Four flight delays, three flight cancellations, two days and one mini airport breakdown later, I’M FINALLY HERE IN OXFORD! 

After moving smoothly through baggage check-in on Saturday – thanks to my man Andrew at American Airlines! – and quickly through security – shout out to the TSA agent who gave me a junior officer sticker to cover up the Eagles one on my laptop – I sat. And sat. And read. And sat. And watched a movie. And sat. And mindlessly scrolled through social media. And sat. Finally, after four hours of delays, they cancelled my flight. I guess the TSA agent was right, that’s what I get for being an Eagles fan in Bear country! 

I was then rescheduled on a flight to Houston – the exact opposite direction of where my flight was supposed to be going – in order to catch a flight to London. (Maybe an NIU geography class would have been helpful.) Unfortunately, that flight was cancelled. And another one (use your best DJ Khaled voice). The mini meltdown occurred soon after the third cancellation, but I’ll spare you the details on that one. However, in the midst of the tears, I remembered those immortal words from The Rolling Stones: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.” So at four in the morning, I grabbed my bag and headed home. I guess I needed a few more hours with my family in America. 

Finally, two days later, I actually got on a flight to London. Thankfully, the rest of the trip to Oxford was uneventful. Now that I’m here, I’m procrastinating unpacking the 50 lbs of clothes I stuffed into my suitcase by exploring and writing this in a cute little cafe in Oxford. 

I guess I should go unpack now. I’ll have more updates for you soon, especially about the campus itself when I get to class tomorrow. Goodbye from across the pond!

** EDITORS NOTE: This is Part 2 of a series. Keep checking the Northern Star Opinion Page for more updates and stories****

To read part 1 CLICK HERE: Heading ‘across the pond:’ A first hand account of studying abroad