A little bit of productivity?

I tried to be very productive today, and I think it actually went alright. I also tried to sleep in, which was an epic fail. I went to be early last night (11 pm!) but was woken up at 1:15 by obnoxious neighbors. It wasn't too bad, and they quieted down within 30 minutes or so. I set my alarm for noon, but my body decided it wanted to wake up at 8:30. I went back to sleep, but woke up again at 10:30 and decided I had to get up.

I chilled for a while, showered, ate lunch, etc. Then, I worked on my paper! It's about time that I actually did something. Granted, I haven't written anything, but I've been reading through my sources and taking notes. I read all of Weber's "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" which turned out to be 120+ pages. I'm not done reading through my sources--I read through 4 today, and have about 8 more to take notes on. But now that I've started, I'm finding it so much easier to keep working. Plus I have a really good idea of how I'm going to structure my paper, which makes the task of writing it seem much less daunting.

I talked to John for a while today, which was probably the highlight of my day. I hung out with Melisa, as usual. I also considered sending out some postcards, but am, once again, lacking motivation! And addresses. Maybe I would be more motivated to send out postcards to people if I knew their addresses ;)

My plans for the week are not any more exciting than usual. Classes will take up some time, as will working out. I WILL be spending more time on this paper, and hopefully finishing it soon so that I can work on my presentation which is also coming up! I'm not sure where Melisa and I will be going this weekend. We're looking at day trips to Ireland, but will probably save that for a day when the other girls aren't busy. I'm sure we'll find something to do--we're pretty good at that. Maybe another random bus ride? Neither of us were huge fans of the 3.5 hour bus ride, but it was worth it. We'll figure something out!

Also, it's really weird to think that I've been here for a while now. My time here is 1/3 of the way over with, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. While it is hard at times, I do want to enjoy this experience. I'm a little bit afraid that I'll miss doing something exciting, or seeing something great. But in all reality, there is SO much to see and do, all around the world. There is no way that I'll be able to fit in everything (not during this trip, at least) but I do plan on seeing as much as I can. I can't wait for my spring break!

Aberystwyth

Melisa and I hopped on a bus to Aberystwyth today. We had no idea how far away it was; it turned out to be a 3.5 hour bus ride, one way. But it was well worth it. The scenery here is beyond amazing. Between the mountains and the ocean, we had the most gorgeous bus ride ever. Those buses go really fast, down really narrow roads. It's a little scary, and we nearly hit a sheep today. It made it up the hill with just a few seconds to spare! Sometimes, the roads are too narrow for more than one vehicle. If the bus encounters a car, the car has to put it in reverse and get out of the way. I could seriously never drive here.

Once we got to Aberystwyth, we got off the bus and wandered around. Our intention was just to go shopping, and see what was there. We didn't plan to see anything exciting, so it was quite the surprise to find a real beach (with sand and everything) as well as castle ruins and a WWII monument.

We did fit in some shopping as well. Melisa was looking for pants, which we unfortunately did not find. However, we got matching passport holders ;) We were a little bit worried about all our traveling; on the way to Wales, my passport just kind of floated around my purse. We found these holders that zip--plus there is room for my id, credit card, money, etc, so I can keep everything organized! It was very exciting. Plus Melisa and I dream of being on The Amazing Race, so we figured the matching passport holders were a necessity.

We stopped at Costa Coffee (which could be a clone of Starbucks) for hot chocolate and muffins. We knew we'd need a snack for the 3.5 hour bus ride back to Bangor. The bus ride wasn't too bad, although it was exhausting. It was also pretty interesting, because lots of random people got on the bus. There were about 15 girls who were headed for a night out on the town, and apparently whatever town they lived in wasn't good enough. I would never ride a bus for 2 or more hours just to go out drinking with my friends, but that's just me, I guess. Melisa and I really enjoy watching the girls around here, and...evaluating their clothing choices. One girl wore a shirt, and black tights, with heels. I do not think that tights count as "bottoms" so it's a little strange to see girls who look like they forgot to put on pants. Or a skirt.

We met this nice older man on the bus. I helped him pick up his cane when it fell, which was clearly a sign to sit and talk to me. It was funny. He wanted to know where we were from, and what we were studying, all that stuff. He's been to New York City, Ohio (with the American Army?) and Washington, D.C. He apparently doesn't like Washington, D.C., or Bush, or Obama. But we did have a good conversation, and he told me that I have a good head on my shoulders :)

It was a good day. Melisa and I always have fun exploring together. We just sit and laugh at everything. We tried to figure out how to pronounce the names of places one day, by putting accents in different places. It was hilarious. We did decide that it is better to look up the pronunciation, because otherwise no one understands us. And then we wouldn't get where we wanted to go!

American accent!

I almost forgot to blog today--that's how exciting my life is.

I went to my discussion class today, and it was pretty interesting. We talked about the function of education. It's much the same here as it is in the U.S., really. Kids learn what they can and cannot do. They are taught the basic things that they will need to get along in society, etc. The other students were very amused to learn that I had to take an agriculture class to graduate from high school, and that my school offered "shop" classes. Apparently one of the weaknesses of the British school system is that it doesn't teach practical things like that, but they are working on changing that. One kid mentioned that his school offered a plumbing course (which I thought was really funny).

After class, I had lunch with Melisa (yay tuna salad!) and just hung out. I eventually went to workout at the gym, as usual. Then Melisa and I decided we wanted to watch a movie (which we haven't done since we've been here). There are a few websites that we can watch movies on. But usually you can only watch for just over an hour before you have to take a break for almost an hour. So our movie had some intermissions. We had popcorn with our movie (thanks Grandma!) which was very exciting.

And then, we went to bed. I'm sure it's hard for everyone to keep up with my crazy life. Tomorrow we are taking a bus to Aberystwyth, and just exploring. We looked up how to say the name and everything, in hopes of NOT confusing the bus driver this time. We can't help that we have accents!

Also, the front door to my building is broken. As in, nothing happens when you hold up your key card. So I can't get in the front door. But sometimes, it's just unlocked, and you can walk in with or without a key card. Without a key card, that's as far as you'll get anyway, so I don't really have any reason to feel nervous. I did go to security to tell them that the door was broken. I've never seen anyone get more confused. I'm not sure if it was my accent, or the terrible explanation. I didn't know how to explain which door it was, since no door is clearly defined as the front door or back door. I consider it to be the front door because it's the door I always use. It's the door that faces other buildings, NOT the parking lot. And then I didn't know how to explain what the problem was. It just won't open. Sometimes. Sometimes it is open for anyone. But for the most part, nothing happens when you hold up your key card, and you can't get in that door.

So, it's been two days, and the door is still broken. The guys in security wrote it down. But now I'm wondering if maybe they were just humoring me. Maybe they'll fix it soon? Or maybe they thought I said something completely different. Bah.

Who runs around at 4 in the morning?

I've come to the definite conclusion that we will never win quiz night. There are always around 30 questions, and then 10 picture identifications. Today, the pictures were of famous British people. We didn't know a single one. I actually knew two of the answers to trivia today! Honestly, two is more than I normally know. Kat usually knows almost 10, Lauren knows some of the music ones, and Melisa knows some other random ones. We're working on learning more, but there is just so much!

Other than trivia, I did very little today. I tried to sleep in...I couldn't fall asleep last night until around 2. And sometime around 3:30/4, my flat-mates came back from drinking. And I'm pretty sure they were playing tag or something, in the hallway. They ran back and forth, laughing and screaming. I definitely heard them drop something in the kitchen, and I think someone may have fallen. It was crazy. I couldn't even get the energy to get up and ask them to stop. So I re-set my alarm clock for noon. I'm still exhausted. Pretty sure one of my flat-mates is having a party in his tiny little room tonight. I heard a whole bunch of people in there when I walked by. I hope they just don't feel like running around!

