Have It Your Way Friday September 15, 2006

Today I went down to the school and registered with the Health Centre. While I am here, I receive free health coverage, courtesy of the National Health Service, for prescriptions, doctor visits, any hospital care needed. This is great!!! All medication is at a fixed rate of $12.40, which is not as good as the $5 copay but better than the medicine that is not covered. It was interesting because in the next building over, there was a company that was selling health insurance, and acted confused when I talked about being covered because I was going to be in England for a year. Good thing I did some more research.

My friends and I went to IKEA today, it was AMAZING!!! I love that store. I purchased about $70 worth, but I was able to find exactly what I was looking for. I bought a lamp, clock, some kitchen stuff, make-up container, and wire baskets that suction to the mirror. I was also able to find a 3 drawer chest at a store called B&Q. It is like a downsized Home Depot, but they do have orange aprons. This chest was only $30 regularly $100; what a steal (but I paid for it of course). Now I just have to borrow some tools to assemble it and hopefully it will fit.



We ate at Burger King and it was quite different than the ones back home. I had a grilled chicken sandwich on a baguette, fries and a drink. The meals are served with a small drink and there are no free refills. I couldn’t believe that there were no free refills, bizarre! I can’t imagine a baguette sandwich in the states; talk about “having it your way”. My friends dip there French fries or potato wedges in mayo; and malt vinegar and salt are the only condiments publicly accessible.

There was a church dance in Manchester tonight and it was alright. One of the highlights was the ride there, where we could see the Preston Temple from the motorway.



There were a lot of people there, but the dj was horrible. He talked through most of the songs, inserting his own comments or singing along as he wished. I wish he would have just kept quiet, and the dance would have been more enjoyable. Also, he played all fast songs and then the last three of the night were slow songs, what a horrible option! Hopefully he does not dj another dance that I attend. Some of the “dancing” styles were “different” to say the least, but overall there were quite a few good dancers. The dance was enjoyable, and afterward we went to ASDA to get some food.

At The Bridge, the student employment center, I found a clerical job that is only minutes from my house. I am going to visit them on Monday, and hopefully work something out. It only pays minimum wage, but every little bit helps. I ran into Nicole Hahn (girl who is graduating from the program) at the Student Union Building and she said that the body of her thesis was about 30 pages; that’s doable, right??? She also said that they help you pick out a topic if you don’t have one of your own, wahoo! Today I also found out that I pick my classes on Tuesday; it is about time!