Manchester: First Impressions

Manchester has a really great vibe.  The best way I can describe it is a British, industrial version of Austin.  It has all of the benefits of a large city--a great music scene, tons of art, museums, restaurants, parks, and bars--but it has a much smaller, more accessible size.  London felt like NYC (albeit with much more quaint and historic architecture intermixed) in that it was busy, loud, and fast-paced.

A view of the river passing through the city

We arrived in the afternoon and went straight to our dorm.  The dorm, unfortunately, is in a pretty sorry state.  Apparently it was rented out as a hostel to make money over the summer, and it looks as such.  I'm not sure how or what happened, but my best guess is that someone was cooking with a pot on the stove and decided to set it down in various locations on the kitchen carpet.  The round burn marks are intermixed with grease stains, missing carpet, and general grime.  We've issued a complaint, but it will take some persistence to get it taken care of.

We spent the first few days wandering around and shopping to settle into the place.  I also hibernated in order to overcome my cough, and luckily I felt better by the first day of class on Tuesday.

Campus

Fellow Scholar and flatmate, Rebecca

Canal street, also know as the Gay Village

Art in the gayborhood

Swimming center for the university