Hurricane Rusty

Hi.

I really want music to play on my blog. How do I do that?

I have had a really slow week, so I thought I'd make a mish-mash blog of random "5 things" lists. These are what I came up with. Please comment ideas of what I should write about next.

How I feel when it rains. Which is every other day.

5 Things I miss from home (besides people):

1. The prices- It may seem like it is cheaper here, but a five pound notebook here, with the exchange rate, is actually 8 bucks. (UGH) 
2. Meat- First of all, it's hard to find any meat dishes like at home. The burgers are NOT the same. And secondly, I'm terribly afraid of my own cooking. I'll most likely give myself salmonella. -__- 
3. My parents' house- Washing and drying is more expensive when I can't just take it home to do it. Also, raiding their cabinets. Groceries are expensive. Also a working heater is a blessing we too often take for granted. 
4. My cell phone- Yes I have it with me. No it doesn't work abroad. Yes I have a UK phone. No it's not an iPhone. Yes I can call whoever I want. No it isn't free. Yes I can use the WiFi. No my apps don't work due to the firewalls. Yes I like saying yes and... No I don't think it's annoying. 
5. The weather- Sure you all have snowpocalypse and deadly hot summers, BUT AT LEAST THERE IS VARIATION. Birmingham forecast FOR THE YEAR- cloudy skies, moderate chance of rain, cold, cold, cold. And also... cold. 

This is freedom. Just look at that face. Sheer insanity joy.

5 Things I will miss when I return home (besides people):

1. The freedom- I have to admit, living on my own in a new country and having to make new friends seemed daunting, but it really wasn't that hard at all. It's like summer camp only with less rules and adult supervision. My time at uni is kind of a stepping stone for when I leave here. This Summer, I will be truly on my own and going wherever I feel whenever I feel it. How empowering is it to say Hmm. I suppose I'll go to Athens today. Or I feel like adventure. I wonder if any of those boats are headed to that island? I'll go ask. So incredibly awesome. It's indescribable. I do have to say that I would be much less excited about it all if I didn't have Skype. I love talking to my Mom, Blake, Ethan, Panch and Jit, and everyone else back home and I probably wouldn't enjoy it here as much if I couldn't check in with them often. 
2. My accent being cool- Oh my GOSH. I LOVE your accent. "Who me? Oh shucks. Of course I will repeat that sentence for you in my super cool American accent." I've never had people actually want me to talk as much as I do. What can I say? Except everything because I say it all so awesomely. 
3. The baguettes- Holy bejeezus. Goodbye grocery budget. Goodbye abs... (Haha. I totally didn't have abs) 
4. Hogwarts- You just think I was at Newman University in Birmingham. Think about it. They were just too lazy to come up with a good cover story, so they just used the same name. FYI, I received great scores on my N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s and I am simultaneously marrying Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Neville. But the older, hot Neville. Not the chubby one with fake ears.



Improv is a medium in which my face is molded into horrible expressions.
The cool part is that it is acceptable and even encouraged.

5. Improv workshops- I have really grown attached to teaching improv here. My pupils are very enthusiastic and show a lot of promise. I'll be very sad to let it go in May. Also it is fun to hear them say "Larry, Curly, Moe" with a confused look on their faces because they don't know who they are. 

JitBro. How I miss youuu. 

(Imagine that sung)

5 Things I've learned: 

1. How to cook (kind of)- I'm slowly learning how to cook. It's a necessity here unlike in the states. At home, we have a cafeteria and are REQUIRED to have a meal plan until we are a junior or unless we live off campus. Here, there are no meal plans. You either cook, spend all your money eating out, convince your friends to feed you, or just eat cereal and basically starve. So far I have cooked chicken, bacon, pasta and meatballs, and rice with mild success. I will work my way up to baking and other more complicated dishes. For now, this is fine. 
2. Languages (also kind of)- I am learning snippets or other languages such as German, French, British slang, Italian, Flemish, Spanish, and I am actually enrolled in a Dutch class. Hallo. Het is mooi weer. HA. Not really. See post above. Google translate THAT. 
3. The Dutch love mayonnaise- Seriously. They smother their fries in it. And anything else. Pizza, toast, bananas. Okay not really bananas. At least I haven't asked. One of my Dutch friends even got two tubes of mayo in the mail. 
4. Chinese food here is another species of food altogether- I don't know. I thought it was a mushroom... but it had tentacles. Also, Daisy (from Hong Kong) cooks alien soup at least once every fortnight. Not sure what planet the ingredients are from. 



Yes. Hogwarts.

5. How to use public transport- Bus timetables are uber confusing when all you've ever done is drive yourself or be driven by others in their personal vehicles. School buses are SO not the same. Trains are completely different altogether and don't get me started on the metro. JK. Metro is easy. It's the buses that I really had trouble with.

Also, we had sun today. It was nice. 

And another thing. Hurricane Rusty was not my fault... Sorry Australia!

Is that a fat joke?! Dude... not cool.

Over and Out

Russell x

PS: X is not a part of my name. x= kisses. Just thought I'd clarify. Like contact solution. Or Claritin Clear.