hey everyone!

we've made it through our second week, and things are going really well. :) classes are really getting going, and we've both had to do a little homework. it's amazing how little work there actually is here. at home we've both gotten used to doing a paper a week, and tons of reading, and other assignments on a regular basis. here, you're only graded on two specific assignments for each class, and throughout the semester there's some work to be done, but no regular homework. a lot of what we've had to do so far is just think about things so that we are prepared to discuss them the next week. that's the other thing. since our classes only happen once a week, when we do have reading to do, we have plenty of time to do it! this seems to be a product of our majors here though. most of the girls on my floor are teaching majors, and they tend to have a lot more classes and homework. i guess bill and i just got lucky!

we've been getting out on the town a lot in the past week or so. there's a restaurant downtown called "wetherspoons" that's become our new dinner place. since our meal plans don't realy allow for a lot of eating in the dining hall, we've had to find other places to eat. at wetherspoons they have a special menu that allows us to get 2 full meals for only 5.99. that's in pounds, so it works out to about 6.00 each plus whatever we get for a drink. its a really good deal.

there's also a drugstore downtown called "boots" where we can get cheap food. they have prewrapped sandwiches with chips and a drink for only 2.99 in pounds. that works out to about 3.00 dollars each for all that! its a great deal and the sandwiches are really good! we've been experimenting with different flavors. i love the egg, mayonnaise and cress on wheat bread, and bill seems to always end up with prawn mayonnaise. he swears it doesn't really taste like much, but all those little shrimp inside my sandwich just freak me out! haha

aside from food, we went and checked out an event in the student union building last week. it was a student comedy competition. some of the people who entered were really really funny, and some were just really really drunk... it made for an interesting show!

we also had our first adventure on a train! last friday we headed to Southampton, a city right near us, to check out the play "Tartuffe". The whole evening was sort of a comedy of errors until we finally sat to watch the play. first, we didn't know where the train station was, and we were already running late. so we followed our trusty map and walked through the rain to the station. when we got there, we hopped on the train just before it was due to leave. we anxiously waited for our stop, trying to figure out just how we would know what to do when it came up. turns out, we didn't know what to do. they announced that our stop was next, and we waited in our seats until the train came to a stop. then we got up and headed to the doors. and nothing happened. we were expecting them to open on their own, but nothing. then i noticed a button that resembled the open button on an elevator. we tried pushing it over and over, until the train just started moving again. we had missed our stop, and for all we knew, were trapped on the train til london! bill decided we should get off at the next stop, and just walk to the theater. since we were in a city, the stops weren't really that far apart, but we had no idea where the next stop would drop us. during this time, we had also figured out that the open button lights up and is green for a few seconds. if you don't hit it while its lit up, you're out of luck! so when they called that our new stop was next, we stood up near the door and waited. when the train stopped and that button turned green, we hit it and made it out!

of course, we had absolutely no idea where we were. and it was about 7:00 by then i would guess. which means everything was closed. things here are all finished by about 6:00, and earlier on the weekends! so we made our way towards the only building with lights on. mcdonalds. we went inside and asked directions, and they pointed us in the right direction, insisiting that it wasn't too far up the road. after about 15-20 minutes, we finally reached the theater. we ran inside, and got two tickets, ready to just sit and relax.

but one more mishap before we sat down. there was a woman outside the theater with a table full of programs. as we wallked by i scooped one up and kept going. she called after me that it cost one pound for the program, i couldn't just take it. embarrassed i walked back and set the program down, and rushed inside to find my seat.

the play really wasn't all that good, but we had fun anyways. and now we know how to use the trains! :)

after all that commotion, we took things easy for a few days. on valentine's day we tried to go out to a nice italian restaurant. but we didn't make a reservation, which apparently you desperately need. so we tried a different one, same result. "making a booking" is something we have to keep in mind. we ended up back at wetherspoons, all dressed up, sitting in a booth at the pub. we must have looked really out of place!

now we're planning a day trip for this weekend. we're goign to check out leed's castle. it's pretty far from here, about five hours by bus, but we're going to take the train, which will cut that down a lot. i'll be sure to post pictures when we get back!

til next time

-cassie