Um, yeah, so I am horrible at updating. I really (kind of) have an excuse though! Pretty much nothing happened at the beginning of the week to even talk about, and then I was so incredibly busy the rest of the week I just didn't have a chance to really get on my computer and do much correspondence at all. Anyway, I apologize.
Monday:
I didn't do anything too exciting. I took the tube for the first time and it was really easy. And, since the last underground I rode on was in New York, I was astounded by how clean it is. It might just be the area I am in, but there really isn't much trash to speak of and not many 'undesirables' down there. I think a lot of that has to do with the crackdown on the tube since the bus and tube bombings. There are a lot of armed transportation cops around too.
I also tried my first shot at grocery shopping. I finally understood the story my mom told me about how the change in cultures when we moved to Saudi hit her like an avalanche the first time she went grocery shopping over there. It got me here. The first place I tried was in a less reputable area than where I am staying and it was cramped, crowded, small, and that made it even tougher when I was trying to understand what half the labels I was reading meant. I almost had a meltdown when I couldn't find white bread. Sad, but true.
Later I tried a supermarket much closer to where I live and it was completely different. The closest thing I can think of in the US was like going to Slone's. It was a lot less busy, more open, and I had a much easier time trying to figure out what I was doing. They also have really cheap cornish pasties that can be heated up just in a microwave, perfect for insanely broke college students!
Tuesday:
I literally did nothing. I watched TV and cross stitched, and missed practically everyone.
Wednesday:
This was kind of the start of school. I had orientation with the Institute. There are tons of archaeology grad students, a couple hundred easy. My department itself only has about fifteen, and all of us are girls except for one guy. It's also quite American heavy, we make up over a third of the program. The head of my program seems really nice too. I think she'll be great to work with.
I am a little nervous that I am in over my head. Everyone besides me went to better universities, or have been working in this field for years, or already have masters degrees in other things. So I kind of stay quiet lol. There have been moments when I think they let me in on accident, but I'm sure they knew what they were doing, and I will try my hardest, even if it kills me.
That night the Institute and professors threw us a party. It was on the top floor of our building, and the view was killer. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that there was massive amounts of alcohol (red wine, white wine, beers, and OMG Strongbow :D ) provided by the Institute for us to drink while hanging out with our professors. Kind of different from the Bible belt, that's for sure!
I made a few friends in my department and actually went out to a pub after the party for dinner with a couple of them. So I'm slowly getting there. We didn't finish with dinner until after 8, and it was already dark. I was only a block away from the tube though and it was a well lit area, so I wasn't worried. Well, I wasn't worried until I got down to the station and found out my line was suspended for safety reasons. I kept the panicking to a minimum and was able to follow some incredibly convoluted and quickly provided directions to find my way home using two different tube lines and making a transfer (much better than my other option - walking two miles in 50 degree, rainy, dark). It was a pretty proud moment for me lol. And as a reward, I got home to a care package from my mom and stepdad, full of ketchup packets and crystal light. I can't explain how much that meant to me. THANKS MOM, I LOVE YOU :D
Thursday:
We got together early in the morning to meet each other in our program more in depth. I hatehate talking about myself in front of a group of people I don't know. But it could have been worse. I got to see the conservation lab I'll be working in next year, and I absolutely can. not. wait. It is so cool and I'll even have my own work station.
After that I took a tour of the Petrie Museum of Egyptology. There is so much cool stuff in there. There's the oldest known piece of linen, tons of pottery, jewelry, tons cat sculptures(!), a head (which you can see here, but don't click if you are easily disturbed, but if you ARE into that stuff, all the human remains, including a mummified toe, can be found on their site). And the coolest thing of all? If I need to use any of the items for school I can have nearly any of them taken out so I can look at them better.
Today:
I went to another general grad student orientation, which I knew I should have just skipped since it was virtually the same as the international graduate student orientation. I also took a tour of the archaeology library, it looks about the same as any other library, but the amount of resources I have available is really quite astounding. I also took a tour of the Institute's collections and they are very impressive. I might get to work with some of them for my essays and dissertation, or I can volunteer to work with them just for the experience.
