"Night of twos"

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(This entry, Monday, is belated because my computer wasn't working all day, today...)

An awesome, FUN night out on the town to follow up the rather boring day! We had international student orientation, forcing us to miss our Monday lectures, followed by a night out on the town. It was the "night of twos": two pubs, two nightclubs, two cute British boys, and two drinks. If you want more details (and some observations on English students at the end), read on…

DAY (boring):
Many of my friends and family know that I am not (at all) a morning person, so oversleeping this morning won’t come as a surprise to them. I had just enough time to shower and throw on some clothes before it was time to head down to “The Stripe” - which is the building with the biggest lecture halls on campus, and also the site for our International Student Orientation - by 9:30 a.m. Basically, it was a day full of important, yet routine, information, as well as tedious paperwork and waiting in “queues” (lines.) This meant that I also had to skip my first day of classes, which I hate to do, but I guess we’ve been excused.

Tea and coffee were available at the orientation; my first tea in a paper cup! There were about 20 students from Eau Claire in attendance, which is by far the largest U.S. representation, and a handful of Americans from other states, including Maine and Illinois. There were also a few “real” internationals, from Poland and Sri Lanka, etc.

The international student supervisor (I think?), Professor Richardson, gave us the usual “don’t go wild while you’re here!” lecture of introduction, along with some more interesting tidbits about the university and the town in general. Our campus has 5,000 students enrolled, and the city has about 45,000 people. Winchester has a lot of history, and Prof. Richardson pointed out the three biggest historical events it is known for: 1) King Alfred, who is the only English king known as “The Great,” and who our campus is named after (King Alfred campus); 2) the cathedral, which is the longest in England, or something like that - I can’t wait to visit it; 3) and Jane Austen, one of my favorite English authors, who lived, died and is buried here. (I hope to visit places of historical importance in her life while I’m here.) I’m also looking forward to taking an official tour - beyond your basic grocery stores and pubs - of Winchester when I get the chance.

Next, we had our official enrolment (no typo - the British spell “enrolment” with one “l”) at the university. We got our IDs, passwords to the computer, timetables, a test on our payment status, and an assignment for a “personal tutor,” which is like an academic advisor in the U.S. Each group was supposed to meet with their assigned professor, but the one I share with three other American students wasn’t on campus that day, so we sat around for what seemed like forever. Though today involved a lot of waiting, I appreciated the opportunity to get to know some of the other American students, including the ones from Eau Claire that I didn’t really know before this. One girl, Betsy from Illinois, and I have hit it off, though she is pretty quiet in larger groups. Mary is from Maine and is really sweet and fun, and I also talked with Sarah, Liz and Brittany, who all arrived yesterday from Wisconsin.

Our lunch was sandwiches with questionable filling, and these tiny pastries (sounds suspiciously like a tea, doesn’t it?), so I wasn’t filled up at all! We then got a tour of the campus that wasn’t very informative, and then a library tour that just embarrassed me - here we were, the huge group of (mostly American) students, being lead around the library like sheep, while people are trying to study! Though I guess it was useful, since I now know how their library works. We then had a chance to figure out where our “modules” (classes) met each day - since for some strange reason, they don’t print the building or room number on the timetables! Some professors came to the Stripe to straighten it out, but some of us had to track down our rooms through the actual academic departments, which was a hassle. I’m so glad the tedious orientation process is over! I felt like such a freshman, again…

My first supper in the caf (or the canteen, as I should probably call it now) was pretty decent. I had “roast gammon” (which is ham - I had to ask, just to make sure!), potatoes and broccoli. I also got an apple for breakfast tomorrow. Still, expensive! I need to make sure I don’t spend more than the allocated 35 pounds/week for food while I’m here.

We weren’t quite sure about our night plans, and even went to the Student Union (it has two bars and pool tables, etc.) but it was closed. Mary and I took a walk to the hospital’s ATM machine (the closest to campus, with no fees) and, thankfully, Emma, who is my neighbor, ran into us and pointed us in the right direction. Her friend, Solzig (I don't know the spelling, that's how it sounds - she's German), tried to convince me to join a campus choir she’s in, but I’m not sure. We headed back and waited for something to happen…

NIGHT (fun!):
I almost didn’t go out - but was so glad that I did! Brittany and I weren’t going to go, because we don’t really care for the more "wild" girls that are from Eau Claire who were going to the same place, but were finally convinced to go. We left with Matt, Liz and some English students we just met, along with Brandon, who is from Eau Claire but is studying in Winchester for a full year, so he’s been here a term already. (We kind of laugh behind his back because he’s picked up a British accent that sounds rather fake, but he’s a nice guy, otherwise.) We went to a high-class pub called Blonde, which was really nice (kind of intimidating) and empty - the British girls got drinks.

Next, we went back to Wetherspoon, which was where we ate last night, but tonight it was a completely different atmosphere. It was all students standing around the bar area, which is quite spacious, drinking, smoking and hitting it off. I ran into Jamie, who lives down the hall from me, and we talked for a bit. I didn’t end up getting a drink there, because I was too busy meeting people. I ran into Dave, who is a Winchester student that studied at Eau Claire for about a month last fall, but went home because things weren’t working out. He and I met briefly at the study abroad orientation back home, and hit it off. He was very friendly and overly happy to see Eau Claire people again.

