Welcome to my blog! Oh, and England.

I've never had a blog before. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about it. But if you want to read my ramblings and look at some pictures I've taken and generally feel like you're caught up on my life, then you're in the right place!

I've been in England for almost two weeks. I spent the first week in London, but I won't tire you with all the wonderful details. Instead, a quick summary: while I was in London, I...
1. walked everywhere! I think the most walking I did in one day was 8 hours. But it's definitely the best way to see the city.
2. had a bizarre encounter with a junkie in Camden Market.
3. had my first drink at a delightful pub called the Windsor Castle. Discovered I'm very fond of gin and tonics.
4. saw two amazing plays, Simon Stephens' Morning and Will Eno's Thom Pain (based on nothing).
5. went to m&m world and found out that my m&m color is yellow because, "You are someone's sunshine today - and everyday!"
6. spent not enough time there.
7. was very, very happy.

Here are some of my favorite pictures (not found on facebook).

 


Since then, I've been in Norwich. It's a pretty quick train ride, under 2 hours, and probably would have been more pleasant if I hadn't missed the train I was originally supposed to be on. (Absolutely not my fault, by the way.) After I checked in on campus (very different from Whitman, but I like it so far), I moved into Mary Chapman Court, the only off-campus housing, approximately a half-hour bus ride from UEA. My flat was completely empty, so I spent the first night unpacking and doing this:

There's a lot of corkboard left to cover, but I've already collected a few new things in Norwich, so hopefully in three months it will be full! 

Thursday I managed to find my way to the bus stop and back on campus for an international student dinner. Friday and Saturday I went to orientation, met some very nice people who I will hopefully run into again at some point, and wrote down all my classes, homework assignments and events that are happening the next three months. And yesterday people finally moved into my flat!

I'm living with Katie, Alex, Henry and Danielle - all "freshers," as they're called here. They all seem great. Katie and Danielle are very sweet, Henry tells the funniest stories, and Alex is letting me borrow his mug for tea until I buy my own. They're already talking about celebrating an extravagant Halloween just for me (it's not as big of a deal over here) as well as having a giant Thanksgiving dinner. And they're very excited that I'm American, which is just so odd but also quite enjoyable. 

My first class is on Wednesday, and I'm definitely ready to get started. I feel like I've been in a sort-of limbo (thanks for the word, Molly!) the past few days, with nothing much happening and feeling as though my study abroad experience hasn't truly begun yet. I'm hoping this will change by the end of the week. 

Well. I'm going to go make dinner now. I already had my pre-dinner snack of biscuits and jam when I started writing this (thank goodness for free "welcome to UEA" food!). Here, I took a picture just for you!

Also Henry and Alex are going to make me tea! They're so lovely. I'll try to post pictures and updates somewhat regularly, so keep an eye out. :)