Today was also the first day that I got to experience true London weather first hand and not from my window. It was in the mid-5o's and raining. I went to take the tube home from school and Paddington station had been closed for security reasons, ugh. So I navigated the tricky bus routes and took a double decker home. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I had worried and I only got slightly more wet.
Tomorrow I am going to Stonehenge bright and early. I'm kind of excited, I haven't been there in going on 15 years. I will take tons of pictures to share with everyone and I'll try to update sooner next time! Take care everyone!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
I've made it a week!
It has been a loooong weekend. I went from spending Saturday doing absolutely nothing to not stopping all day today.
I just sat around Saturday. I was feeling a bit homesick and culture-shocked, so I sat around, watched Bridget Jones DVDs, cross-stitched, and got out of my pajamas only for food runs. Go me! Anyway, I couldn't do a whole lot since my feet were so messed up from the days before.
I decided that today would not be the same.
I had breakfast and then headed out by 11:30. I started out by walking along one of the main drags near my hall. I found several supermarkets and general stores, which is so helpful since I keep thinking of things I need. I also found a Baskin Robbins right around the corner, but I doubt they'll give me the family discount like the one back home lol. And it's also right next to a Middle Eastern convenience store instead of Harry's Bar, but still.
I saw a lot of the sights today: the Marble Arch, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. All within walking distance of my hall. To make it even more interesting there was a HUGE bike thing going on today. Traffic was completely closed off in Royal London and a good bit of Westminster but there were thousands upon thousands of people out riding bikes. Kids, adults, the elderly, whole extended families, you name it. There was even this guy who was riding one of those bikes where you lay down and was hauling these huge speakers playing some interesting Euro music everywhere he went. You always hear about people wanting to share the road with bikes, but this was just insane, so much of London was shut down for it.
London is incredibly green as it is. Every block or so there are rows of recycling dumpsters labeled for glass, plastic, magazines, really anything you can recycle. And ads for walking, taking public transport, conserving water, electricity, you name it. I bought a bottle of water the other day and the bottle advertised the fact that it was compostable and then had a blurb on the back about global warming and Al Gore. I almost want to buy you a case Jeremy lol.
Anyway, where was I? I didn't get home till nearly four. I can't believe how many hours I spent wandering around without realizing where the time went. And when I look at a map, it looks like I barely touched Central London! At least I have a lot to keep me occupied for the year to come. I took tons of pictures, yet only a few don't suck and I've posted those already (I put this one up of some cool birds Jenny, you have to let me know what they are!).
I had my hall meeting tonight to learn about where I'm living. They really just went over the guidebook, but to start things off they brought down several bottles of wine and some cups to 'make us comfortable'. It blew my mind, and was totally awesome. I also met a couple people, some Canadians and Americans! That was very exciting. I'm also about to go to the bar downstairs to hang out with one of the girls I met who is here for visual/ material anthropology and to meet a guy who's here for archaeology. Maybe I'll have some walking buddies for class.
Well, I guess that's it for me. There you go Lisa, an entry for this weekend! Mwah :) Talk to you guys later!
P.S. My email has been REALLY messed up. I haven't been able to get into it for days, so I apologize for not being able to respond to a lot of people's emails. I think I have figured out the problem (my Firefox doesn't like my Gmail account or something), so I should be able to respond soon!
I just sat around Saturday. I was feeling a bit homesick and culture-shocked, so I sat around, watched Bridget Jones DVDs, cross-stitched, and got out of my pajamas only for food runs. Go me! Anyway, I couldn't do a whole lot since my feet were so messed up from the days before.
I decided that today would not be the same.
I had breakfast and then headed out by 11:30. I started out by walking along one of the main drags near my hall. I found several supermarkets and general stores, which is so helpful since I keep thinking of things I need. I also found a Baskin Robbins right around the corner, but I doubt they'll give me the family discount like the one back home lol. And it's also right next to a Middle Eastern convenience store instead of Harry's Bar, but still.
