real quick update

Right just wanted to let you all know what iv been doin the last few days and what im gona be doin tonight.

Firstly iv meet some real great guys who go to Alabama state university and so iv been hanging

with them a lot. They live in this place called university village, it has 4 swimming pools, a pool table in one of the pools, a massive club house witha 50 inch tv ect, volley ball court..... its pretty awsome.

Anways Michael brought me to this place called the well. its a college sorta worship thing that happens every week, was pretty big reminded me of manafest only for college student. the band played all hillsongs stuff so i only knew a few of the songs but they were pretty tight. The speaker was good when he was talking about his subject of choice but like a lot of american speakers iv heard he thought he wasa comedian as well.

Played some football yesterday was pretty exhausting playing in the heat. but it was good to get a ball kicking about again. bought mself some football boots and a football for $50. man i love this country!!!

Anyways after class today im heading to Atlanta Georgia to see a band called "the John Butler Trio". I came accross these guys a few years back and was blown away by the guitar playing its truelly mesmorising. so when michael asked me if i wanted to come i jumped at the chance. so tonight shoul be a great night of good music and good banter. il let you know how it all goes.

College begins

Yesterday was my first day of college in Alabama, As most of you know im studying mostly business classes but iv also decided to do a module in safety and first aid, should be a breeze. My classes are all on Monday, Wednesday Fridays an hour each day per module. Class sizes are generally around 15 - 20 and so far my class mates all seem really dead on.
Iv really enjoyed my last few days here im starting to feel more and more comfortable around campus everyone has been really dead on. On Saturday there was a back to school party. The party was held outside in the car park were the DJ's had set up two speakers and their decks. Around 300-400 students turned up. it was so funny all the songs have a set dance which everybody knows. I was really the token white boy and felt totally inadequate when it came to dancing. but it was a lot of fun and im getting to know a lot of people around campus.
Just thought i would let you all know that today we had 35 degree heat and clear skies, sorry bout all the flooding, i saw some of the photos was kinda mental!!
Hope everyone back home is doing well miss you all
I will try and get some photos up soon!!

Very quick observation

White people are in general uncoordinated and self-conscious when it comes to dancing

First few days

Hey ya'll watup!!!
Only kidding I'm not speaking like that yet, please pray that i never do!!!!!
Things here are going well enough i guess. this week has been orientation so iv done a lot of queueing and the likes which had been so boring. I found it easy enough to chat to people but sometimes its hard to get past the "so your from Ireland" phase if you know what i mean but that will come especially when i start my classes on Monday.
Picked my classes today, I'm in Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8am!!! fun times. Thing is people go to bed earlier and get up earlier here so i don't think it will be all that bad. I'm off Tuesdays and Thursdays which gives me a good bit of time to recover from the early mornings.
Campus itself is lovely, its so strange seeing the an American football stadium on campus and the likes. Also there are these benches that only members of a certain fraternity can sit at... strange!!!
So at the minute my life involves not doing an awful lot but that will soon change
Miss you all

Address:

John Nixon 4776
stillman college
p.o. box 1430
Tuscaloosa, AL 35403
United States of America

Quick update

So i have arrived into Stillman college after 26 hours without sleep. travel went really well apart from a wait of two hours in birmigham for my pick up. that was worrying but god answers prayers so it all got sorted out. Talking about answered prayers, lost my wallet this morning searched the room up and down, no where to be seen. but it eventually turned up in the back of soom dudes car.

So first impressions of college:

When we turned into the college we happened to come accross a car being chased by the cops within campus, then got told that there where seven murders in Tuscaloosa in a weekend not so long ago. fun times.
Got to my room and my roomie who's a good guy was fast asleep and my bed had no sheets no pillows no duvet. so i managed to get a few guys to take me to wall mart and get myself sorted. wal mart is so cheap. got a duvet sheets pillow and some other stuff for like £20.
Im now just back from brunch and so i've managed to see most of the freshmen on the college and iv yet to see a white face. They are all such dude's its awsome but so daunting at the same time.
Found out i might be able to play soccer at the university of alabama which warms my heart.

Il do a full update soon

Time to start blogging again

Iv been of the blog for a few months now and I feel its about the right time to start using the old thing again.

As I move away from the familiar routine that comes from living in northern Ireland and start a new adventure in the US I realise that this is an opportunity of a lifetime I have.
For this reason I feel that its important to write down some thoughts and ramblings about my time in Tuscaloosa Alabama more for my own sake as well as any body who is daft enough to read this page.

My summer holidays have come to an end and my new semester starts on Monday.... mental
I'm moving without having any idea what modules I'm doing, who I will be sharing a room with, what church I should go to, what sports I should take up, when I'll get a chance to set up a bank account etc. etc.......kinda nervous
Despite all of this unknown I feel a sense of ease about it, which is strange. I feel that these types of emotions don't really sink in with me until I get on a plane. The fact that I will be essentially starting a new life should scare me so much but because I have a God who will be there with me every step of the way fills me with a confidence that I will be all right. After all what's the worst that can happen? - I can grow as a person from the experience. So bring it on!!!

Should inform you guys on the type of college I'm going to and the town.
Its called Stillman college and its situated in the middle of Alabama in a town called Tuscaloosa, population 80 000. It has a 92% black student population, total number of students being around 800-1000. Its a Presbyterian college with quite an emphasis on Christianity which is great. Tuscaloosa itself is home to the Alabama state university so it really is a student town. Tuscaloosa itself has 126 different Baptist churches alone which is crazy when you think about it. I will be sharing a room with some dude I haven't met yet.

While I'm out there I will study 4 business modules and 1 elective module per semester and I'm the equivalent of a junior year student.


We'll I'm sure I will be updating my blog more regularly from now on. Hope “Y'all” will like it!!