It’s been a while since I’ve written last! Well, the last week+ have been ridiculously busy!

So, highlights of the week+:

My first Sunday we took walk along the Leeds-Liverpool canal (which apparently is the longest canal in the UK) to a pub (Abbey Inn) about an hour’s way toward Bradford and met up with some friends, and saw a ridiculous number of blackberry bushes along the way, and I went back later in the week to pick some!  

Houseboats along the canal:

Locks on the Canal!

Triple locks! 🙂

Abbey Inn:

Monday was a ridiculously windy day, and we ended up chasing bed sheets down the street! We had rain for three days before I left the US courtesy of Hurricane Katia. And so Katia made her way across the Atlantic.

Tuesday I was introduced to Primark. It was kind of a scary place in the sense that the prices are sooo cheap, that it’s a bit of a madhouse. I was told when we walked in that it was a sort of place that you didn’t want to spend too much time in, and it was kind of clear why.

Wednesday I moved into my flat, and the madness started. One of my flat mates moved in on Wednesday, and then it was just the two of us until Saturday, when the other three came.

The flat itself is really amazing, and I’m thrilled about this year. We have a hallway with five bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The only disappointing part is that there is no common room (not even for the building!) but it’s all working out just fine, as we hang out in the kitchen.

My room: 

The kitchen:

Most people in the block moved in either Wednesday/Thursday or Saturday, so for the first few days, there were only about 8-10/45 in the building. That was really nice, as for the first bit, it was easier to remember names, and we all fit (sort of) in one kitchen. By Friday and Saturday we were really ready for more people though.

This week is what’s called “fresher’s week,” which pretty much means “hang out and party/go out,” though a lot of people actually have pre-lectures that they’re meant to be attending. The University Union puts on some great events, and everyone has a blast until we’re forced to settle down for actual lectures.

I’m really excited, because everyone I’ve met in my block (and outside of it too) have been fantastically nice, and I’ve not met anyone that I’ve not gotten along with!

We’ve had a few “family dinners,” in our flat (which unfortunately will probably be more sporadic when lectures start up) which consisted of lasagna (a semi success–tasted like lasagna, but didn’t really look like it–more like soup), and the other was potato and leek soup.

This year is really going to be fantastic 🙂

Location: Leeds, UK