I saw a lot of the sights today: the Marble Arch, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. All within walking distance of my hall. To make it even more interesting there was a HUGE bike thing going on today. Traffic was completely closed off in Royal London and a good bit of Westminster but there were thousands upon thousands of people out riding bikes. Kids, adults, the elderly, whole extended families, you name it. There was even this guy who was riding one of those bikes where you lay down and was hauling these huge speakers playing some interesting Euro music everywhere he went. You always hear about people wanting to share the road with bikes, but this was just insane, so much of London was shut down for it.
London is incredibly green as it is. Every block or so there are rows of recycling dumpsters labeled for glass, plastic, magazines, really anything you can recycle. And ads for walking, taking public transport, conserving water, electricity, you name it. I bought a bottle of water the other day and the bottle advertised the fact that it was compostable and then had a blurb on the back about global warming and Al Gore. I almost want to buy you a case Jeremy lol.
Anyway, where was I? I didn't get home till nearly four. I can't believe how many hours I spent wandering around without realizing where the time went. And when I look at a map, it looks like I barely touched Central London! At least I have a lot to keep me occupied for the year to come. I took tons of pictures, yet only a few don't suck and I've posted those already (I put this one up of some cool birds Jenny, you have to let me know what they are!).
I had my hall meeting tonight to learn about where I'm living. They really just went over the guidebook, but to start things off they brought down several bottles of wine and some cups to 'make us comfortable'. It blew my mind, and was totally awesome. I also met a couple people, some Canadians and Americans! That was very exciting. I'm also about to go to the bar downstairs to hang out with one of the girls I met who is here for visual/ material anthropology and to meet a guy who's here for archaeology. Maybe I'll have some walking buddies for class.
Well, I guess that's it for me. There you go Lisa, an entry for this weekend! Mwah :) Talk to you guys later!
P.S. My email has been REALLY messed up. I haven't been able to get into it for days, so I apologize for not being able to respond to a lot of people's emails. I think I have figured out the problem (my Firefox doesn't like my Gmail account or something), so I should be able to respond soon!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Day 5
I got my first real proof today that I am already starting to fit in. I was stopped, twice, today for directions, and once from a native Brit! And to top it off, I could help them both. I really should not be as excited as I am about that lol. I also finally got the courage to wear my iPod on the walk to campus, and man, does two miles go soooo much faster with music!
I'm not really fitting in though because I don't dress at all like Brits. Matt was right, everyone wears tights and flats. It doesn't matter what they're wearing with it, a dress, jeans, a business suit, it's always accompanied by tights and flats. Well I do have two pairs of flats, but I don't, and won't, own a single pair of tights. So I guess I'll keep sticking out like a sore thumb :)
I got all of my tuition fees sorted out today, but it's going to take them a good three weeks to get my refunds back to me! I don't think they realize how fond I am of eating daily, and of how much Lillian Penson would like their rent paid... But I'm not that worried about it, things will sort themselves out, they can't do anything else.
I don't have anything going on this weekend really so I think I'll use it to catch up on my sleep and do some sight-seeing on Sunday. I can't do any tomorrow because my feet are protesting way too loudly and way too much, but I really do want to see more of the sites.
I also have to note that not having TV is so ridiculously hard to get used to. I actually have to actively find things to do to keep me occupied now, it's crazy lol. I think it'll help a lot come class time, less of a distraction that way. But OMG what am I going to do without new episodes of The Office and Private Practice? I guess it's just a cross I'll have to bear :)
I miss all of you guys and will hopefully talk to you soon!
I'm not really fitting in though because I don't dress at all like Brits. Matt was right, everyone wears tights and flats. It doesn't matter what they're wearing with it, a dress, jeans, a business suit, it's always accompanied by tights and flats. Well I do have two pairs of flats, but I don't, and won't, own a single pair of tights. So I guess I'll keep sticking out like a sore thumb :)
I got all of my tuition fees sorted out today, but it's going to take them a good three weeks to get my refunds back to me! I don't think they realize how fond I am of eating daily, and of how much Lillian Penson would like their rent paid... But I'm not that worried about it, things will sort themselves out, they can't do anything else.
I don't have anything going on this weekend really so I think I'll use it to catch up on my sleep and do some sight-seeing on Sunday. I can't do any tomorrow because my feet are protesting way too loudly and way too much, but I really do want to see more of the sites.
