The First Post

I know a lot of people at home want to know what I’m doing over here, plus there are some people that don’t use facebook, so this is a way to see pictures and hear stories or get explanations on what’s happing in the pictures.  Feel free to stalk my fb pics, my blog, or both. 

And before I begin, a few points of clarification:

1. Yes, the blog is called Manchester Adventures, but I don’t really live in Manchester.  I’m go to The University of Salford, and I live in the city of Salford, which is directly adjacent to Manchester,  one of England’s largest cities.  
2. I’m here for one semester (four months) on a cultural exchange.  
3. I’m studying English while in England.  
4. My semester ends on May 27, and I will then travel to continental Europe to backpack for 35 days before returning to Manchester for my flight home on July 3.

These are pictures of my room and my house in Castle Irwell Student Village.  Castle Irwell is basically a neighborhood of townhouses, and because they’re fully furnished, a lot of foreign exchange students are placed here.  I live in House 46, and I have ten housemates.  We each have our own bedroom with a washstand, desk, and lamp.  There is no wifi here, and if I were staying for more than four months, I would get a router.  This is the 21^st century people.  Wifi world is upon us.

During the first week here, there were a number of welcome events, and I met a TON of people.  Like I said, most of my neighbors are exchange students, so I’m learning a lot about other countries and other cultures.  Languages, as well.  Myslet is Czech for the verb “to think.”  Mercoledi is Italian for “Wednesday.”

I’ve finished two weeks of classes now, and they’re going very well.  It was a little rough at first because my classmates have a lot more background knowledge on the course material than I do, but after doing some catch up work, I feel just fine about them.  School here is a lot less demanding, as well.  I’m a full time student, but I'm only in three courses, and I go to class for just seven hours a week. 

Salford’s campus is really nice.  It’s a lot bigger than Wayne State’s campus, so I walk a lot.  I usually do about four miles a day, but it’s often more than that.  Like many places (Salford, Manchester, Liverpool), the campus is a good mix of very old buildings and very modern buildings.  It’s kind of like Wayne State and parts of Detroit.

Nightlife is really big here.  With so much free time, and being so close to the city, it’s easy to go out to the bars and clubs a couple of times a week.  Manchester is known for being a really great music scene in the UK (the band Oasis is from Manchester), so there are often live performances from musicians and DJs in venues around the city.  There are also cool events to go to, like the Chinese New Year in China Town Manchester last weekend. 

So far, it has been a really great experience.  More than anything, I am having so much fun.  I feel like I have far fewer responsibilities here, so it’s a really carefree life.  And there’s so much to do, so much to try, I honestly can’t imagine getting bored.

People frequently ask me if I’m homesick, and I keep wondering (if) when I will be.  Sometimes, when it’s late at night or I’m staring out a classroom window, I forget that I’m in a foreign country, an ocean away from home, with no way to get back for five more months.  But then something insignificant, like the people I’m going to see tomorrow or what I had for dinner today wanders into my mind and I’m jolted by the realization that I’m not at home.  And immediately after, I’m jolted again by the realization that this doesn’t scare me.  No, each time, I’m glad I’m here.