Another Day

So today was my second day of induction week. I of course had to go to some boring informational meetings, some of which proved helpful. I also met with my tutor to just get in touch and talk about my areas of interest. He seems really nice, and very helpful. I also bought a phone today, which was a really quick process! So I feel a bit better having a phone, although I didn't realize how dependent upon one I had become until I didn't have one for almost a week! I also tried to open a bank account, but apparently they only open a certain number of student accounts each day, so they had hit their quota by 2pm. Weird. I guess it doesn't really matter, since who knows when my loans will go through, so I don't have any money! I went to the financial aid office today to sign my checks, and was told that I was seriously misinformed since they have NO checks. I am getting a little anxious, because money is seriously running out, and it could be weeks before my loans are fully processed. Could it be any more ridiculous?! I am going to get some groceries tomorrow, so I can hopefully have some food in my time of poverty. I also really need to do laundry, so that means buying soap, and paying around 3 pounds to wash and dry! At least my education will count for something when I am done!

I also met the woman that I hope to work with on my dissertation today. She seems very nice and helpful (as does everyone!) so that is encouraging. We went to Special Collections today also as a group (MA's in British history) and it seems there is a lot of useful stuff in there. I might have to travel the country for some primary sources as well, but it looks like I might be able to get some of my travel expenses paid for, in the event I do need to go elsewhere.

We had a drink reception today for the entire department of post-graduates. They served wine and snacks in the museum that is housed in our building. It was a little strange drinking and eating around ancient Greek Roman artifacts! But apparently that's what they do here. I got to meet some friendly people, and made some good contacts. I also met another guy from Arizona! I think I mentioned yesterday that there is a guy in the same program from Peoria, here with his wife. There is also a PhD student here who claims to be from Arizona, at least he spent multiple years there, even though he is actually from Arkansas. Anyway, just shows what a small world it is! After the reception, some of us went to a pub for a bite to eat. I met Rob's wife (the guy from Peoria) and got to hang out with some other people from the program. Alyssa met me there since her friend left today, and she got to meet some people as well. Rob and his wife are super nice, and are thinking about doing a Thanksgiving dinner for us Americans. They also offered me to come by anytime if I felt cramped in my housing!

I then walked home to the dorm alone, which helped me to orient myself a little bit more. It is relatively easy to find my dorm since it is near the football stadium, but the streets all curve slightly, so I find myself kind of going a roundabout way. Once I got here, I met the two girls that live next to me. They are both Japanese, and I have no idea how to spell their names. They are very friendly, and even offered me food if I needed it! Apparently tonight was some sort of Japanese celebration, and they said that I should have come. But since we didn't meet till afterwards, oh well. They said they are going to invite me to Chinese New Year though. They were also really curious as to why there was no food in my part of the fridge. I said I hadn't gone shopping yet, and they asked where I had been eating. I said out and on campus, and I guess that is a bit of a cultural difference. Westerners eat out and drink beer, Easterners eat in and don't. Anyhow, I feel as if this isn't the best piece of writing, so I am off to relax, and hopefully sleep.