I did go to the gym, and I hung out with Melisa for a while. We're both pretty excited for Saturday. We have no idea what to expect from this town that we are going to, but it's just nice to get out of the Bangor area sometimes. Oh, and our spring break is in just a few weeks, which makes me very happy. I feel like that traveling will be the highlight of my study abroad experience.

Motivation = gone...

Today was a long day of nothing. It's funny how things can change...right when I got here, and had nothing to do, I was so incredibly motivated. And now that I've been here for just over a month, I have never had so LITTLE motivation.

I'm not sleeping well again, and being tired makes me want to do nothing but sleep. I did work out today, but that's about the only worthwhile thing I did. Last night I started missing home a little bit more, and woke up feeling kind of down. So it's just been one of those days, where I haven't done much. I'm currently drinking hot chocolate rather than tea...it's always been comforting. It's all I ever want when I am sick, and it reminds me of home, but in a good way. Of course, I could only find low-fat hot chocolate, so it's kind of watered down, but it'll do.

Instead of going to class today, I hung out with Melisa. We did a little bit of grocery shopping. Melisa wanted a few things, and it turned out that they didn't have either of those things anymore. We did a few laps of the store, though, and it was kind of funny.

My friend whose name I do not know yet texted me when I wasn't in class. She's a really sweet girl, and I told her that I wasn't feeling well, which is kind of true, I guess. Anyway, she said there are lots of birthdays coming up, and lots of reasons to go out, so we'll definitely hang out another time :)

I've thought about my paper a lot, but I haven't actually started writing it :S I know I should, but with three weeks still before it is due, it's kind of hard to be motivated. Normally, I'd have an excuse for not writing it...you know, being overloaded with tons of other work. I have no excuse--I'm just not motivated! But, Melisa and I have made plans to go shopping on Saturday. We're taking a bus to nearby Aberystwyth, which looks to be a little bit bigger than Bangor. I'm trying to bribe myself...maybe I will treat myself to a pastry or something, if I start writing my paper. Starting it is always the hardest part, really. Once I get going, writing it is easy. And then I'll be sending it to Liss to be edited, as always, provided she isn't still overwhelmd by endless piles of homework.

Lessons

Tuesdays feel like they go by really fast. I like it though...I usually feel like I've gotten a lot done. I don't honestly think I accomplished a lot, but that's ok.

My sociology lecture got done early today, which was nice. I do like the professor, but he rambles on for a long time. He does get pretty into it though...he was waving his arms around today. It made me smile...and it kind of reminded me of myself. I tend to get really animated when I talk--and sometimes I knock stuff over!

After class, I went and worked out. I did some laundry. I found some more articles to use for my paper. I plan to read them more thoroughly tomorrow and Thursday, so that I can write on Friday. I like to sit down and write everything at once. Then I should have plenty of time to edit my paper, considering that it is due on March 12th. I'm not actually sure yet how to turn it in. Apparently you have to an office somewhere, and turn it in. But not the professor's office--it's where all homework gets turned in? I'll ask about it later this week.

I helped Melisa dye her hair today! It was very exciting, and really smelly. Her hair isn't quite as light as she was going for, but I do think it looks nice :) It was a very interesting procedure...we did it in the kitchen, because we knew it would have a very strong smell, and our rooms are small. We washed out her hair in her bathroom sink though, because there were too many dishes in the kitchen. That was a bit messy, because those sinks are also small. There may still be water everywhere in Melisa's bathroom :S

Studying abroad has been a really interesting adventure so far. We've learned that the "long-life" milk is not quite the same as regular milk...we tried to dilute our alfredo sauce tonight, and found that it, like our mac n cheese, it didn't combine but instead stayed separate. Ick. Now we know it's the milk's fault! I've learned that something can be more scary than you expected, but also less scary, at the same time. And I do think that this was a good idea. I'm learning how to be more independent, how to make decisions (ha), how to deal with feeling pretty alone sometimes; I've learned how to get around a strange city, in a foreign country; I've learned how easy it is to ask for help (and how helpful people can actually be); I've learned how to book hostels and flights, as well as how to find the best deals. We'll see how it all turns out over break, but I'm excited. I am not nervous at all..I feel like we are pretty good at planning, so it shouldn't be too complicated. Plus, it's spring break, so we are just going to relax and take it easy. If plans change, so be it. That's a hard one for me...I like to stick to a plan. But, as with everything else, I'm learning to just go with the flow...

Prawn Cocktail Potato Chips?

I had a good day today. After my workout, I met Melisa for lunch. And then we stopped by the library. Melisa requested a book, and it came in. I finished the books I had, and like having books to read whenever I feel like slacking. So I got a few new books :)

We stopped by the Arriva Bus office, and asked some questions. There are buses that go from here to London, but they aren't through Arriva. It was really hard to find information, so we just asked. They directed us to a travel agent, who explained some more stuff to us. It was very helpful, really.

I had class from 2-4. It was fairly interesting. We talked about personality traits, and how they relate to health behaviours. The girl that I met in our discussion sections sat by me today. I have a friend :) But I still don't know her name, and it's really awkward because she definitely knows mine. She makes sure to address me by name every time she sees me. I've been waiting for someone to call her by her name, but no one does. What a quandary! She invited me to go out to a nightclub with her and her friends on Wednesday. Melisa is going to come with me, and I'm excited. It'll be nice to go out with some of the "locals" and actually know people. It makes it much less intimidating--this will be my first night out, really. Plus, I'll have Melisa introduce herself, and that way I can learn the girl's name!

I've been doing a little bit of work on my sociology paper. I picked my topic, and I have a pretty good idea of how I will formulate my paper. I'm much less stressed about it now. I have 6 or 7 articles that I should be able to reference, though I plan to look for 5 or 6 more. I found that I can read some of Weber's original works online through the University of Bangor library, which made me really happy. I'm kind of a dork, but I really like being able to cite the original authors, as well as people that critiqued them. I'm starting to look forward to working on this paper. It's like being at home :)

I was able to instant message with a whole bunch of people today (like John and Melissa) and I was able to actually talk to Mom and Missy :) It was pretty exciting. People have been kind of busy, so it's been hard to find time where I can actually talk to people. Today was good though.

Random aside: I thought about buying potato chips as a snack. I looked at them in the store today, and realized that it won't happen. They have the strangest flavors I have ever seen. Prawn cocktail. Are those shrimp-flavored potato chips? No thanks. How about roast chicken? That sounds less gross, but not exactly normal. Oh, they also have cheese and onion flavored chips. Umm...plain please?

"Around 2500 words"

I feel like today's post will be appear much less exciting than yesterday's. And really, it is. Yesterday I went to another castle. Today I slept in :)

I did some research for one of my papers today. I have a couple papers that I need to work on eventually. This one is due in roughly a month, but I thought I'd start working. I need to make my own due dates, because otherwise I won't be doing anything until just a few days before. It's hard to remember that there actually is stuff I should do. I don't really need to prepare for class each week--maybe for discussion, but not for lecture. I'm going to be so stressed next year when I get back to Ripon and have to do work on a regular basis. But I much prefer that. I can't even explain how weird this is. I almost think I would rather be stressed. I like being busy. I need to start making to-do lists again. Maybe it'll help me to be more productive.

Anyway, I'm trying to choose from one of ten topics for my first paper. They all seem pretty simple...I feel like I could summarize answers in a page. But I need to write "around 2500 words." I'm not sure what that means. Close to 2500? Is that a minimum? A maximum? I think I'll be aiming for MAXIMUM 2500 words. I don't know if I could stretch out my papers to any longer, really. I like to be short and concise. So I found psych articles and stuff that I could potentially use, and I'll start really working tomorrow, after my lecture.

