like bernie

I've been very busy lately. My mum was concerned there wouldn't be much in the way of nightlife/socializing here  (...party animal mother). She had nothing to worry about.

1. There was Friday Night at the Fountain, tailgating and the game a fortnight ago. We got fed the biggest leg of meat I've ever seen at Friday Night, Fred Flintstone BIG! (too big to actually eat, I tried cutting a piece up but it was so intense the plastic cutlery wouldn't work). Tailgating was amazing, it is something that needs to be bought to England. The best way to explain it is: a load of tents before the game that are set up with food/picnics for you to eat from (or at least how I interpreted it, I hope I'm not wrong and am not wanted for food theft). The game was cool but the only thing I really understand is when someone scores a touchdown. I think I've mastered pretending I know what's happening.

2. Last weekend was bid day for the Fraternities.. Greek life is something so other-worldly to anyone from outside America and it really is a strange thing to spectate but I'm starting to understand why it exists. There were inflatable slides and other fun stuff going on, which was cool.


3. I can't believe how differently people dance here. In England people generally wave their hands around merrily, move self-deprecatingly or sing along to the song drunkenly. Here, it's grinding or choreographed moves- the strangest one has to be 'The Bernie' where people shimmy like they're a dead man (inspired by the 80s movie Weekend at Bernie's). There's also the Cupid Shuffle, The Wobble and The Dougie...in the randomness of it all no one has ever danced the 'Saturday Night' routine that I remember pulling shapes too at school discos.


4. I'm starting to have tests and essays due in my classes, fun times. I had a history test the other day and the only thing I could really remember from all that we had been taught was about the woman that were sent to marry the vagrants that had been sent to colonize Louisiana. One of the French men captaining the ship was a womanizer... you can guess what happened. It wasn't on the test, would you believe it! We started watching Gone With the Wind in one of my classes. Rhett Butler is possibly my new favourite fictional character of all time.

5.We also went and saw The Lion King in 3D which was awesome.. REALLY three dimensional! I guess that has little to do with life in the South....Last night I dreamt I went camping with Abe Lincoln..but got woken up by a massive roll of thunder before we set up tents or anything. There's been biblical thunder today, that has literally shook the building.

I got some more pics up on my FLICKR