It snowed today! At least, I saw snow coming from the sky but I don't think any of it stuck to the ground. It wasn't very much, though it did at first look like a lot but that was really the wind blowing it around. However, I saw snow and some people freaked out and put their hoods up and others started running (presumably to get out of the snow) and it was really really funny, especially since I received an email from my Mom yesterday about kids staying home from school because the pipes were freezing. The coldest it has been here has been 41 degrees F.

I had a lecture today that was quite good - learned about Martin Luther and the beginning of the Reformation. Martin Luther was quite a strange individual, if you ask me. Also, it turns out that he spent most of his life suffering from constipation and thought it was God punishing him. He also felt that God was right in punishing him. I think there was some definite depression/some kind of psychosis going on.

After that lecture, I went to a Subway with some friends - it wasn't bad but not as good as Cousins at home. In fact, I don't think it was as good as Subway at home. I think they lied to me when they told me the bread I had was Italian. Then we went to a pub called The Pied Bull - I didn't drink, but a few others did. I refused because it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon. We talked for about 45 minutes until some of them had to go on to another lecture. It was one that I've been a guest to before, and while I'm not taking it officially I have permission to come and listen in if I feel like it. However, today they were learning about the Atom bomb and I still have notes on my computer from learning about that last semester and didn't feel like going. So I stayed at the pub a bit longer and chatted with the other two that stayed because one didn't have that lecture and the other one doesn't go to the university - his girlfriend (who is quite lovely and nice) does.

Tomorrow I have plans to finally pay my accommodation if I can find the building where I'm supposed to pay it, I have another lecture, and then I'm meeting one of the girls I've made friends with for some shopping. The girls here really dress up when they go out and while I'm really not much for all that fuss, I don't want to stand out too much either. So I'm hoping I can find one or two things that don't cost a lot and won't take up too much room in my suitcase when I get home. No matter what I buy I'll have to be conscious of that, because otherwise I'd have to ship it home and it would probably cost a lot.

I also need to find out where the post office is. I promised people postcards and I mean to keep that promise. Then I have to figure out where the Porter's Lodge (whatever it's called ) is on campus ... that's where my mail will be sent to and I signed up for a bank account at Barclays and my cash card should have come by now. Still have to figure out how to get my money from M&I transferred - can't transfer it online and even if I could do it over the phone, mine still isn't set up. I bought the charger but I think I need a new SIM card - I'm hoping to pick that up tomorrow as well.

Not really sure what my weekend plans are besides homework/studying/working on a paper.

Hope you all are doing well!

Ah, another week has gone by and to be fairly honest, not much else has happened. It is because I am BORING.

Okay, not totally. I'm still adjusting to my surroundings and whatnot. And I have made friends, so hurrah!

On Monday, I was invited out to for drinks with some other history majors. While my first instinct was to say no because I had homework (I did warn you that I was boring. I guess I forgot to mention that I was also stupid.) I accepted and had a grand ol' time. Drinking/partying isn't really my thing because I'm not much of a drinker (I had three drinks. This is less than half of what everyone else consumed, and I did it within a five hour period.) but the people were great and funny, and so far no one has treated me poorly or thought I was stupid because I'm an American (yes, I was worried about this and why shouldn't I be when we have shows like "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"). So we were out until 1:30; we went to three places - out of which I only liked two, one was too loud and crowded and had the most annoying techno music - and I took a cab home. I was invited to go to a club with some of them when others decided to go home, but I thought it was best to call it a night. I'm a lightweight unless I eat right before hand, and three drinks is my limit. I'm sure I could consume more - I have on other occasions, but only when surrounded by best friends and a sure way of getting home or a crashing on a bed - but I figured it was in my best interest not to.

The rest of the week has been pretty uneventful - I've been going to lectures and reading. On some occasions the food didn't stink to high heaven. Today was BBQ chicken and while it wasn't REAL BBQ - just baked chicken in BBQ - it was doable. Plus, there was chocolate for dessert.

The girls on my floor have gotten less annoying, though maybe I'm just getting used to it. At any rate, they're not nearly as annoying as the people on the floor below me who had a habit of SCREAMING when they come home at 3 a.m., completely plastered. I don't want to mean or rude, but I think if they do it again and I have a migraine? I'm screaming back at them to shut the hell up. I'd rather have some giggling and loud music - which I'm sure they'd stop if I asked them to ... it really hasn't been enough of an annoyance to warrant it - than making me wonder if someone was dying or being attacked. To quote one of my neighbors, "I thought she was dying, and when she wasn't I wanted to kill her."

I also took a walk around the city walls today. I still don't have a camera, so no pictures. However, it is incredibly beautiful here especially considering that it is January. I feel like there should be snow on the ground, and I'm definitely not complaining that it hasn't been colder than 45 degrees F. I'm not sure what the measurement is for the length of the walls, but it took me about an hour. I think I'll have to do it more often and check out the places I saw while I was walking. I saw a few gardens, the river, and of course the giant racetracks. Apparently there's going to be a big racing event later in the semester.