I've also been planning stuff for spring break. We have at least a few days in each city, so I'm creating a rough itinerary for each city. Places to go, how much they cost, when they are open, etc. I'm kind of a dork, but I like to be organized. I'm enjoying researching for break much more than for my paper! I'm feeling very...lazy, and not at all motivated lately. Melisa made flash cards of words to study for the GRE. I've done...basically nothing. I have done some practice tests, and did a little bit of math review. Looks like I should consider buckling down, and maybe doing some work...

Conwy: 8 miles away, 7 miles away, 2 miles away, 4 miles away, arrival.

Crazy bus ride: check. Getting off too early and having to walk on a random trail: check. Castle: Check. Fun: check.

I think we had a very successful adventure today. Melisa and I met at 9, and walked to the bus station. We hopped on a bus going from Caernarfon to Llandudno, since Conwy is a stop along the way. The bus ride took much longer than expected. We went down this road, and stopped at a few different towns. In the first one, the sign said that Conwy was in 8 miles. We have to know where it is so we can press the "stop" button, but we don't have maps of the bus routes, and so we do a lot of guessing. In the next town, the sign said that Conwy was in 7 miles, which makes sense. Then we are back on the highway for a little while...we turn off in a town, and then are going back in the direction we came from. Sign says: Conwy 2 mi. And it points in the direction of Bangor, where we started. Then we go around a roundabout, which puts us on the road we STARTED on, at a spot we had already been on. Sign says: Conwy 4 mi. And it points in the direction that we were originally going. It's a good thing I wasn't driving, or I would have been SO lost. At any rate, when we saw signs that said we were in Conwy, we got off at the first stop. Castles are easy to find.

As it turns out, the first stop is quite a hike from the castle. It's all residential, with no signs for anything. We walked a few different directions before finally asking someone. We had to take a path alongside the water, around a giant corner, before we could get to the castle (and civilization).

We did eventually reach the castle. It was a very scenic path, and it does appear that we should have waited until the bus had gone farther. But we didn't want to miss the town! Buses aren't very clear about where you are, or where they tend to stop. At any rate, it wasn't TOO cold, although it was fairly snowy, by Welsh standards.

Conwy (which is pronounced Conway) Castle was much smaller than we expected. It was pretty, and I do really enjoy visiting castles. But this will probably be one of the last ones we visit. We're going to try to find other places to go and see. It didn't take us nearly as long to explore this castle as it did for the other ones. It actually took us quite a while to figure out how to get to the castle, and how to get in. This town was a little confusing, and we ended up walking along the outside of the wall, and the outside of the castle, before turning around and trying another direction. We did figure it out before too long, being fairly smart girls.

After exploring the castle, we explored the town. As it turns out, there wasn't a lot in the town. We picked up a few postcards, played at a few random stores, and then hopped on a bus back to Bangor. Taking buses back is always much easier, since we know Bangor, and we know which place to stop at. We are going to take a Saturday and just go to random towns. We can buy an all-day pass for a route, and then stop at whatever towns we want along the way. There are some really cute little towns, and Melisa and I are excited.

I'll post a few of my favorite pictures here. There will be more on Facebook, provided it allows me to upload them. It's a little bit frustrating. Anyway, pictures:

TGIF?

I'm not a huge fan of Fridays. They don't really mean anything here. I think I actually tend to go to bed earlier on Friday nights, so we can get up early for our Saturday adventures. It's a sweet life ;)

Let's see...so, I had class from 11-12. Discussion is usually interesting, and the TA is nice. He does struggle when people don't want to contribute. But the person who had to present was actually here today, so that was good. We talked about Emile Durkheim. Fascinating stuff. He studied suicide, and he wanted social sciences to be studied like the natural sciences, in terms of facts. It's not quite that simple, but it's a very interesting way to look at it. Durkheim thought things like suicide weren't merely personal or psychological, but could be studied as a whole, as a social phenomenon. He looked at the social factors that played a role. While his arguments (and research) had its flaws, it's still a neat concept to think about.

After class, I went to the gym for a little while. After working out, I decided to relax (like every other day really...I've been slacking). I'm currently reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I'm just about done, and then I'm going to need to go back to the library! :) Melisa and I met for dinner, as usual. We have lots of leftovers from our lasagna earlier this week. No meat, since it is Friday.

Tomorrow we're going to Conwy Castle! Someday we'll start exploring things other than castles, but for night now, I'm loving it. Castles are cool. And I like getting out of Bangor for a little while. It's definitely nice. And it's always an adventure to hop on a bus, and hope that we get where we want. Plus we get to explore the towns where the castles are. Hopefully the good weather holds out...it's been rainy the past few days, but our Saturdays have usually been nice. It actually snowed a little bit today, so I'm not too optimistic about the weather. But as long as it isn't TOO cold, or TOO wet, it'll be ok :)

It is an offense to sell knives to anyone under the age of 18

Today was...interesting. After my workout, I met Melisa for lunch, and then we walked to Tesco. We didn't realize how much stuff was over there. There was a store called Home Bargains, which had lots of random stuff. There was PC World, Matalan (clothing), a sports store (AND gym), Argos (electronics), and Next (clothing plus random stuff, like Urban Outfitters). There were some other ones that we didn't check out. I did find an armband thing that will hold my iPod when I run (yay sports stores). There was only one option, and only one left of it, but I do like it.

We made it to Tesco. It was a giant grocery store, really, with some other random stuff. It looked like there was some clothing, and some electronics. So, kind of like Walmart? That's what some people here have compared it to. But the majority of the store was food products. And they weren't actually any cheaper than the food products at Morrison's. Melisa and I were not impressed (plus it was a long walk). We took a bus back, since we bought a few things (like a 6-pack of 7Up...I couldn't resist).

My flat-mates invited Melisa and I to have dinner with them tonight. It was Alex's birthday, so Fran and Nikki made food. Joe came too (but I didn't remember his name...awkward). I don't think anyone sees Matt, if I even remember the name right. And there really are two guys that are both named John (ha). One is usually in the kitchen watching tv...that's the only place I've ever seen him. And the other is Asian. He is really friendly, and always smiles and says hi. Anyway, Nikki and Fran made "Mexican" for dinner. So...basically tacos. But with chicken instead of beef. And the chicken had breading on it. But it was really good, and it was nice to sit down with people from the UK and talk about stuff. It's always fun. Melisa and I are going to make something American for them (Joe's idea, and we do love it). We're not sure what we will make. What is American food? We discussed hamburgers (but neither Melisa nor I are big fans) and steak (I wish). We are thinking maybe breakfast, because breakfast in the US is much different than breakfast here. But we'd welcome any ideas people have :)

After dinner, we went to Quiz Night at Bar Uno! We did terrible. We felt pretty good about some of it (but we're pretty sure we'll never actually win). It wasn't as bad as the time when we had to identify British sports stadiums, but it still wasn't good. It was pretty funny though, and I love that Kat knows answers to so many random questions!

Getting packages is like Christmas morning...

Today was definitely a good day. I was really tired this morning, which made working out much less enjoyable. After working out, Melisa and I had lunch--grilled cheese sandwiches are always great :) We were going to visit Tesco and the area around it today, but we were running behind, and since I had class at 3, we didn't want to be rushed. We'll go to Tesco tomorrow after lunch.

