Yo Sushi!

Tonight I enjoyed one of the most eccentric meals I have ever experienced. Having been away from the US for a bit less than a month, my craving for sushi started to set in (I normally have it on a weekly basis) and this past week I have been scouring all over the city trying to find a place to satisfy my sushi obsession. Unfortunately my taste is expensive, and sushi over here is almost double what it is at home, so it looks like I’ll only be able to have it every other week at most :(.
Anyway what I did find was a crazy place called “Yo Sushi!” where you take a seat at the bar or in a booth, while different sushi/maki/Japanese dishes pass by you jobs conveyor belt. You simply sit down, prepare your chop sticks, and grab any dish that looks nice as it goes by. Each plate is a different color, one which corresponds to a certain price. At the end of your meal you simply stack up your plates and head over to the till to pay. It was so cool!!! I ate so much sushi, I don’t think I have ever been more full in my life, but it was definitely worth it, so much fun!!

Finally back at it!

This past Monday classes finally started! And my nerdy self could not be more excited, with about a 4 month summer my brain was going a bit stir crazy. Unsurprisingly the rain accompanied me to my first class then the next, and the next, and continued on through Tuesday and was still at it today when I went to my first class.
After a painful process of getting the Cardiff modules (classes/lectures) approved by my home university (UVM) and then seeing which of those fit into my Cardiff timetable (schedule), I am pleased to announce my modules for this autumn! I am taking materials science and construction materials, electronic engineering, integrated building design, hydraulics and globalization and social change.
So far my lectures have been painless, I even made a friend in my hydraulics class, his name is Alvaro and he is from the Canary Islands in Spain (near Africa). On Monday night we went to an engineering social at a local pub called Koko Gorillas and it was fun! I met some other engineers, and then we went to a nightclub called GLAM which was like three stories and very crowded for a Monday night (in my opinion). I left after about 15 minutes because the music was so loud. Fun fact though, apparently the welsh have their own version of the jersey shore reality tv show, called the geordy shore, and the cast members like to hang out at this particular club. Apparently I saw one of the cast members too, it was pretty entertaining to say the least!
Last night three of my flat mates and a friend who lives in our hall went to a “pub quiz”. This is something like trivial pursuit I think… Basically you and some friends form a team, then you are asked a series of questions about current events, random facts about celebrities or history…etc. some examples are “what are the little pieces of paper called that are made when you use a hole puncher” or “what is the name of a bottle that holds 1.5 liters of champagne”. Other questions get much more complicated and I honestly could not even remember what they were, granted most of them had to do with British history, so I definitely had a handicap. You pay a sum to get in to the quiz (we paid a pound each) and if you win you get the grand prize (last night was 100 pounds!). However needless to say we were no where close to winning. In fact our team name was “give us a clue”.

Anyway, there were my latest experiences! Hope all is well in the states, until next time! Xx

Jessie

say what?

While thankfully I have experienced no significant language barrier since arriving in wales, the British certainly have a different way of saying things, and I quite enjoy their turn of phrase! Here are some new words/sayings that I have picked up on, I thought some of them were quite funny and interesting!

Puddings/puds = desserts
Are you alright? = hi/ how are you/ (greeting)
Lemonade= sprite / 7-up
Cloudy lemonade = our lemonade but bubbly
Queue ( pronounced Q) = line
Dodgy= sketchy
Cheeky= mischievous or naughty
Fringe = bangs
Plasters = band aids
Love = honey or my dear, they say ” here you are love” when then hand you something , or ” excuse me love” to get your attention.

I have found quite a challenge understanding the native welsh folk. Their accents can be so thick that it truly sounds as if they are speaking another language. What I have learned about the welsh language is that they spell words in consonants and speak in vowels. They also say everything that we say in English backwards, for example if we say “I like to ski” they say “ski is what I like” or some variation of the sort. And I have learned one welsh phrase so far! I have absolutely no idea how to spell it, but it sounds like this “do een hoffi coffi” which means “I like coffee” needless to say I’ve been saying it nonstop .

Wales at last

After about 24 hours of traveling, I finally made it to my room in Aberconway Hall! I live in a suite with five others. So far I have met four of them! One is Rhys from Wales, close to here, another is Sarah from Northern Ireland, then there is Colette from England, then there’s Kaloyan (spelling?) from Bulgaria.
Yesterday I explored the Cardiff center yesterday, it’s beautiful! And then I walked to Tesco, which is basically a huge Wal-Mart. And I was excited to see they had a gluten free section! Yay!! So far I have been sleeping on the pillow I stole from the airlines, as I have yet to buy a real pillow.
Last night I went out with my roommates to a welcome to Cardiff party, and experienced my first Jäger bomb! I also met a football player (not American football) who was a good two feet taller than me. It was crazy, I was so amazed.
Here is a photo of the view from my room, as well as the surrounding street. contact me if you want my address! I’ll show a picture of my room once it’s put together.

midnight says hello this morning

I’d like to think my kitty just knows I’m leaving tomorrow, which is why he came and snuggled with me this morning! So presh.