hiii from the UK

So I am officially here and have soo much to write about just to warn you. "Make sure you write in complete sentences with correct grammar like a real college graduate since alot of people will be reading it." "Ok mom, I will just for you." I will even read over it and look for mistakes:-)
So first things first: wow. so much has happened already! My mom definitely wasn't kidding when she said the plane from Dublin to Cardiff was small. It looked like it would only carry about 10 people-I almost didn't make the walk from the stairs of the airport terminal across the way to the airplane but I did and I am here now. Ceri (the main lax coach and I'll also be working with her during the day with PE classes) met me at the airport and then it was about 45 minutes back to the school in Monmouth which is beautifulll. It is so green and hilly and there are random cows everywhere. Next to the lacrosse "pitches" there are cows and also right next to the turf field. I got a tour of the school and am learning my way around and also walked around downtown Monmouth which is basically a long strip of shops which is so cute. They have coffe shops, card shops, drug stores, phone stores, banks, clothing stores, mini markets, etc. It basically has everything one needs in order to survive-and then some! I ventured into these 2 stores called New Look and Peacock and they were pretty cheap and had very very cute clothes! I almost went to town buying things I loved but then the lady told me the dressing room was closed because it was "25 past." No idea what that meant until I realized that everything closes at 5:30 or 6 on that road. So I put everything back on their racks and told her I would come back tomorrow:-) I did buy some toiletries and such for my flat and will go to this place called Melvins tomorrow to get some other odds and ends and can't wait until my mom sends me pictures and I can decorate my flat with frames and such. I made a list of things throughout the day that I would put in my blog and it got pretty long so feel free to stop reading whenever but some things are pretty interesting:-) I am still waiting to see if I can get wireless in my flat and it seems as though they are making progress but if not, I will get a phoneline put in and get it that way so whoever wants to webcam through skype, I will let you know when I have internet there and also I will put up some pictures of the school and town whenever I can get internet on my laptop. Right now I am using the computer like my mom's and dad's at home (slow and from the 90's) downstairs on the bottom floor so I only check my mail once a day at night which is very unusual and new for me. I ate in the dining hall today for lunch and had mac and cheese with tomatoes in it which was good, peas, and a rice and raisin concoction-didn't ask what it was and just ate it anyway ha. There are 4 gaps from Australia who go abroad for a year before college and new ones come in January but I met 2 (1 very briefly) and one named Amy who I talked to for about 2 hrs about life here and such. She told me the reason I couldn't find tylenol or ibuprofen (I walked up and down the same aisle for about 15 minutes) is because they don't have those brands here. Learning new things everyday:-) I am such a tourist the way I snap photos everywhere I go. I started walking and just snapping quickly without looking anymore because I started to feel weird walking around and just taking pictures everywhere I went. It is a small and very cute town where everyone knows everyone (obviously I walk around not being recognized yet-haha) and the houses are about $300,000-500,000 but very very nice and classic looking. Some things remind me of something that would be in Harry Potter with very olden times buildings and a town like Dawsons Creek or Gilmore Girls-very very cute and so much country all around it. There is a river that runs down the center of the town where the row team rows and they are apparently very good (lacrosse is their main sport though). I learned to ask for help esp when it comes to paying for things. I dump all my coins on the counter and ask them to take what they need so hopefully they aren't jipping me haha I am going to wait to get a mobile phone until next week and just use calling cards and email and such for now. I have my English Lacrosse orientation Saturday-Monday where I'll meet all the other kids over here from America doing what I am doing so hopefully I make friends that I can visit on the weekends and see other towns and such. The gap students were talking about their summers and how they visited up to 20 countries and the stories were just amazing. Then they look at me and ask about my summer and there was just no way to make it exciting. I would talk about Australia but they are all from there sooo I just talk about American life and we compare the differences. They also told me that I will quickly pick up on the language of the English girls so that will be fun to learn new words and meanings! Well this is extremely long and I have to proofread it before publishing the post:-) Oh, and Billy I used the Euros you gave me to buy a chicken and herb stuffing sandwich in Dublin. No idea what it was but it was pretty good! So thanks for lunch:-) Ok, I'll write soon and hopefully be making more and more progress with settling in and such:-) I miss everyone and it is crazy how in touch technology keeps me with the states!
Forgot to add up there about getting locked out of my building today. Couldn't get the code to work so I stuck my key in to unlock it and it got stuck. I was out there for about 20 minutes just wondering what I'd do since I couldn't walk away leaving my keys. Then I saw a phone outside with extensions and got in touch with the head of boarding and said "umm hi, I'm locked out of the building with my key stuck in the door:(" so she laughed and said she would be right down then she came down and talked about how it probably happens to everyone at least once..yeah right haha:-) but anyways slowly but surely I am adjusting and we have our first inset day Friday with meetings 9am-4pm and then the girls will be here when I get back from my orientation and schools starts Tuesday. I also set up a bank account today and wrote the date wrong about 3 times and had to write over it. "date of birth?" "11-21-1985"...blank stare..."you mean "21-11-85?" "yep sorry that's what i meant." haha I just keep learning! ok I miss everyone!!!

Love,
Danielle
xoxo