It couldn’t be more true. But it seems to have a function - it’s a nondescript way of making small-talk, in a way that everybody can have something to say, and nobody will be controversial.
Round-buying is far less common with cash-strapped students.
A waterproof what? A waterproof deck? A waterproof wallet? A waterproof water gun?
Waterproofs? Fffft. If you want to fit in, get an umbrella.
Hope you enjoy your stay in England. I thought Oxford was a gourgeous city. The Ashmolean was great too. They’ve got these huge 6th century BC vases with a little note saying “Do Not Touch”. Wonder if they’re still there. 
Oh yeah, get used to saying football not soccer.
Ok, so it looks like I will need a TV licence. I can handle that - probably.
I have this terrible problem with umbrellas - I never remember to bring one, and then it rains. And then I bring one and it doesn’t rain or I leave it somewhere. Oh well, I’ll get used to it.
I plan to wear a helmet, it’s those rules of the road I worry about. Guess there’s not much I can do about it though. Practice [practise?] etc.
Re: attitude toward Americans, I am somewhat hesitant about this. On the one hand, I don’t want to act like I’m ashamed that I’m an American, but on the other hand, I hardly want to be identified with various ridiculous policies etc. Do I just have to take the (inevitable) guff good-naturedly, and then people will get over it, or is there anything I can do to prevent people “getting in my face” about it?
Also, Duke and others who lived in England, esp. Oxford: how much of an English accent did you develop? A friend of mine who lived in London for a year certainly had the very different intonations (down for a question, instead of up, esp.) when she was speaking to Brits (‘Brit’ isn’t offensive, is it?).
Thanks all!
“It’s probably funnier in Latin. You know how that is.” Fred on Angel
Yeah, I noticed this all over Europe last summer. They are much more trusting with their ancient artifacts than I would be - or than American museums are! Esp. in Berlin, I kept imagining someone tripping on a shoelace and knocking over a priceless vase or 3000-yr-old statue.
And I fully intend to avoid being forced to discuss football/soccer as I know nothing about it (what a surprise!).
I have also been told croquet is a big thing. Having just read the Jasper Fforde novels, I think I have a very skewed idea about croquet. 
Oh! So he wasn’t talking about rubbers…
In my experience of university life no-one minded the yanks (it’s what we call you guys, don’t be offended), just don’t TALK LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME.
However, most people dislike students in general but since Oxford is a “university town” this may not be the case (or it may be worse - I don’t know).
I can’t imagine anyone being offended by being called a Brit.
Unless you start your sentence with “The trouble with you Brits is…”
You sure you don’t mean cricket?
Cricket too. But many people and guides (even the student ones) mention croquet! Really! I’m as surprised as you.
“Only croquet and bowls may be played on the lawn.”
???
Bowls is what we in America call lawn bowling. Croquet is, well, croquet.
Which college are you attending?
If you are still interested about unlocking your DVD player to play all regions here is a good web-site :-
I’ll be at Corpus Christi.
And ‘lawn bowling’ is not familiar to me, either. But I guess I’ll see it.
Daphne
The Highway Code includes the rules as they apply to cyclists.
Probably not much you can do. Just learn to not take it too seriously - lighthearted mockery is part of the way of life for everyone one way or another.
Ever seen bocce? It’s a bit like that.
Corpus, huh? Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone from there. I’ve been through a few times in the past though, and I know they are one of our (Jesus College) rivals in rugby.
Hey, why not throw me an e-mail? I can probably answer most of your questions, and if I don’t know the answer, I can ask somebody who does. My e-mail address is at the bottom of the post here…
Glad you’re coming to join us at Oxford! I’m just starting a D.Phil. in Physics at St. John’s - I’m also an ex-pat American (I’ve been over here for 8 years now) so if you need local advice on anything, let me know.
