14. The students are arriving at Harlaxton 8-24-07

We are having another beautiful day in England. After that first rainy day when we arrived on Wednesday, the weather has turned warm and beautiful.

Thursday was a day of orientation for faculty and spouses. Gordon Kingsley is as delightful as ever in his stories. When you get combined the normally dry information of housekeeping, faculty orientation and advising along with the history of the manor, Britain, etc. you know you are in for an enjoyable day. We had a time at the beginning of the orientation where the entire faculty introduced themselves to the group and could share some personal or professional information. It was interesting to hear from each one. The British faculty was particularly entertaining in their kidding around with each other. It is encouraging to see how well they all get along, the faculty and the staff. They are like a big family, which is probably important here as it is a small college and personalities can make or break a good working relationship.

Faculty and staff meetings start with tea/coffee and “biscuits” and have breaks with more of the same. By the end of the day it felt like Ray and I were eating all day. After lunch we all had pictures taken for ID’s. I believe they are not used so much to get into things but more for faculty and students to carry with us in case we get lost somewhere off campus as on the back of the cards are the phone numbers of taxis, the college, security, the manor, and “mobile” phone numbers of some of the staff. On the front of the card is our picture, name and the Harlaxton College address. I am sure these cards have come in handy many times over the years when students and faculty have run into problems off campus.

In the afternoon we had free time and many faculty took advantage of that to go into Grantham, the nearest town, to get some needed personal supplies and food. Although we are eating in the cafeteria for all of our meals, we all like to have our snacks around. Ray and I went in on the first shuttle and got some more British money and then went into the local grocery store. It is always a long process at the beginning as we view the different brands. It is fun to try new things but sometimes just trying to find a basic cracker can be a challenge. I am sure we will find a few surprises as we open our snacks and find out if they are what we thought we were buying.

Thursday night we had a casual faculty dinner with some of the British faculty and their spouses. It was a fun time as we continue to get to know the others that we will be spending so much time with over these 4 months. The dinner was held in the Conservatory because it was such a beautiful day. Nothing quite like eating a nice dinner being served by the serving staff in a conservatory with beautiful plants, glass walls and ceilings so that you can see out to the manor grounds and driveway.

Now it is Friday and the first bus of students has arrived about 2:45 and the students looked exhausted. Bad weather in the United States caused delays and cancellations in several of the cities that the students were flying out of. has caused problems. There are 4 busloads of students that should have arrived about 1 p.m. here at Harlaxton and so far we have had only one. The next one is at 3 hours behind due to the delayed students and is now caught in traffic and they have not heard an update from the 3rd bus for awhile. The 4th bus is still stuck at the airport because 3-4 of the students "lost their passports on the airplane." Immigration has the students now and they are separated from the assistant dean of students. Hopefully the plane is still on the ground and the passports can be retrieved and the problems will be worked out soon.

The faculty and families have had a quiet day here. I am really glad they have the faculty come in several days before the students so they can get situated and then help out as the students arrive. I helped direct students through the manor as they came in off the bus, picked up their packets and then they headed to the cafeteria to read over their information and get some food. Most of them have not had lunch and very little food before that. Ray helped unload suitcases. Most of the professors have been working on finalizing their class syllabi. Ray and I have been checking out his classrooms. One will be in the "gold room" and his other class is in the basement and just very normal looking until you look out the window and see big stone lions out on the lawn. Not something you normally see out of your classroom window.

Tonight we will have just a short orientation time with the students who have arrived, along with dinner in the cafeteria. Tomorrow will be the big convocation day, orientation for the students, “high table dinner” and faculty social. It will also be the first time that the Harlaxton Boutique will be open and I will be officially working.

Penny