Well... here's me, in the U.K.
Apparently I got here early, everything that I thought I had to do during these two weeks must actually be started by september the 14th (four days before classes start). Two weeks early... you could say that's great: more time for vacationing, but there's a catch, I can't get into my residence until that date also. So I got to stay in a hotel, which is a little unsettling: the way this is usually done in Mexico is with a LOT of anticipation (relatively speaking). Basically you do everything locally and spend some time in the city 'fixing' stuff which involves paying for everything at least a week before classes start, so by that time everything is taken care of. In the U.K. it's completely the other way around: you do everything remotely to just come here about three to four days before the registration day, move in, and if something can't be payed for remotely, you can pay for it here while being already on classes.
The streets are transited in by the left side (not the right), which makes crossing the street a religious experience if you aren't careful. I thought that I would get used to that quickly, but I haven't; is that sort of things that get stuck with you since you were a kid, so it's a very old habit to look to your left side first when crossing (when you're going on the right side), making it here a very deathly habit too. I've also discovered that that's the essence of my orientation, because now everything gets bended backwards when I get out the door more usually than it used to in Mexico ("left is right, left is right"...).
It's summer (well, the last part, anyway), so the weather's nice. It rains very delicately, so it's nothing like the rain in Juarez (which is basically buckets falling). And it's not that cold, and it's not that warm... although, because of the last rainfall I witnessed and was wetted by in Juarez (thanks Hugo, I loved it) I think I'm getting sick (no worries, it was worth it!), so I'm not getting to enjoy it that much.
Most of the people are nice, although very intimidating. I come from a place that a serious face means trouble, so I feel I'm in the middle of trouble everyday. What I have found out, though, is that a smile goes a long way here: I suppose that they aren't use to it, or that a smile here means "I like you a lot" (haven't figured that one out yet), so most of the people which I've approached smiling or humbly have turned out very friendly and helpful (even, in some cases, flirtatious). Talking of which, I have to admit: wow! I mean, really, wow! Very beautiful women here. The epiphany of beauty in Mexico is exactly what apparently here is just regular womenfolk (well, at least to me): slender, decent bust, decent behind, clear eyes, tall, long legs, clear skin, etc. I'm talking about the average that I've seen around... although I've also seen a lot of Punjabi people here, thus, a lot of Punjabi women also; very good genes, I must say.
The thing that has thrown me off the most is the language. At first it was a complete turn-on, but now it's a total nightmare. The way some of the british talk is anything but comprehensible to an american-english-taught person like myself. At first I thought I wanted to obtain their accent (I loved how it sounded), but now I'm not so sure if I want to sound sexy at the expense of nobody understanding me. I guess I'll obtained it without even trying, but that'll come; right now I'm struggling with just knowing what the hell are they talking about without the need of the now overused "I'm sorry, what was that again?". My dad says that it just takes a little getting used to, and with all fairness, it has only been two days; and he must know about this, he spend also about a year in Israel having only english to communicate (imagine the accent they had over there!). Even so, I'm a worrier, it keeps me alive; I hope by the time that I'll write my next post I'll be writing britishly (if there's a such a thing, hehe).
