A Girly Post

This post is not about tourism. Rather, it is of the whiny chick lit sort. If this bothers you, stop reading.

Okay, you've been warned.

Lately, I have gotten hit on a lot by creepy men. I could explain this away psychologically, I'm sure--or culturally. Dr. Phil or another bloviating TV personality would suggest that it's a result of my losing weight (supposedly resulting in a confidence gain) or that men here prefer a different body type. I think it's just that the universe chooses to cause me social embarrassment at weird and inopportune times. It could also be that everyone here is drunk 24/7 (I continue to be sober and have no issues with this).

I don't feel particularly attractive or confident at the moment. I'm eternally afraid of stepping on cultural toes and failing to be polite, or making some weird faux pas (there are many to be made- tonight's involved lettuce and tomato on a sandwich, which is apparently known as "salad" over here). I wear baggy clothes, some of which are prone to fall off me at bad times, because I have no idea what my current size is, and try as I might, I can't find it at British clothing stores (if I do, it's expensive!). I am surrounded by people wearing beautiful, but skanky clothing. Girls my age wear long, luxurious scarfs paired with Ugg boots and hot pants. I am also lacking in basic social skills because I have been sick for over a week and I'm constantly fretting about the long series of assignments which are due in 3 weeks.

Anyway, another observance of the social variety is that there are no geeks here. The people who attend this university would all be considered extremely "popular" or at least "party school" type people at home. I have yet to meet one person, other than my American friends, who have an abnormal interest in studying and/or reading. I hoped when I came here that I would find a very geeky, traditional crop of people. My ultimate relationship fantasies involve finding some monogamous nerd with a good sense of humor who is interested in perusing museums and discussing books. If I wanted to find a frat boy with a high blood alcohol level tolerance, I think I would be in Happy Valley instead of Albion.