I got off at Queen's Lane on the High Street and learned that High Street meant "Main Street." The shops were all connected like a downtown. Nearly every other vehicle on the road was a double-decker bus. The bus driver pulled my luggage out from the bottom door and I was left on my own. I had a little map of the area with a hi-lighted route to the school, but this proved extremely unhelpful. I was in the city with black cabs and people wandering about, not on a black and white printout.
I passed the entrance to the Radcliffe Square several times before finding it. I was starting to feel a little self-conscious about dragging my suitcase past the same shops and people, back and forth. Finally, I made a correct turn and there it was: the Radcliffe Camera. That's the big round building behind this blog's title. It's a reading room for the Bodleian Library. You can't go inside without a reader's pass, and you need a good reason to even get that.
Anyway, I made it to the approximate area of my college. However, I quickly learned two things:
1. None of the huge wooden double doors had a sign above them to indicate what they were the entrance to, and
2. Cobblestone is really hard to drag anything across, even by wheely suitcase.
Finally, I decided to just open one of the ancient-looking doors. I was correct first guess! Believe me? The entrance consists of a sign telling people that the college is not open to visitors and the Porter's Lodge. The porters are like guards. They sit behind glass and have 24 hour surveillance and such. But they are also there for "all enquiries," as their sign says. The mail cubbies are in there, too. So, I introduced myself. I had arrived a day early, thinking I'd get my bearings, so the volunteer students weren't around to give me the whole welcome spiel. The porter told me that he didn't have the welcom packet with internet passwords, et ceetera, but he could give me my room key. Ah! A room! I was grateful.