I woke up around midnight…couldn’t sleep. I worked on my abstract a bit and looked over a couple budgets. Bored and cant go to sleep. Maybe I napped too much. So I put in House: season two. I watched the episode of the wife who poisoned her husband with gold…good episode. After that, I read a bit and finally went to sleep around 230am (or 2:30).
I slept pretty much the entire night after that. I woke up around 9am and got a shower. I met Steve, the maintenance man who told me to ask him if I had any issues I could speak with him. I let him know the WiFi wasn’t working and he told me he couldn’t help me. Oh well. I went to the little common kitchen on my floor. I had “Tasty Flakes”, or for us Americans, “Frosted Flakes.” They were tasty, though. I took my laptop and was determined to find a cable or hot spot. I went to the library where I used an ancient beast of a machine that was at one time a computer, and logged on. I went to check my email and the version of IE on that machine didn’t support my remote email browser. Hmm, then I went to vtext.com and texted Shauna to let her know I was still alive and that the countryside of England isn’t offering much WiFi. I finished up and took my laptop to Andrew’s office (he is the head of graduate studies, by the way). He was in a meeting so I sat down at the empty receptionist’s desk. It just so happens that there was an Ethernet cable hanging out of the wall…I wonder…Praise to the Lord the Almighty our blessed Redeemer…we have internet through a cable.
So I instantly checked email and called Shauna…woke her up I think. It didn’t matter. Oh my goodness it was so good to hear her voice. It was borderline emotional for me…of course, she was crying and relieved. I had survived the peril of the trans-atlantic children’s production and the English rails. We talked for about 8 minutes and I let her go because I had to go to a session. But it was the best to talk to her…going home and seeing her is going to be so great.
So I went to the first session in my PhD seminar and had lunch as well. It wasn’t a bad lunch, either. Poached chiken and mashed sweet potatoes…it was very good. Oh, and a salad with “salad cream” (or salad dressing). I met Nana (like banana but without the ba and saying it like nah-nah…not like the redneck alternative: nan-neh). He is a Ghanian pastor in London. I also met Gabriel, who is from Ghana as well. These guys were really cool and the most kind of the fellow students I have met so far. Everyone else doesn’t talk to me much because I am new, and that’s ok. I also met Anna, the librarian but also in the PhD program. She hates tradition and reminds me of the lady in “Annie” (ya know, the lady who had the orphanage…Carol Burnett). She is nice and interesting…more sarcastic than me, and very intelligent. It was a good lunch. Andrew came by the table and informed me he called his support folks and they were altering the software so that up to date Macs can access the network. That was good news.
The sessions continued into the afternoon. From dissertation creation and applications to the University of Wales’ resources, it is all a lot to take in. I basically have access to all of Eurpoean research through the University of Wales: journals, other dissertations, etc. We sat through a “mock” Viva (oral defense of a dissertation): it was brutal. My new friend, Anne, was chosen to defend her dissertation. She seemed to be very defensive, but did quite well. The sessions throughout the afternoon and through dinner were quite helpful, except for the last one. It is 8:30pm (or 20:30) and I am sitting here listening to a horribly boring lecture on Old Testament Missional Covenant. Oh my God this British guy keeps reading his notes and not looking up…it’s more like a reading than a lecture, and there is no interaction.
When I get back to the room I will call Shauna again (wonderfulness…yes, that is a word) and watch House or something else. Some folks are going to a pub, I think. I may go and hang out. The picture taken today is me in my room. It is such a small and sad little dorm room. Thank God I now have internet access across campus and can feel connected to home. It was a much better day.
Oh, one more thing: I am going to a Man U football game on Saturday. Jealous?
And day three comes to a close…