I'd like to say that I did something productive before class, but other than working out, I really didn't do anything. My time seems to disappear really fast. I feel like I am getting a lot done...but I know I'm honestly not. I went to my discussion class at 3. It is led by this guy--Dr. Steve Hosier...I'm not sure if he is a professor? He works in the field of health psychology and motivation, but I'm really not sure what he does. Anyway, he leads the class, with the help of Eleni. I'm not really sure about Eleni's vocation either, but she is really nice. And he is hilarious, so class is usually pretty fun. We talk about the assignment, and how the lecture relates. We always get randomly off-topic, but I enjoy learning about random stuff. Salad cream is apparently like mayo, but it goes on your salad. We did actually talk about obesity, like we were supposed to. We have to pick a population to target with our health program. I think I'm going with parents, considering that they have a large influence on the attitudes, values, and behaviours of their children. I always leave class feeling very motivated to work on the assignment, but I've yet to write anything. It's not due for forever, and I can only work on the parts that we've talked about. I don't like writing in sections...I'd rather write it all at once. But I'm thinking about working on the individual sections, mostly because it will give me something to do.

Melisa and I made an interesting dinner today. It was supposed to be macaroni and cheese. We thought that we could modify our (very successful) alfredo recipe to make our cheese sauce. Let's just say that it didn't go as planned. I might need some assistance, Dad...

On the bright side, there were some great parts to today:
1) It was sunny and in the mid-40's all day.
2) Melisa surprised me with PEPSI at dinner! :)
3) I got a package from my grandma today! It was definitely the highlight of my day, because getting a package is like Christmas morning. I literally sat on my bed, and went through it all. Goldfish, microwave popcorn, peanut butter, rice, macaroni and cheese, flour, and what appears to be an ENTIRE bag of mini Kit Kats. I haven't been this excited in a long time!

Another day in the life...

I can't imagine that it's very exciting to read my blog. When I do stuff, I'm sure it's nice to hear about it. But most of my days are like today...quiet. I like my quiet days, but I do miss Ripon. I miss having people everywhere, and I like when there is SOME noise. It's crazy quiet here, until like 2 in the morning, and then it sometimes gets loud. It depends on whether the people above me decide to run around like they sometimes do...

I went to class at 11 this morning. We talked about Durkheim, and the books he wrote. Oh so exciting. My professor is awfully monotonous, and he doesn't use any visual aids or anything. He just talks to the class. That's it. It's so hard to pay attention--plus we have this GIANT window that overlooks the city of Bangor, and it's a pretty view...

I worked out this afternoon. Again, so exciting. And then Melisa and I wandered around Bangor. She wanted new tennis shoes because she wore out her other ones. I didn't mind shopping with her :) I do love shopping, and I was on the lookout for something to hold my iPod when I'm running. There was something at one of the stores that looked like it would work, but I decided to check out some more stores tomorrow. Melisa and I are going to walk to Tesco in the morning, and there are some electronics stores nearby that might have something useful. We'll see how that goes!

Best Buy = PC World or Argos

I got a package from my family today! That was definitely the highlight of my day. Peanut butter, boxed macaroni and cheese (SUPER exciting), a pedometer (so I can actually know how far I run), assorted other items :) I half expected them to tell me that I had no mail again, but I did actually get something today.

Getting up to workout was hard...I was tired today. But I'm glad I did, because I feel like I didn't do anything else. I did go to class from 2-4, which was interesting. We talked about coping behaviour, and how different techniques for coping are more beneficial in the short-term, while other techniques are better for the long-term. It wasn't anything confusing, so I can't say that I paid all that much attention. We are given print-outs of the slides, so it's not like I have to take notes. It's all very simple.

I did talk to someone today. I want something to clip my iPod to me while I'm running, but stores aren't the same here. I haven't seen a single store that looks like an electronics store. So I asked this girl about it. She had headphones, and she smiled at me...that's why I spoke to her (haha). Anyway, she was really nice. And she said that there were a couple stores near Tesco that I could check out. Melisa and I are going to try to find Tesco on Thursday, so I'll look around then.

Melisa got asked on a date by some random guy, so I was going to go with her to meet him tonight (at a public place on campus). However, that failed because Melisa accidentally broke her key card. If she leaves her room now, she can't get back in! She can get a new key card tomorrow, but until then...she's kind of stuck in her room. Anyway, she decided she didn't actually want to meet with the random guy, so it worked out that we had a really convenient excuse. That was our tiny bit of excitement for today. Plus when we went to security to ask about her key, that's when I got my package!

Buddy Brunch

Saturdays are always exhausting days, which means that Sundays are lazy days. I did basically nothing today, and I think it was a good choice. For starters, my legs are actually sore from Caernarfon. Mostly just my thighs, from climbing so many stairs. The shorter towers had 66 steps. I went up at least 8 or 9 of those (this was before we realized they all gave you the SAME view...) and we went up the highest tower too. I'm glad I did it all, but my legs aren't so happy.

Melisa and I met this morning for "Buddy Brunch" at Bar Uno. In "honor" of Valentine's Day (which I think is the most stupid holiday ever), they had buy one get one free breakfast. Melisa was my date, which is always fun. And we had hot chocolate, which was a great idea. I love hot chocolate :) They served us "traditional breakfast," which consisted of: eggs (over easy...gross); mushrooms (also gross); a triangle potato/hashbrown thing (good); toast (good); beans (to go on the toast...); and a sausage (that was a weird consistency...like mashed potatoes, and not very flavorful). I am proud of myself for trying more traditional food, rather than just stuff I know.

After brunch, I really did nothing at all. I read a book. Very exciting, I know. I talked to Liss for a little while (so exciting for her, since I was a little crabby when we talked). I'm not quite sure where my day went. But it disappeared really fast. Weekends are always a little weird, since my schedule is never the same. I'm excited to get back into a routine tomorrow morning. I like having a simple life, but I miss being legitimately busy.

Caernarfon Castle

Melisa and I met at 8:45 and walked to the bus station this morning. We asked someone which bus to get on, and then we just hopped on. It was only 2.50 GBP per person, round trip, and it was a fairly short bus ride. Once we got to Caernarfon, we opted to just wander until we found the castle. Castles are hard to miss!

We did kind of circle around the castle before we figured out how to get there. But it was quite easy to find. Caernarfon Castle is massive. It was built to be a fortress for King Edward I. When he took over Wales, he built a series of castles in a ring around the Snowdonia Mountains. Caernarfon was built to "echo the banded walls and polygonal towers of the Roman city of Constantinople," according to this postcard I bought. I learned about the "ring" of castles when we watched this really cheesy video in a cold, drafty theater in the castle.

We spent a few hours wandering around the castle. It was pretty impressive. There were three levels in the walls, where you could wander, and lots of towers and turrets. The stairs in the towers seemed never ending! I feel like my body may hate me again tomorrow, but it was definitely worthwhile.

After exploring the castle, we wandered around the town of Caernarfon for a while. There were tons of cute pastry shops, and tiny little gift shops. It was a little chilly today, we didn't wander as much as we could have. But we were lucky again...it was another sunny day!

After taking a bus back to Bangor, I took a nice, long nap. It was necessary! And then Melisa and I made tuna melts for dinner, which was a huge success. We chilled the rest of the night. We are going to the "buddy brunch" tomorrow...it's Valentine's Day, so breakfast is two for the price of one! Melisa is going to be my date for Valentine's Day, since I'm a little bit far away from John. It's nice to have Melisa here to go places with...we've decided the someday we are going to be on The Amazing Race together. We're figuring out travel, etc. when planning for Spring Break. We'll be professionals by the time we leave here!

1,531 lights

I had a lot of fun today. I didn't work out at all, since I had class at 11 and didn't want to get up early to work out. I did walk a lot, so I've decided that counts as a workout :) Class wasn't super exciting, but the TA who leads discussion is really nice. We got a little bit off topic, but it was still fun.

I met Melisa for some lunch in her room, and then we hung out until Jordan's train got in. He had some train issues, so he was a tiny bit later than intended. Once he got here, we decided to walk to the pier and show that to him. We got distracted on the way. All around Wales, there are marked paths that you can walk on, and we randomly decided to take one. It apparently led to a Roman Fort, though I don't think we made it that far. We got to this big mound, and it was breath-taking. On one side was the city of Bangor (you can see Penrhyn Castle in the distance); on the other was Menai Straight.

