6/25/08 Wednesday

On short notice, Mari was able to assemble a trip to Oxford for us. She was able to pull it off. We got a group discount rate as long as we travelled in groups of four. That was the only restriction-travel in groups of four. It was a good thing there were 12 people in the class; all of us got on the train as a group, but when we came home four people had to go at a time. We had to take two trains to get there, but over all, I thought it was worth it.

From the train station, we walked down to where the main church hall was. The sign in front informed us that the hall wouldn't open until 230 pm and it was 1030 am. Dennis and Jill took us on a tour of the grounds around the hall; we walked around a huge, green field. It was probably used for some kind of sporting activity. We exited the grounds and walked around the surronding city and visited the other houses. Mari (she and Oscar joined us) told us how the school worked-colleges and so forth-it's very similar to Yale (well duh!). My other classmates weren't grasping the idea of the different colleges; they tried to parallel it to what SJSU is like but it really has to be parallelled to Yale and I've experienced what Yale is like (thanks Robbie).

Oscar's goal is to attend Oxford when he graduates high school. He was walking around with us, looking around, and getting use to the area. I let him take my camcorder and record whatever he wanted from his perspective. I hope to collect his clips and put them onto a disc for him. He collected information about the admission process for 2009 and bought a polo shirt. I really hope that he will be accepted into Oxford in six years or so.

Some of Harry Potter was filmed at Oxford. The church's main dining hall was the inspiration for the Hogwarts Great Hall. Walking inside, the actual hall has three long tables positioned vertically and one table ran horizontally at the opposite end of the hall. The seating appeared more comfortable because they were actually chairs; in Harry Potter, they're only benches. All the tables were set, ready for a meal. I don't remember seeing a fireplace in the actual hall, unlike the Great Hall in Hogwarts.

In order to access the church's dining hall, I had to climb a two level staircase. The staircase was wide and a golden-yellow color. I didn't realize it at first, but this was the staircase that was used in Harry Potter 1, when the first years approached the Great Hall for the first time. It's where Neville found Trevor (his lost toad). Oh my god, I walked on hallowed ground. I am so privliged to visit this place.

We visited the shops in town and the last one was the Alice in Wonderland shop. It was very whimisical and very crowded. By 330 pm, Dennis, Jill, Diane, and I headed off to the train station. Dennis and Jill needed to leave early so Diane and I joined them.

Tomorrow, we're off to Stonehenge and Lacock (more HP filiming sites!)