We headed out to the first nightclub with the same group plus a few more, and others promising to join. It’s called Port-house (sp?) and is a lot like an American club. Mondays are student nights, so it was free to get in, and drinks are a lot cheaper. It’s set up with several levels; the one with the bar overlooks the dance floor. It was rather crowded and hard to talk. The music was AWEFUL - a mix of U.S. hip-hop, weird British techno pop, and even old-school boy band music, like Backstreet Boys and ‘NSync. The American girls we aren't friends with were dancing all crazy on the dance floor, with the overly eager English guys. Apparently, they don’t usually see dancing like the American girls will show them…

It took forever to get a drink at the bar, since I don’t think I’m forceful enough! Jamie finally ran into me and helped me get the barmaid’s attention. (Female bartenders, which are all I’ve seen, so far, are referred to as “barmaids,” which I think is rather sexist.) But I was so bold as to ask the guy next to me what one of the drinks was, and he told me what a good mixer was for that liquor, too. We talked for a few minutes, but I soon lost him in the crowd. Anyway, I had a double Anchors (sp?) with lemonade - it’s delicious; a peach-flavored vodka… ((Reassurance for my family, who is reading this: I should mention that I much prefer having a drink or two with an enjoyable taste, instead of drinking too much of cheap, bad-tasting liquor and beer, like a lot of the Americans do, both here and at home. And I'm always smart and safe, Mom! )) My drink tonight was 4 pounds, but well worth it. I talked with Dave for awhile, who promised to take me to London, where he lives when he’s not at school, and show me around! He’s also in a band, and knows all the great non-touristy places to visit in London.

Brittany, Matt and I were getting kind of bored, so Dave took us to a nightclub he promised would be better, with his friend Sam - and it was MUCH more fun! This club is called Bar 3one - but people refer to it as “Bar Bone” because of the way the name looks. It was much classier, I thought, with two bars and the dancing upstairs, with a more relaxed atmosphere downstairs. The music was also more enjoyable - Dave called it indie rock - but not the American version. It had a rock/punk/techno sound, to me. The cover charge was 2 pounds, plus a pound to check my coat, and I had to show both my passport and my student ID (the first nightclub had to see my passport, too - I won’t risk showing my American driver’s license, again!) Dave kept insisting he wanted to buy me a drink, so I let him…this time, a Smirnoff Ice, which reminded me of home! (It’s a pretty low-proof drink, and tastes great.) We all kind of chilled for awhile, and then I ran into Victoria and Mary from campus, danced with them for awhile, but then got hot and went back downstairs to talk with the people I came with. The dancing, I should mention is much different, compared to U.S. dances/clubbing - much more subdued, and people are smoking/drinking the whole time, they even use the floor as an ashtray!

I like how in Winchester, everyone seems to know each other. You run into the same people night after night, Dave told us, and I’ve noticed that in the three days we’ve been here, already. Everyone is very friendly, also, and are eager to meet new people, especially Americans. We talked to some random people, and were introduced to Dave’s girlfriend () and her housemate, who were both incredibly friendly. An ambulance pulled up outside, and we thought the girl on the sidewalk was sick from drinking, but it turns out she had an asthma attack - the ambulance, by the way, reminded us of home and all the detox cases you run into on a college campus! Since I had 9 a.m. class the next day, we (Brittany, Matt and I) walked back to campus around 12:30.

Now that I’m up and still wound up from the night, I’ll make an observation: the English students seem to spend so much money! They literally go out 3-4+ nights a week, and spend money freely. Drinks are much more expensive than back home, and there are entry fees into clubs, besides. Plus, even though Winchester is a “posh” city (voted Best Place to Live in the UK recently, I heard, which you can tell by the homes and shops) most students don’t come from here. (Look at me: I spent 7 pounds tonight, plus was trying to save money and had only two drinks - one of them bought for me. And this is a special occasion - I don’t plan to go out more than once a week, once the semester is underway, and want to save my money for traveling!)

Brandon said the English students get interest-free student loans for university (their college goes from age 16-18, so they can be finished when 16, here) and don’t have to pay them back until much later. Plus they get 300 pounds a year, to just spend! It’s unbelievable! I’ve also noticed that while most students have “mobiles” (cell phones), they don’t really have a lot of other commodities, like cars or TVs in their rooms. (You need a super-expensive TV license, here.) So no wonder they can afford to go out so much!

Oh, and another thing. I’ve had so many guys do the “kiss on the cheek” greeting and goodbye - even when I’ve just met them! It’s very bizarre. The stereotype about the British being standoffish and not touchy-feely is SO untrue for this generation. Everyone seems to hug, kiss on the cheek, and link arms when walking - just like my friends back home (minus the kiss on the cheek part…) Anyway, I just find this interesting.

Goodnight, all!

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Comments

[Cousin Dan]

'Ello from the states
Hey, Emily - best wishes, I'll be checking up on you to see how you're doing now and then. Sounds like fun. Yeah, I remember when Jer and I went to London - it wiped us out of money quick. Oh, well. You shouldn't have a problem - just always go out on the town with two cute British boys who will buy you drinks!