Wales is such a pretty place to be. After walking around on the trails, we slowly made our way down to the pier. Last time Melisa and I went to the pier, we didn't actually walk out on it. We did this time, and it was so pretty. There were also some really adorable little shops. And I met the cutest little retired couple ever. They run this little gift shop on the pier, and they were very nice. They were also ridiculously talkative, but it was a good time. We talked about leaving your mark in the world, and wanting to be known for something. This man (David?) used to be involved in some sort of construction/electrical work. There is a tunnel in Liverpool that he helped create (it has 1,531 lights in it) and also one in Sydney, Australia that he worked on. And he has recently had triple-bypass surgery, and took care to emphasize how life just flies by. He thinks it's important for people to really appreciate what they have, and to make a name for themselves somehow--to leave something of themselves in this world. It's a very Marxist idea, something we talked about last week in class. Marx thought that the ultimate fulfillment in life was to have a job that was meaningful and creative, and one where you could almost put part of yourself into what you were doing. An example would be woodwork, where whatever you create is like an extension of yourself. It's a very interesting concept, and I thought it was really sweet to be encouraged to do something similar. They were such a talkative couple, which made it hard to leave. We didn't really want to leave; I would have listened to them for hours. But Lauren had class, so it was kind of important that we leave. We are planning to go back, for a few reasons. One is to hear them tell stories--I really love it. And they also have a lot of really cute stuff. The wife hand-paints artwork, such as glasses and mugs. They "fire" them too, so that the designs don't come off. There was a lot of traditional Welsh symbolism, and I'd like to maybe look for a souvenir or two there.

When we got back from the pier, we sat around for a little while, just chatting. We decided to go to Spoons for dinner. It's a little bar/restaurant on High Street that my flat-mates have talked about a little bit. It was kind of cute, and my food was really good. It was a lot of fun, just to relax and talk. After dinner, we stopped at Morrison's for some ice cream :) Mint chocolate chip = really good idea. That pretty much concludes my night...Melisa and I hung out for a little while, but split up to research somewhere to go tomorrow. We decided that we are going to go to Caernarfon Castle tomorrow. We are going to take a bus, which is kind of confusing. We aren't totally sure how to read the timetables, and we are supposed to pay in exact cash, but they don't tell you the price until you get on the bus. Seriously. No prices anywhere online for the buses. It's kind of frustrating, but there are so many options about where you can go to and from, so it kind of makes sense. Anyway, we think the bus we want leaves at 9:10. We're going to go a little early, and double-check that we are understanding everything. It wouldn't be good if we got there, but couldn't get back! I figure they will help us, especially if they want our money--right, Dad?

Getting flowers makes me smile!

I didn't have any classes today, but I feel like I was very busy and kind of productive. I woke up at 9:30, went and worked out. It feels good to be developing a schedule, but I'm not sure what my plan is for days like tomorrow, when I have class at 11. I don't want to wake up any earlier, so I think I'll work out sometime in the afternoon. Jordan Hill is visiting from London, and I will be going with him and Lauren around Bangor. I'm excited to see someone else from Ripon!

I met Melisa (with sandwiches) after her class, and we ate lunch outside before going to the library. I love the library :) I got a few more books to read, which will hopefully help keep me occupied. We stopped by the grocery store for chocolate milk and bread (necessities, really). I read for a while after lunch, and then straightened my hair. Exciting life, I know. But halfway through straightening my hair, there was a knock on my door. Imagine my panic. Half-straightened hair looks a little scary! But it was just one of the guys from the security office. He has been in the office EVERY time I've stopped by to check my mail. I'm pretty sure he feels bad for me. Anyway, he was all smiles when he knocked on my door. He told me I needed to go to the security office, because there was something for me there. He wouldn't actually say what, but he seemed very excited about it. So I went to security, and it turns out that my boyfriend (who is basically the best boyfriend ever) sent me flowers! They are gorgeous, and they smell great. The guys in the security office were also happy to see me, and told me to tell John that he was a few days early on the flowers...Valentine's Day isn't until Sunday. John likes to show everyone how it's done ;) Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm now BFFs with the guys in the security office. They are starting to recognize me, and they were very excited that I got flowers :)

I didn't have anything that even slightly resembled a vase, so I ran down to Morrison's (the closest grocery store) and bought a cute little vase. Now I have pretty flowers :)

They make my room look nice, and smell nice too!

Melisa and I made chili for dinner. It had a very strong tomato flavor more than anything, but it wasn't bad. And I'm not a huge fan of spicy stuff anyway! After dinner, we hung out for a little while, and then went to Trivia Night at Bar Uno. Trivia is always fun, even though I'm fairly certain we don't stand a chance of winning. But I had a really good time, and I actually knew a few answers this time :) It's almost the weekend again, and I'm not totally sure what I'm going to do. But I'm sure Melisa and I will find something do amuse us!

Shopping and making friends (and alfredo!)

I had a really good day today. I woke up at 9:45, and had some mini-chocolate chip muffins for breakfast :) I went to the gym and ran for a while. I'm going to approximate that it was just under 2 miles, because I ran the same time I normally do for two miles, but I slowed down at the end. I biked about 2 miles, and it felt really good. I felt very productive, and I'm hoping it helps me to sleep better if my body is tired.

After running, I showered and had a sandwich for lunch. I then met Melisa and Noelia for a little bit of shopping! I haven't spent money on anything unnecessary, and I've been here for over 3 weeks. And shopping was definitely fun. I got another towel, because one does not feel adequate. I got another pair of sweatpants. I think those were justified, considering that I paid for a month of gym time, and need more pants. Oh and they were only 6 pounds, which converts to about 10 bucks. Success :) I got a new wallet/purse/thing (they call it a purse, I consider it more of a wallet since only money fits in it!) which was also 6 pounds. And I got stamps so I can send postcards! The lady at the Post Office was incredibly helpful, which I really appreciated.

After shopping, I went to class from 3-4. It was my psych seminar, and I made FRIENDS! It was really exciting--I can't even explain. The professor talked to us about our research that we did on obesity, and we related the lecture from Monday to our assignment. It seemed like a slight waste of time, but I do like the professor. And he made us discuss things in small groups, which would have been ok except for the fact that I was sitting by myself. Lucky for me, this girl (who I have talked to a few times, but whose name I still do not know!) called me over to sit by her and her friend Tom (she kept calling him by his name, which is how I learned it). Anyway, they were both nice, and we discussed the assignment, as well as a whole bunch of other random stuff. She asked for my number, and she is going to call me next time she and her friends go to a movie in Llandudno (pronounced hlan-did-no) Junction--which is apparently where the nearest movie theater is. I'm not sure how far away it is, but that's ok. I'm just excited to know someone, even if I don't know her name.

Melisa and I made alfredo sauce (from scratch) for dinner. It was actually really good, and I'm kind of impressed with our cooking skills. There was a little bit too much cheese (it came out faster than we wanted!) and the cream was a little bit different than we expected. I mean, it wasn't even by the milk, which is where we first looked. It was in the "cream" section (ha...) by the whipped cream, and cultured (sour) cream. There were a few different options...single or double? We chose double, because it was actually a little bit cheaper, and we didn't know how else to choose. I think next time we might try single, and see if it's even better. All in all, though, it was definitely a success, making today an all-around great day :) Oh AND I got a card from my family :) but not Melissa's yet (haha...sad!)

