Across the Pond: Manly Chester and the Chinese New Year

I would like to start by saying that hopefully I didn't make my blog expectations too high in the first few posts. There is so much to write about but often times when you sit down to write, the thoughts may not come easily or when they do it can be difficult to write them when they consist of random thoughts or happenings. So unless I'm traveling a lot, my posts will probably involve just random thoughts and an update of what I've been up to lately.

On January 25 (or 25/1/12 as they would write it) I had my first basketball game with the University. I was told that we would have "cheerleaders" for our game but I just thought it was the English way of saying "fans". I was mistaken. There were more cheerleaders in the cheerleading club than both basketball rosters combined. As far as the game went, it was just as physical as back in the states and I gracefully fouled out of the game with about about a minute left in regulation. Our team ended up winning by one so I can now say I'm undefeated playing basketball in England. You don't realize how wonderful wood floors are in gyms until you take a few tumbles on the floor we play on over here. By the end of the game I had some nice floor burns and a little blood but that's all a part of the experience!

I'm taking a Cell Biology and Biochemistry class and I had my first lab last week. I found the labs to be nearly identical in setup as back home and luckily there was a girl that was willing to be my lab partner otherwise I would've been a little lost. It's been difficult walking into a year long class halfway through.

To save money on the weekends, we try to cook when we get the chance. The keyword in that sentence was try. Last Saturday when preparing pancakes and bacon, we set the fire alarm off due to steam. It's not just an alarm you can shut off by a button or by fanning the steam out of the room. You have to wait for the campus security and the fire department to arrive. So my first attempt at cooking a legitimate breakfast in England was accompanied by a conversation with a few fire fighters. On the note of fires, they seem paranoid with fires over here. Every door has a sign that says "Fire door keep shut" and signs in general are never in shortage.

We ate the plate of pancakes waiting for the fire department to arrive

A deck of playing cards has been a great way to get the international students together on weeknights. I think we've playing at least 10 different card games and the other night we had a brain overload of mind games. Another way I've passed time on weeknights has been to watch "How I Met Your Mother" or recently I watched the TV min-series of "Pride and Prejudice". Don't judge me for the second one. You always need a good fix of chick flicks.

I went with a group of eight internationals to Manchester last Sunday to see the Chinese New Year festivities. A friend studying in China informed me that the new year actually started a week prior to our festivities so English China does what it wants when it wants. I joked before arriving in Manchester that it is the more manly version of Chester but after seeing Manchester I think that I would gladly live in the less manly Chester any day. Manchester has older buildings and the history but just walking around it resembles America with all of its newer, taller buildings. The Chinese celebration was a very cool touch to the trip and from what I've read, over 70,000 people were in Manchester to see it as well.