I have to be off - I need to do laundry and I'm going with some of my neighbors because I don't know where it is well enough to go by myself. So greetings from Chester, and send me some e-mails; I've love to hear from you all and it isn't like the time zone change is in my favor ... I figure that I'm six hours ahead.

Welcome to the UK!

It's been nearly a week since I first arrived in England, but I've only had internet since yesterday. Sorry to everyone who expected me to update earlier; I simply haven't had the time or energy.

This first week has been extremely confusing and my moods have ranged from complete frustration and sadness to pretty much being content now. And of course, as it is bound to happen (to me, at least), the first day was the worst. It started out with basically having the most frustrating flight ever - it was overnight and I knew I would need to get sleep or I would be screwed for the next few days. However, I ended up next to the one women in the entire flight who didn't want to turn off her light as she slept. Something about it being like the sunlight, she explained to a flight attendant. Unfortunate for me that my parents and years of working at a nursing home have taught me to be polite towards my elders.

The plane ended up arriving a half an hour earlier than scheduled, but we had to "taxi" for 20 minutes because there was no opening for the plane. It took forty-five minutes to get off the plane, wait in line, get through customs, collect my luggage (surprisingly that part was the easiest, though I was worried about my luggage being lost or me not being able to put it on a trolley by myself) and meet the "cabbie."

The cabbie was incredibly friendly and nice to me; he went above and beyond when we got the university and there was no one to meet me. The first problem was that they hadn't told him where he was supposed to drop me off and he assumed that I knew. I only knew of one place in Chester - John Milton Hall, the dorm where I'm staying. So we got there (and it took us a while to figure out where that was, it wasn't actually on campus) and realized that there was no one there. Luckily, I had a phone number for the student mentor who was supposed to meet me. For some reason, Chris (the mentor) had been told that I wasn't going to be arriving until after ten ... I'm still not sure how they figured that when I sent the university my arrival time of 7:15 a.m. The cabbie waited with me until Chris arrived, and then drove Chris and I back to John Milton Hall and helped bring my luggage up to my room. An amusing moment was when Chris attempted to help with the luggage but the cabbie (I wish I could remember his name, he was very nice) and I had it - it's not like it was very heavy or anything, just 50 pounds apiece and my carry-on. Maybe it's the English air; it makes me stronger than I was in America. Hah.

So I find my room (I had received the keys at the Porters Lodge or whatever it was called ... the place where I met up with Chris) and luckily my bedding was there as well. Apparently there was an incident with another international student last term, where he didn't get his bedding for about two weeks. It also looked like my roommate was already there - the other bed was made, there were clothes in one of the dressers and toiletries in the bathroom. It wasn't until two days later that I learned I wouldn't be having a roommate at all - which I'm grateful for but I spent two days wondering if someone would ever arrive. I didn't feel like unpacking right away, so Chris gave me a tour of the city - he was an excellent tour guide; it's not his fault that I forgot everything right away, since I was so sleep deprived.

And then it all came tumbling down - Chris led me back to my dorm and I started to unpack. I go to plug my alarm clock in and it works ... for a second. My first thought for some reason was not that my alarm clock was broken (as it turned out to be) but that my adapters didn't work. Really foolish of me; I should have tried to plug something else in right away ... and I did think of that - I wanted to plug my computer in only to realize that my adapters only accept plugs with two prongs and the plug for my computer and the multiple outlet strip have three prongs. Later that evening I would figure out that I could just plug in the top two prongs and everything would be fine but at that moment I was sleep deprived, frustrated, and basically miserable because I was feeling incredibly lonely - I had no way of contacting anyone because I didn't have a working phone yet (still don't, have to go to town to take care of that and I simply haven't felt like it yet. I'll go either tomorrow or Monday) and I obviously didn't have internet. I also couldn't remember how to get anywhere to FIND anyone to fix the problem. And I worried about walking up in time the next day for a meeting I had with my international adviser. So I did the only logical thing - fall asleep, wishing I was home.

I woke up a few hours later, but at first I wasn't even sure what day it was. I heard noise coming from the hallway, so I knocked on a room down the hall. In it was a very nice girl named Rachael and one of my other neighbors, Jo. I introduced myself, explained my problems and Rachael was nice enough to lend me her alarm clock until I got one of my own (I finally got one two days ago). I also met Randee, another international student that I got into contact with a few days before I left - she showed me where the canteen was so I could grab dinner, even though she was stressed out with HER luggage being lost.

