And It Begins! Step One: D.C.

Here's to you, Mr. Lincoln!

Buy last-minute things. Take care of miscellaneous tasks before traveling overseas. Pack. Board a plane. Arrive in D.C. And it all begins!

This sums up my activities during the last week or so. After such a long, leisurely summer, I was startled to find Oxford staring me in the face, startled by the length of my to-do list -- and, yes, startled by how difficult it was to fit my life for the next two years into just a few bags headed across the pond. (A demonstration of my degree of surprise: I expected to be able to pack one large suitcase and one carry-on and just take the rest of my stuff at Christmas. Within only a few minutes of packing, however, these illusions vanished. Two fifty-pound suitcases it was, plus carry-ons that were so heavy and so close to bursting that I broke a decent sweat hauling them on and off my two planes to D.C.) Whoever invented the vacuum bag deserves an award. And my mom deserves an award, too, for putting up with me and helping me distribute the weight among my various suitcases.

Here I am in the nation's capital, for my last few days before I depart for Oxford. I had the good fortune to be able to visit with several wonderful friends from New Mexico and California before the Rhodes Bon Voyage Weekend started last night. Friday and Saturday also involved a bit of sightseeing with and without friends, including a walk out to revisit some D.C. monuments and a hike up and down the Potomac River at Great Falls, Virginia. (The falls were beautiful in their own way, even if I maintain that Virginia landscape -- and Eastern landscape in general -- lacks the stunning sublimity, scale, color, and sheer energy of the West.)

Currents pounding down the Potomac at Great Falls, Virginia -- a nice outing from the city!

Anyway, as of yesterday evening, the Rhodes class of 2013 hit the ground running. I cannot believe I am here, and I already cannot believe how amazing these people are. I've had several great conversations during the last few days, ranging from theological philosophy and Middle Eastern politics to neuroscience and prosthetic limbs, to the oddities of British weather and culture that we all anticipate. Several more days await in D.C., filled with many more receptions and outings to various offices and institutions around the city. More on that later, but this is going to be quite the adventure!

The End of Summer Approacheth

Oxford marches closer! I've finished my summer internships, enjoyed a great camping trip through the national parks of Utah with my father, and am now staring at the reality that I'll be leaving home in a little over ten days' time.

I won't actually arrive in the UK until October 3; the American Association of Rhodes Scholars hosts a Bon Voyage Weekend in Washington, DC for all American Rhodies (and some of their international peers who happen to be stateside) over the last weekend/last few days before departing to Oxford in September and October. The American Rhodes scholars used to head over to the UK via boat, actually, when the Queen Elizabeth II (or Queen Mary, I can't remember which) would transport everyone over the open seas of the Atlantic Ocean to England. I admit I wish this tradition were still in place, simply because it sounds so neat to make a transatlantic voyage, but it stopped after the oil crises of the 1970s collided with some major renovation to the ship. Around a decade ago, the AARS instilled this Bon Voyage Weekend on the pre-Oxford agenda to try to recreate that sense of unity, bonding, and community among the American Rhodes class before they share in many overseas experiences together. I haven't seen this year's exact schedule yet, but it sounds like we will be paying a visit to the White House, the Capitol, the British Embassy, and a few private homes around the DC area over the course of the five days. This truly exceeds any experience I've ever had, and I'm so very excited to get started!

Next on my to-do list is accumulating more "weather appropriate" clothes for Oxford, being sure I have everything together and organized, bidding goodbye to my family and some friends in New Mexico, and doing some pre-Oxford reading. This experience has hovered on the horizon for so long now, I can't believe I'm about to make it a reality. Here's to making the most of every second, from Bon Voyage Weekend to the experiences beyond.