Faffing around the Dorm :)

There are a little over 20 students and 2 caretakers who live in the dorm. The caretakers are one of the nicest couples I have ever met. We would never try to go around any of the dorm rule because we would not want to disappoint the caretakers.

As for the students, we are from all over the world: America, England, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Germany, Switzerland, and France.  About half of the students are from America and England. Overall, everyone is really nice.

My closest friends in the dorm so far are the students from England and another American.  Dan, Emelie, Sophie, and Zara are from Oxford Brooks University, Olga is from Manchester University, and Chandler is from the University of Vermont. Chandler may go to the school in the north, but she is really a Southern girl : ) She grew up in Georgia.  It is so nice having another Southern girl around. Olga, Zara and I have been watch episodes of TV shows or a movie almost every night. Although, that has been a bit harder to do now that school has started and we are about to run out of episodes of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Dan has decided he wants me to have a British accent by the time I leave. I must say it is coming in quite nicely.

I have been learning all sorts of British English. You can catch me saying Uni instead of University now. But my new favorite word is definitely “faffing”: ) It means to just waste time doing nothing in particular. Dan is a master faffer. He is always faffing around when me need to leave.

I knew there were differences between American and British English, but I never expected we would have a 15-20 minute conversation of word confusion. The British students were trying to explain a specific word to Chandler and me. They told us they missed squash…so we automatically thought of the vegetable and were like ok…that’s strange. Apparently, we were very wrong. Squash is a flavor thing you put into water. I equate it to a liquid crystal light and even that still is not right.

As for the dorm a building, it is really nice. We take our shoes off at the entrance (SO JAPANESE :P) We have two shoe cubbies and a mailbox by the door. To enter the door you use a keypad by the door. Instead of a key we use a code.

The rooms are big! I have a bed (with a futon for a mattress-it is more comfortable than the mattresses I had at Falls Hall at Texas State), desk, chair, file cabinet, and a very large closet.

(the view from my room)

Each floor has a restroom, but the showers are on the basement floor with the laundry machines. Also on the basement floor are the kitchen, dining area, and courtyard. The kitchen is large and small at the same time. The majority of the space is taken up by the shelves that serve as our pantry. We are each assigned a basket for our pantry items, a shelf in the refrigerator, and space in the freezer. The only downside to the kitchen is there is no oven…I had to make a birthday cake in the microwave the other day…tasted surprisingly good.

The dining area is where we all hang out. There is a large TV for us to use. In the mornings while we eat breakfast, we watch Japanese children’s programs. I think I will know the ridiculous dance that ends the program by the end of the year :) Japanese TV really deserves a blog all to itself, but I am going to just give you the highlights:

-Every other channel is a food program

-Even the hard hitting news is broadcast from a studio with a brightly colored set that hurts your eyes and uses little pictures and diagrams (watching them explain Japanese politics is hilarious)

-Almost every show has a panel of famous people to watch the show with you. Their reactions are shown in a box in the corner.

-There are so many strange game shows. Our favorite so far has been a show where a panel of famous people has to guess if the person standing in front of them dressed as a girl is male or female.

More to come :)

-Caitlin