-I have yet to see a squirrel on campus (though I've heard they exist), but I have both seen and heard seagulls
-speaking of seagulls, I am about 30 minutes away from a pebble beach by bus
-the countryside looks like something straight out of Pride & Prejudice (maybe I should have called this blog "Searching for Mr. Darcy..." ;-) )
-this campus has legit hills, and legit staircases, and at some points I have to climb both to get to class
-there is a bar on campus practically catty-corner to my flat, and one of our orientation activities was a pub crawl
-it totally threw me off to hear one of my professors speak with an American accent (and it totally throws me off to think that I have an accent)
-the library is open 24 hours a day (except Saturdays)
-you can't print double-sided - the trays on the printers are actually bolted shut in the computer lab near my flat. I guess Sussex trusts its students more with alcohol than paper?
-there are no Geico commercials with the Australian gecko, but there are Churchill commercials with the talking bulldog
-and of course, the speech - "zed" instead of z, "advert" instead of commercial, "boot" instead of trunk, "crisps" instead of chips, and dozens of other slang words that I am still learning (and which my flatmates take great delight in teaching me)
I'm taking three classes: Psychology as Art, Social Psychology and The Look of America (about visual culture in the US). Psychology as Art has one one-hour lecture and one one-hour seminar (discussion section) per week, Social Psychology has two one-hour lectures per week and the occasional seminar (I think two this term), and The Look of America has one one-hour lecture, one one-hour seminar, and the occasional film screening. In other words, I have a LOT more free time. Surprisingly the days still seem to fly by, but I think that's because I'm still getting adjusted and figuring out where everything is. I'm also working in a lab, helping a professor with a study on the effects of music on positive (aka not misogynistic) feelings towards women. I think I will enjoy that more once I figure out the schedule for the computer labs in the psychology building - I got kicked out of two different ones today for classes.
One of my flatmates, Aoife (pronounced like "Eva" with an f - it's Irish), took me grocery shopping on Wednesday, and it's nice to have food. I also auditioned for a couple student-directed plays yesterday - if I get in, great, if not, I'll go to the activities fair on Tuesday and check out the other societies (clubs). I think they have a Concert Choir here (though they have a defunct website) and there's a Games society that gets together every week to just play different kinds of games. :o)
I really like my flatmates - Aoife, Amy, and Ami (Ami is the one with the dreadlocks, and Amy only has one lung. How's that for unique!?). Amy, Ami and I went to East Slope (the bar near our flat) last night with one of Ami's friends, who asked me lots of questions about America and was dismayed to find out that Britain's biggest claims to fame in America are Harry Potter and the Spice Girls. haha Ami went home for the weekend, but Amy and I are exploring Brighton tomorrow and tomorrow night, and then I think I'm going to Rottingdean (a nearby town where Rudyard Kipling lived) with some Wash U girls on Sunday. In the meantime, it's time to conquer my laundry and catch up on my reading (like I said, I haven't been able to take very much advantage of my "free time," or time out of class).
Every day here is an adventure - lots of ups and downs, I figure some things out and get presented with new challenges. I just have to stay calm and trust that I'm making the right choices and have faith that everything will work out. Easier said than done - cross your fingers for me!!
ps. Those of you who experienced my obsession with bangers and mash will be delighted (though maybe not as much as me) to know that it is, in fact, a real food, and I even bought vegetarian sausages and frozen mashed potatoes so that I can experience this delicacy for myself sometime soon. ;-)
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