It's been an eventful weekend since I last posted.
Most of Saturday was spent on a trip to the Meadowhall- a ridiculously expansive shopping "centre" clear across the city. Some of the international students took a tram, which stops conveniently right outside of the student union, for a 3 pound "all day rider" pass. We were able to pass through the city centre on the way to the mall, so we got to see the "heart of Sheffield" as they call it here.
The mall was absolutely a worthwhile adventure as I have never seen any shopping mall quite like it before. I spent most of my time window-gazing at the trendy fashions I knew I could never pull off. Leather boots, tights, and mini-skirts are quite the rage here and I give the British girls props because most of them will venture into the 2C (or about 36F) wind-whipping front attack in nothing but thin leggings and sweaters. I'm either too wimpy or too sane to "dare to wear" what these girls do... I'll let you decide.
We also moved in on Saturday: both an incredibly exciting and incredibly frustrating experience. our new home in Sheffield, England is a convenient 30 minute walk from classes/the student union and is called the Crewe Flats.
I live in a rather spacious single room with red interior decor, a sink, and 2 windows. The flat consists of 9 international students: 2 Aussies, 5 Americans, and a French girl. There is one girl living on the ground floor, 4 on the second, and 3 of us on top. Each floor has it's own bathroom and we share a kitchen area. We are living in the self-catered accommodation, which means we are responsible for cooking for ourselves. Someone please tell me I can get Rachel Ray on BCC?!?!
I had a delightful Sunday afternoon with one of my flatmates, grocery shopping and then sipping hot chocolate with my mentor in her favorite place on campus: a little cafe located below the student union called the interval.
It was Superbowl MONDAY here in Sheffield as the student body got revved up for the biggest night in "American" football. Te game started at 11:25 GMT and didn't end until about 2:30 AM. Watching the Superbowl in a bar (also located in the bottom of the student union) was simply a blast. All of the students were so riled up for the event, but none of them actually had any real interest in who won or even understood the rules.
Several of my "coursemates", as they call classmates here, were all very supportive (several "oh, bless you's") after hearing about my trials and were kind enough to lend me the notes I missed. The lecture was 2 hours long and left my head somewhat spinning after discussing the origins of relativism, but it was a fascinating first class and I can't wait to learn more and meet more people.
I spent the afternoon doing some shopping for cookware and food. The center of the city has a lot of Walmart/Target-like shops that I knew would be perfect for me to get some stuff. However, these places are a good 45 minute walk from my dorm and about an hour, as I found out this afternoon, when you are carrying heavy bags full of pots and dishes. Needless to say, I am exhausted after my day, but it has been a great intro weekend to the city! Hopefully, I'll begin learn the bus system soon, so I won't have to walk so far next time.
I'm going to end this post with the promise of more pictures, maybe video, and some little differences in British culture that still trip me up:
1) people pass each other on the left hand side, rather than the right
2) people don't apologize if they run into you
3) the "pound" is in coin form... I miss my paper money!!
4) The British do not seem to eat "healthier" than Americans, they just eat less because the portions are smaller
5) The people almost blend into the background: everyone wears blacks, grays, and other dark colours.
Sign in the union that made me chuckle:
your descriptions of meadowhall made me both drool (gahhhhhh fashion and shopping and stores and trendiness!) and laugh (i could so imagine myself dressing like those crazy uk gals). :P
ReplyDeleteohhhhh 30-minute walks...as a spencer girl, you've never had to deal with the walks to and from south campus / hinton-james! you've been spoiled up until now. (: (: (: still, the crewe flats sound AWESOME!! even having to cook for yourself (horror of horrors) must be a blast with so many people around. it must be so odd to be living in a single while at school!
um...why don't we have a bar in our student union? cuab, can we get working on that? kthx.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA i can just picture everyone cheering their heads off for completely random teams and at completely random times during the game. i'd feel so at home, although i know you wouldn't--you actually know the rules!