I also have to note that not having TV is so ridiculously hard to get used to. I actually have to actively find things to do to keep me occupied now, it's crazy lol. I think it'll help a lot come class time, less of a distraction that way. But OMG what am I going to do without new episodes of The Office and Private Practice? I guess it's just a cross I'll have to bear :)
I miss all of you guys and will hopefully talk to you soon!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Days 3 & 4
Well, Lisa's already busted me for being a slacker, guess I better update. Love ya Leese!
Yesterday was the first day of orientation, and I woke up an hour late. I had had another awful, sleepless night and waking up was not fun times. Arrivals for orientation began at 9:00 AM and I didn't even leave my hall until quarter till. I decided to walk there so I could sort out my surroundings and see what was on the way. The trek ended up being two plus miles and took me about 45 minutes. Seriously, if I can't lose weight by doing that walk every day, nothing is going to work for me.
The walk is scary too. I thought I would be totally fine if I wasn't driving here, but it's just as scary as a pedestrian, if not more so. Since the cars all drive on the wrong side of the road you naturally look the wrong way for traffic, so, as a deterrent, there are huge labels painted on the street which tell you which way to look. I'd probably be road kill by now if it weren't for them. And also, in the US we walk on the same side of the sidewalk as we drive on the road. Well here it's really every man for himself since only half the pedestrians are British and the rest of us internationals are used to driving/ walking on the right side of the road. It's chaos.
Wow, I just got off topic like whoa. Anyways, I got to the main building fifteen minutes before orientation started. Good thing I got started late or else I would have just been sitting around in the cold for an hour. So just insert any introduction orientation to college you've attended here and you'd basically have what yesterday was all about. We got tons of paperwork, were told about our resources (computer labs, health care, banking, etc.), and after an hour we were sent on our way.
I was going to hang around and take a campus tour, but it was chilly and drizzling, and I wasn't feeling well so I walked back and spent the rest of the day recuperating. I even skipped the international student reception that night, and since you know how much of a not-scared-of-new-situations, social fiend that I am (LOL) that's kind of a big deal. I'm kind of worried that I'm starting to get a cold or something, but I'm pretty sure it's just jet lag taking it's toll and in a few days I'll feel fine.
Today was enrollment and I actually got down there on time. Even then the line to enroll was insanely long. But I ended up chatting with a few guys the whole time (one from Egypt, one from Nigeria, and one from France, kinda cool), so the wait wasn't too bad. Now I'm all enrolled, have my student ID, set up banking and health care and I'm good to go. I also exchanged info and ended up hanging out with one of the guys for a good portion of the day, so I may have made my first friend. And by saying that I feel like I'm back in kindergarten, goodness.
I have totally got to find some people to hang out with soon though because there is so much cool stuff coming up at school that I really want to do, like there is a chauffeured trip to IKEA (like I really need to be spending anymore money haha), and a Harry Potter tour that I want to go on SO bad. There are also trips all around Britain, and some to Amsterdam and France that are really cheap for students that I would love to look into.
Aaannnd I think I will stop rambling for now. Take care everyone!
Yesterday was the first day of orientation, and I woke up an hour late. I had had another awful, sleepless night and waking up was not fun times. Arrivals for orientation began at 9:00 AM and I didn't even leave my hall until quarter till. I decided to walk there so I could sort out my surroundings and see what was on the way. The trek ended up being two plus miles and took me about 45 minutes. Seriously, if I can't lose weight by doing that walk every day, nothing is going to work for me.
The walk is scary too. I thought I would be totally fine if I wasn't driving here, but it's just as scary as a pedestrian, if not more so. Since the cars all drive on the wrong side of the road you naturally look the wrong way for traffic, so, as a deterrent, there are huge labels painted on the street which tell you which way to look. I'd probably be road kill by now if it weren't for them. And also, in the US we walk on the same side of the sidewalk as we drive on the road. Well here it's really every man for himself since only half the pedestrians are British and the rest of us internationals are used to driving/ walking on the right side of the road. It's chaos.
