A Trip to Exmouth

Finally made it to Exmouth this weekend. Exmouth, as I mentioned weeks and weeks ago, is where the Exe River meets the Atlantic. It was a little stormy Saturday, but it held off raining until we were actually back on the train which was very kind. And it was great to finally get back to the coast. I haven’t seen water more expansive than Lake Macdonald in four years! I got some really great photos of this coastal town, including one of a pub called The Powder Monkey. But I’m not going to show them to you.

Because I hate you.

No, seriously, it’s because I can’t get to them. I had removed my ScanDisk on Friday to read off a few photos and then failed to return it to my camera. So my camera immediately began storing photos in its internal memory, a fact I didn’t realize until my camera told me I had filled the allotted memory, prompting me to say, “Whhaaaa!?! This thing never runs out of … Oh…. Right. Whoops.” So you’ll have to look me up once I get back to the States to see these truly AMAZING photos. (Author can not vouch for the “amazing” nature of these photos and the term was used exclusively for hyperbolic effect).

After returning to Exeter I took a much needed nap and took off for some lighthearted drinking and socializing at Caradon House G3. I ended up getting embroiled in an argument over the realative political ignorance of Americans and our history as a penal colony and area of exile for Great Britain’s religious fanatics with the great, great, great, etc. grandson of Gen. Andries Pretorius, of Boer War fame. The whole thing was significantly more surreal the next morning when the Cider and Black had worn off.

In general news, Sunday opened my eyes to the wonderful pub BREAKFAST. We headed over to the Imperial and they offer a pretty impressive fry-up for 2£. I had a breakfast roll to save myself a quid, but it was delicious. Also, I finally have fully functioning bank accounts, with the arrival of my PINs on Friday. I opened the account, or made the attempt to open an account anyway, on Oct. 4th and finally finished on Oct. 21st. This is probably why they don’t suggest you bother if you’re only going to be in the country for a semester. I now have two identical charge cards (I’m foreseeing problems here) to withdraw money from my various accounts. However, these cards are not excepted by National Rail, which has me wondering how useful they’ll be. We must hope for the best.

Finally, I have decided to SKIP AN ENTIRE WEEK OF SCHOOL to take a trip through the South of France and Northern Italy with Cait and Jess. This seems extravagant, but: 1. I’ll only be missing two classes and no assignments or papers that week; 2. The flight into Toulon, FRA and out of Rome, ITA cost me just under $60 American; and finally 3. How often am I going to be able to take off a week and travel through Italy? I’m an exchange student and classes are only part of the experience!

So, I think that sums up my news for now. I’ll post again as soon as something interesting happens. TTYL, TTFN.

Ps. if you were here earlier and noticed four posts all saying more or less the same thing, well, that's technology for you :D