notes from abroad

First off; i'm mooching a wireless connection from a nearby neighbor who has randomly decided to make their formly secure connection unsecure. i'm elated, but the connection is terrible and doesnt' seem to last.

i've survived my first week of classes and while i didn't really know what to expect i think i'll figure it out from here. lots of reading and studying on my own which will be a good change and maybe i'll even learn about discipline. anything could happen.

I have discovered a distinct difference in the manner in which people give directions here. Friday afternoon i began wandering around the school of english in search of my seminar room. House 8, which is connected to 10, but doesn't really have a door and seminar room 6 in 13 something on the 1st floor; labeling of floors is terribly confusing here. In anycase, I started asking for directions from a number of students, who as it turned out were as lost as i. It wasn't long before i found myself utterly alone in some far and forgotten corner of the building. here only the muffled sound of fingers on a keyboard could be heard resounding from behind a half closed door. i knocked and found a white haired older gentlemen sitting at his computer. he proceeded to tell me i was no where near where i needed to be, but he could take me there. so i followed him down the stairs and through a door and across the hallway and through another door and down another hallway before he pointed me towards my destination. This is possibly the third time since my arrival in Leeds that i've been, not just directed as to where to go, but actually physically guided there. People stop what they are doing, turn around and head the other direction to help me out. am i that pathetic looking or are they just friendly and helpful? i'd like to be optimistic in this case.

Early yesterday morning we boarded the train in Leeds and crawled slowly out of the city into english suburbia before catching glimpses of the sheep and green hills of the country side. Shortly thereafter we were in York. The trip was enjoyable. Aleks, Anna, Spyros and I visited the national railway musem, wandered the streets in search of a cafe, attempted to stay out of the many used bookstores, enjoyed the english weather from beneath a tent in the market, spent time in the York Minstrel (my first cathedral, i was impressed), lost a few hours in the eclectic York museum, had lunch in the Old Lion pub where we discussed fantastic greek phrases translated into english, and then walked along the great York wall before heading back to leeds. there were many other thoughts and expanded versions of stories, but they'll be saved for...something. cheers.