My first class!

I woke up today feeling pretty great. Yesterday ended up being a pretty good day, which of course put me in this really fantastic mood. I rolled out of bed at 10, got ready, had some cereal, etc. I'm pretty sure the cereal is still the most nutritious thing I've eaten while abroad. Seriously, I thought people were crazy when they talked about eating nutella by the spoonful, but I could do it. I could probably have it for every meal, except I know that's not healthy. I did buy pears, but they don't seem that healthy either. I guess I could buy salad ingredients, but that doesn't seem very filling. Plus it will go bad quickly, and I'm afraid I won't eat enough of it to make it worthwhile. I'll have to check it out, I suppose.

Melisa and I went to the grocery store today. We needed more nutella (haha) and bread. On the bright side, we bought lunch meat so use with the bread, so it's not always nutella :) We also bought tomato soup for dinner tonight...we have all the ingredients for grilled cheese, so we'll give that a try as well. We're trying to think of a variety of easy meals that we can make...and I think tacos will be next on the list. We saw someone buy taco mix today, and thought it sounded perfect.

After the grocery store, I just had a small lunch in my room with Melisa, and then prepared for class. I met Noelia and walked to class with her, since we are both in "Psychology of Prevention and Health." We weren't totally sure where our classroom was, but it was really easy to find. And the students there looked as unsure about being there as I felt, which was actually reassuring. It was a bigger class than most of my classes at Ripon, but not that big, really. It reminded me of Intro Psych with Hatcher...it's a popular class, so there are usually quite a few students. Anyway, the Professor (whose name I definitely don't know) printed out the slides for us, and gave us our module outlines (basically our syllabus). There are roughly three "suggested" readings for each week, and we were told that if we only read one, we'd do well enough on the final. I'm not quite sure how to take that, but I probably have time to read all of them. Other than that, I have ONE assignment. It's due April 26th, a 3000 word essay about one of three topics. So it's similar to many classes I've had, with a big final project. I just don't have any of the little homework. I'm not sure how to feel about that...I kind of need something to do every day when I'm not in class. And even if I study for a few hours a day, and devote an hour daily to working on my big assignment, that's not very much time. I do think, however, that it is getting easier to find ways to occupy my time. I'm trying to do productive things, like study for the GRE. It's easy to get distracted, though, by things that are much for fun. Blogging, for example!

After class, we stopped by the campus store which FINALLY posted its hours. It closed just as we got there, which was very counter-productive. I kind of want something with the Bangor University insignia on it, but I don't know that I want to buy a sweatshirt or mug. The sweatshirt probably wouldn't fit in my luggage (ha) and I'm worried the mug would break. I do have plenty of time to find something, though.

I came back to my room for a little while before dinner. I've been struggling with my internet...it keeps not working. Like 5 or 6 times a day, it just stops working for 5-10 minutes. It's not convenient. I emailed the helpdesk here at Bangor and asked them about out. Hopefully they reply tomorrow, and maybe fix it.

I am also stuck listening to the sound of the french horn. All week, I have been trying to figure out what instrument someone has been playing. It's incredibly loud...these walls are really thin, and it's someone who lives only a few doors away. As it turns out, it's Fran-from-down-the-hall, and she plays the french horn. Every day. MORE than every day. Yesterday, she played it THREE separate times. I've only heard it once today, but there's still time left. I feel bad for being annoyed...it's not Fran's fault that it's so loud, and I'm sure she has to practice. But my headphones are broken, so unless I crank up the volume on my computer, I will always hear that freaking horn. Lovely.

After listening to Fran practice and playing on the internet for a while, I went over to Melisa's dorm for dinner. I am not a huge fan of tomato soup, but decided to try it. All the soups are different here. And the tomato soup was also different. In fact, I think it kind of tastes like spaghettios. I think that's a good thing? It made it more appealing to me, at least. Melisa and I watched an episode of Jersey Shore online. We're getting into the habit of watching an episode of that show every few days. It's terrible, much like "The Real World," etc. But it makes us feel a little bit better about life. I mean, we don't suck at life like those people do. If you don't believe me, watch the show. You'll probably feel better about your life too.

Then I came back here to look over my stuff for class tomorrow. I don't actually have anything to look over, though. My class tomorrow is in the Main Arts building (the castle!) but that's a really big building, and I have no idea how I am going to find my class. Last time I was lost in that building, people weren't overly helpful. But I'll give myself extra time to find it, and everything. I don't know anyone in this class, so maybe I'll make a friend :) It would be really nice...the people here are nice, but not very approachable. And they certainly don't approach me. I hope that doesn't mean I'm not approachable. I'm always smiling, how can I not be approachable?

Anyway, I had better go to bed. I have class at 11 tomorrow. That's the earliest class I have any day, which is nice. I can stay up late (talking to my favorite people) and then sleep in! I think it'll work out very nicely...