Wow, I just got off topic like whoa. Anyways, I got to the main building fifteen minutes before orientation started. Good thing I got started late or else I would have just been sitting around in the cold for an hour. So just insert any introduction orientation to college you've attended here and you'd basically have what yesterday was all about. We got tons of paperwork, were told about our resources (computer labs, health care, banking, etc.), and after an hour we were sent on our way.
I was going to hang around and take a campus tour, but it was chilly and drizzling, and I wasn't feeling well so I walked back and spent the rest of the day recuperating. I even skipped the international student reception that night, and since you know how much of a not-scared-of-new-situations, social fiend that I am (LOL) that's kind of a big deal. I'm kind of worried that I'm starting to get a cold or something, but I'm pretty sure it's just jet lag taking it's toll and in a few days I'll feel fine.
Today was enrollment and I actually got down there on time. Even then the line to enroll was insanely long. But I ended up chatting with a few guys the whole time (one from Egypt, one from Nigeria, and one from France, kinda cool), so the wait wasn't too bad. Now I'm all enrolled, have my student ID, set up banking and health care and I'm good to go. I also exchanged info and ended up hanging out with one of the guys for a good portion of the day, so I may have made my first friend. And by saying that I feel like I'm back in kindergarten, goodness.
I have totally got to find some people to hang out with soon though because there is so much cool stuff coming up at school that I really want to do, like there is a chauffeured trip to IKEA (like I really need to be spending anymore money haha), and a Harry Potter tour that I want to go on SO bad. There are also trips all around Britain, and some to Amsterdam and France that are really cheap for students that I would love to look into.
Aaannnd I think I will stop rambling for now. Take care everyone!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Day two
So as hard as I tried to fight getting jet lag, I failed, miserably. I went to bed at midnight, but then I woke up at two, didn't fall back to sleep until four, and then woke up at noon when house keeping came in to pick up my trash. Hopefully it won't take me too long to kick it.
Today I decided to go exploring so I headed over to Kensington Gardens/ Hyde Park, which is less than a quarter mile away from my hall. It was totally gorgeous outside, about sixty degrees and sunny. I can't tell you how excited I was (after all the heat in Kentucky) that I actually had to wear a track jacket it was so chilly! About fifteen minutes into my walk I had my first run-in with a stranger who I believe was not interested in talking to me just because I seemed nice. After about fifteen minutes of talking to him and a growing sense of uneasiness I politely told him I had to leave and got out of that. I'm finally in a situation where my irrational sense of paranoia will actually do me some good lol. I can't wait until I meet some people so I can do the whole buddy system thing.
Other than that, Kensington Gardens was beautiful, and huge! It's so weird seeing such a large, peaceful park in the middle of such a busy city. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of studying there as long as the weather holds up. I took a lot of pictures, unfortunately I'm awful at taking pictures and a lot of them didn't turn out (the not so bad ones you can see here). Guess it will just take some practice. I spent a good hour and half walking around the park before I headed home. I looked at my map when I got back and realized that for all of that walking I had only managed to see the Gardens and hadn't even made it to Hyde Park, so I guess I'll have to save that for another day.
Tomorrow I start my international student orientation. It doesn't look like there will be a whole lot going on, just basic introductions and the like, but hopefully I will meet some other people, and start feeling like I fit in here.
Oh, and I forgot to tell everyone, but I obviously know my address now! I'll try to remember to let people know when I email them, if not, just send me a message and I'll give it to you. Anyway, off to try and get a decent night's sleep!
Today I decided to go exploring so I headed over to Kensington Gardens/ Hyde Park, which is less than a quarter mile away from my hall. It was totally gorgeous outside, about sixty degrees and sunny. I can't tell you how excited I was (after all the heat in Kentucky) that I actually had to wear a track jacket it was so chilly! About fifteen minutes into my walk I had my first run-in with a stranger who I believe was not interested in talking to me just because I seemed nice. After about fifteen minutes of talking to him and a growing sense of uneasiness I politely told him I had to leave and got out of that. I'm finally in a situation where my irrational sense of paranoia will actually do me some good lol. I can't wait until I meet some people so I can do the whole buddy system thing.
