Smoothies, Mexicans and pancakes

Hello!
So, I am finally over the jetlag now, which is a relief. It felt yesterday like my mind had finally caught up with my body, which is a relief as far as I am concerned.
So, I thought I would sum up what exactly I have been up to over the past few days-it has been pretty busy here.

* The heat here is amazing. Considering I left with my winter coat and my scarf, it is almost June weather in Charlotte. It is the late 70s/Early 80s (F I mean, if it was C I can imagine everything would be catching on fire) here and so I have been wondering about in t-shirts and skirts. Wearing jeans makes my skin feel like it is being rubbed in cardboard. Thankfully, everything here has absolutely freezing air conditioner.

* I went to UNCC on Tuesday. It was boiling, but I was impressed by the size of the campus and the buildings. In many ways, the buildings remind me of Lancaster, but saying that the buildings in Charlotte are designed for the hot weather. In UNCC, the buildings look good when they are flat roofed, unlike Lancaster (I would love to meet the genius who created the flat roofs on our campus). There was also a lot more to eat, like sushi and... Burger King! Jesse got me a 49er American Football supporters t-shirt. :)

* Okay, so this is going to make me sound like I am a hick, but apart from a few shopping centres, I have never really been to anyhting as massive as an American mall. The fact that we walked about it for a hour and only saw about half of it tells you of the scale of the place we visited. We got pestered by sales clerks, and Jesse got into a sulk when I went nuts about a Hello Kitty shop. However, I found an American sweet which they sold 'back in the day': Jolly Ranchers. I now have a few, and I have to say that I am pleased that they have not gotten rid of the plasticy taste. I also found mini-oreos too.

* Another new experience for me on Tuesday was a Mexican Restaurant. My lack of ability with spicy food is legendary, but it was all lovely and very cheap.

* On Wednesday, I went into Uptown Charlotte with Jesse. In many ways it is like Melbourne as iut all modern, but there is little kooky areas of history, like the settler's graveyard. I liked the walkways that hang above the city streets, which sort of lead to their own mall complex. I alkso drank the biggest smoothie in the known world and was able to stand up afterwards!

* However, my biggest highlight of yesterday was visiting a Basketball game. It was the Charlotte Bobcats (notable for their extortionate basketball tops in the giftshop) verses the Atlanta Hawks. Bobcats wqon, and this was the first time they had won more 26 games in a season.
Charlotte supposely are quite low in the league, but it was a good game. I loved the atmosphere and the food there-it was weird as I don't think you could recreate that atmosphere in the UK. It was just good-natured, and there was no violence. I am not saying that British sports are violent or we are somehow more angrier, but the way I see it is that I would find it difficult to imagine anything like a British football riot happening at that game. It was very American (there was the National Anthem), but there was lots of entertainment put on during the time outs-such as races and throwing t-shirts into the crowd. I also ate burgers while listening to Kenny Loggins 'Dangerzone' in a Basketball Stadium. I do not know how that could be more American!
Right, I better go as I need some lunch. Tomorrow I head out to New York, which I cannot wait for! I'm so excited, as you always see it on tv but going to it I know will be something else.

PS: Pancakes are lovely!

Hope everyone is well,

BYE!