Question, what does every university have too much of? Answer, paperwork!

This Tuesday was one of the crummiest days I've had since getting here. It was the day that I first encountered the fascination Cardiff University has with big, bulky, bloated, buckets of paperwork. I thought I'd seen it before, but oh no, things were just getting started.

First, to turn in assignments here you have to hand in cover sheets, pre-printed by your department and sub department. Biosciences in my case. This system is such that it functions, and no one in the department really knows why or how. This made asking questions difficult. Where do I find the rules for formatting assignments? In your handbook. Where do I get a handbook? Everyone has a handbook. How do they get one? When you're a first year. But I'm a study abroad student, what do I do to get one? Ask someone else.

After about two days of searching I managed to piece together enough correct information to find the needed cover sheets and the mystical wall of red boxes where you leave your assignment. The cover sheets were confusing unto themselves in that you need to know the numeric code for yourself (but that isn't your student number and is also not necessarily individualized), your class, major, school, etc.

There is a similar amount of confusion in the biosciences department as to how lab groups are assigned. The Professors receive the assignment from the undergrad office, and the office gets the groups from the Professors somehow. The groups are by numeric codes, which is another one of those things everyone has but know one knows who assigned it, what it is, or who to ask about it. This has resulted in me jumping some lab sessions just to be sure I manage to get a spot. Caroline, another Colgate student here, is in the same boat, so I don't feel like the only confused person.

Tuesday was crummy because a soda machine ate my change, and part of my knuckle when I reached in to grab for my coin in the little coin return bin. So, wounded (albeit very mildly, just very annoying to be powerade less and bleeding at 9am), I went in to my lab. Due to technical difficulties, it was cancelled after detaining us for several hours (we had a break but I still had to miss a class to be there.) Later that day our oven set my dinner on fire, one of my flatmates tried to have a party in his 10'X10' room right next door till 4am (meaning extremely loud music and signing drunks. Entertaining but only to a point), and a fire alarm that had the building outside in the rain.

Wednesday opened with mail getting returned. As it turns out many of the post offices are only contractors, so they couldn't tell me why the mail had been returned. The post cards returned were stamped saying to the effect that I hadn't written down the post code, though I had. I re-sent the cards as oversized envelopes. Chunk of the afternoon was spent wandering the bio tower working on finding and figuring out the cover sheets.

Well, now a few things on a positive note. I'm still having an amazing time here. I've now found some new nooks in the science library (located in the central tower of the main building) that are something out of a Harry Potter movie. Massive windows, narrow, cold staircases, and all beautiful. Some fantastically vile graffiti up there too. I won't reprint it here since this is supposed to be a semi-family show, but lets just say it involved lesbianism in the most pornographic sense. It sent to to describe some personal issues etc. If you're ever in Cardiff the desk on the top floor of the chemistry section is worth a look.

Met with a group I'm doing a presentation on windpower with this afternoon. Two Spaniards and one German. Really nice people. Interesting talking with them though it can be challenging. Trying to rephrase your thoughts in such a way to make them more understandable can be hard, but they're speaking in your language for your sake so its the least you can do. I'd sound awful trying to manage spanish, forget german. Really nice people and very smart. Its been great meeting not just people from the UK but other students who've come here from all over the world.

Well, I realize I'm rambling here so I'll leave it at that. Best wishes to all, and continued high hopes that post cards will reach you all along with grad school acceptance letters!