Other than that, Kensington Gardens was beautiful, and huge! It's so weird seeing such a large, peaceful park in the middle of such a busy city. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of studying there as long as the weather holds up. I took a lot of pictures, unfortunately I'm awful at taking pictures and a lot of them didn't turn out (the not so bad ones you can see here). Guess it will just take some practice. I spent a good hour and half walking around the park before I headed home. I looked at my map when I got back and realized that for all of that walking I had only managed to see the Gardens and hadn't even made it to Hyde Park, so I guess I'll have to save that for another day.Tomorrow I start my international student orientation. It doesn't look like there will be a whole lot going on, just basic introductions and the like, but hopefully I will meet some other people, and start feeling like I fit in here.
Oh, and I forgot to tell everyone, but I obviously know my address now! I'll try to remember to let people know when I email them, if not, just send me a message and I'll give it to you. Anyway, off to try and get a decent night's sleep!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Room pictures
I took a bunch of pictures of the room before I started unpacking (click the picture and it will take you to my flickr account where you can view the rest). You can really tell how this hall was converted from a hotel.
I'm finally here!
I left Lexington (reluctantly, goodbyes are not good for me) at 5:00 PM Eastern time yesterday. My first stop was the Chicago-O'Hare International Airport. I was supposed to have a layover of 4 and a half hours, but because the plane I was supposed to fly on was canceled due to mechanical problems (that's always fun to hear) I got to switch to one with only 3 hour layover instead.
Besides the fact that I was wedged between two gentlemen who didn't understand personal space, the flight to London wasn't too bad. It's been twelve years since I took an international flight and the changes were wonderful. I had my own personal television in the headrest in front of me which had episodes of The Office on one of the channels. How perfect is that? The food was a lot better than I recall too. Unfortunately I am not nearly as skilled at sleeping on planes as I used to (but I am partially attributing that to nerves) and only got about three hours of sleep.
By the time the plane landed I was so nervous I felt like I could have been sick. However, it was all unwarranted and everything went off without a hitch. My passport and visa were fine and the only additional evidence I needed to be let in the country was a letter from UCL that I was glad to have thought ahead to put in my carry-on.
The real fun started at the baggage claim. The luggage trolleys were just a little too small for my SIX pieces of luggage. You should have seen the looks I received as I had four pieces stacked on the cart that I was pushing with one hand, my pillow propped on the handlebars in front of me, a duffel bag across my back, my laptop backpack on, and another piece of rolling luggage trailing behind me in my other hand. I managed to gimp along to customs though, where they didn't even want to go through my things, which I had no problem with, and then made it outside. It was a splendiferous 57 degrees and overcast.
I had originally planned on taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington and then walking to my hall, but with six pieces of luggage I scrapped that idea and queued up for a big black cab. The taxi driver was so incredibly nice and loaded every piece into the cab for me, teasing me the entire time and wanting to know why I had left my kitchen sink at home.
It took half an hour to get to my hall and, before tip, my cab fare was a whopping 55 pounds (about $110). The cab driver had to park a bit away from the entrance to my building so he carried all of my luggage into the lobby for me too before he left.
Remember how I was excited that I didn't have to wait as long for my layover in Chicago? Well I ended up paying for it. My room wasn't finished so I had to wait in the hall lobby for over an hour to move in. It was a good opportunity to people watch. Of everyone I saw, only one other was an American. I couldn't identify half of the languages I heard everyone else speaking. It was kind of surreal.
I finally moved into my room at about 1:00 PM London time and spent most of my day unpacking. At about 6:00 I got ravenous and decided to go hunting for take away before it got dark (our hall cafeteria won't be opening until the 20th). I quickly discovered the only draw back to where I live - it's so residential and uppity that there isn't a whole lot of quick food. I walked around for half an hour and kept seeing all these really nice hotels and restaurants but couldn't find anything quick I could take home. Eventually I had a brain wave and went over to Paddington Station, figuring that with the amount of tourists through there there would have to be food. I found all sorts of stuff- Indian, little sandwich shops, Middle Eastern, even a McDonald's and a Burger King. I grabbed myself a shawarma meal, I can't tell you how excited I am that I can get one of those so close by. Worth note- Coca Cola tastes different over here, and I had forgotten that their ketchup was different, it's almost pink.
