Damn this fickle Bangor weather, omg.
Oct. 1st, 2005 08:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
castaliaIt's rained, at least a little bit, nearly every day this week. Oy. Am so glad I invested in that raincoat duster.
Not much time for computer stuff this weekend, what with all the welcome week stuff at Ocean Sciences. Finally got to meet the rest of my class - there's 10 of us in all, the biggest class of Marine Biology they've ever had. 7 girls and 3 guys, I think, and everyone seems pretty nice. We got a tour of the school and did some field trips as well. We hiked up part of a mountain in Snowdonia to see Cwm Idwal (a mountain lake), went to the Anglesey Sea Zoo, and went for a walk on the beach at Aberffraw; can't wait to show you those pictures.
After all the introductory talks, everyone was suitably terrified of how intensive these programs are going to be. I have to get used to modules and the way they do assignments here. I felt good after talking to the department head, though, and I think I won't have too much trouble narrowing down a research project, b/c there's a cuttlefish lab right here; a PhD student just finished a big project with them, and they breed them, too, so I could work with that and still be specializing in cephalopod mating behaviours (even if it's not squid just yet). Also, the MB supervisor did confirm that I'm the only American student in the School of Ocean Sciences. But I did get to meet several others who are undergrads at the main school.
I think we've found a house here in Bangor, but the landlord has a very busy job so we didn't get to view it today as planned. Probably in the morning instead. It's pretty new - red brick, nice space, good kitchen and living area, etc. The agency showed us the pictures and I think it'll be perfect, despite not being as close to Menai Bridge as I'd wanted. Rent is £50/week, so it's not as cheap as I'd prefer, but still manageable. There are four bedrooms, so a guy from Ireland is joining us. I have to wonder what my mother will think about me sharing a house with three guys, but they're all very nice and most importantly neat and tidy. Some of the other places I'd looked at were full of the messiest people in the world. All of us can cook, too, so that will be nice. Hopefully we can be moved in before the weekend is over, so cross your fingers that everything goes ok with that. I really want my stuff unpacked, oy! It's getting cold and I want my sweaters.
Already there's some food I miss. English food is good, and I'm thrilled about being able to buy my favorite teas so cheaply now, but I haven't been able to find some of the things I'm used to cooking with in the supermarkets here. Black beans, for one, seem to be scarce. The hardest thing to find is going to be my favorite drink, though. I want a Midori Sour like mad, but although Midori is quite easy to find, there's no sweet and sour mix to be had at all. No one even seems to know what I'm talking about, b/c evidently cocktails aren't a huge thing here and I don't think anyone does margaritas at all. *sad*
I can, however, get all the Woodpecker cider I want. There is much happiness in the world.
Not much time for computer stuff this weekend, what with all the welcome week stuff at Ocean Sciences. Finally got to meet the rest of my class - there's 10 of us in all, the biggest class of Marine Biology they've ever had. 7 girls and 3 guys, I think, and everyone seems pretty nice. We got a tour of the school and did some field trips as well. We hiked up part of a mountain in Snowdonia to see Cwm Idwal (a mountain lake), went to the Anglesey Sea Zoo, and went for a walk on the beach at Aberffraw; can't wait to show you those pictures.
After all the introductory talks, everyone was suitably terrified of how intensive these programs are going to be. I have to get used to modules and the way they do assignments here. I felt good after talking to the department head, though, and I think I won't have too much trouble narrowing down a research project, b/c there's a cuttlefish lab right here; a PhD student just finished a big project with them, and they breed them, too, so I could work with that and still be specializing in cephalopod mating behaviours (even if it's not squid just yet). Also, the MB supervisor did confirm that I'm the only American student in the School of Ocean Sciences. But I did get to meet several others who are undergrads at the main school.
I think we've found a house here in Bangor, but the landlord has a very busy job so we didn't get to view it today as planned. Probably in the morning instead. It's pretty new - red brick, nice space, good kitchen and living area, etc. The agency showed us the pictures and I think it'll be perfect, despite not being as close to Menai Bridge as I'd wanted. Rent is £50/week, so it's not as cheap as I'd prefer, but still manageable. There are four bedrooms, so a guy from Ireland is joining us. I have to wonder what my mother will think about me sharing a house with three guys, but they're all very nice and most importantly neat and tidy. Some of the other places I'd looked at were full of the messiest people in the world. All of us can cook, too, so that will be nice. Hopefully we can be moved in before the weekend is over, so cross your fingers that everything goes ok with that. I really want my stuff unpacked, oy! It's getting cold and I want my sweaters.
Already there's some food I miss. English food is good, and I'm thrilled about being able to buy my favorite teas so cheaply now, but I haven't been able to find some of the things I'm used to cooking with in the supermarkets here. Black beans, for one, seem to be scarce. The hardest thing to find is going to be my favorite drink, though. I want a Midori Sour like mad, but although Midori is quite easy to find, there's no sweet and sour mix to be had at all. No one even seems to know what I'm talking about, b/c evidently cocktails aren't a huge thing here and I don't think anyone does margaritas at all. *sad*
I can, however, get all the Woodpecker cider I want. There is much happiness in the world.
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-01 08:09 pm (UTC)For a time, I used to drive to either Capel Curig or Llanberis from London most Fridays. It was a bit of a standing joke that it would start raining as soon as I crossed the Welsh border.
My partner,
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-01 08:12 pm (UTC)For a time, I used to drive to either Capel Curig or Llanberis from London most Fridays. It was a bit of a standing joke that it would start raining as soon as I crossed the Welsh border.
*snicker* There must be a lot of rain gods living in Wales. We went to Llanberis on Thursday, but luckily the rain held off until after our hike. The view from up there is really quite spectacular.
I suppose I'll get used to the wet rock. Honestly, I don't think the rocks here ever get dry ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-01 08:44 pm (UTC)They do from time to time, especially the valley crags (Tremadoc and Gogarth are a good bet when much else is wet), but the high crags aren't often in good condition. I've certainly done plenty of wet weather routes in boots and raingear.