Meeting the British

My sleep schedule is still pretty wacky, I woke up before my alarm which hardly ever happens at home.  It was a misty morning, which in England, means rain.  So I got the rain gear ready; rubber boots, long raincoat, and umbrella, and went downstairs to make a sandwich (my staple food).
Went to see David, who had gotten into contact with Shirley the mobility instructor, and she ended up popping by for a visit (take note of the vocab, pop by, massive, and module are widely used around here.)  Shirley and I agreed to meet on Wednesday and Friday to do some O&M around campus and Norwich.  I'm really looking forward to it, I like to be as mobile as possible and get to know my surroundings.  She also noted that all this is free. : D Hooray!  Free is good in the UK.
After the meeting  I still had some time before my first class (module, lecture), so I went to this little cafe place called Blend where they have soups and sandwiches.  A lady who worked there saw me fiddling with the metal top to one of those large soup containers (you know the ones, where the handle sticks out) and she came over to see if I needed help.  She explained what the soups were, I got a cup, and a roll, paid, and she helped me find a seat.  When I was looking around it seemed as if I was the only person sitting alone.  I thought to myself "Ok, everyone's back now, time to make some friends."  Problem is, when you're in an establishment like that, it seems like people are in their own little groups, and I have no idea how to approach them.  Putting this in the back of my brain for now, I left and investigated the Arts building.  I was trying to find the room where my Tuesday class is, but I had no luck because the building is massive (horizontally, not vertically).  I was on the right floor, but just couldn't get to the room number.  Whatever, David will show me where it is.
I went to my first class, and really enjoyed it.  Psychology II is a combination of Evolutionary Psychology, and Cognitive Psychology, my Physiological Psychology class that I took last year will really help me out in this subject.  The professor is laid back, he actually came to Goucher last year for a mini lecture.  He showed a short video about Darwin's On the Origin of Species, narrated by the same guy who narrated Planet Earth.  BBC does have some excellent programming.  By the end of the lecture I was nodding off, and my writing was taking a diagonal turn.  It wasn't boring, I think it's just my weird sleep schedule.  After the lecture hall emptied out, I went up to introduce myself.  Dr. Hampton was very warm; yes he remembered Goucher and was very impressed with it.  I told him I was from New York City, that gets an "Ahh!" out of everyone I tell it to over here.  He said British students would find me very exotic, and Bambi would become a superstar.  Well that's a given, about Bambi I mean, she's a hit anywhere.
Later, I went to the Student Union Pub to try and meet some people.  Again they were all in groups, and I got intimidated, so I left pretty quickly.  Next I tried a coffee shop.  I met a nice lady in there who served me separately from the line (yay, no waiting), but again, didn't get to talk to any students.  I felt like I was spending money I didn't want to spend, on a hot chocolate I didn't want to drink, just to try to meet people.
Got back to my flat feeling lonely and laid down on the bed.  Apparently I needed a nap, because next thing I know, I'm waking up a couple hours later.  Went online to check out online grocery stores (which is how people shop for groceries around here) and soon afterward I hear a knock on my door.  One of my flatmates who I breifly met yesterday asks me if I want to go to a party in the A block (next flat down.)  I jump at the chance, and follow her and my other flatmates over there.  The kitchen is the main gathering spot here in Suffolk and Norfolk, so that was where people were congregating.  It's what you'd expect, loud music, people gathered around a table laden with different types of alcohol playing some sort of drinking card game.  Well, I'm not going to start drinking, but it doesn't mean I won't hang out with these people, after all they were nice enough to invite me.  I watch mostly, and chat a little with the people around me.  This game is kind of gross, if you get a king you need to pour some of what you're drinking into the center cup, and whoever draws the last king has to drink the resulting mixture at the end.  Pretty unsanitary...but I'm not participating, so I don;t really care.  As some people leave the table, I cross over to the other side to talk with a new flatmate I hadn't met before.  He in turn introduced me to his friends, and we had a nice conversation going.  The music got even louder, I had to talk very loudly (felt like yelling to me) to be heard.  This went on for, maybe an hour.  I felt tired, but glad that I had finally gotten to meet some peers today.  When people started dancing on the table, and a glass broke near Bambi, I decided this wasn't a safe  environment for the dog, so I said goodbye and weaved my way out.
Tomorrow I will try to get to Freshers Fair (not a Freshman, but still new) and hopefully see some new faces and talk with some new people.  Wednesday is the Club and Societies Fair, I've made a list of tables to look out for.
So for now, good night.  Hope you're enjoying the blog so far. : )