The newest addition to my life...

First and foremost, my new address:

Amee Walden
25 Llanishen St.
Gabalfa, Cardiff, Wales
United Kingdom
CF14 3

310.594.3531--you will have pretty good access to me at this number. It will be free to all those who can call California for free.

My new roommates: Jo, Hannah, Hazel, Jess and Becky. They're all med students, aside from Hannah, who just changed her studies to biochemistry. Jess is the eldest at 21 and the rest of the girls are all 20. They are pretty wonderful. Not only are they all very helpful and accommodating, they are all extremely fun and distinct in their personalities.

The house is great; definitely very English. There is a quaint English garden setting in the backyard. My room is on the top floor of the 3 story townhouse--with a blue front door! The best part is the window in my bedroom; roof access. After numerous attempts I still haven't conjured up the courage to hang out on the roof but I will get there soon enough. Don't worry, Mom, I will be careful. If not though, I'll just break a leg or an arm. It's not that far down.

The streets of Cardiff are so beautiful. Luckily during World War II, Cardiff was one of the few cities that was missed by the bombings so most of the buildings are extremely old and well preserved. Many of the city central streets are brick or cobble stone. For the first time in my life I experienced the cliche "I got my heel stuck in the cracks of the road and couldn't get it out." I enjoyed it.

I'm still trying to figure out my classes but so far all my options look extremely interesting and exciting. Classes like "Kant's Ethics and Politics" or "Contemporary Liberalism and Distributive Justice." I'm getting more and more excited as the first day of classes draw nearer: September 28th. This week is filled with joining societies i.e. clubs of which I will be joining the Model UN, the Debate and Fencing societies. I also would like to learn as much Welsh as I can so I might volunteer in an aspect where I can possibly read or learn the language.

I'm only a 7 hour drive or a 50 minute flight from Ireland, and since we all know how much I love that culture I will probably be spending a lot of time over there, starting with a seminar on November 2nd with Noam Chomsky in Dublin. The ticket is only 25 euros for a student, so that is very exciting. I'll keep you posted on how the seminar goes.

The American culture is all over the place over here but it's always just a little off. It's pretty hilarious. Things like the New York burger with it's only distinguishing addition being a lot of sour cream, which of course is just very white mayonnaise. The burger, of course is made from Irish beef and tastes oddly of venison. Or the Chicago Bulls street grill with burgers and traditional fish and chips, "straight out of Chicago." I'll post a picture of that one.

Past that, nothing much. I'm trying to get a bike. Somehow it's much more difficult than I thought it would be. It is much colder here than in L.A. but who didn't expect that?

When I figure out how to post pictures to this blog I will. Just keep checking back. ]

I love you all and hope to hear from you often.