While I loved the spot that I previously thought would be my sit spot, I have come across the idea that a lot of students run around Oxford. I went on a few runs, and even though it was really chilly (despite trying to pick the warmer days), I was shown the most beautiful sites with their own unique iterations of elements of the natural world. I decided to make my sit spot a spot I sit at with my journal (phone) after I run to the destination. Since I mostly see myself running at two known tracks, my sit spot seems to be one of those two places unless I go to a different track at some point.
Port Meadow is a meadow by a pond or a small lake, and it also has horses and cows. I run from my dorm to Port Meadow. On one of these runs, I stand on a bridge, and feel a sense of secret ownership, as I feel that I am in an insider spot that not a lot of people know about. I observe the water body below me and think about how I have seen so many surroundings of the same kind before. The pond reminds me of other small water bodies I have seen before, especially the one in my maternal hometown, Nagpur. Now that I reflect on this observation, I think about the beauty of replicability, and how similar environments exist all over the world, how they are pioneered, and even when there are different conditions in different parts on the planet, they are so similar. I also wonder about why the air feels so much fresher when there is more nature and few people around. Something about water bodies comforts me, maybe it is because I have lived near one my entire life.
The general climate is that it is cooler from september-may, and then from may-august it is a bit warmer. The weather and rain especially is very sporadic and unpredicatable. One thing that has changed about my behavior in the UK climate, is that I always check the weather before I pick my clothes, and more importantly, before I choose my clothes for a run, or even decide to go for a run. I find myself trying to make the most of good weather (around 13-26) degrees celcius by going for a run. Also, the slightly cooler weather has made it easier to enjoy the outdoors on a run ( as you produce heat), and it makes the area near water bodies cooler and more refreshing. Upon reading up about the weather I found that in the UK has a sort of mild, humid oceanic climate characterized by wet, cool winters (5-7 degrees celcius) and comfortable, moderate summers (18-25 degrees celcius). It is generally rainy year-round (wetter in the west), with variable weather and limited sunshine, which peaks during the late spring and summer months. Overall, I believe that the climate alters how you interact with the outside environment, as I find myself interacting differently with the environment here than at home in Mumbai or in Boston. This is not as hot as Mumbai but not as cold as Boston, so it is exciting to see how my interaction with the environment is different in the UK.