[Day 2] Making it feel like home

I've started to figure out what everything means and what everything is now. Yesterday I saw something about Freshers, I've figured out what that is. The students here only go to school for three years to get their undergrad degree. First year students are called 'Freshers.' (I think I was confused because I've never heard the word before and at Nova we have the smoothie place, Freshen's.) This is Freshers Week, which is like orientation, so there are a million things to do. It seems like they're not as clear as Nova was about conveying what everything is though. We haven't got our student IDs yet, so we had to get these green bands that say "I'm a real life QM student." I didn't know we had to do that until I was wandering around campus with those boys yesterday. There are also a ton of other things you can get tickets for. For example, I bought a ticket for the Boat Ball, which seems pretty cool. It seems kind of like the dances on the Gateway Clipper and a lot of people are going.

Last night, Draper's, the on-campus bar, had a thing. I don't even really know what it was. I guess drinks were cheap before 10. I've been hanging out with the girl that lives in the room next to me, Kate, so we went together, along with some other flatmates. We were both excited to be at a bar since we're both under 21, but it wasn't that great. I guess it'll be better when we know more people. We each just got a rum and coke (because they didn't have ginger ale), then tried to meet some people. Later in the night I saw Marqueta, the girl from Czech, so we hung out and danced with her for a while. Also I met a cute British boy that kind of looked like Robert Pattinson!

I've decided that British people aren't very friendly. Or maybe they are friendly, but it's just really hard to relate to them. Every conversation goes something like this:
Them: Hi I'm [whatever]
Me: Hi I'm Meghan
Them: Where are you from, the States?
Me: Yeah I'm from Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Are you from around here?
Them: Yeah, near Birmingham (or somewhere like that).
Me: Oh that's cool. Where are you living on campus?
Them: (wherever) What are you studying?
Me: English. What about you?
And basically that's the end of the conversation. I guess really don't know anything about Europe or England. If they ask me about America we talk about that, because mostly everyone seems to know much more about America than I know about Europe. It gets tough to relate to them and talk to them, especially if they have a strong accent. I guess that's why I've found myself listening for American accents or looking for someone that dresses like an American. I'm glad one of my flatmates, Kate, is from America.

This morning Kate and I went grocery shopping. The grocery store was about a 15 minute walk down the road. You had to pay one pound if you wanted a shopping cart so we opted to get baskets. Grocery shopping is really difficult. I had no idea what I was going to want to eat and I had to make sure I was able to make whatever I bought. They had really weird flavors of jelly and yogurt, fruits I've never heard of. Kate and I were excited because we each bought a bottle of wine. I also bought a hair dryer, since mine won't work here. My straightener won't work either. Kate is going to buy a straightener and we're going to share. Last night I zapped my alarm clock because I didn't realize the voltage wouldn't work, so I need to find an alarm clock too. The walk back was rough because it was that weird temperature where you need a coat when the wind blows but if you're wearing it in the sun it's too hot, and our bags were heavy, so we were happy to get back.

Here are pictures of my shopping bags and my fridge:

 

When I got back I cleaned my room a little and now I'm almost done unpacking. I hung up a poster that QM gave me and a map. I went to The Curve, which is like the little cafe here (similar to Belle Air at Nova, but all on one flor) and got my meal voucher. I'm so happy that I got a meal voucher because I wouldn't be able to cook for myself every night. I also got my QM email address! Now I get to put Queen Mary University of London as one of my schools on Facebook, so exciting.

This is what my room looks like now:

 

  Ok I can't figure out how to line these up correctly, and I really don't care either. So they're going to be all over the page. I like my room a lot, it's pretty cute and the perfect size. I have my own bathroom too. It's a little tiny cube that basically only fits one person. The shower is pretty weird because you just pull the curtain over to cut the bathroom in half. I like having my own bathroom though.

I'm so excited because I found the Steelers game on The X online radio. It's fantastic! It seems that we're going to have a quarterback problem though because Dixon just went into the locker room. I'm so happy though because I was worried about missing games, and it makes it feel a little more like home. I've heard there are Steelers bars all over the world, so maybe some Sunday I can catch a game at one.

Our other flatmate just moved in. She's from Ohio. Oh speaking of cities, I just remembered. I met this British guy last night and told him I was from Pittsburgh. He said, "I only know one thing about Pittsburgh, it's one of your sports teams and I don't even know what sport they play." I said, "Oh what team is it?" He goes, "The Pirates." Seriously? The Pirates? After we talked a bit more and I told him that the Pirates have 17 losing seasons in a row so I have no clue why that's the only team he knows, he figured out that he knows the Steelers and Big Ben, as well as the Penguins.

On a random note, I've noticed that the girls here are all about wearing shorts with tights, or dresses with tights. Good thing I brought a couple pairs of tights. They also wear a lot of interesting make up. The guys mostly wear soccer jerseys or have the Robert Pattinson look, ya know coats with big collars and fitted jeans. So far no one that I've seen has terrible teeth.

I think that's about all for today. I have to decide if I'm going to go back to Draper's tonight. Since I already paid the four pound cover at the bbq, I get in for free if I go before 9. Three of my flatmates are going so I might go with them, but I'm pretty tired and I have to get up around 8:30 tomorrow morning.

MB