Orientation!

I've been in England two days now -- or something like it. I freely admit that the plane ride over completely screwed any natural sense of the passage of time I had left.

Or, as a good friend of mine told me: "Wake up! It's dinnertime!"

I've more or less settled in to (into?) my flat at this point. I have my own bedroom with a desk and a wardrobe and a bookshelf and bedside table. And a bed, though I guess that was implied by the label "bedroom." I share a bathroom with the other people in the wing of my flat -- there are something like a dozen rooms, and four bathrooms, though really there are eight half-bathrooms. There is a room with a toilet and sink, and a separate room with a shower and a sink, in each wing of the flat. I've gone to the supermarket (name of Tesco) and braved British currency. I've even taken a bus!

Today was the first day of our (official) orientation. By "our," I mean the 75 or so new exchange students Essex is hosting this term. Basically, everyone met in a large room (by Essex standards; by UofM standards it was a fairly small lecture room with a lot of broken seats) and went through some of the basic need-to-knows. There was discussion of travel options, a few explanations of English cuisine and slang ("jelly" means "Jell-o," "jam" means "jelly," and "jellied eels" are exactly what they sound like) and a hasty reminder at the end to remember to study. I think I'm gonna like this place.


Mingling with the other students was a bit awkward at first. Initially, somehow I managed to attract a small group of other Americans -- though I was trying to wave over pretty much everyone who came in early. I guess my accent scared them off? However, after the lectures were done, we were given refreshments -- mineral water, fruit juice, coffee, and of course tea, milk, and biscuits. I used the time to talk with a couple girls who had filtered in a bit later: Carlie, from Australia, and Paula, from Brazil. Since we didn't have anything to do for the rest of the day, we decided to meet up at a pub later for dinner and drinks (since I, as a 20-year-old American, had never had such an experience), after Carlie finished moving into her new apartment -- er, "accommodation," excuse me. However, by 4:30 jet lag had caught up with her, so we decided to put the pub plans on hold til tomorrow. Paula and I instead went for a walk. I helped her set up her internet connection and ultimately we grabbed a couple beers at a convenience store on campus and I cooked dinner for us both at my flat.


I found the selection of alcohol strange. There was a fair amount of red wine and a good selection of beers unfamiliar to me -- except for the Asahi and a Korean beer I think I recognized but currently cannot remember the name. No whiskey or scotch, no tequila (unless you count a "tequila-flavored beer"), and I don't recall seeing vodka, either. I ended up grabbing a "ginger beer" since it sounded interesting, as well as a Cadbury chocolate bar since the English-made ones are supposed to actually be good; Paula bought a Sol.

All in all -- a good day.

Also, ginger beer is rich and fruity but a bit sweet for my everyday tastes. Also, I wasn't even carded. And since I haven't yet found the recycling bins for my building, the two empty bottles sit on the edge of my desk, probably foreshadowing my eventual alcoholism.