The Influx Begins

The number of international students that are streaming into the university is incredible! Having gone to most of the ISO events, I've met people from the following countries (and I hope from many more in the future): Turkey, Greece, Russia, Japan, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, United States, Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Korea, Cyprus, Wales... and the list goes on! It's been such a cool experience so far, and it's only been two weeks.

Amidst all the orientation events we're attending, we've been able to try some of the pub life here; our favourite so far is the Library Pub, which is the perfect place for students. It's also conveniently on the way to Bodington, which remains deserted; sometimes I think the lone figures you sometime see in the evening are just zombies and ghosts ;).

And I must say, for keeping in touch- SKYPE IS AMAZING. I talked to Dad over Skype yesterday and was very impressed! All of this for free :). This new way of speaking face to face with someone over the Internet (and so clearly and quickly) goes very well with the importance given to surveillance technology over here-- "CCTV in effect" notices are extremely common, and in public places numerous signs urge citizens to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity. I remember hearing in one of my tech classes at UWO that the Brits are the most-watched people on Earth, and now I believe it. However, I also believe that this adds to the sense of security you feel here, especially on campus. This is a favourite MIT topic of mine, but more of that later...

My dorm room is still in shambles as I try to unpack in the short time I'm there; so much of my time is spent on campus. Also, meals don't start until the 15th, so until then I'm relying on some PB on bread in the mornings, and much Subway during the day. So in this way, it kind of feels like home right now!

I'm currently in a computer cluster (why is it not called a lab? Not sure) on campus and in a few minutes we're off to pick up some important items... namely some reasonably-priced clothing from TopShop. Another great thing about student life in Leeds-- we get discounts practically everywhere! You can see how the influx of 60,000 students in September rocks the city every year.

Hopefully talk to many of you soon, probably on Skype!