Quite a bit has happened since my last post.
Thursday
Went to my Self and Society class and found out about 50% of my grade will be based on a group project. *groan* I hate group projects, but I know the experience will be good for me and better prepare me for grad school. The course is going to be taught by 3 people, one of which is Dr. Hampton from my other class. : ) My advisor for the term is also one of the professors, and I talked with him briefly. He is also from the States, and kind of sounds like Rex from Toy Story. Pretty funny.
That night I was feeling a little lonely, so I put on the Lion King. It did the trick, and I watched the second one for good measure. Movies like that can really change your mood around and help you cope with being in a new place.
Friday
Met with Shirley for a second time to do some orientation around campus. As usual I found it to be a huge help. In the future even if I can't remember the exact location of something, I can figure it out based on what's around it. One spot I'll be going to soon is the Sportspark. Features I found most appealing were an Olympic sized swimming pool and a large rock climbing wall. It also has the typical gym equipment and outdoor playing fields.
As we were finishing up the campus work, I was suddenly hailed by a girl on the strip where all the stores are. She introduced herself and asked if I would be interested in becoming a part of the Disability Committee on campus. I figured "why not?" and agreed. We then talked a little bit about settling in. I mentioned I was having some trouble meeting people, and Sophie promptly asked if I would like to go to an event that night. A little taken aback by the invitation (you'd expect "let's hang out this weekend" or something...) I saw this as a great opportunity, and was thrilled I actually had something to do that night. We exchanged numbers, then headed our separate ways.
Shirley and I took the bus over to Morrison's, a grocery store which is conveniently at the end of the bus line. I have a feeling this will be where the majority of my shopping will be done, seeing as all the online delivery stores require a credit card with a UK billing address. I had made a list of the things I needed, and we ended up with a full cart of spoils at the end. We looked for sales and such, so the price it came out to wasn't too bad considering the amount of stuff I bought. Since I'm living on my own, and cooking for myself, I felt free to get whatever I wanted, no restrictions. What I wanted primarily was healthy food. A lot of the things we got were fruits and vegetables, some protein, a little starch, some spices, and no cookies/sugary things whatsoever. I want to get into the habit of eating a piece of fruit, or a raw pepper, when I'm hungry instead of grabbing something fattening. It's better for me in the end, and I'd really like to lose some weight while I'm here. I have to say, I much prefer this lifestyle as opposed to eating in a dining hall. Sorry Stimson, but I'm sick of having the same shit every day. Now I feel like I have more variety in my diet, and I'm eating much healthier too. The only downside is cleaning the dishes, but even that isn't horrible considering it's a one person mess.
Back to Friday: I went to meet Sophie at 6 at the bus stop to go into town. She brought 2 friends with her, and we all chatted on the bus. We headed to an Indian festival, not really knowing the details, but we were informed that there would be free food involved, always a draw. The programming featured Yoga, talks about inner peace and stuff, and a little comedic skit. The food wasn't really my thing, but I had food back at the dorm so I knew I wouldn't starve. We went to a pub after, and I tried a sip of mulled wine (just for the taste, didn't want to get drunk). It wasn't horrible like white wines I've tasted in the States, but I know I wouldn't be able to drink a lot of it, to me it tasted strong. I found out Norwich hosts a Dragon Festival every year in February, and I'm excited that I will be around for it this year. I love fantasy, and an entire week focusing on dragons (in a city which has a CASTLE) is *AVPM music* totally awesome!
When I got off the bus at UEA, I took a wrong turn and ended up in a student housing block that was unfamiliar. Luckily while I was trying to figure out which direction to go, a UEA security van drove up and the officer inside offered to give me a ride. I gratefully accepted, and was at my doorstep a few minutes later. I blame the fog, usually I am pretty good at spotting landmarks, but whatever, nobody's perfect. When I got upstairs I put on "The Secret Garden", a movie I had been dying to watch since I arrived here in England. I got one of those "I can relate!" feelings. : )
Saturday
Woke up at 5:30 pm, and felt a mixture of horror and amusement. I guess I needed the rest, right? I cooked dinner and got ready to go out that evening. I had a ticket to Retro Club Night at the LCR, but unfortunately my new found friends of the night before didn't like the club scene that much, so I was heading off alone again. This time I was even more alone, since Bambi was getting a night off. I wouldn't dream of taking her back there, but I still felt the need to go to experience "university fun". I went to the bar downstairs first to see if I could meet anyone, no luck there, except the man accepting tickets to the upstairs club recognized me as the blind girl. I'm so used to being with Bambi all the time that it felt strange not having her beside me. I felt like I was missing something, like my keys, or an umbrella you carry around when you think there will be rain. I was impressed the guy remembered me.
When I got up there at around 11 people were sparse, so I just walked around. By 11:30 more people had come in, and I edged towards the dance floor. The way I see it, the floor is so packed anyway, that nobody notices if you're alone...you don't stand out, so you're more likely to loosen up. I met an international student, and we talked and danced for awhile. Then after he left I danced alone for a bit...and then got approached again. This guy wasn't a student at the uni, so I felt a bit uncomfortable dancing with him, so I exited the floor for a bit. Returned to a new section of the floor a few minutes later hoping not to run into him again, and then while I was doing my thing, a guy next to me started talking about how I needed to loosen up and do more stuff with my hands. Whatever dude...we started doing what reminded me of a slow motion doggy paddle. I found this "dance instructor" pretty funny cause he kept calling the people next to us squares, and telling me that nobody cares what you do, just feel the music. Lol.
I have to say the best part of the evening was the music. It was the main reason I was going to this event, I like oldies a lot better than current music. I recognized a lot of the songs and found them fun to dance to. More places should play 60's and 70's stuff. It would have been better if space hadn't been so tight and people did the actual dances (like The Hustle) instead of basically just shifting their weight while staying pretty much in one place. There were also many plastic cups on the ground which I had to keep kicking out of my way, and I'd say that most people were pretty drunk. And the floor was sticky in a lot of places...eww...but I tried not to focus on that.
I got back to the room at about 2 and didn't have much trouble getting to sleep.
Sunday
Made porridge (with milk not water, how extravagant), then went to meet Sophie at the library. I'm trying to do things on the cheap as much as I can over here, so getting my textbooks from the library is a must. I got 2 out of 3 (I'll get the other when a copy is returned), and learned how to use the check-out machine. We then went for coffee in the park with her flatmate, and talked about British things I wanted to know about (politics, the monarchy, crumpets...). This little cafe is dog friendly, since people play with their dogs in the park, so Bambi had some other dogs to look at while we talked. After that, I returned to the flat and looked up chicken soup recipes. I'll give it a go in a couple hours, the chicken is still defrosting. Hope it doesn't end up a complete mess.
Phew! Typing these massive updates always takes so long! It's nice to write it down though, kind of like putting my thoughts in a pensieve.
Interesting things coming up: going to Cambridge on Wednesday, and York for the weekend with Sophie and pals. Looking forward to both.
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