Anyway, that's been my first day here. I'm planning on doing a little exploring tomorrow and I'll take some pictures if I'm not scared of looking like a silly tourist!
Besides the fact that I was wedged between two gentlemen who didn't understand personal space, the flight to London wasn't too bad. It's been twelve years since I took an international flight and the changes were wonderful. I had my own personal television in the headrest in front of me which had episodes of The Office on one of the channels. How perfect is that? The food was a lot better than I recall too. Unfortunately I am not nearly as skilled at sleeping on planes as I used to (but I am partially attributing that to nerves) and only got about three hours of sleep.
By the time the plane landed I was so nervous I felt like I could have been sick. However, it was all unwarranted and everything went off without a hitch. My passport and visa were fine and the only additional evidence I needed to be let in the country was a letter from UCL that I was glad to have thought ahead to put in my carry-on.
The real fun started at the baggage claim. The luggage trolleys were just a little too small for my SIX pieces of luggage. You should have seen the looks I received as I had four pieces stacked on the cart that I was pushing with one hand, my pillow propped on the handlebars in front of me, a duffel bag across my back, my laptop backpack on, and another piece of rolling luggage trailing behind me in my other hand. I managed to gimp along to customs though, where they didn't even want to go through my things, which I had no problem with, and then made it outside. It was a splendiferous 57 degrees and overcast.
I had originally planned on taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington and then walking to my hall, but with six pieces of luggage I scrapped that idea and queued up for a big black cab. The taxi driver was so incredibly nice and loaded every piece into the cab for me, teasing me the entire time and wanting to know why I had left my kitchen sink at home.
It took half an hour to get to my hall and, before tip, my cab fare was a whopping 55 pounds (about $110). The cab driver had to park a bit away from the entrance to my building so he carried all of my luggage into the lobby for me too before he left.
Remember how I was excited that I didn't have to wait as long for my layover in Chicago? Well I ended up paying for it. My room wasn't finished so I had to wait in the hall lobby for over an hour to move in. It was a good opportunity to people watch. Of everyone I saw, only one other was an American. I couldn't identify half of the languages I heard everyone else speaking. It was kind of surreal.
I finally moved into my room at about 1:00 PM London time and spent most of my day unpacking. At about 6:00 I got ravenous and decided to go hunting for take away before it got dark (our hall cafeteria won't be opening until the 20th). I quickly discovered the only draw back to where I live - it's so residential and uppity that there isn't a whole lot of quick food. I walked around for half an hour and kept seeing all these really nice hotels and restaurants but couldn't find anything quick I could take home. Eventually I had a brain wave and went over to Paddington Station, figuring that with the amount of tourists through there there would have to be food. I found all sorts of stuff- Indian, little sandwich shops, Middle Eastern, even a McDonald's and a Burger King. I grabbed myself a shawarma meal, I can't tell you how excited I am that I can get one of those so close by. Worth note- Coca Cola tastes different over here, and I had forgotten that their ketchup was different, it's almost pink.
Anyway, that's been my first day here. I'm planning on doing a little exploring tomorrow and I'll take some pictures if I'm not scared of looking like a silly tourist!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Seven days and counting!
I just found out Saturday night that I have been officially approved for all of my loans! This means that I won't be kicked out of England a week into the semester like I was beginning to fear. However, I'm not even remotely ready to go, especially since it hasn't even hit me that I am going anywhere yet. I have a good deal of shopping and packing left to do, hopefully I can get it finished in a week!
Anyway, I set this blog up so that if anyone is interested they can see what I'm doing at school and in London in general. It might take some poking and prodding to get me to update, seeing as I'm a slacker, but I promise I'll do my best to remember :)
Anyway, I set this blog up so that if anyone is interested they can see what I'm doing at school and in London in general. It might take some poking and prodding to get me to update, seeing as I'm a slacker, but I promise I'll do my best to remember :)
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