Today was productive--got my ID card, making me officially registered and thus not in danger of being kicked out by customs (and I always smirk in pictures, even when I don't mean to smirk, why is that?). Then I walked into town to have a look around, and met up with Boboo and another Kate (from Philly) for lunch before going over to orientation. This time we covered culture shock and academic expectations, along with security and the student support network. I was amused to find that the way I've heard Brit comedians describe the culture have held true--apparently queuing and whinging about the weather really are the top two activities of British people, according to them. Luckily, I'm adept at both things already, though the weather hasn't been terrible so far--cloudy, but no rain, and just warm enough not to bother with a jacket, especially when climbing the hills of Leeds.
The academic expectations part of discussion was fairly straightforward, and not too intimidating. I'm going to have to accustom myself to British spelling, and there are different citation systems in place here, but there are definitely resources available to keep those straightened out. We're also all given personal tutors, whom I presume oversee our theses and keep an eye on us outside of our modules (courses). We then have the secondary support of our module tutors, followed by administrative support of the department. It's an elegant chain of command, which is very encouraging, since I often shy from asking questions when I'm not sure whether I've chosen the right person to ask. I'll be meeting all of these people on next Thursday, when we have our introductory departmental meeting.
Tomorrow will be running final errands, and then relaxing, maybe cooking with some people. I've offered my pie-making skills to the group I've fallen into, so perhaps the promise of strawberry rhubarb will draw them to my apartment. We shall see!
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