Here we go...

It's now officially the last day of the year, and my "grand adventure" starts in six days. I've begun packing, and I suppose it's typical of me that I started with the books. Atypical is the fact that I'm only taking seven of them. I'm sure I'll be coming back with more. Over the past few days I've been working on getting my laundry done, something I'd been avoiding since I got home two weeks ago, and hopefully in a few minutes I'll be folding some more and preparing it for the departure. I suppose I'm not exactly sure what to expect when I get there. I'm confident that when I'm settled I will be able to function in my day-to-day life. The challenge is a) getting there from the airport and b) seeing to it that "functioning in my day-to-day life" doesn't prevent me from studying 'til my eyes bleed. I suppose it's better to focus on the things which are in my control right now, however, so I'll try to worry about those factors later.

About this blog:
On the encouragement of my parents, I decided to start this blog to chronicle my experiences while studying abroad in Oxford. Its name, "Fortis Est Veritas" is also the motto of Oxford (the city) and means "Truth is Strength" - although given what little regard the Romans had for syntax, it can also be translated in a rather more Machiavellian light: "Strength is Truth." For the URL, I decided to stick with the Latin theme (hey, I wouldn't be a classics major without it): it translates as "studies in Oxford" (Bovivadum being my rendering of "Oxford" into Latin)