Beyond the flat...

After and amazing nine hour nap, I started the day with a quick jog around the neighborhood. It was a little unnerving going for a run in unfamiliar territory, but well worth it. After a quick jog around the immediate residential area, I explored a bit further. I discovered a few things, a bus stop, a tram track, the green grocer stand (Margaret, one of the owners, suspected me a Luther student and waved), and perhaps most importantly, that not many people run around here... so I received a great deal of inquisitive looks, but I guess I get that in the States, too. The jet lag was mostly worn off by the end of my run, and the group met with our Mark and Carol to talk about travel, Nottingham in general, and the courses that we will be taking for the year.

After a leisurely lunch, we got our first tour of the area. While enjoying the scenery, I noticed a few things. Firstly, all of the homes here are very similar brick buildings built nearly a centure ago. These homes have since then been split into two, three, or four parts... each being a two story smaller home/apartment. Secondly, instead of large lawns, the yards are filled with gardens or paved by stones, occasionally a bit of green is present, but it is a finely manicured putting green quality grass that makes me emabrrased to call the plants growing in my yard a lawn. Thirdly, there are spiders everywhere. I don't mean your little jumping spiders or daddy long legs, I mean huge garden spiders with webs stretching as many as six feet, and tonight, Brandon saved my life by killing a ginormous brown spider with his bare hands. This spider was inside our flat! Apparently, as I read in a British newspaper, the number of spiders is the highest it has been in years. Fantastic. In addition to that, there have never been any spider fatalities in the UK. Until last year when there were 12, thanks to the wasp spider brought over from Europe over 50 years ago. Fine. Great. I am not the world's biggest arachnaphobe, but lets be clear, I don't love spiders. Beyond the domestic side of things, I realized that driving is not just a mode of transportation, but a competition to see who can exceed the speed limit the most, regardless of curves, yeild signs, or pedestrians. Lets just say that crossing any major roads is best done at a sprint.

On our brief tour of the neighborhood, we met the locals who have helped the Luther Nottinghamers for years. The first being John and Margaret, the green grocer owners. They were wonderfully hilarious. Aparently they give us all nicknames, but don't tell us what they are until the end of the year... I'm curious as to what they will come up with. They offered us all a piece of fruit on the house as it was our first day around town. Mom, I got a fresh fig, just for you. It was pretty good, but I think I'll stick to mangos for now. We also met our local newspaper and general shop owner who promised he wouldn't sell us any tobacco products, but advised us as to what would be the best cheap drink to put us in a good mood. One of the most interesting things about our neighborhood is the recreation ground which is right in the middle of an incredibly residential area. There is a surprisingly large field with atleast five soccer pitches, a playground, and a large expanse of lawn. That will prove to be an excellent place for a varried run. As our neighborhood is Northwest of the city centre, there are more local shops and a very homey feel.

For dinner, the group was escorted by our lovely advisors to the city centre. We took the tram, which will be dead useful (we will get unlimited passes soon) and walked around a bit to see the main sights in the city. We had dinner in the Salutation Inn, a pub who was kind enough to let us have the upstairs, due to the fact they ignored our reservation. I had fish and chips with vinegar and a light ale, Loxley (appropriate for Nottingham I thought). The rest of the group had puddings, mash, beef and guinness pie and all sorts of typical pub meals. It was a good start to the apparently poor British food. Mark and Carol left for home and the rest of us explored the city centre at night. We stopped at the oldest pub in England, Ye Old Tripe to Jerusalem (1189AD) and saw the old Nottingham Castle, complete with a Robin Hood statue. We navigated our way through the streets and made it back to the tram and home all in one piece.

After and incredibly full day, we packed and completed our first assignment for our International Studies course with Mark and Carol. We leave in the morning for York, Durham, Hogwarts (OK, the castle at Alnwick, but I can dream...) and Hadrians Wall. The weather looks bleak, due to the Hurricaine that just hit the States. Regardless, it will be exciting to stay in castles, hostels and gain some insight to Britain's extensive history. As soon as we return, we run off to UNott for orientation for a few days. Hopefully, once Kim is in London, I will be able to see her for a few hours or days if our schedule permits. As for now, it is well past my bedtime, and I still have to pack in the morning.

Even though just a few days have elapsed, the group has already started to mesh. Everyone is learning about eachother and it will be interesting to see how the group changes and we grow more accustomed to the eachother, the flat, and the rest of all of this newness.

Goodnight :)