Still no camera! Woe. I find it odd that my place of employment sent me a package before my parents did. Yay Library! Shame on the parents, feel the shaaaaaaaaaaaame. Camera now? Plsthxbye.

I finally got my accommodation bill sorted, and how to transfer money from my bank in America to Barclay's. I also reported my credit card as lost, so hopefully a new one will be sent to my American address and MY PARENTS CAN SEND THAT ALONG WITH MY CAMERA. HINT HINT. COULD THE HINT GET ANY BIGGER?

I went out to lunch with a friend on Friday, and I'm going out with a group of friends on Wednesday. I have three papers due within the next three weeks so I REALLY need to stop procrastinating and start working on those.

Weekends are less busy for me, because it seems that all the friends I've made work or go home during the weekend. I received an invitation to visit someone's home for a day or two during break. I rarely leave my room on the weekend - mainly because I'm utterly lazy and like to sleep in (plus, I don't get to sleep until late due to the drunks). I tend not to leave it even for going to the canteen (what they call the cafeteria) because on the weekend I have to go to a different one that is much worse than the one during the week. So I try to stop by the grocery store and pick up some grub.

Today I made the discovery of the most delicious apple-filled doughnuts. Also, got some apples from France that are called "Pink Lady" but are basically MacIntosh apples, which are my favorite. Got a thing of Tropicana orange juice - one of the little grab-and-go bottles, and to my surprise it had pulp in it. The ones at home don't and I love pulp in my OJ. I know others hate it, but the pulps has the vitamins and minerals! The junk food is trial and error - I've found some things that have been tasty, but for the most part it's been 'eew.' They have a version of Hostess ho-hos, but made with Cadbury chocolate so it's similar but a bit different. Those are tasty, whereas the BBQ Walker chips were gross. It was interesting to try the ones that tasted like Roast Chicken, though. And my years of curiosity after reading The Chronicles of Narnia were satisfied - I know what a Turkish Delight tastes like: EW, and not delightful at all. Edmund was a strange child. It's strange how the chocolate selection is larger than at home, but the cookie aisle is dismal. I'm kind of afraid to try the Jaffa Cakes, which do not look like cakes at all.

I felt like McDonald's the other day, but gave up when I saw the giant line and realized how much it was going to cost. Fast food is not worth the price of a regular meal, especially when there aren't McChicken's on the menu. I'm also upset with the Starbucks over here - they had no idea what a Mocha Frappuchino w/ Rasberry was and that's my favorite drink. I hereby boycott the British Starbucks!

I explored more of the city, which really is a giant shopping mall outside. And then there's an indoor mall. There is also a little market, which is like the smaller version of the State Fair Exposition with all the little booths. Except this market had a butcher, a barber, and a fresh fruit stand. It was adorable and I want to take it home with me, but I don't think it would go over well with Customs. And there's always the hardship of getting it to fit in my suitcase. Woe.

I bought postcards and as soon as I figure out where the post office is, I'll send them out. I also picked up some maps and guides to Chester so I can learn more about the place I'm at. I'm wary of traveling around on my own, but a few more weeks and I might just go 'screw it' and hop on a train. Of course, I first have to know where the train station is.

I think I might be coming down with a cold, but the symptoms really only show up when I'm outdoors so perhaps it is just the weather. Luckily I brought Nyquil and Dayquil with me - I found out they don't have it over here, though they have something called "Night Nurse" which I'm told has the same "green death" taste.

Well, I need to do homework. Ew, but necessary in order to pass my classes and be able to justify my being here. My classes are still fine, and on Thursday a Holocaust survivor spoke in one of the lectures. It was an extremely sad story (of course), but she was one of the lucky ones. At first I didn't want to go because I wasn't feeling well and not exactly feeling up to hearing a story that would most likely make me cry, but in the end I sucked it up and thought (thanks to a conversation with my Mom) "How many chances do I get to hear this?" I've heard another story before when I was in Israel - another lucky one who didn't get sent to the camps but I was curious about what this woman went through. The story wasn't so much about her though, as it was about her parents - she was a very young child when it all happened but her parents obviously had to go through a lot. The worst is that none of their extended family survived except the father's sister.

Well, on that depressing note I think this is post is done. Hope all is well at home, ; the primaries look exciting and I will be glued to my computer on the 19th to see the results as they come in.