Hey MTV, Welcome to My Crib

Too bad I don't have any pools, cars, or solid-gold refrigerators to show off.

It's been a while since I gave you all an update, and though I did go on another short trip since then, I'm going to put that story on hold (you'll have to live in suspense for a bit) and instead tell you a bit about my life in Leeds.

It's hard to believe I've been here for a month.  I feel simultaneously like I've done so much already and that I've barely done anything.  Hopefully I still have a lot of adventures to come in the next four months.  In the meantime, how 'bout I show you round my new living space? 

My desk.  Note the desktop background--still awesome.

Ze wardrobe and little table thingy (which would be handier if it were anywhere near the bed, no?).

My bookshelf and bed and stacks of clothes.  England has not made me any tidier.

Our lovely kitchen, including clothes washer.  But no dryer.

What I have affectionately termed the "shower cupboard."

A separate cupboard for the toilet.

The view from the entrance to our flat.  Kitchen on the left, shower and toilet rooms on the right, 5 bedrooms down the rest of the way.  My room is furthest down on the right.

The residence I live in is called St. Marks and is actually conveniently close to the university.  It's about a three-minute walk to the edge of campus, and a 7-10 minute walk to my class buildings.  And now that the heating is working, it's a decent-ish sort of place.  The flat is shared between 5 girls: me, another girl from Wisconsin, another American, a Canadian, and a New Zealander. 

One of the best bits isn't actually in the flat itself.  It's the fact that this is the view out my window:

That's the Church of St. Marks and it's at the end of our street--literally a quarter block away.  Unfortunately, the church itself is closed and broken down, so our only view of the inside was through the keyhole.  But we did take a walk around the churchyard to see the graves dating from the mid-1800s.  It's incredible and gorgeous, but immensely sad.  Many of the stones have tumbled over or been broken, and moss has overgrown a large part of the area.  There is litter everywhere.  And somehow the place still has dignity and majesty (and a certain amount of creepiness).  It's a wonderful place to have in my neighborhood.

I know this is a very short post, but I'm too tired to write more, and I want to get at least something up tonight.  I'll share more with you soon.

xo

p.s. If you want to read about experiences similar to mine, I highly recommend two blogs by fellow Wisconsin-ers.  One is from my friend Megan and the other is by my friend Roxanne.  In addition to being fantastic, they usually update more frequently than I do!