Abote

Here I am, in the dorms at Parts Unknown University, laying down for my fourth night on a hard, hard mattress. It's like, foam. Hard foam. Hard, thin foam. But really, that (and the amazingly long line at the bookstore this afternoon) is the only thing I'm not enjoying abote my exchange. I say "abote" because that's how they say it here, and not "aboot," as I'd been led to believe. Anyway. My roommates, they are all from the same hometown, along with maybe a third of the university's population. They all went to the same highschool together, and have all kinds of inside jokes and history and stuff. They're nice to me, and friendly, when they think about it. But really, I can't blame them for hanging out with their friends all the time. I would, if I had friends around.

That's why today was so great. Today I went to the orientation and reception for exchange students. It was the most fun I've had for a long time, meeting people from Australia and Sweden and Mexico and Finland and Belgium and Brazil and stuff. Everybody had a different accent, everybody didn't really know anybody, but was anxious to get to know people and make friends. We all sat around and talked about our countries, and what languages we speak, and what we think of Parts Unknown so far, and why we came, and how worried we are about the winter and snow and stuff. It was excellent. We're all looking forward to doing stuff as a group, like skiing in november, and maybe having dinners together, and going to other cities to see the sights, and playing games and all kinds of stuff. We sat around, eating pizza and drinking tang and exchanging emails. I'm glad I've got that group to be with, because my roommates and other natives tend to be a little clique-ish, and not do much except sit around talking about the old times and going to the bar. Tomorrow I'll go to the rest of my classes, meet all my professors, and maybe get a little more shopping done. I keep thinking of things I need to buy, and I've been to the store like 6 times in the past four days. I'll try and keep you all posted with my comings and goings, if I'm not too busy having fun!