me, me, me! that's all i talk about here, you know.

I love being not sick. I started my classes this week and they are all going to be fine, I think. I expected there to be tons and tons of out-of-class reading and work to do since I am not actually spending that much time in the classroom, but it doesn't seem like it's going to be all that much more work than usual. Plus I get an easy out for assessment - since I'm a visiting student, I only have to write a 2500 word essay for my English course at the end rather than a 5000 word essay, because most students don't have to turn in the essay until the second week of the next term but I have to turn one in before I leave.

Some observations on England:

They really do say "cheers" all of the time. It's sort of an all-purpose word; they use it to say hello, goodbye, thank you, etc. And there are a lot of people, especially middle-aged or more, with incredibly bad teeth. All crooked and black and stuff.

Sandwiches here are definitely different. It is actually impossible to get what I would deem a normal sandwich. They are all stuff like "cucumber and tuna" and "cheese and tomato" and all I want is turkey and cheese! That's all. Also there is no Kraft macaroni and cheese, and ramen noodles are a lot more expensive. Right around 49p a package, I think, which is like 85 cents, which is way more than I would pay for them at home but still a reasonably cheap meal.

A lot of people from within the UK can tell where someone is from after they've talked to them for awhile. My ears are not yet attuned to this, I'm afraid. Apparently there is a really distinctive northern England dialect but I| have totally failed to pick up on it just yet.

I'm trying to get some pictures up online but it's posing a bit of a problem. I can't plug my camera into the lab computers because, I'm told, I do not have 'administrative privileges.' So I'm going to see if any of the internet cafes in town will allow me to do so because I'm going to have to periodically clear some pictures out, I think. I can still take tons of them at this point but I haven't really done any other traveling just yet.

That may change soon, however. There's a girl, Rose, from Hawaii in my social policy class and she is really friendly and seems very cool and she also has no classes on Thursdays and Fridays. Tomorrow we might take off for Scotland for a day; I'm waiting to hear back from her. It is nice to have a friend who wants to do some of the same stuff. And I think we'll plan some other trips within the UK as well if we can manage it. Which reminds me I need to buy a young person's railcard ASAP.

So even though I'm planning to grow my hair longer yet, I got it cut today. A lot. It's still pretty long but it's a lot more choppy and layered now. It had to be done, it was driving me absolutely insane. My head weighs a lot less now and my hair isn't all bushy and gross. I can actually feel it swing when I walk. This, clearly, is not a monumental event but it sure makes me feel happy.

I'm sad that I like Starbucks here. I've been to other coffee shops but I really do like Starbucks here. And there's four of them! Four! in this smallish city. I am determined to find a more local place that serves my coffee the way I like it but I just haven't gotten there yet. I am determined to find one though, because I hate being sucked in by the global corporate monster that is Starbucks. I think the other part of the reason, much as I hate to admit it, that I like it there is because it's a familiar environment in an unfamiliar place. I hate admitting that. But I think it's very likely to be true.

Anyway. I think that about covers things for now. It's getting late. And it's dark, so now I'll have to walk back via the road instead of via the footpath, which I hate doing. Oh well!