Pinch Me I'm Dreaming

Well, it's day 2 of this incredible experience and I'm in love with it already! The 170-yr old manor is of course gorgeous itself, and the faculty/staff are all very fun and excited about this place--specifically the social/emotional/academic learning that will occur. Which I must say, I am quite excited for as well!
Getting here was a bit of a challenge. The flights went well (I was blessed to sit by a girl from Iowa headed to Oxford to study theology--so we were able to relate on the midwest & Christian levels!), as did going through Customs at Heathrow. But once we met up with the Harlaxton group (who we had to locate in a separate terminal from our own) we waited...about 2 1/2 hours...finally about 50 of us piled on a 'coach' (bus) and headed out, while the remaining groups would catch another one. We had to go down to Gatwick to pick up a few more students from there, then we were on our way (now having waited about 3 1/2 hours total). We drove about an hr when our dear bus driver, George, informed us he was legally required to stop the coach, have us all get off, and wait for 45 min before he could drive anymore. Awesome. So we all (sleep deprived, anxious for Harlaxton, in the same clothes since the day before) climbed off and waited in a sort of mini-mall. Finally we got back on and were at Harlaxton by 3:30 or 4:00 (about 9 hrs after we'd actually gotten into London Heathrow, and 2 hrs later than all the other students). We got settled in our rooms (mine being 516, which is the furthest south-west room on the highest floor there is--meaning I get a GREAT calf/leg workout everytime I go up/down from my room!). My roommate is a junior Math Ed major from Wisconsin Eau Clair (sp?). She's very nice and not crazy so that's something to be grateful for :)
Today we had a Convocation ceremony, then some orientations, and book-buying time (I'll spending about $70-$80 total, which is better than any semester at Baker, so far!), then a bunch of us caught a shuttle-coach into Grantham for some needed items (laundry soap, shampoo, etc etc). Tonight we have a fancy dinner that we get all dressed up for, that should be fun.