From the Majority to the Minority

Good Morning!
I have finally settled in, and will explain everything that has happened thus- as I have had quite a bit of emails from people wanting to know everything.

I arrived via Heathrow (an hour early) on Wednesday, and took a twenty minute bus to my school (yes, that is all it took :D). To be clear, I am NOT in London, I am in Uxbridge, which is similar to Arlington to DC. The first bit of excitement came when I saw the lines for customs- there are 2: the "EU"- people with passports from the European Union, and "Everyone Else" haha that's me. The line for the EU was nearly 3 times my line, and so naturally, my first moment of being a minority was exciting- until I realized that their entire line went through customs before I even went through half of my line. "everyone else" gets to answer lots of questions. . . . . .

So my mom's friend met me at the airport and she travelled with me to my school. Immediately went to the accomodation office, dropped my luggage off, went to Finance which cleared me to enroll, went to registration, went to the graduate studies office to get my course outline, and made it to my first class at 2 :) After class, I went and registered my computer- and voila. It was just that easy. Nothing- nothing at all- has been easy to get to this place. And now that I am here, I feel as if I am being rewarded ............. or there's a catch ............. it can't be this easy . .. . ... It is though! Everything is done- set up

Let's see, classes: I take 4 classes this semester and 3 next semester. This semester I am taking International Relations, Globalization, Influencing Public Policy, and Intelligence and Non-Criminal Threats. Every single one of those classes are SOOOOOO interesting (I am putting up a political post separate from this, and you'll understand what I mean). To say I am on the edge of my seat is an understatement. I was mad that in my first class I had to sit in the back of the room (I was twenty minutes late due to getting things set up) because all the front seats were taken. My classes do not have tests- and I will be graded on 2-3 different essays per class that judge my intelligence on a given topic. Most of the essay's will be opinion based- where I will have to choose a stance and argue it to death. The trouble for me is that though I can do that (which most of you have been subject to), I cannot help but look at the opposition- it's the diplomat in me, and understand their argument. My goal is to use the understanding of the opposition to prepare me for future studies. Anywho, my teachers are hot too. And beyond interesting. I am surprised by the lack of work. They trust all masters students to take their education to the height of the individuals' ability. With all the preparation mom has helped me with ( ;) wink) I will be able to complete these essays without trouble. I have class almost every day from 9-12, Tuesday no class, my monday class is every other week, and wednesday I have class from 2-5 instead.

English humor is fantastic! I was worried that I would want to mock them or that I wouldn't be able to talk back to them in my american accent because it is funner to speak in an English one- but that isn't so. I am nearly the only one with an american accent, and I am surrounded by dozens of accents. The English do let me mock them- in good fun though haha that's how I have made most of my "chums". They mock me, I mock back. Additionally, I get to say words like compulsory (mind you, spoken without the pronunciation of the o if you want to say it properly) instead of the word required.

Food isn't bad- ketchup isn't good here. Then again, I haven't had a real english meal yet (I have had chinese and generic cheap food). The beer is good. I drank last night for the first time, and unfortunately, it stays with you despite how little you drink. So even though I stuck with beer, this morning was a little rough, and I only had 3!!!!! I made the mistake of challenging some english guys to darts. I was great (they would have happily had me on their team), but my poor judgement came in choosing another american as my teammate (he's odd because he grew up in England but moved to America when he was 12, so he is like a crossbreed or something). We got our asses beat. At least the first two games. The third game I recruited a guy from iran and we won- my american pride is saved :D

I get food at Tesco (it's like walmart style)- and it isn't much to boast on yet. I don't know where I can place food in my fridge yet, so I have only bought non-perishables. And I was exhasuted when I was selecting my food, so I stuck with things I know. American packaging is more exciting- even on the generic stuff. One thing I find abroad is that the packaging generally has a picture of the food cooked and it never really looks appetizing. So you just have to trust it's good. Or atleast trust that it will fill you up- despite the low satisfaction.

The greatest thing about this place is the feeling I have from it. Being able to bounce my ideas off of people like me, and hear their ideas, and to be in a state of constant learning--- it's one of the most peaceful and comforting feelings I have ever felt. It's as if I have just started breathing, when I never realized I was holding my breath. It was worth every bit of frustration and heart-ache to get here. The elation I feel is beyond anything I put words to- words give no justice to the feeling. Thank you for all the support you guys have given me. I couldn't have been here without my friends and family- some of you disagree, but you have helped to shape and mold me to this place. And in a more tangible example- being able to borrow $25,000 from friends and family to bulk up my account so I could get a VISA- welllllll I wouldn't have even been able to leave the country- so thank you.

Today I am heading into Uxbridge to do some exploring and get more than just essential items for survival. I still need books and whatnot- to fill my huge bookshelf :D This weekend I am going to London on Saturday- and on Sunday---------------- FOOTBALL- or American Football if you will. They have told me they will speak "americanese" (pro. like chinese) when they are in America, but here, I am required to speak English. Definitely one of those, "I thought I was speaking English until I went to England" type moments haha.

I have made excellent friends with some English guys, a guy from Norway, and Brazil. They affectionately call me Little Bit..... or yank . . . (short for yankee). I am going to Norway at some point so it's good to have friends from there that can show me around.

Me and Jaimeson are meeting for christmas- somewhere in between England and Japan. We were thinking Russia, kazahkstan, I dunno- we are comparing budgets. But I will keep my adventures updated.

If you have made it through this entire post- Bless you...... hopefully that covers everything. I am not nearly as detailed as amber- so if there is more you want to know, just let me know.