Out of Egypt:

in oxford now

Don't know where to begin. Will write a travelogue later, I think. Jet-lagged now.

God was gracious - the flight worked out excellently, though I worried. I got a flight upgrade, was sitting in the Club World section of British Airways stretched out watching British comedy and Wallace & Grommit, drinking champagne & gin & tonic and having ridiculously large and rich meals that made me think that British Airways flights are sponsored by the sin of gluttony. I actually had to turn down pastries and snacks - that's never happened to me in an airport before.

Other off-the-cuff thoughts:

Accents are great things. As is humor - like when the driver of the bus from Heathrow to Oxford made a snide comment about one of the American passengers who tried to take on a bag that was far too large for the overhead compartment. "He's here, but I'm not sure about his friend," he said - meaning the guy's mind, I assume.

The British drive slowly because their road signs are too confusing. Talk about information overload. Their signs manage at the same time to be overliteral and stylized. Not to mention the amusing (to me) phraseology. The traffic circles are especially egregious examples of stylization and overloaded visual vocabulary. Good grief - they make New Jersey look like nothing.

British ads seem wittier and less obstrusive, more dependent on words than pictures.

Oxford has nice parks, narrow streets (people must learn to park in slots; no wonder cars are small here). It was beautiful almost walking into the flock of pigeons on the Gloucester Green square.

Ancient architecture makes me think how odd it is that our forebears could be at once so elegant and so barbaric. Reminds me of the scene from That Hideous Strength where they first meet Merlin and he criticizes the modern British lifestyle.

It's odd seeing a McDonald's in a old-style English cottage. I love that style though. Too bad most of the more modern buildings I've seen so far (like along the M40) were on the same architectural plane as my middle school. When the British build, there's no in-betweens: either elegance or complete soulless functionality.

Well, my Internet connection is still bad and I don't have a plug yet for the bizarre British power scheme so I'll get off now. Hopefully I can pick one up tomorrow. And hopefully it won't be too much - the exchange rate ($1.88 to the pound) killed me. I have about 100 pounds to my name. This won't last long. I think I'll get a part-time job.

Granted that "way out" might not be as efficient as "exit," but perhaps the English have a slightly different pace of life there...

Posted by: funke at January 10, 2006 11:34 AM