Things were looking up for a bit, and then I made the discovery that I could plug my computer into the adapters after all. I really should have stopped there and not attempted the multiple outlet strip because when I did there was a spark, darkness, and then the smell of smoke. The lights came back on but the outlets ceased to work, and wouldn't work for three more days. Basically, I think I blew a fuse. Which, you know, is something I always wanted to do as a first impression to a new country and a new school. The next day I found out that none of the outlets on my floor worked, and I'm lucky that my neighbors don't hate me. But that night I was really worried that I had broken the entire building, that I would have to pay for it or at least never receive my deposit back.

The second day was better - I met Sam, who is basically like my adviser over here. She's fantastic, and was very helpful and comforting. She contacted someone about the outlet problem, and reassured me it wasn't a big deal or my fault (which it so was). She also gave me another tour of the campus, including the Blue Coat Building in town that most of my history classes are in, and the place where I also had a meeting with Elissa to set up my classes. I'm taking:

Europe in the Age of Revolutions 1789 - 1861
Europe in the Age of Renaissance and Reformation
Europe in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightened Absolutism
Greeks, Etruscans, Romans, and Celts: Introduction to European Classical Archaeology

I was also thinking of taking Europe in the Age of Nationalism, Imperialism and the Cold War, but the way the school system is set up is that I'm really only taking half of each course - so I'm really taking Europe in the Age of Revolutions in the 1800s, Europe and Reformation, Europe and Enlightened Absolutism, and Roman and Celts. Europe in the Age of Nationalism, Imperialism, and the Cold War would be only Europe in the Cold War - which I studied last semester. Granted, I studied the U.S. perspective, but I looked at the essay question options I have for the 2,000 word essay I have to write for each class in order to pass and my first thought was "Oh God, no. Not again!" I talked to the professor after class and asked if I could still come and sit in on the lectures, because I am a nerd like that.

I'm also going to be doing a work-based learning (like an internship) once my classes are done by the end of March. I'm not sure what I'll be doing for that yet, but it will be exciting, I'm sure. At the very least, it will be one of those "learning experiences" that my Mom is so found of talking about. :D

So I basically have four 2,000 word essays to write in order to pass everything - coming to class is encourage, but not required. I'll go to class anyway, I only have one class a day that meets for two hours - except for Wednesdays; no class there. The first essay is due Feb 28th and yesterday I checked out all the books I need for it... well, most of them. The library here only lets me check out 10 books at time which I think is stupid, but is probably necessary when the professors don't require that the students purchase the books and all the books needed are in the library and there's only so many copies. Many books are a short loan only - one week only, and there's a section of the library in which the books can only be checked out for an hour. I suppose this approach saves you money, but I wonder how many students actually do the reading they're supposed to ... if they even can. There's a book that's on the syllabus to read from for next week but there is only one copy and someone has it checked out. When I find out who that person is I'm going to slap them upside the head ... or glare at them and ask to borrow it.

I left my camera at home (really dumb of me) so I haven't been able to take pictures yet. If anyone is curious, http://www.chester360.co.uk has some nice ones. Hopefully my parents will send me my camera ASAP, along with some food because the cafeteria food here? Yuck. And they don't even have grape jelly to go with the peanut butter I brought from home.

I've met a few people, made some friends. The girls on my floor are nice but they're also very young and giggly. When did 18 become young to me? I guess 5 years is a big difference when you think about it. Most of the people in my classes are probably all younger than me (My classes are mainly 2nd year ones because that's what fits in with the time frame ... 1st and 3rd year classes go much longer. I have one 1st year class and that's the archaeology one) and it was amusing when I went to a lecture on Thursday: the students here do about two essays a year it seems (perhaps more once they get into 3rd year ... I'm not sure how it works exactly) and apparently the essays were so bad for one class that the professor took time out of the lecture to basically give a run-down on how essays should be written and to tell them what they did wrong. One person (I don't know who but it would be interesting to find out) plagiarized Wikipedia - something so disgusting on so many levels I don't even have WORDS. It was kind of laughable and at the same time I wondered if it would look bad if I left for the duration of it; I don't need to be lectured on how to write an academic paper, but I did stay in case there was anything too different. There is a different citation style than what I'm used to, so I picked up a handbook on it. The professor even gave incorrect grammar examples for sentence structures and punctuation and would ask the class what the correct version was. Apparently I was the only one who knew how to use a semi-colon (it's this thing - ; - in case you didn't know).

So I'm not worried about my classes - or if I am, it is only in the way I worry about any assignment that is given to me, because I want to do my best and I realize how much time and preparation I need to achieve that goal. Speaking of which (well, writing of which but that does sound rather silly), I want to get started on the reading for the essay due the soonest - I know it isn't due for a month, but I have two essays due the week after. The sooner I get this one done, the sooner I can start the others - so I'm going to stop writing now and start reading.

I'll post again soon; I'll try to do a post a week if not more.