Day 7: Students are here!

My morning began very early, waking at 5am to catch a taxi to the Glouchester Green Bus Station and a 6:40am shuttle into Heathrow. I arrived right at 8am, just when I told the students I would be there. I walked around and didn't see them. Perhaps immigration took longer than the hour I had allotted them. An hour later, nothing. I rode the moving sidewalk over to Terminal 2, thinking maybe Michael would be exiting immigration. No one. Then I made my way back to the Central Bus Station. An hour passed, nothing. And finally, I saw Chelsea pulling her luggage out of the lift and into the station. She looked tired. And it's no wonder, since her flight from Nashville had her leaving at noonish (central time) on Sunday, going through Houston, and landing in London at 7:30am the next morning. Ugh.

I wondered where the others were. They were all flying into the same terminal, and I suspected they were together. I was right. I found them pushing their luggage (and a lot of it) into Terminal 2. It seems the airline list I consulted in London had Virgin Atlantic coming into Terminal 2, same as the bus station. They landed at Terminal 3 instead.

After a cup of coffee and a moment to rest and purchase tickets, we were on our way to Oxford. We switched buses at the High Street stop, right in the middle of the hustle and bustle. A questionable decision on my part since their luggage blocked half of the sidewalk. It only makes sense though, since Margaux had packed everything from pots and pans to food to clothes to you name it! She was well-prepared for the 3.5 months abroad.

On the bus, we met Robert, the Harcourt Hill chaplain, who was kind enough to help us carry and pull bags to the students' residence hall (House 3 on the Harcourt Hill campus). Robert lives in House 1. That makes me feel better about their supervision. Peter also met us at the stop and carried and pulled various bags to House 3. Keys were distributed, ID cards were made, Marshall obtained long-awaited internet access in the 24-hour lab. The day was a success.

Then came the challenge of keeping the students awake until a reasonable evening hour. Peter met with them in the house's dining room, going over some expectations and reassurances. And then I led them into town to familiarize them with the bus system and stall until at least 7pm.

We took the Queen Lane stop and made our way back towards the hub of the area. The students walked up Cornmarket Street with planned stops at Starbucks (coffee), Boots (pharmacy), and Sainbury Local (grocery).

Mom and I walked up Cornmarket to the Waterstone bookstore and then to the left towards Nando's. I have to give a big shout-out to Scott for the Nando's info. He had not yet steered me wrong with restaurant and cafe recommendations, and Nando's was just as good as he said! I had the Prego Steak Wrap with herb & lemon sauce. Mom had a 1/4 Chicken with the mango & lime sauce. She had a side of mashed sweet potato (delish!). My side was garlic bread (also to die for). And we added an extra--grilled halloumi cheese. Incredible! Like fresh buffalo mozz melted and grilled in a salty butter brushing. Yum!

We rejoined the students at 7pm and made our way to the 7:50pm bus at High Street. I stopped at an ATM only to find that Wachovia had once again blocked my ATM card for overseas use. I called for the 5th time in 7 days and nearly $40 in international calls (mostly spent on hold) to try to straighten out the ordeal. I can't understand why their idea of customer service is no better than the crap service I've been getting from them.

Maybe after working at HPU, I have a heightened expectation of what customer service is supposed to be like. Dare I say that HPU has spoiled me for service, and I am now often disappointed by the lack of results from other companies. Indeed, results do rule! And if Wachovia's poor service for overseas travelers continues, the result will be closing my accounts and stuffing my money in my mattress... or maybe a cookie jar. I wonder, which is the least predictable of the two options for potential thieves?

Hmm... something to ponder as I sit in McDonalds at 9:30pm, waiting for the bus to return. I was still on hold (see above) when the bus came to take me and the students back to campus. They headed to bed, and I returned to Scott House, only to discover that I didn't have the 100 pounds required to square my accommodation tab with Harcourt Hill. So I hopped the next bus back to town; the ATM did work (this time). Now I have just short of an hour to kill before catching the return bus at 10:05pm. A McDonalds milkshake is slowly smoothing out my frustrations. And the fact that their free wifi is actually working today is a definite perk.

It's been a long day, but a good one. The students are settled in and on their way to getting their internal clocks recalibrated/reset. We will all see each other one more time tomorrow morning at the bus stop, as they leave with Peter bound for the Headington campus, and Mom and I make our way to Orkney for the rest of the week. With a few days of rest and relaxation ahead of me on an island that is only 15 miles wide, I'm really looking forward to locating that beaten path and being absolutely sure that I stay off of it. Goodbye, city! Nature, here I come!

Oh, and Chris... garlic or very hot? How about both?