A posting from the other, less-fair Gahan

A new voice has infiltrated Sara's blog. She couldn't keep England to herself forever, and there are now two Gahans in Oxford. I arrived a bit bleary eyed Tuesday around lunch time, and have been having an absolute blast since then. It also seems that I brought a bit of the sunny South with me, and though today is a bit grey, overall the weather has been really beautiful since I arrived. Tuesday afternoon Sara and I took a walk around some of the colleges and between hugs and kisses given to me much missed wife, I stumbled around mouth agape admiring all of the regal beauty of Oxford. What a magical place to study for the summer; it is truly an amazing blend of romance, history, wisdom, and English charm in one place with just a little raucous college-town elements thrown in, too. I am excited to explore London, Bath, and other notable spots here in the U.K., but I am so glad to have Oxford as a home base and to have the opportunity to explore it thoroughly. Tuesday night, I got to enjoy my first high table. Really cool, I felt like Abrams in the opening scenes of Chariots of Fire, and though I am not sure I used the right fork all of the time, it was, to use some of the local, high brow vernacular, a sumptuous affair. Afterwards, Sara and I along with our mutual friends went down to the Lincoln College pub and I had my first pint (and then another). I got caught up with old friends, played a round of "Family"--a fun pub game, and then hit the hay like a ton of bricks. Sara and I got up yesterday and took a long walk along the Thames to a town called Iffley. We saw the colleges many boathouses, and in Iffley stumbled upon an immaculate old stone chapel from the late 1600's. After a baguette lunch, Sara went to class, and I killed a few hours looking more closely at some of the older colleges before I found a coffee shop where I could read the play we are going to see tonight, The Merry Wives of Windsor. Though the colleges are all fairly similar in their layouts, there are some variations in the appearances of their quads. Though, Lincoln is stunning, I think Jesus college is my favorite so far in terms of appearance. Anyway, Sara got back from class around supper time, and we decided to walk up to a more residential neighborhood for the evening called Jericho. I would describe it as being like the Brooklyn of Oxford. Less commercial than Oxford proper, but still very urban and hip. We had a awsome Indian supper, a nice walk, and ended up seeing a French movie called Priceless at a small picture house. The movie was romantic and funny, sort of like a edgier Julia Roberts romantic comedy set in Nice. All in all a perfect date night. We got up for a run this morning, running up a a hill south of town, which offered an awesome overlook of the colleges as we ran back. Later today we go to London to see a play at the Globe. I am very excited. All in all, I am being spoiled beyond belief. For those of you reading this who are going to make your way here in the near future, get fired up; it's wonderful. I should also add that I highly recommend going to Bread Loaf and not taking any classes; that's the way to do it!