Pancakes ≠ Pancakes

Today was another quiet day. My dorm had a fire drill at 12:30 am (about 20 minutes AFTER I went to bed) which was not exciting. It's the scariest fire alarm I've ever heard. It makes terrible noises, and then it yells at me in English as well as Welsh. I was outside in no time, which is good, because they time us. We have to make it out in under 3 minutes, or they will do another fire drill, some other random time. Luckily, we got out in 2.5 minutes. There will be no more drills :)

The fire drill made me a little crabby, considering that I stood in the cold for about 20 minutes while they checked our hall for people. I woke up this morning, feeling like I hadn't slept at all. I went to my Sociology class at 11, and while I enjoy it, it's kind of hard to stay awake. My professor is a little monotonous, and his lectures aren't exactly exciting. I need to make sure I sleep more before my Tuesday classes! After class, Melisa and I did our weekly grocery shopping, and had lunch.

At 4, we met the other three girls at Bar Uno to figure out hostels for our spring break. That sucked! We spent two hours looking up places to stay in ONE city. It was really complicated, and we want good deals, but we want decent lodgings too. Sorting through all the reviews and prices got a little overwhelming. We are meeting again tomorrow to figure out lodging in the other cities, and I think we plan to be a little bit more organized this time.

Melisa and I made pancakes for dinner. At least, that's what they are called. We bought something simple, where you just add water. Betty Crocker, I thought you knew what pancakes were! Wrong. Melisa says these were more like crepes. They were ok, just really thin and a different texture than pancakes. Not my favorite, and definitely not what I was expecting. So I've learned that pancakes here are not the same as pancakes at home. 

I actually did some homework today :) For my psych class, we've been discussing the different parts of the assignment, and our professor mentioned that we could probably find information for the page that defines obesity. I'm not sure if that means that he expects us to, and that he'll look at it, or if it was just a suggestion. But I gathered enough information for a page. I didn't really organize it, as I know I won't be graded for it. I did think it would be good if I actually did work though!

I'm off to bed now, so I can get up and go work out in the morning. I'm trying to establish a regular sleep schedule, and that means I have to be in bed before 1 every night. Hopefully that will make it easier to sleep :)

Procrastinating, as usual.

Today was another lazy day, mostly because I was up so late last night. I slept in this morning, and then Melisa came over for lunch. Nothing out of the ordinary. I had class from 2-4. I have really been enjoying class, so I'm a little sad that I don't have class more often. Today, we went over motives for behaviours (notice the British spelling!). But motives doesn't actually refer to motives in the normal context--motives in the health psychology sense refer to goals (like life goals, etc). I found the lecture really interesting, and I'm glad that I am taking this class. Melisa's classes seem like they are really easy, and she doesn't even want to attend class at all. And really, if it's stuff you already know, going to class seems pointless.

I realized today that I've been here for three weeks already. I wouldn't say that the time has flown by, but it has gone by much faster than I expected. Despite having those occassional bouts of homesickness, I've been having a really good time. It's only when I run out of things to do that I don't enjoy myself. But now that I've found the gym, and have been studying for the GRE, as well as researching grad schools, I've almost been feeling busy! I think I am going to start on my one assignment for my psych class, and I might start working on my first sociology paper. Neither is due for a while, but I do want them to be done really well. The only problem is actually getting to work. In Ripon, I'm always so busy that I just do what I need to do right away, in order to maybe have free time. But here, I know I will always have time, so I keep procrastinating. I've got a couple to-do lists that I haven't been paying any attention to! I will soon, I promise, but I am also trying to enjoy the slower pace. My life here is much more laid-back, and I'm trying to enjoy it while I can!

Superbowl Sunday!

Melisa and I did barely anything today. I read for a while, and just took it easy. Sundays are lazy days, and I love it. The best part of today was the SUPERBOWL :) There is a bar called Skerries, and they played the Superbowl for the American Football Club and everyone who wanted to watch. I don't actually think they were allowed to...on Sundays, all establishments are required to close by 4, or something like that. So they had to shut the curtains, so that people couldn't see we were there?

Anyway, it was a really good time. There was a really creepy guy who kept talking to us, and he actually ended up making us really angry. But, there were some rugby guys sitting nearby who were listening, and they decided to step in. They basically sat around our table, separating us from the stupid creeper. And they were absolutely hilarious. They had a billion questions about the US, and about American Football. Like, is Minnesota a state, or a city? I tried to explain where Wisconsin is, but they didn't even know where the Mississippi river is. I know the US is a big country, but the Mississippi River is pretty big, I'd say!

We didn't pay that much attention to the game, but then again, I never really do. The rugby guys actually needed us to explain some of what was going on. I let Melisa explain, since she knows a lot more than I do. They were very polite and respectful...they kept apologizing for their language, but none of it sounded like swearing to me? Its's probably a mixture of the fact that they have different "swear words" than we do, and when you add an accent, it's really hard to understand. They actually had trouble understanding us too, so it was kind of funny. I did learn something very interesting: their currency changes every year. They showed me a pound, and told me it had "the" Queen on it. I asked which one, which I think is a reasonable question, and they looked at me funny. When they get a new monarch, they replace all the money so that it has photos of the NEW monarch on the money. All in all, it ended up being a pretty fun night. Although now it's almost 4 am, so I should probably head to bed!

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

The weather forecast this morning said that it would only get up to 38 degrees, so Melisa and I were a little bit hesitant to go on our adventure. The skies looked clear though, so we figured it couldn't be too bad. As it turns out, the weather forecasts I find are NEVER right. It got up to almost 50 degrees, and it was sunny! It was such a great day--we've been really lucky that each time we plan a Saturday adventure, the weather has been great!

We set out at about 10:30, and made it to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch at around 11:45. We ate the sandwiches we packed, and began exploring. We found St. Mary's Church. Part of the name of the town includes the church, so we figured it was worth seeing. We found it fairly easily, at the bottom of a very nice hill. However, we could not figure out how to get in. There was a really big gate...and it was closed. There was a really nice man who showed us how to get in. Next to the big gate was a smaller gate. You have to push it away from you, wedge yourself in this niche in the wall, then push the gate toward where you had been standing, so that you can slide out the other side. The picture is below, along with another picture from St. Mary's Church.

It was a really pretty church--Melisa and I had a good time exploring. There was a statue for Lord Nelson but we couldn't get close enough to read this enscription. It was right on the shoreline, so the area around it is sometimes immersed in water. It was muddy and mushy when we tried to get close. After checking out St. Mary's, Melisa and I wandered further into town. We found a really interesting art gallery, that has fused glass artwork. It was the coolest art I have ever seen, but also really expensive. I guess that's only to be expected, though. We also found a little gift shop, where I got some more cute postcards. I really need to stop by the post office and get stamps--we tried today, but it was closed :(

Our walk back was gorgeous, just like the walk there. I really can't get over how pretty it is here. Can you imagine living here, every day? I suppose it's much less exciting then. It's hard to appreciate something that seems so ordinary, so commonplace. I can't wait until we get up to the mountains. Those seem a little bit farther, so we'll probably plan out our trip a little bit more. We'll have to find a bus or a train to get us there, and then the exploring might be a tiny bit tricky as well. But if the mountains are so gorgeous from this distance, I can't even imagine how awe-inspiring they will be up close!

Melisa and I rested for a while after our trip, then decided to go out for fish and chips. Not the best idea, considering that today was a Saturday and there was some kind of sporting event on tv. It was everywhere, and all of the cute little pubs were packed. We stopped by a take-away place, and got fish and chips to go. I let them add salt and vinegar, Dad, you should be proud. It was actually really good, and there was a ton of food. In retrospect, Melisa and I probably should have split a meal. But we did enjoy it, a lot. The fish was really good, but I suppose we are living on an ISLAND so they have lots of options, and probably fairly good fish. We also stopped by the grocery store...I wanted some cookies or snack other than crackers and nutella! Some girl asked me if I knew Obama...I guess that everytime she visits the US, people ask her if she knows the Queen, so she just wanted do something similar. Tomorrow, we are resting most of the day, and then going to the watch the Superbowl at a nearby sports bar! We're all very excited, although it doesn't start until ridiculously late (11:30 pm Bangor time). On the bright side, my Monday class doesn't start until 2, so I can sleep as late as I like!

