INDIAN FOOD

last night i finally got a chance to get out of the lonely hotel, and was picked up by peter and pippa (parents' british friends) in the evening. they gave me a lovely little tour of the city by car--though i must say peter drives a bit erratically--and we made it to their friend robbie's house on the other side of town.

i was offered a beer, but politely declined (like a fool) because i'm so unused to being able to drink openly and legally. american prude!

we walked to a vegetarian indian place called "kadoosh" or something like that, and it was bloody cold outside. i was read for some hot, delicious curry...and the restaurant certainly delivered. we had at least five different types of curry--banana curry, pumpkin curry, mung bean curry, and others i can't even remember. all of them were so unique and complex and AMAZING! LA indian food should kill itself.

afterwards, peter and pippa very kindly drove me back to my hotel, where i had a good night's sleep. this morning's breakfast wasn't a madhouse, but still swimming with frenchies.

but the biggest, most glorious news is that i finally got to move into my room today. the cab dropped me off randomly on campus somewhere, and i wandered around with all of my luggage for awhile before i spotted some peeps who had just gotten back from the airport, and got the lowdown.

so i got to unpack, and was delighted to find that i have my own shower and toilet (though the toilet is located practically inside the shower...see pictures below)

the usual clutter

view from my room

with the curtain closed

with the curtain opened (toilet practically inside shower)

my colourful room

i met a very friendly girl who lives on my floor, named alex--she took me and a guy named mike to "budgen's" store, which had some nice fruits, veggies (or vedge, as they call it here), and yogurts, among other things. after we got back, alex invited me to tea in our kitchen, and we chatted for a long time, comparing english and american school systems, sports, etc.

then, we got a complimentary irish dinner at "the curve," the restaurant located at the bottom of our building. i had a hearty vegetable soup with cabbage and carrots on the side--jolly good!

and alexcat and i figured out how to use our webcams via skype. we're so high-tech!

lastly, there are between 4 and 5 squished mosquitos on various walls in my room. why though.

cheerio,
lilly

ps...for some odd reason the blog's posting time is inaccurate. i actually posted this on jan 4, at 12:07 am. freaking amateurs.

oh yes, and i added the pictures to the post below. hooray!