The Adventures and Mishaps of Hanna Winzenried: Getting Started

The first few days were whirlwinds! The travel day was long and exhausting. When I got to Heathrow, I had an easy enough time finding the right bus to take to Oxford, however, when I got to Oxford I was a little lost. I went the wrong way for a few blocks before finally asking someone in a grocery store where I should be going. I finally found the Said Business School where I met up with a couple other BYU students. Jacob (or Papa J), Jake, Erin, and Caleb went with me to drop off my luggage at the Becket house where Erin and I are staying and then we went off to grab find the group that was going on that nights tour of Oxford. Papa J had rented a car that we were taking around. We got to the group in time but I decided that I was too tired and Erin was hungry, so we went to grab some Japanese food. We had a really fun time wandering around town together and bonded quite a bit! That night I met my new room mate, Andee and promptly fell asleep.

The next morning, Sunday the 9th, we go up early to attend the Eucharist at Saint Mary's Chapel. It was a beautiful service. The choir was amazing! The Bishop gave an amazing sermon about how trials are actually often to put us back on the path the Lord would have us follow. Even though things are rough, the Lord is ultimately in control of our lives. He also discussed how Paul had a glittering career ahead of him, but when he converted, that future of his was over. However, he was following the Lord's will and on the right path. It was really beautiful, actually, and that talk could have been given in an LDS meeting.

After that, we found the Oxford ward via bus. We had a lesson on Lorenzo Snow and how if we find that we are struggling with something we can't overcome, we should turn to the Lord for help. The most fun thing about church was making new friends. We had a meet and mingle afterwards and I was able to meet a ton of new kids to become friends.After Church, I went on that Oxford tour I had missed the day before. Our tour guide was really funny! We went around a bunch of the various different colleges.

Monday classes started and I quickly realized how intense the program's schedules would be! We had lectures from 9am to 1:30pm for a quick 45 minute lunch and then more lectures until 3:15 when we could take a two hour tour, and then finally lectures from 5:15 through 9:30. The Business and Philosophy lectures were intense, dense, and waaay beyond me! Philosophy was all about Aristotle and Business was going into the intricacies of social entrepreneurship, and neither subject is one I'm familiar with. The tour was enlightening, as we explored some of the secret faculty-only gardens. After that, we went to a Lecture by Clayton Christensen, who apparently is a huge business celebrity who also happens to be LDS. Although his lecture was intense, I still was able to understand it a little better than Dr. Hoffmire's (business prof) lectures. It was about disrupting industries for the better. After that, we went to a lecture at Christ Church College by Dr M. Ward called "C.S. Lewis, Narnia, and the Planets." It was about how each Narnia book was centered around one of the planets to explain Christ. His book is called Planet Narnia which explains his theory. I'm a little skeptical but I suppose I should just read the book. Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Narnia-Seven-Heavens-Imagination/dp/019973870X

That lecture was with a few other Utah programs that happened to all be in Oxford at the same time. One group had a gal that was in my Provo singles ward so that was exciting. After the lecture there was a munch and mingle and then a group of us went with Julie to check out her college, Pembroke. She is an LDS girl who is going to Oxford for her MBA and a Masters degree. She already has a Master's in Psychology from Penn State (and she will eventually get a PHd in that subject) to measure well-being to see if her social innovation is actually helping. Anyways, she's a crazy smart lady. It was fun to have Pembroke shown to us and she also showed us were good pubs are.

That was the end of my first really overwhelming days in Oxford! It made me really nervous for the rest of it but also really excited to get to know the other kids better. I just wish I had more time to myself to explore Oxford. We'll see how it turns out!