I have not found the Grand Old Duke of York yet.

HUGE post, since it encompasses several days. Also, there was a mini-update before this where I complain incessantly about the hostel. You should read that, too.

The weather here is not great. It’s overcast and cold, making everything seem much more dreary. It also makes me tired, since in this sort of weather all I want to do is curl up and take a nap. Of course, I do need to go out and about, since I’m going to be living here for the next six months and I’m going to need to figure out how, for example, the bus system works. Oh, and I have to top up my phone.

I think I might be the youngest person staying at the hostel. There are a lot of adults here. The woman rooming with me is probably my mom’s age, and breakfast was mostly populated by people 20-30 years older than me. I saw one other young guy who came down as I was leaving, but that was it. It’s a pretty stark contrast to London, which was full of 20-somethings like myself. I guess York just isn’t that big of a young adult tourist destination.

Oh, and the woman who served me breakfast kept calling me “pet.” I thought it was cute and very stereotypically English. She called the young guy “darling,” which was also cute and stereotypically English. I haven’t been called “luv,” yet, but I’m sure it’ll happen sooner or later.

Anyway, I spent a lot of yesterday wandering throughout York. It rained the entire time, except for in the morning when it snowed. Well, maybe it wasn’t so much “snow” as it was “freezing rain,” but it was still a bit exciting. It’s a fairly long walk from the hostel to the city centre, but it’s along the river so it isn’t quite as bad. However, that route isn’t lit at night, which means if I stay out later than 3pm, I have to walk back along an actual street. Yes, it does get dark that early up here.

I went through the York art museum and saw the cathedral and a few gardens yesterday, despite the rain. I don’t know if I want to go into York Minister — it looks gorgeous and I would love to see it, but it’s nearly £10 to go in. I’m not sure it’s worth it. Not yet, at least. I sort of want to save a lot of the tourist-y things for either when I’m with the other York EAP students or when Heather gets here.

Speaking of Heather, I’m already starting to plan all the things we get to do when she gets here. The first day will probably be “wander through York until she passes out from jet lag.” We’ll do that again for a day or so, then we’ll have a lovely train ride up to Edinburgh where we’ll see the castle and climb a mountain and train out to Sterling so I can see the ancestral home of my people. If we really feel up to it, and/or have money to burn, we could go see the ancestral home of her people, up in the Highlands. I really want to go to the Highlands. They look ruggedly gorgeous.

Anyway, back to York. I did get a wee bit lost yesterday, since I was just wandering through the streets. I found a shopping centre and went down a less-scenic part of the river, since there was some trash in and around it. But that part of the river was also the shallower, more creek-like part, and there was ice on it. So yes, it is colder here than it is in London.

I returned to the hostel rather early, since my feet were starting to hurt. The blisters on my left foot are getting so bad that, on occasion, I walk with a bit of a limp. It makes wandering through the city for large amounts of time a little bit difficult. As melancholy yet lovely as York is, I’m going to be here for six months. I feel that I’ll have plenty of time to wander about when my foot is healed, and I’ll have a much better place to return to when I’m tired and my feet hurt.

I haven’t yet found a way to top up my cell phone or a random ATM I can use. All of them are bank-affiliated, and I’m not sure if my Wells Fargo card will work with those. Oh, and I haven’t eaten dinner in two days because the restaurant here intimidates me.

All I want to do is move into my stupid dorm, meet some people that are my age, have a decent internet connection so I can get in touch with people from home, live somewhere that isn’t bloody far from things I want to see, fix my stupid cell phone, have a decent cup of coffee, and actually figure out where the hell the English nerds are. I’ve seen their nerd shops — I know they exist. I need some English people to tell me when Doctor Who is on and/or where I can watch it, since I don’t have a TV. Seriously. Seriously.

Then, today, I learned several more things.

1. I can’t pay for my phone with my credit card, because it has an American billing address and Vodafone’s system can’t handle that.

2. I found the two Starbucks in York, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it again because I was wandering aimlessly through the streets at the time. And yes, they are two different Starbucks. Not the same one twice. I checked.

3. THERE ARE SO MANY BABIES. I think everyone has a baby. Even when it was raining, they were being pushed around in plastic-covered strollers. And I have never seen so many men pushing strollers. It’s kind of cute, actually.

4. I was also going to say that everyone has a dog, but I’m beginning to think that’s because I have to walk down a popular dog-walking trail to get from the hostel to the city. Nevertheless, I see lots of dogs. Since it’s so wet, I have trouble distinguishing dog poop from wet tree bark when it’s sitting in the path. I’m afraid to step on everything.

5.  I FOUND A PRET. I have never been so excited for anything in my life. I will eat there all the time.

(Note for those not English: Pret a Manger is a more or less a sandwich chain in England. The food is really good and pretty cheap — a toasty is about £3.50-£4. They are everywhere in London, but the Orientation people weren’t sure if they existed in York)

6. I still am completely incapable of crossing a street. I keep looking the wrong way.

7. I saw sunshine today! It was very exciting.

8. I sort of met the woman sharing a room with me. She left today; she was just visiting the city after dropping her son off at Leeds University.

9. I find myself wanting to sleep a lot. I think it’s because of the weather. Yes, it’s sunny today, but it’s still chilly and a bit breezy and the landscape is still rather dead. It’s a little gloomy, to be honest.

10. Oh, and speaking of that Starbucks, I had a less abysmal cup of coffee there today. Also, I found LEMON LOAF. It was the most exciting thing ever.

11. I GET TO MEET PEOPLE MY AGE TOMORROW AND IT IS THE MOST EXCITING THING EVER.

12. I saw an "I Heart York" T-shirt, in the style of those "I Heart New York" T-shirts today. I definitely snickered to myself and wanted to take a picture but then I remembered my camera is broken and/or a moron.

13. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in this city has a boyfriend/girlfriend. Everyone. Those that don't appear to be in a group of friends. I think I am the only single person here, due to both my lack of boyfriend and lack of people to hang out with. It's kind of disheartening.

14. I have found where W.H. Auden was born! None of you care, though, because none of you are English majors. He was a WWI poet. Also, I have found where the slightly-better known Guy Fawkes was born! There is a restaurant/pub thing there now. I will have to eat there at some point.

All in all, I am excited to move into a dorm and meet people that are my age and know what the hell is going on here. I am confused and cannot buy a sandwich by myself, because that would be awkward in that I AM THE ONLY ALONE PERSON IN THIS CITY.

It will get better. I hope.