More signs I'm not in Texas anymore

• A couple nights ago, I was playing the game Life with a couple of Brits, and they put their drivers in the right side of the car. The money was in pounds. I thought Life was like the classic American game but apparently it's not.
• Today I went to the gym for the first time over here and had to give my weight in kilograms and the treadmill used kilometers per hour. More metric conversions to learn.
• I haven't seen a single pair of flip flops or sweatpants on campus. Everybody dresses up all the time. Even in the gym, girls didn't work out in T-shirts. I feel very uncool.
• I use words like loo paper, rubbish, lovely and queue now. I think cheers and blimey are my favorites.
• I had to change the spell check on my computer to English (British). Programme, cheque, globalisation ... words seem much fancier now.
• Stores close around 7 p.m., a few convenience stores will close at 11 p.m. Gone are the days of going to the gym at 9 p.m. and the library at midnight, they aren't open. This is probably why everybody hangs out at the pub. The only things open past midnight are clubs and the kebab stands outside them.

I started classes last week, and I think I will really enjoy my course (major). The classes are mainly seminars each week, led by different student groups with the professors as moderators. My grade in my modules (classes) is determined by a final essay. The British system is very self-taught. My professor explained that they want students to form their own opinion and make their own academic discoveries rather than rely on the opinion of lecturers and textbooks. For each class session, I have a reading list of about 10 books, but it's just for my benefit to learn about the subject and be able to contribute during the seminars. It's all very different. No reading quizzes or homework checks here. Somehow I was assigned to lead the first seminar sessions in both of my classes, so I have about 20 books that I'm trying to plow through and become familiar with before I give my presentations this week and next. I'm discovering it's a lot harder to get back into the swing of studying than I thought it would be. There's so many distractions (like this) and I can't seem to stay focused while I'm reading.

I think I'll call it quits on the post for now. There's more going on, but I have some studying to do. Enough procrastinating. Cheers!

High: The sun was out today!

Low: I had a bottle of juice in my bag, and it leaked all over my iPod. The iPod no longer works. :(