On the TV + DVD player issue, I’d definitely say you should wait until you arrive at your college and see what the local facilities are like. St. John’s has 3 different TV rooms with DVD players available to graduate/second BA students - we’re very well off in that respect, but most colleges will have at least one or two. You may find that you don’t need your own often enough for it to be worth paying the TVLA so much money! Also, there are ways of fixing a Windows machine to play all DVD regions - you might want to have a look to see if this is possible on a Mac.
On bicycling, the biggest thing I’d say is that you should be very careful about roundabouts. Even after 8 years, I find them confusing, and particularly at large roundabouts I tend to dismount and become a pedestrian for long enough to get around.
Bike lights are vital - Thames Valley Police /will/ stop you if you’re cycling at night without lights. They probably won’t do more than rant at you, but it’s more hassle than you need.
I wouldn’t worry too much about anti-American feeling. There’s some of it around in Oxford, but not as much as you’d think, and it’s also diffused for graduate students because of the relatively large number of Americans in the MCRs.
Enjoy it! Oxford is all the fun you could ever want and then some. I think my e-mail is available if you want more information; if not, respond to this and I’ll get it to you. I’ll even buy you a drink if you like, but I suspect you’ll be swept off your feet with MCR welcoming activities at whatever college you’re going to. And a small plug - if you love the Straight Dope, you might want to come and join the Oxford University Quiz Society. We do some College Bowl style buzzer quizzing as well as pub quizzes and game-show type things.
Erm, OK, so it’s not. I forget how that’s changed now. Click on my name at the top left and you’ll find it.
DaphneBlack writes:
> Re: attitude toward Americans, I am somewhat hesitant about this. On the one
> hand, I don’t want to act like I’m ashamed that I’m an American, but on the
> other hand, I hardly want to be identified with various ridiculous policies etc. Do
> I just have to take the (inevitable) guff good-naturedly, and then people will
> get over it, or is there anything I can do to prevent people “getting in my face”
> about it?
(I lived in the U.K. from 1987 to 1990 and have been back six times for vacation. In fact, I’m here on vacation right this moment, posting from an Internet cafe in Oxford.) Just don’t go out of your way to advertise that you’re an American. Dress to fit in, try not to talk too loud, and don’t put American flag patches on your clothes. You can’t hide the fact that you’re an American, but don’t make a big deal of it. If someone goes out of the way to criticize you because you’re an American, ignore them. There are a few jerks here, just like there are anywhere. Oxford is very cosmopolitan. Just walking down the street you can hear many different languages and dialects. As an American you’ll be less out of place than many other people here.
I don’t live in england, and haven’t lived in england, but since I just got back from a vacation in england, I thought I could pass along some advice:
Be prepared for EVERYTHING to be expensive. The dollar is pretty weak. A friend who is living in Cambridge described it as: consider the price of something as if it were in dollars - then substitute the “pound” sign for the $ sign. That was pretty true. With the most glaring exception being gasoline - which was even more expensive ! (about $6.00/gallon). When you’re over there, you kind of get desensitized to this as you just start shelling out pounds for everything. It’s only when you do the conversion that it hits you.
Re: driving. We took the challenge of getting a rental car for our trip. At first it was stressful, but then not to bad. You have to deal with 1) driving from the “passenger” side and 2) driving in the “other” lane. Both of these are doable (get an automatic, if you can). However, the round-abouts took some getting used to. Out in the boonies, where they’re pretty simple, no big deal. But in the bigger metropolitan areas, there are not only multiple lanes (nicely tattooed with the destination, however), but more “etiquette” involved in how you maneuver within them. And then occasionally you will encounter The bastard of modern civil engineering (using that term generously): the round-about with lights ! The worst of both worlds.
Expect rain, no matter what the weather is currently. It seemed the weather changed pretty rapidly, and there was very little to foretell what is to come. So if you plan for rain, you will pretty much always be prepared.
Hope this helps.
amrussell mentioned difficult-to-pronounce place names, but didn’t say how to pronounce them!
Leicester = LESS-ter
Worcester = WOOSE-ter
Bicester = BIS-ter
Another one that I could see causing an American difficulty:
Norwich = NORRITCH