The trip continues...

Living with a host family is taking some getting used to. Our house parents are to my estimation at least 70 years old. They are precious, though. They are trying so hard to make us feel at home. Francis, our house mom, apparently had a cardiac arrest years ago disabling her. She struggles to move around and we can barely understand a word she says. When I can comprehend what she says I get to see her humorous personality. Yesterday Ernie (our house father) asked me how I liked my coffee. Francis chimed in, "I like my coffee like I like my men--Strong and hot." We couldn't contain ourselves.

The food situation is what has been the most difficult. For lunch our first day we had rolls, a salad (not what you are thinking of as a salad. It was only lettuce. Yep. Just lettuce.), and deli meat. We had the same thing for supper that night, and lunch the next day. Yum. Just as we were getting discouraged Ernie offered us a vegetable casserole. Yes! We were excited for something different. Fail. Ernie served the casserole to us for dinner. I opened the lid and the three of us almost exploded with laughter. We tried so hard to hold it in. I bet you're wondering what was so funny... well, the vegetable casserole had, of course, vegetables; however, there was something else. It was basically a bowl of corn flakes. Milk and cornflakes. Yes, I said milk and cornflakes. Don't forget--the meal was vegetable casserole. Definitely not my definition of a vegetable casserole. So, Jess and I decided to snack on the only thing we had--shredded wheat.

I saw Francis naked.

As the three of us were sitting at the table having our delicious vegetable casserole, Ernie comes and closes the door to the dining room and tell us that he is going to help Francis to the bathroom. Theres only one problem. The door was glass. Not frosted glass. Clear glass. So as we chuckle about that I just decided to turn my head away because I certainly did not want to see that. I think I am in the clear so I look up. What do I see? A nude, at least 70-year-old woman, heading to the loo. I am scarred for life.

On Monday we had to venture out of Eastbourne to go the University of Brighton campus in Falmer. Travel is much more efficient here. We have done so much more walking too. We walked the 1.2 miles from our house to the train station. At this point we hadn't figured out the bus system. We arrive at the train and decipher how the get on the right train. We take the 30 minute train ride to Falmer. The view was awesome. It's so great living within a walk from the beach and having beautiful mountains surround you. We arrived at the campus and met up with the 11 girls from Illinois State University that are completing the same program as us. Yep, it's myself and 13 girls!

University of Brighton Education Building

I guess I could share some of my newly learned English jargon...

spend a penny-use the toilet

loo-restroom

heater-clothing dryer

biscuit-cookie

flat-apartment

uni-university

trousers-pants

pants-underwear

rubber-eraser...the university supervisor told us, "don't be frightened if a child asks you for a rubber, they're only asking for an eraser."

rubbish-trash

Tomorrow they are dropping us of at our schools. I will be at a primary or, as we call it, elementary school. Haley and I were placed at the same school. They are dropping us off and leaving us to find our way home. They told us that this was the best way for us to learn our way from the school. If I don't write anymore, then I haven't made it back from the school.