the first few days

So I can finally make a post because we FINALLY have internet! It has been pretty good so far. FREEZING. way colder than I expected. It is winter here and when the sun is out it is probably 70-80 degrees but when the sun goes down (really early! at like 6:15) it gets to 40 degrees or lower! When we got here we were assigned to what we thought were temporary rooms but turns out they are going to be permanent (the university isn't exactly organized). We also got some blankets, all of which are stamped with "UB" on them. Kind of feels like an institution! The stamp is even on the pillow and shower curtain. We even have a warden. I finally just got unpacked this evening.

Things definitely move at a slower pace here. We waited in line yesterday for 4 hours just to get an id card. it was kind of ridiculous! we even got there 45 minutes before it opened. I haven't gotten my classes worked out but it doesn't seem to be a problem. Classes start on monday but I've been told numerous times that professors probably won't even show up until friday or next monday because it's drop/add period until august 17th. I don't really get the point of that but the international student advisor said that I should just go to classes and try to get syllabi and then I can fax that back to K to see if the classes are approved for transfer. Quite the process.

It's really pretty here. A desert surrounded by mountains kind of. I think we are going to climb the main hill in the middle of the city on sunday morning. I'm pretty excited about that since I've heard that baboons and leopards live there. There are a few malls. I've been to Riverwalk and Game city but not main mall yet which is in the city center where all of the government buildings and such are. They have pretty much anything you want, clothing stores, book stores, restaurants, cell phone stores, linen stores etc. I think I've finally gotten everything I needed! Not too bad for 4 days I guess.

The campus is really big and I know I'm going to get lost (again). But the people are really nice. I've mostly met international students so far. They are from all over. Mostly from America and Europe (Sweden, Germany, Norway) but one from Syria and another from Japan. They are all really nice and we have been hanging out in a group mostly. Just yesterday UB students started arriving so hopefully we will get to mingle with them soon. One thing that is going to take A LOT of getting used to is the food. The cafeteria (or refectory as they call it) serves pretty interesting stuff. There is a dish called pop or something that they serve a lot. It looks like mashed potatoes but I guess its actually like mashed up rice. pretty flavorless so they serve it with a beef gravy thing over it. At the stores though you can find lots of stuff. Today I got some granola and cereal. They even had peanut butter and jelly. So I guess I will make it! Whew I think I got caught up! now that I have internet I can post more regularly.