool. I love London. It’s a beautiful city. I very much enjoyed walking around in the skeezy parts of town. The more like the Lower East Side a place is, the more I like it.
Despite myself I had to think of Wordsworth's Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven. It was nice to think that we are young and cool and Absolute Beginners and King of the Mods right now.

After that we crammed onto a rush hour Tube and met a whole bunch of other people and walked around looking for a pub. It had to just right, dim, full of cobwebs, and the sort of place where when we walked in the music would stop and everyone would turn and look at us, and someone would tell us to keep off the moors. Eventually we found one that was a freemason pub. Seriously. They were probably slaughtering goats right under our feet. We ordered chips and everyone got drinkies. Then we walked back in the nighttime. We were looking for the coach but I got separated from the others and after a while I called Alex and asked where everyone was and then we all got back together and got on the bus. I was happy and content and in love with creation.


Sunday, September 30th
Fresher’s introduction in the JCR. The Wadham Freshers all seemed very young. I felt quite awkward, as most of us did, I imagine. There were icebreakers, by literally breaking frozen t-shirts. They gave us Wadham Freshers polos. We also all got cards and had to find those of us with the same one. Everyone seemed to find lots of people with their same card, but in the whole crowd I only found one solitary person with my card. We had to shout to talk. He asked where I was from and I yelled America. Where was he from? Iran. “Aww!” I bellowed. “Let’s be friends!” and gave him a hug. He vanished after a while though. It’s too bad because I wanted to be friends with him. I met some other very nice people though.

Monday, October 1st
Address by the Warden in the Holywell Music Room. I was late and missed it. But I ran into Claire and she took me and some others up to her room and gave us tea. Then there was the Student Union address, and lunch with our college parents and siblings. I didn’t really click with my college family, I have to say. There wasn’t anything very interesting about them and they didn’t seem interested in me. Also I was very tired. They took us to a nice little restaurant called Puccini’s however, and I got hummus and pita, which was excellent ‘cos I gots to have my hummus.

Tuesday, 2nd October
10 am. Health and Welfare talk, college doctors. I skipped it, being under the impression that a good night’s sleep might aid my welfare. Wadham Library Induction. It’s so different from the libraries I’m used to. It’s open 24/7 without librarians always being there, you could just live there if you wanted, and the books are self-checkout on an honor system, for goodness’ sakes. Then I went to the virgin megastore and made a very self-indulgent unnecessary debit-card purchase: the first 2 seasons of THE MIGHTY BOOSH.
Met Dr. John Ballam above Starbucks. He’s v. unpretentious and such a nice man. I’m to read Godwin and Wollstonecraft for starters.


I’ve been infecting everyone I can with the Mighty Boosh. It’s the greatest show in the history of mankind and is basically a visual representation of the inside of my head. Charlie said it’s not so very well known even here, and no Americans know of it. So I’ve been spreading its madness by viewings. Our flat is so cute and domestic. Abbey or Chris or David will make some elaborate dinner, then we’ll all sit on the couch and watch the Boosh. And Jemma or Kelly or Chris will come over and watch with us.

Wed 3rd October

Unfortunately seem to have come down with something. Ugh. I knew I was going to get the horrible lurgy. I knew it.

We went into town for the Foam Party but didn’t actually end up going. We just hung out in the JCR. Then Abbey, Chris and Alex and I walked home in a circuitous manner, stopping for a donner from a kebab van.

Kebab vans: the reason why the UK is amazing.


Thurs 4
OUSU Undergraduate Fresher’s Fair, Examination Schools.

Madness. So many people, so many signs, words, ack. Signed up for a bunch of literary, arty, jewy things. went to OUSU and bought a nice spiky plant named Spike for our flat.

Then I was soooo tired. I could barely drag myself home. It was literal hell. I must be walking about a million miles a day.

That night I went to Simchat Torah at Chabad on George St. I was counting on Chabad to replace Sarah Lawrence Hillel for me, except it’s nothing like at all. It’s quite conservative, there was a curtain between the men and the women. I don’t mind being separate from the men, but the Rabbi and the Torah were on the men’s side, and I felt like I was expected to sit with the children and chat. I just want to pray, and sing, and then eat, if that’s not too much to ask.
I had a pretty nice time chatting, though, had some challah, and even danced a little with the women.

I really just a want a big hug from my own Rabbi, and my own slc Hillel Shabbat.


Fri 5

Met the infamous Professor Valentine Cunningham. When I told Ballam he was my other tutor he put his head in his hands, not a good sign, and said he was very eccentric and doesn’t really know anyone else exists.

I had to find Corpus Christi, which is a very beautiful college, and sat in a lovely garden while I waited for 3 o’clock.

Professor Cunningham turned out to be really awesome. He flitted about his office, which is covered in books from floor to ceilings, and told me to read Frankenstein.


Excellent.

Also, MR. FLIBBLE CAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally!! I was so happy, I went everywhere with him for hours.

That night we got dressed up for the School Uniform Bop. It was much, much better than a sarah Lawrence dance bc 1. people actually came, and 2. people actually danced. They played awesome music from our middle school days like aqua and the spice girls and it was great. It was close and sweaty and everything a dance should be. Outside cooling off I spoke about piracy with some dude. I probably only succeeded in weirding him out, to be honest.

I did the Hammer dance.



Saturday, 6th October

National Mad Hatter Day.

Me and Abbey went to Sainsbury’s yesterday for Mcvities, custard, garlic naan, clotted cream, bake wells, and other Tea things. We kept saying “not you, naan bread,” until we were mad.

So today we made things for High Tea. Abbey made wonderful currant scones. I made apple crumble with custard. Then people came and brought many nummy things.

We ate them until we were sick and decided to plan a frat party.

In more important news, it transpires that Jemma had the complete box set of Red Dwarf. Yaaa! So exiting. So for the past few nights we have been watching about an episode a day. I love that show.



Still suffering from the horrible throat lurgy.
I was coughing my lungs out and it wasn’t cool. I went to the co-op I hopes of finding some Nyquil, but there was only some weird cough syrup called benylin, which frankly I don’t actually think is a cough suppressant at all. I also got a steak and kidney pie, and horlicks.

But really I just want Nyquil. What is so hard about having Nyquil, people??

Sunday 7th October

Went with Abbey to this Anglo-Saxon reenactment group she signed up for. I sort of noticed the man in a tunic with a shield and that at the Fresher’s Fair, but for some reason it didn’t register with me.
We went to the University Parks where there was a whole crowd of people with swords and shields in anglo-saxon dress standing looking awesome. I expected Simon Schama to walk up any minute and start talking about Hastings.

We were taught to fight with sticks, swords, and spears. My favorite was sticks because you can hit harder with them. It was loads of fun. We all walked to a pub then. I shuffled in leaves and that was fun.
Apparently all the Warrior people do is battle, then sit around in pubs singing filthy songs, and drinking, or watching the princess bride and drinking, and singing more filthy songs and drinking.

In short, they’re awesome.

Abbey wanted to stay with them, so we stayed after all the other newbies went away, and got kebab with them. I got mixed meat kebab with garlic naan bread.

Not you, naan bread.

And I had a lucazade, to complete the boosh references.

Then Abbey and I went to the inklings meeting, which was great. I was afraid they’d be really pretentious, but one piece they read was cheesy fantasy and the other humour, so I’m set.