Milky Way vs. Mars Bars...and how my first two days of classes went.

Whew! What a whirlwind the past two days have been! I cannot believe that it is only Tuesday...I am worn out. As many of you might be aware, yesterday was my first day of class here in Scotland. I started off the day by waking up plenty early, getting ready, eating breakfast, and heading out to find my first class, Film Noir. As with the first day in any subject, at any school, we mostly just received general information about the course, such as assignments and whatnot. I had this class from 9-10 am, which is the earliest classes begin here, probably because it is dark any earlier and the Scots know how much their students need sleep. After this class was done, I was off to my history class, Britain in the 20th Century. Both classes were fairly uneventful and I survived. I only have the two classes on Mondays so it is a nice easy start to the week. I should mention that both of these classes were quite different than at Guilford in one major respect, their size. My film class maybe has 50 people in it, but my history class probably has at least 200 (this might be a slight exaggeration)!!! I sat in the front of the gigantic lecture hall so I would not be distracted by the backs of so many heads, and so I could pretend it was a small class. I now know how my friends who go to Iowa State and other huge schools feel!!

Since I am done with class by 11 am on Mondays, I had plenty of me time the remainder of the day. After class I returned to my room and grabbed some lunch. I then decided to go and finally check out the pool, so I swam laps for a good 45 minutes. Then I was exhausted, so I took a short nap, followed by facebook chatting with my mom. Even though I was very much opposed to her having facebook, I am now thankful, beause it is the closest thing I have to talking to her on the phone, and not being able to call her makes me realize just how often I would call home from Guilford. Then I decided to go to the gym. After swimming AND working out, I was soo tired and hungry, I walked to the Tesco (grocery store) and bought some food that will hopefully last me the week.

Among the things I purchased, were a Mars Bar and a Milky Way. Why, you may ask? Well, due in part to numerous discussions with Minna and in part due to my love of candy and chocolate, I was shocked to hear from Minna that Milky Ways were not the same here, in fact when we described our version of Milky Way she said that was a Mars Bar. So I decided I MUST try them and see for myself just how they compared.

I took pictures of my discoveries in order to document and share my findings.

1. The specimens from the outside. Notice the difference in packaging for the Milky Way in comparison to the version we all know and love: my first clue that they are not the same.

2. I then examined the cross-sections of each specimen. Notice the layer of caramel on the Mars bar, which is absent in the Milky Way, quite different than American Milky Ways.

3. A close-up of the cross-sections. Here you can clearly see the absence of caramel in the Milky Way on the right. Also, take not of the thickness of the chocolate coating, it is much thicker on the Mars Bar.

4. Finally for the taste test.
4a) Milky Way: The texture was similar to that of a Reese's Whips or 3 Muscateer's bars at home. It was quite tasty, just nothing like a Milky Way one would find in the States.
4b) Mars Bar: Since I had figured that this one was more like the Milky Way I know and love, I was tasting it with the desire to make a comparison. Yes, it is indeed more closely related to the U.S. Milky Way, since it has a layer of caramel and nougetty stuff. However, it is not exactly the same. It is chewier than its American counter part and the taste and texture of the nougetty stuff is quite different as well.

From this small experiment, I am able to conclude that while neither Mars Bars or Milky Way are the "same" as a Milky Way at home, both are quite tasty.

Anyway, after my chocolate tasting adventures, I got to skype with Rachel in Copenhagen and that was a lot of fun. She showed me about her room and told me all about her adventures in the city for her first day! Later, I went to the Union with Minna, Christina, and Natalie (one of Minna's friends who was visiting for a few days). We grabbed some drinks and shot some pool, it was a nice relaxing evening!

Today was my second day of classes, in which I would have my first physics class! I decided to get up early and hit the gym with Minna at 9 (ok, so 9 is not THAT early, but give me a break, I did not have class until 11). Then I was off to my first physics lecture, after a shower and some food of course. It was very interesting being in a physics class that had more than 10, even 20 students! It was not different, however, to find that although my class had 50-60 students, there were only maybe 7 girls at most. Also what was interesting about physics is that I had it twice today, from 11-12 and then again from 1-2, in different buildings too! Both went well and I think I will do alright in the course (Solid State Physics and Devices in case anyone was wondering or cared).

After the second physics lecture, I had my first film screening. We watched Double Indemnity, which, apparently is a classic noir. It was made in 1944 and was very good. It has to do with an insurance salesman, a woman, and their quest of offing her husband so they can be together and cash in on his life insurance policy. Real light hearted, I know, but it was a rather good film, I suggest you watch it.

Now I am finally relaxing and eating my supper of pita, hummus, and lettuce. I think I am going to call it a night early, maybe watch a movie in the comfort of my bed. I am planning on getting an early start tomorrow by hitting up the gym and then the library to finish up my internship applications before physics lecture at 1. It should be a fun day!

Until next time, who knows what interesting stories I will have!