Nott What You'd Expected...

Quick tour around the Neighborhood

There are many small things that have begun to prsent themselves--- things that are a bit odd or different that we have all begun to notice.

Thing number one: people litter all the time. In Heathrow Airport, there were roughly two trashcans that i saw the entire time. that includes the bathrooms, which were completely void of any rubbish bin.

Two: spiders are everywhere. maybe it's the 80 degree heatwave that we've been struggling through or maybe it's the always-damp climate that bugs apparently like, but they are everywhere. maybe i'll get a pic on here sometime, but the spiderwebs are amazing.

Three: driving is not an art or a pasttime so much as it is a dangerous undertaking that only psychopaths attempt. Seriously, in one stretch of 30 mile highway there have been hundreds of deaths because of rogue motorcyclists who weave in and out of traffic. Being a pedestrian here is hell. One way to think about it is that England so far is the polar opposite of Estes Park Colorado---- littering there is a sin, and pedestrians are always right.

Finally, the last thing that has really struck me is the honesty in advertising, news, and culture... instead of a 'surgeon general's warning' on cigarettes, the following cryptic and shocking message is given:


I love the difference in words- instead of a car left 'idling' or 'running', a car is said to be 'standing.' Instead of orange juice being 'pulp free' or 'super-pulp', it may be 'full of juicy bits'. Oh, and i miss real orange juice.


--------
Today we went on a tour of our immediate neighborhood, a narrow-streeted (that's not a word, i just checked) area that sits north ( a word apparently not used by the english.... say 'top' instead of north) of the university, and east of some awesome sporting grounds...

We are (as Mary pointed out) basically surrounded by a triangle of deathly busy streets. I was lost at times and confused by the 3 different bus routes that all have stops within five minutes of our flat, and kind of uneasy that Carol doesn't find it safe to be out at night by one's self past the southern bridge (visable from our flat), but i think that once we settle into a scholarly habit and make some friends outside of the flat, the city will seem more accessable.

Having never had to deal with buses before or not knowing our actual academic schedule, it is hard to visualize waking up in the morning and making our way to classes. It's nice to get out and about finally, but still hard to contextualize....

Highlights of the tour: Carol and Mark's house- awesome interior, beautiful garden (pic of brandon mowing it with the electric mower ), meeting John and Margret- the produce shop owners who have already promised to be our surrogate parents while we are abroad... margret's teeth fulfull every hope and dream i have ever had of meeting a stereotypical brit...and finally, seeing the sports grounds- cool place to run, with promises of more trails that we'll see later.


------

Today we previewed tomorrow's trip to York- a trip from WEdnesday that will last until Saturday. I'm honestly scared of the academic rigors that this travel course will provide. It seems like there is a lot of freedom on our part (Thursday is us on our own completing as many tours as possible in 6 hours.... to be reinbursed by the program)... That freedom is not natural to me, and as far as i can tell will be one of the hardest parts of the next nine months...
also included is a journal to be filled out and presented at intervals to be graded, and several books to be completed on our own (ok, just two books) to be completed on our own while the program is underway.

I just hope with all of the cultural experiences and adjustments that i will still be able to complete my work and have a great time. WE have yet to go to the pubs, but tonight may provide an opportunity (depends on packing and how tired we want to be when we walk along the Roman wall tomorrow)...

With that i will leave a pic of my new favorite shop, an homage to my TAnzanian buddy, Zachary Boozer.


Much love, and i'll try to update as much as humanly possible while away .... This wirlwind will only get worse, as the York trip turns into International STudent Orientation at the University (5 days) and then eventually classes.

i'll try to get those vids up sometime....

ps- we only get three tv stations: BBC1, BBC2, and ITV.... probobly won't be an issue, but you can only watch Eggheads (crappy quiz show) so many times before you start wishing a half hour of FoodNetwork here or Comedy Central there made its way into the flat...

posted by Kevin @ 3:19 PM