One Month In

I have certainly had an adventurous, educational, and unexpected first month in Coventry. I would not admit all of my fears about moving a month ago, but there were plenty. I was worried that stores I needed would be far away and I’d have to lug groceries for miles, but most stores are just out my back door. I worried that I’d never meet anyone, but meeting people has been easy, as I am not the only alone foreigner. I have gotten very good at walking into situations where I know I don’t know anyone. I mostly worried that I was under qualified to be accepted at school in the first place. Our class has such varied backgrounds, I feel like I fall somewhere in the middle. But ask me in a couple of weeks when I’m sweating over my class assignment.

A few things are “worse” than I expected. I am still disillusioned that UK public transport is neither fast nor cheap (in general). Recycling is not universally required, and I can’t find a recycle bin to save me. Salad is expensive and so is beer. And speaking of beer, I saw someone buying Budweiser at the grocery store and I almost physically prevented them from doing so.
I only just got a phone because after getting a bank account and debit card, I still was ineligible for a contracted plan as I have absolutely no UK credit. It never occurred to me that credit didn’t follow you around all over the world (so thank you vodafone). Also, I report with no ill will that a lot of people don’t know where Maryland is, but then again, I can’t pronounce or locate Gloucestershire.
I'm still not sure about room temperature eggs.

I think my brain has been struggling a bit while I have been here. It is confused, trapped between vacation world and student world. One minute I am working hard on my paper, the next I am wandering around a museum like I have all the time in the world.
Though I have had a lot of it, I feel like if I am doing nothing with my down time, it is a monumental waste. This week I was panicking a bit, not because I have homework, but because I didn’t have anything planned for the weekend. So I spent a few hours researching my “list of places I want to see” and got caught in a circle of non helpful information about getting to the Yorkshire Dales (is there an easy, inexpensive way to get there, stay there, and enjoy the area without a car?)
I’m like a toddler who refuses to sleep because they’ve just realized that life is interesting and they don’t want to miss a minute of it.

It has also been a strange balance of funds and a difficult transition back to that aspect of student life. I literally can’t afford to buy food that I don’t eat. Though I have been a super sleuth about finding free meals; going out for dinner nearly sends me in a panic as I can have one meal out, or feed myself for a week with the same money. I know that subsequent months will be better as I have been dealing with the “start-up costs” of living abroad.

I am far better at understanding people, though there are still a few instances of having a ridiculous exchange with someone, where I force them to repeat themselves three times, and by then I just smile and nod, hoping that I’m not agreeing to something I don’t mean to be. I still pronounce words with a distinctively strong American “r” though I have noticed myself adding a question onto the end of statements. “Then we’ll take the 3:00 bus, yeah?” or, “It's a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

I am newly conditioned to look right first when I cross a street and even on the bike I was able to successfully make right turns without losing my nerve.

So, I hope you’re enjoying reading the blog as much as I am enjoying updating it. More to come.