What Canterbury student life is like....

But I don’t really know if we stand out as American students so much. I mean I think that my bright red coat totally gives ME away. It seems that a lot of people here wear dark colored clothes that blend in with the weather really. I feel like the odd duck out, or like a target sometimes. Although it’s a good thing that I didn’t go for the bright blue coat either! When people hear us talking, or we ask for directions to somewhere the people are very nice. There are a lot of nice people around the city. I am also getting better at knowing where things are. It’s not too hard to get really lost anymore. Although finding places like pubs or shops are a little tricky since the maps don’t locate them. All I really have to know is where my house is, check, where the High Street is, check, and where school is, check. Everything else is all connected to those. High Street connects me to both home and school so we usually end up along there. Also Tesco the grocery store is off of High Street too.
The streets are not too bad either. I just have to watch out where I’m walking and look the other way from now on too. I also have to be careful when crossing the streets because people definitely don’t slow down for pedestrians if they are in the way!! The cars are cool but smaller obviously. If it’s a sports car, like a convertible, it’s much shorter. Not at all like the one’s we have at home. The biggest vehicle I’ve seen is a big truck go through a side street to High Street back alley where a lot of trucks park. I’ve also seen some smart cars too, and I remember thinking, “Oh I want one of my own! They’re too cute!” But they would definitely not be safe back home at all. If a Hummer hit me, I’d be killed. They are more for the city streets that are very narrow like Canterbury's streets.
The buildings are a mixture of really new buildings and really, really, old buildings. The stores are usually 2 levels because of the space that each shop get’s to take up. They all seem smushed together, even the houses. Think along the lines of Harry Potter’s home in the films, or the homes in Bend It Like Beckham movie. My house is literally split in half. If it wasn’t it would probably look more American than city life or British I suppose. The chimney’s and rooftops look old, but the homes themselves don’t. On the inside though you can tell they’re old. Creaky floor boards, radiators for heating, old fireplaces. That kind of thing. I like my house though and it’s quite cozy. Our family would NEVER fit in it at all, we’d have to move out to the country where the SUPER old big homes are! I really want to see those HUGE mansions up close, I’ll have to ask where they are. I heard there are some in Bath, so when we go down there I’ll look around.
It’s required by law that all of England, maybe even Europe, has to recycle. Michael said that some people have cameras in their trash cans to check to see what people are throwing away. Hmm… seems a little like V for Vendetta, with the government watching over their people like hawks, wiring their homes to hear inside!
But that’s really not Canterbury at all. It's a safe town. It get’s dark out around 5:00 P.M. and then stores start to close around 6 or 7 PM. Pubs as well only stay open to about 11 PM. This whole town goes to sleep so early, quite unlike home. It does get a bit eerie when I’m walking home from Tesco’s or school. I just know not to go in dark parks and walk where there are a lot of people to see you. That’s about it really. People keep saying it’s not at all a crime town. That it’s very safe. Just creepy I guess only because I’m not in a car and actually have to walk everywhere in the city. That’s really the difference. I’ll get my swimmer’s legs back again with all this walking that I’m doing! Whoo-Hoo!
My friends and I didn’t end up going out last night. It was raining too hard and some of them have a long walk just to get to High Street. So I ended up watching the Manchurian Candidate and 3 Frasier episodes with my host mom Katerina. I actually like that show. I thought that I wasn’t going to, but it’s very witty humor! Like Will and Grace. I miss that show. Well, I’m going to go. It’s supposed to rain the next 10 days so we’ll see if I can keep my spirits up. <3 Shannon