Hi!



Still no sign of getting internet connection in my room. :( Should be working on Monday. yay! Then, I'll be able to post some pictures.



We had orientation for the study abroad students all day Thursday and Friday. Wednesday night I asked one of the ladies at the reception desk how I was to get to the university. And it's basically just a straight shot walk of about 25 minutes. For anyone that's wondering, the street is called Queen Margaret Street which turns into Byers Road, then take a left on University Avenue. The campus is HUGE! It's hard to even tell if the buildings are even academic buildings. It's so different here than back at Stout. Anyways, the lady gave me directions, but also had a worried look on her face when I asked. She said she didn't recommend going down there that late at night, especially by myself. When I told her that I was just making sure that I knew how to get there and would be going in the morning, she was extremely relieved. I guess things get dangerous here when the sun goes down.



Thursday morning, I made my first walk down to campus. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Although I have learned that the pedestrians do not have the right of way around here. :P I met so many people that day from all over the world. Including Australia, Boston, Chile, Czech Republic, California, Virginia, Texas... yeah, you get the idea. During our lunch break one of the professors asked that all of the Wisconsin students meet up with a group of graduate students from the University of LaCrosse. Who can refuse a free lunch? I felt like I was on a panel with all of those other students questioning us, but it was also relaxed at the same time. I was finally able to meet up with Carrie and Ben who are from UW Stout as well. After the initial orientation, we had to sign up for our classes and then had a 3 hour break. My classes this semester are going to be great, I can just feel it. I have Celtic Civilization-Medeival times, Photography, Human life drawing, and last but not least, Bagpiping!

I got to see where Ben and Carrie are living and Carrie came to Murano street to see where I live. Also found a cute little cafe called Pico's that has free WiFi, but is a bit slow on my laptop. Later that night the study abroad students had a social gathering in the main building. They had a buffet and I was then able to meet even more people! There were about 70 to 80 students that were included in on the orientation this week. Just to give you a rough estimate. I learned a lot about the University that day. Started in 1451. Isn't that crazy to think that they had a University before our country even exsisted? I thought that was intriguing for sure. After the social gathering a bunch of us went down to a pub that is located in an old church. It was a pretty weird feeling, but the pub was beautiful inside. I made a good friend who is from Sydney, Australia by the name of Janene. We both found out that we are living in MSSV. We have become walking buddies to and from campus.

Friday we finished orientation and I had fish and chips (not french fries, chips) for lunch. We then went on a bus tour to the city center. I didn't realize how large this city really was. All of the buildings are gorgeous. I started not feeling very well on the ride around, so I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I wanted to, but I did get a few pictures. I'm planning on taking a bus down there with Janene tomorrow to explore the place on foot. As well as go grocery shopping. I really need to get some food!

It's crazy how easy it is to make friends here, I never had this at RCTC or Stout. For example, I was down in the computer lab earlier today and started a chat with a girl by the name of Laura and we are now friends. It's just that simple. Oh, I finally was able to meet one of my flatmates, she is from Germany. Her name is Sabrina. She apologized for the kitchen looking like a complete disaster. And she even said herself that she gagged when she walked in there. lol. Nice to know that they don't actually live like that. I was worried.

I don't know what else to say at this point, so that's about it for now.
Wishing you all well!
Ashley