Day 2-3

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So on Saturday, I went to bed around 9 or 10pm and woke up at 2pm on Sunday. That rest was MUCH needed after such a long couple days. I stayed in all day plastering pictures of everyone on the walls and getting situated to start classes on today. Eventually my flat mates started filtering in and we all ate dinner together. We rotate who cooks and cleans every night which is nice because I would hate to have to cook all the time. It reminds me of the "family" meals on the cruise...except that everyone has either a beer, some wine or a drink at hand. For the rest of the night we all sat around talking (while I asked questions and translated the accents in my head). I can really notice the difference in the way everyone hangs out here, its more laid back. There is no TV in the background, only some Beatles or other trendy European music. Its fun though, and it dulls the homesickness. I finally passed out around 3am after stalking everyones "going out" away messages from home.
I had orientation today which was interesting since the voices I had been hearing over the past 2 months had finally taken faces. They gave us sooooo much information which was a little overwhelming. I was a little dissapointed because they only had us raise our hands quickly to see where everyone was from, and I am dying to meet some other American exchange students. We then went on a tour and I met an American boy from California who has been sharing my concerns. He has it worse though because the Uni ran out of housing and had to place him in a temporary room like a hotel room. So I guess Im luckier than I thought. When the campus tour ended, we ventured to the International Office to get our IDs where we met some more exchange students. Most were from California and there was one girl from Australia. Most of them live in the town over (Leamington Spa) and made it sound great, but then they said it takes a 40 minute bus ride to get to campus and I wasnt so dissapointed. We exchanged contacts, I grabbed some lunch and then made my way back to my room...in the rain. It hasnt stopped raining!! I came back and still couldnt sign up for modules because of the stupid system so I gave up and took a nap. After getting up I watched some TV in the Common Room which was great!! I never thought I would be so happy to see the Simpsons and corney English soap operas. Its weird though because there are a lot of comercials that are the exact same as in America but spoken with an accent. Melissa (the only girl in the 8-person flat besides myself) cooked dinner and we all sat around for a while. Were going out to the Student's Union tonight because apparently Mondays are a big party night. So I should probably start getting ready. Hopefully my first night out goes smoothly!

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