Weekend One (+ Monday!)

Saturday was move-in day, and we all moved into our flats. It would have taken five hours to drop everyone off at their housing, but luckily I was the first drop-off. Katie, one of the girls who lives in my building from Boston, and I moved our stuff in, started unpacking and grabbed a quick lunch. We came back and unpacked some more before we had to head off later. I tried to hook up to the internet, but the assistant at the desk said I had to wait until Monday so I could register. I would have gotten on at the hotel, but NOTHING here is free. It was about 4 pounds for one hour at the hotel. No thank you, so I waited.

Let me describe my room a bit. It's one of seven in my flat. It's really nice, and has it's own bathroom. By the way, if anyone wants to know what a shower pod is, I can tell you! Probably one of the smallest showers I have ever been in - this must be why everyone is so th in here! :)

Anyway, at least I have a shower. But they color code the floors here, so in case it's late one night and you are a little intoxicated you know which floor you're on. My floor is bright, bright pink. It was a shock when I stepped off the elevator (a "lift" here). But I'm adjusting. Or my eyes are, haha. So I have a nice window that faces a white building, but if I look up a little I can see some other buildings. I'm hoping it will give me inspiration.

View from my door.

The other views.

SUNDAY

Sunday was a big day. We met up at Westminster station, and headed over to Greenwich, the home of the Prime Meridian, the Royal Observatory and the fabulous Greenwich Market. Everything was so green! We went to the market, which was amazing - Christmas shopping for sure! I got something for my mom, then we went into the National Maritime museum - pretty interesting.

But it was so nice outside that a few girls and I decided to grab a sandwich (which had mayo on it bc they LOVE mayo here - it's on everything!) and sit out on the green. Families, couples and dog owners alike filled the green. It was so pretty. The sun was out, no clouds, and green for miles. After lounging for a bit, we walked up the hill to the Royal Observatory, which sits on a hill that overlooks London. Truly breathtaking. I stood on both sides of the Prime Meridian - so I can now say I have been to both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres at the same time :). Then I saw where the first advancements on international timekeeping were made, and the present-day observatory - Indy it was awesome! Especially to see what they used in the 17th century! Anyway, that was that day, and I came back and took a nap! That was nice, too.

MONDAY

Today I toured my college, took a nap, went to an international health meeting and got the internet! And blogged. A pretty eventful day. Tomorrow I have orientation all day, so it might be a while before I blog again. Just a few days or so! Don't miss me too much! Love you all!

First Day and Friday

Where to begin? First off, I should start with my transatlantic flight.

I left SA at around 10:30 in the morning, which was fine. Made it to Atlanta around 1:30 that time. I was feeling a bit sad - so I called Ricky and my mom, had a little cry, ate some chinese food and boarded the plane. I sat next to a nice, quiet British lady and slept a bit. I also watched "Made of Honor," which I don't really recommend - it might have been a bit too much. I finally made it to London around 6:30 in the morning called my mom and Ricky - cried a little more - then grabbed my luggage (which weighed altoghether about 110 lbs.) and waited until 9:30 for Rachel, our program director to pick us up.

Man, was I tired! Luckily there were two other girls at the airport with me, equally as tired. One, Lesley is from San Antonio studying at Westminster here, the other is Katherine from Atlanta, also at Westminster.

We got on the bus and headed over to Heathrow airport to pick up the others. Once we did that we went over to the hotel, unloaded and grabbed lunch. Then we went on a bus tour of London - not one of those on a double decker, just a mini-bus, but I didn't bring my camera (shoot! But I figured I would be here for 3 months, so it was OK). And that was pretty much the day. The other girls seemed really nice, and two of them were living in the same building as I am, so that was good.

DAY TWO

I didn't sleep as well that night as I would have liked, so Friday seemed to drag on a bit. Jet lag, you know. Anywho, the plan for the day was to take a ferry and sight see a bit, then get off at the Tower of London for a little exploring. Both were amazing. It's amazing being in a city so modern, yet so old and preserved. The Tower was really interesting and a great bonding experience for everyone. I saw torture devices, where royalty lived and the Crown Jewels. It was awesome.

We then had a "Tube" lesson. Even though London a huge, really confusing city, their underground is really simple! And clean, the cleanest subways I have ever seen. So far I think I've gotten the hang of everything on the tube.

After that, to end the day, we all got together for a nice dinner at this restaurant called Grumbles - it was so nice! A really quaint pub-like place with excellent food. I decided to get something British, so I went with Cottage Pie. All it is really is mashed potatoes baked on top of ground meat. It was pretty good - and yall know how I love potatoes, so that was nice. And for dessert - yoghurt (Yes, with an "h"). And then we were off to bed! Stay tuned for the weekend!

P.S. My photos from these days are all on facebook, so if you can't see them, let me know and I'll set up another image account on Flickr so you can see everything!

And now, the internet!

I finally have internet! Thank goodness, because y'all would have missed out on a lot because of my forgetfulness. Anyway, I've been in London for about 5 days now, and it's been pretty wonderful for the most part. I think I will separate the posts for the different days/excursions I've been on so far. So, sit back, relax and read up!

One more week!

So it’s basically one week until I head off to London. I’m feeling a mix of excitement, anxiousness, nervousness and a bit of sadness. I really wish it would just get here! With no school or work, I’ve just been sitting around thinking of what to expect and already missing those I’ll be leaving behind.

And I can’t wait to get this experience started. From what I’ve read of my itinerary, we’ll be exploring London for the first few days, then we’re dropped off at the dorms and we begin orientation on Sept. 30. School doesn’t even start until Oct. 6! It’s going to be great, though! Gosh, learning about design from the creative hub of the world. Awesome!

The biggest change apart from the culture: the weather. Today in San Antonio, it was about 76*F (weird, I know), but in London it’s in the mid 50s. But that’s what? 13*C? Another change. It’ll take some getting used to I suppose. No need to worry though – I’ve got socks and a few sweaters and some really good fleece, so I should be fine.

Anyway, I’ll probably write from the airport next time. I’m flying from SA to Atlanta (5 hr layover) then straight to Gatwick Airport. I’ll be there at 7 a.m. Thursday morning – which is 1 a.m. for us Central-timers. And I’ve also signed up for Skype – a great way to keep in touch for little cost. My contact on Skype is maggi.elise, so if you sign up it’s free for both of us to talk to each other!

Alright, my fellow state-siders, the next time I will talk to you I will be on the great island of the United Kingdom. Cheers!

P.S.

I can’t wait to start putting pictures up!