Making Myself at Home

[Just a quick update - I have three essays due next week (well, two essays and one short story). Having so much crammed into my head and trying to sort it out into three concrete ideas is stressful!]

While the cozy familiarity of my dorm room has lulled me into a daily sense of 'home', I hadn't really thought of Norwich as such. When my "charming rogue" of a friend came from London to come visit me, I realized I knew more - and less - about this city than I thought.

The things I did know were where to get fresh vegetables at the market and how to find my way around the city centre. I knew how to use the bus system inside and out and where to go clubbing. But I didn't know where the movie theatre ("cinema") was, or how to tell a cabbie what street I lived on, or where to eat at lunchtime (eventually we found the English equivalent of The Olive Garden). And in a larger sense, I still have to study my coins to see what they are, I sometimes use "line" instead of "queue", and I can't justify calling carbonated citrus drink "lemonade". And I'm still fascinated by the concept of the school uniform...


It's so strange to think I'm only a tenth of the way through my time here. I still flip through my mobile phone looking for the numbers of my best friends from home and I haven't yet experienced "cold" despite feeling chilled every time I walk outside. But I'm used to the accent now, I remember to check drink labels for aspartame (seriously, I can taste it in everything!), and I even bought a pair of slippers. Pink ones.