Learning never ceases

A few things that I've learned:

Wales does NOT believe in the grid system. Every place you go, you find yourself taking the scenic route. A few examples:
1).The Cardiff Airport-We unloaded off of the plane outdoors (since it was just a little hopper plane) and came into the building on the ground floor. Right away, we headed up some stairs. Makes sense, right? Well, then we proceeded to the left, down a long, narrow hallway, then down some stairs, turning this way and that, then again, back up stairs and so on and so forth, until we finally reached the customs area, after about a good 10 minute walk. Not even kidding.
2). Trinity College Campus-I wish I could draw a map for you, but just imagine a campus spread over about 4-6 acres. Then imagine that half of this campus is only accessible through one little gap in the wall between two buildings that are, for some reason, still connected on the second and third floors. I am not joking here. This is the only outside way to get to most of my classes. Now I could cut through the buildings that surround it, but again, those paths are like mazes.
3). The city of Carmarthen-I wrote in an earlier post about getting lost on one of the first nights I was here, well the lack of organized streets is definitely the culprit. The main, one-way road that runs through town runs, of course, crookedly. So, there's really no use following it. However, I've found that there are many hidden paths and shortcuts that take you to places you would have never thought possible. But, if you're an out-of-towner, in Europe for the first time, this may be hard to get used to. Point in case, the night I got lost. I asked 3 different people and they all suggested different routes. No wonder I was lost. But now, I've discovered and learned these shortcuts and I've found that I can reach Tesco's in about a 15 minute walk!

Another thing I've learned is that roundabouts are not going to disappear, so I might as well get used to them. Even on the "motorway," there are roundabouts connecting other major motorways. Talk about lame. Especially when you're on a bus trying to catch some shut eye and you can't go for more than 10 miles without slowing down to stop at a light at a roundabout. Ahhh, oh well. They are sort of amazing to go around and try to figure out how you made it around without getting hit.

Along with the aspect of driving. Passengers enter on the left side of the vehicle, not the right. So, when I come home and attempt to climb into the driver's seat instead of the passenger's seat, you'll now know why.

I've also learned a lot about myself since I've been here. Being capable of spending most of my summer savings in one semester at DePauw, I've definitely learned to control those impulses to buy things that just sound good and to plan out my trips to the store in detail in order to eliminate unnecessary purchases. I bought a crock-pot last week and then Mom helped me come up with a list of recipes to try in there and so we then made a list and I organized it according to sections of Tesco, and let me tell you, it helped tremendously! Not only was Tesco's more manageable, but I was able to spend WAY less on food that was healthier for me and would last longer!

That's another thing. I'm kinda learning how to cook. I attempted potato soup last week. Didn't quite turn out exactly how Mom's does, but hey, it was a good, first try. So, determined as I am, I tried making beef stroganoff this week. It was much better. That may or may not have to do with the fact that I don't know what real beef stroganoff is supposed to taste like (other than Hamburger Helper), but I'd say it turned out pretty good! I was quite proud of my mashed potatoes! They were absolutely delicious! So, I figure, if I keep improving this much every time I cook, I'll be the next Paula Deen by the time I get home! Next week, I'm gonna try chicken tortilla soup. Now this one, I've made before, so hopefully it will be quite tasty! But I'll keep you updated.

Hmm, what else? Oh, well, I can finally appreciate why mom doesn't like me cooking in the kitchen in the first place. If I left half the mess my flatmates leave when they're in the kitchen, I'd want to wring my throat! I took the time to buy new "rubbish bags" for our "bin" the other day, ones that had the drawstring on them and we could tie up. Well, let's just say that the UK doesn't have anything comparable to "Glad" trash bags. It seems no matter what you buy, the bags are thin as can be and if stuffed full of trash, they tear quite easily. Trust me, I know this from personal experience. It seems that no one has the time to take out the trash in our flat. It would make sense if the person who put that one piece of trash on the top that clearly did not fit into the trash container itself, would go ahead and take the trash out. Oh no. On flat 5, we try to see just how much trash we can get to balance on top until it all topples over to the floor, causing quite the mess. So, I've now taken out the trash twice in one day, (a new record), because no one else does. It's starting to get a bit irritating seeing as no one has time to do anything else in that kitchen either. I mean, yes, there are times where I leave my dishes and forget about them overnight, but first thing in the morning, I get them clean and put away (if there's a clean towel). But I spent over an hour tidying the kitchen up the other day, (washing down the walls, wiping off counter tops, and doing all the dishes, regardless of whose they were) and by the next morning, there were more dishes to do, crumbs on the counter top, and splatters in the microwave. So I'm getting kind of worn out with it all. I may consider moving my food and my crock pot into my room and washing all my own dishes in my bathroom sink. Okay, maybe I won't be that extreme, but it's killing me to see it get so messy! But I guess I just gotta learn to roll with the punches. I'll be gone for two days this week on an expedition and then again for an entire week towards the end of February, so maybe they'll get it together and clean up a bit once I'm not there doing it for them. Or maybe not. Who knows?

So, I hate to end on such a poor note, but my clothes are finally done washing, and I've got to get them hung up to dry! Another fun task! At least my room smells great! I'll write again probably this weekend and let you know how my overnight camping trip goes, and about our international trip to Swansea (the Lafayette of Wales)! Until next time!