No love!

Despite going to bed at 3 am (I stayed up to talk to Lissa and John, two of my favorite people in the whole entire world!), today was a really good day. I woke up at 10, to get ready for my morning class. I met Noelia, since she has added the Soc Theory class. It's nice to have someone to walk with! And today was the seminar part of class. Each Friday, one or two people will present on a topic, and then we will have discussion. We discussed Karl Marx today, since the lecture on Tuesday was about him and his ideas. I liked it, because I've discussed a lot of it before in my Deviance class. There were only about 10 people there, since the seminars are split into two groups. I love discussions, and so I talked a lot. Go figure. Class puts me in a really good mood, which makes me feel like a dork. But I love going to class, having discussions, and feeling like I did something worthwhile.

After class ended at noon, I stopped by security because I wanted to check my mail. But no one realized I was there, so no one came out to help me. I left, because it felt ridiculously awkward. Melisa came over for lunch, and then I really did nothing at all most of the day. I read for a while, and tried to nap. I couldn't fall asleep, so I just got up and read more. I decided that I wasn't going to study at all today. Weekends aren't any different than any other day of the week, so I'm trying to make them different. Melisa and I really aren't comfortable going out, so I don't think we will be going out to the bars any time soon. We do still plan on getting out and exploring what we can.

Melisa went with me to check my mail again. No mail yet (sorry Liss) and it was really very sad. I did say that I'm actually expecting something, and that I'm not just hoping. I feel silly when I stop by a lot. Also, after the one security man came back without mail, I was a little disappointed, and the first thing that came out of my mouth was "No love." It was funny because the man told us that there was lots of love for us at the security office. It made me smile, and Melisa and I can't quite figure out why it wasn't creepy for him to say it. It just wasn't, he seemed like a really nice man. Plus, that's all he said. They aren't very talkative people here. I'm pretty sure he felt bad for us, considering that neither of us had mail...

We made some really good stir fry for dinner. It was really simple though, and I'm almost certain that the Asian flat-mates of Melisa's laughed at us when they came in and saw us cooking. They make stir fry every night, and it has lots of ingredients. Ours had rice, chicken, peppers, carrots, and sweet and sour sauce. I didn't really like the sauce, but the rest of it turned out really well! Definitely a success :)

Tomorrow, Melisa and I are going for another long walk. Not as fair as Beamaris Castle, but it should still be a good walk. There is a small town nearby, and it apparently has the longest name of any town in Europe. The town is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. It's Welsh, and it means: "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave." It should be an adventure, which is just what I am looking for! Oh, and I'll be able to take more pictures! I feel like a slacker, having so little to blog about and so few pictures. But that will be changing soon :)

Someone or something can't do math...but I don't think it's me :)

Getting up this morning was rough. I didn't sleep well, yet again, and I did not want to get out of bed. But I couldn't really bail on our FIRST trip to the gym. That seems a little pathetic. I met Melisa at 8:30, only to find out that the gym doesn't open until 9. What kind of gym doesn't open until 9?? But I kind of get it. It's on a campus where students stay up really late and then sleep in most mornings. They probably don't get too much business. But there were a bunch of people there right away when it opened, so who knows?

Working out this morning felt great :) But I decided to start easy, considering that I haven't ran in a while. I always start the semester out strong, where I run usually 5 days a week. Midway through the semester, I usually stop because I get too busy, and sleep becomes more important. I don't think that will happen here, considering that I have so little to do. Anyway, I decided a short (10 minute) run on the "cross-trainer" would be nice. Apparently the cross-trainer is a fancy elliptical machine that works more muscles--I like it. But I really don't think the measurements were at all accurate. Granted, it measured my distance in kilometers rather than miles. I was told that I can change that, but I have no idea how. At any rate, I ran at a decent pace for those 10 minutes, and then switched to a bike for 10-15 more minutes. According to the machine, I ran 7 km in 10 minutes. Having no idea how long a kilometer is, I figured that was alright. But then I looked it up, when I got back...7 kilometers is about 4.3 miles. There is absolutely no way that I ran that far in ten minutes. When I've been working out regularly, a mile usually takes somewhere between 7 and 8 minutes at a comfortable speed. So now I don't know how I'm going to measure my distance. I guess I'll just run until I feel like I've gotten a good workout?

After working out, Melisa had to go to class, so I just chilled in my room. I alternated between watching free tv online and studying vocabulary for the GRE. It's really nice outside (48 degrees) but very chilly in my room, which makes me less than happy. I spent most of the day wrapped in my comforter, as it's the only blanket I have. It is nice and warm though, so I can't really complain. I was able to talk to Missy, Leslie, and John, which should have put me in a good mood. But it's hard talking to people, because it always starts with talking about how far away I am. I love hearing that people miss me, but it's really hard to constantly be reminded that I am super far away, and awfully alone. I really need the normal conversations, like I would have with people if I were home. So talking to everyone made me really sad, but I went over to Melisa's for dinner, and tried to cheer up.

We went to Bar Uno for quiz night again. I think it's a lot of fun, even if we don't know many answers. We did a lot better this week than we did last week, but still not very good. If all else fails, we will come back knowing the answers to lots of random British trivia! Plus it's really nice to get out of our rooms. We decided to go out to the bars/clubs after trivia, but that was kind of a bust. The good deals are at Varsity, but when we got there, the line to get in was out the door! I wasn't very enthusiastic about being there to begin with...add a line, and a wait, outside? Mmmm no thanks. So we stopped by Rascals, another little bar. It was really crowded, and I wasn't very comfortable there. I just don't care about the bars, and don't feel like wasting my money at them. I know I should get out and experience stuff while I'm here, but the bars aren't high up on my list.

So today wasn't the best day, all things considered. I'm hopeful that tomorrow will be better. I need to find more fun things to do, and studying for the GRE isn't one of them. I think I'll take a break from that this weekend. It's not like I don't have time. Oh, and we'll be watching the Superbowl on Sunday, at a local bar. I'm not very enthusiastic since it starts at 11:30 pm here. But watching the Superbowl is something I do every year! And maybe it will make me feel more at home :)

Obesity, fire safety, and how to use a treadmill

Today felt like a very productive day. I slept in until 10:30, so I didn't actually do too much this morning. I did continue my graduate school research, until I got really frustrated and decided to stop. I might need to take a break from that for a few days. Melisa and I got together for lunch, and chilled for a while. We studied for the GRE yet again, and then I had to go to class.

It's funny, but I was kind of dreading class. I don't have it very often, and I get bored, so you'd think that I'd be excited about it. But really, when you never have it, it's kind of hard to want to go. Plus it rained a lot today, and that was just annoying. The worst part is that the grass gets really wet. You see, the sidewalks here are a lot like sidewalks at Ripon. There are no direct paths to where you want to go. They are windy, curvy paths where you practically have to do a figure 8 to get anywhere. I like to cut across the grass to Melisa's dorm, because the sidewalks take me down a little hill and back up. But when it gets muddy, it's just not worth it!

