Today was another successful crepe tuesday. I figured out that mixing olive oil into the batter helps make them better.
I went to talk to IT before my noon class (the only one for tuesdays) and was told that my issues with receiving emails were pretty much a mystery. Sigh. I was more successful at the payments desk, where I picked up my stipend cheque to be cashed at one Barclays Bank. Then I went to class, and took some notes before class started. I'll probably sound pretentious. Don't say I didn't warn you.
HIS114, which turned into my first module at the University of Sunderland: So far, really warm and probably full of freshmen. Smelly ones. Although, that might just be the room.
All the british students are up in arms about the heat. It's supposed to get up to 25 ºC (which is around 77 ºF). That's a rather warm room temperature.
I had a strange conversation about study abroad, modules, and the weather with an irate southerner (I suspect London, but I'm not sure). He insisted on calling me "Raeanna".
The classroom was really warm, and no one on the windows would open one. Regarding the outside temperature, I heard someone with a british accent trying to explain the term "Indian Summer" to a german international, so I guess it's one of those terms that forgoes rational cultural identification.
I need to come up with better reasons for going on this trip. "Because I've always wanted to see England" doesn't sound that great, and "I've always wanted to study abroad, and I don't speak any other language fluently" sounds worse. Any thoughts, please let me know.
I was pleased when I didn't end up in the 09:00 seminar group, but then I realised that I wasn't registered for the class and so hadn't been placed in a group. Bummer. I ended up in the 10:00 group.
The first lecture was an overview, and I didn't know most of it. I did know that the world wars aren't in the early modern period, which stretches from approximately 1500 (1453 and the fall of Constantinople and 1492 and Columbus sailing the ocean blue are two academic contenders in the great debate) to 1750 (I don't know why). That made me feel better, because I'm slightly less unknowledgeable than the person behind me. It looks like the class will be over the social events of the period and how they are intertwined with the political and religious events of the period. I'm pretty satisfied with this, since I know a little bit about the religious events as taught in Core 150 (who knew it would be so useful?) and I have a vague impression of English history for that period.
After class, I hunted for Barclays. I was not very successful. I got directions, all conflicting, from three different people. The last one finally landed me at the "fruit and veg stand" across from the bank, but only after I walked all the way up and down three streets and ended up covering the same ground two or three times.
I bought some strawberries, peaches, and pears with some of my £520 in cash that I need to hide around my room in £38 aliquots. On the first day of orientation, Emma told us about a kid who lost £6,000 that he was carrying around in a brown envelope. Stay with me, it's related. When I got my cash, they gave it to me in a brown envelope. I went home pretty quickly, with a tight grip on my bag.
I foolishly didn't buy a pair of slippers at a random shoe store, so I was incredibly footsore with very little to show for it by the time I got home. I heated up a cheese and onion pasty (remind me to look up and test a recipe before I head home), then put on Pride and Prejudice. I updated yesterday's blog, then fell asleep for about five hours, I would say.
When I went downstairs around 20:30, everyone was just getting ready to watch Sherlock Holmes (with Robert Downey, Jr.), so I had a snack and hung around. "Everyone" here means Jessi, Conor, Josie, James, and Adam, since Micha doesn't hang out with us much and Flo was on a date (tikka chicken chom chom). We had a fun time switching around the seating arrangements every time someone got up, too. Adam's computer doesn't have a very wide angle of viewing, so the people on one end of the "couch" got the slightly inverted colour scheme.
After the movie, I set about arranging a skype date with my family for tomorrow. Now it's time to sleep, which will be aided by some mint tea.
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