Free Corn

Good morning to most of you, although it is just past lunchtime where I am.  Today I am writing to you from the Leeds Corn Exchange.  I've been on a bit of a wild goose chase to find free wireless internet here.  There are about three Starbucks and five McDonald's on my walk between my room and Uni--all of which would have free wifi in the States--and I struck out miserably there.  There is free wifi here in the Corn Exchange for one hour per day per device per customer.  So I am able to connect my iPhone and my computer for an hour each.

This is a historic building in the Leeds City Centre.  It was built in 1864 for the purpose of-- yep, you guessed it--exchanging and trading corn.  This is one of only three remaining Corn Exchanges in England that is still being used for its original purpose of trade.  Today, there is an upscale restaurant and several boutique shops for clothing, chocolate, salons, etc.  Here is a picture.

I know most of you are itching for more pictures, so I will try to have some more pictures posted in tomorrow's post, or later this weekend.

This morning I had a welcome meeting with the School of English on campus.  I managed to sneak a picture of Mr. Scrooge for those of you who are still concerned.

It seems as if my classes have worked out nicely.  I'm taking three classes; one English (which will be my final English credit to complete my degree from UNM), one art history course, and one course that explores the history and culture of the city of Leeds.  My English course is called September 11th: Fact and Fiction, and it explores how the media and publications post-9/11 have shaped American cultures (I hope you can see why I'm very excited for this course).  My art history is somewhat of a broad overview that teaches the different types of art forms by studying significant works in architecture, paintings, sculptures, photography, and the time periods that surround these works and the different ways to interpret their meanings.  Classes start next Monday.

Tonight, my roommates and I are going to a "headphone party" or "silent disco."  It sounds like a riot.  Basically, the venue give you headphones that have several different stations programmed in.  You can change stations on your headphones and listen to whatever you fancy.  Everyone in the room is listening to their own stations and dancing to all kinds of different music.  You can talk to each other but everyone is jammin' to something different (unless, of course, you choose the same station as others).  So, there is a bunch of random dancing and singing.  I was the only one who hadn't heard of one of these parties--so Jordan DiMaggio... I instantly thought of you when I heard about this, so if you're reading this... start a new trend in the USA!  I'll be sure to take pictures so you all can see how entertaining it is.

I got a bit distracted and FaceTime'd my dad, so my hour of free corn internet is running out.  More to come later.