So, I went to class. I always feel guilty when I miss class anyway. And here, it's only 6 hours. If I can't handle that, I think there is something wrong with me. Today was the seminar, and we split into groups of about 10 people. I really liked it, because discussing in small groups meant that people talked to me! It sounds funny, and a little pathetic, but it's true. People don't talk to me before or after class, and I don't see anyone outside of class, so it's kind of hard to make friends. Anyway, we have been breaking our one assignment down into small bits, so today we talked about how to define obesity, and why it's a problem. And my group also discussed the differences between school in the UK and school in the US. We talked about health care differences, and US health care reform. It was really nice to just sit and talk to people, because I don't have many opportunities to do that here. It put me in a really good mood :) Also, I learned some random facts about college here that I found interesting. For example, their grades from their first year DON'T COUNT. I'm not sure why, but they don't. No wonder these students don't care, and just party all the time. It doesn't even matter? Also, they do have graduate programs like MA and PhD, but not many jobs here require them. They are a little behind in that, since in the US a bachelor's degree in psychology isn't worth much at all...

Then Melisa and I, along with a whole bunch of other new students, had to attend this mandatory fire safety meeting. Apparently they have a lot of problems here. Drunk people pull the fire alarm; drunk people try to cook food but pass out. I think the problem MIGHT be drinking, but I guess that's just what I see. Anyway, we talked about a lot of common sense things, and watched videos about how fast fire spreads. After that was dinner, and then our gym induction! We talked a tiny bit about safety, but mostly we were given a tour of the gym, and then our instructor showed us how to use different machines. It was obvious that our group didn't really pay too much attention. Well, it was obvious that the guys in the group didn't pay attention. Granted, I already know how to use a treadmill, and a bike, and all that stuff. But I wasn't rude about it! And now Melisa and I have made plans to go work out in the morning before she has class :) I'm more than a little excited. I think a good run is exactly what I need.

"Please take care when cooking especially at night if you have been drinking"

So...maybe class will get harder. Is it sad if I'm honestly hoping it does? Today, in my sociological theory course, we learned about Karl Marx, his ideas, and what influenced him. Interesting, and I took a few pages of notes. But I probably could have taught class today. I understand that his theories are classics, and therefore need to be discussed. But I don't think we needed to know where he lived, which years he moved, etc. Some of that stuff is just kind of pointless. And we didn't get into very much depth on his theories. Maybe that will happen on Friday during our seminar?

Other than class, I didn't do very much today. Melisa and I had to reschedule our gym induction for tomorrow, because her class got moved to 3, which was when we were supposed to take it. She's had so many issues with that class. Last week was "reading week" so she didn't have class, but she wasn't told that. They changed rooms 3 or 4 times, so she has been struggling to find different rooms each time. And then they finally changed the time, but she didn't know that until she was there, searching for her room! What a mess. She was a little frustrated today, and  I don't blame her. They aren't very good at sharing information here.

It rained today, which it seems to most days. I considered straightening my hair this morning, but decided rain was likely. I was right, even though the weather forecast originally disagreed. I'm finding the forecasts I find online to be very unreliable. But I did get to wear my rain boots around, which was quite exciting. I've seen some very interesting rain boots here, including a few leopard-print pairs. They go well with leggings and short skirts, which seem to be the clothing trend. I'm not kidding, either. I have never seen shorter skirts in my life. Maybe it's rude to say that, but it's true. And they walk around complaining about the fact that it's cold! I'm half tempted to offer them some pants, but I think they'd be offended...

The most productive thing I did today was to look at graduate schools. I have this dilemma. I've decided I want to be a school psychologist, and I'm really excited. But the requirements vary by state...some states require a PhD, while others only require a Master's. So do I get my PhD right away, which would allow me to live and work wherever I want? Or do I get my Master's and find a job in select states, so that I can start paying back my student loans? From what I've been seeing, the majority of states that I've looked at only require a Master's. Wisconsin, however, requires a PhD. Other states around Wisconsin, like Illinois, only require a Master's. I'm currently leaning toward getting my Master's and then finding a job right away, before working on my PhD. But it's not an easy decision, and finding the right information online is pretty hard. I can't ask someone here--they don't really do graduate school. They have post-graduate & Master's type programs, but nothing like the US. I mentioned 4-5 additional years of schooling, and people were SHOCKED. So for now, I guess I'll just do research on different schools and accredited programs, while studying like a fiend for the GRE :) It's funny, really, but I don't think I've ever been this motivated. I'm not sure if it's because I have nothing to do, and so I'm really throwing myself into everything? But really, this is really important to me, and I suppose that could be a factor. This is the rest of my life that I'm (tentatively) planning. I'm sure things will change here and there, but this is kind of a big deal.

There's a lot going on tomorrow, but not until the afternoon and evening. I have NOTHING to do all morning (and by nothing, I mean study for the GRE and do more grad school research). I have class from 3-4, and I like the professor for this class. I have different professors for the lectures and the seminars, which is a little weird. But I guess it's nice to hear another explanation? Wednesdays are the days where we relate the lecture to "the" assignment. And then at 6, I have the Fire Safety meeting which is supposed to last 30-40 minutes. I'm not sure what we will really have to discuss other than the fact like these drunk people like to cook, and tend to trigger fire alarms? I got a lovely email about it (hence the title of this blog), which I found quite funny but a little scary. Luckily, no real fire alarms have gone off in my dorm. Apparently, late-night cooking has become a problem in some of the dorms. Maybe this is why there is only one kitchen in most buildings at Ripon! After the fire safety meeting, Melisa and I will finally have our gym induction, which will enable us to work out whenever we like :) Looks like a good day, although the morning will be a little long and monotonous!

Library card = Gym membership

I learned some interesting things today, both in class and outside of class. Class didn't actually start until 2, so I ran some errands with Melisa in the morning. We went grocery shopping. I feel like we go grocery shopping every day, but that won't keep happening. We planned out our dinners for the week, so we should have everything we need now! We checked our "post" (no mail yet, Liss...I'll check again in a few days) and visited the gym.

I'm excited about the gym. As it turns out, I don't have to buy a membership card. My student library card IS my gym membership card. I'm not totally sure how that works, or how the library is related to the gym, but I like it. I had to pay for my induction course, which is a safety class that I will be taking tomorrow. And I also have to pay to use the gym. I can either pay each time, or I can get a package deal in which I can go whenever I want, and take whatever classes I want. I think I'm opting for the package deal...it'll save me money if I run 5 days a week, which is my intention. It's not like I don't have time. And I have also been looking at some classes...there is an aerobics class on Wednesday nights, and a "Legs, Bums, & Tums" class on Thursday nights. I'm a little intimidated by some of the class names ("The 'Beast' Circuit") because none of them have actual descriptions. But maybe I'll ask about them tomorrow when I have my induction class!

In class, we have been talking about models of health-related behavior. It's interesting to hear about different theories as to how people try to change their behavior, and what can affect their success at doing so. My assignment for the course is to create a health program to reduce the prevalence of obesity. I'm interested to look into different theories, to see what has been successful, what hasn't, and what else can be tried. Also, this is completely random, but I saw the coolest little yellow school bus while walking back from class today. It was a double decker bus; can you imagine riding that to school every day?!

After class, Melisa and I just had a frozen pizza for dinner. Not the healthiest meal we've had here, but we figure there should be at least one easy night, right? And I've been having lettuce on my sandwiches at lunch (look Dad, greens!) so that's somewhat healthy. It's a nice contrast to the nutella sandwiches that I would LOVE to eat every day, but don't. I did learn today that nutella + banana = amazing. I'm enjoying this...it'll be weird to go home and not have to cook dinner every night (unless I become a master chef, in which case I'd love to cook dinner every night).

Melisa and I have been making lots of plans for this week. Tomorrow night, it's "Bangor's Got Talent" and we're going to check that out. Thursday during the day, we will be figuring out hostels for spring break, and finding a time to go to Ireland for a weekend. Thursday night is quiz night at Bar Uno, and then I think we are actually going OUT for a little while. Saturday night, we are going to attempt to find some good fish and chips somewhere. There's a lot to look forward to this week! Plus, I got to talk to Liss today, and I'll talk to John tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll talk to my parents again soon. What a good week this is going to be :)