If I’m posting this that means that I’ve successfully arrived in London!! (I’m sure the wording in the post will sound a little funny; I’m doing some of the writing here on the plane and then I’m SURE I’ll have more to add once I’m actually able to get internet access in London so I apologize.) But so far, here goes:
The airport was super easy. I think I had built up going through security to be so much more intimidating in my mind. Actually going through was ridiculously easy and my parents watched the whole time so it really wasn’t so bad. Once I got through and got re-dressed, finding the gate was easy. What wasn’t easy was connecting to the internet. I didn’t bring a phone with me so the only ways to talk will be through Facebook, Skype, Email, and this blog. Which is perfectly fine except when you’re sitting alone in an airport trying your hardest to use the internet so you can say goodbye to your boyfriend but you don’t have a phone to tell him you can’t connect. (Sigh). For someone who grew up in the cell-phone addicted generation, that was probably the most frustrating situation I’ve encountered in the past (currently) seven hours of this adventure. So, Honey, I apologize.
I’m pretty sure I was the first or second from the Southwestern group to get to the gate but it was a while before I started looking around for people I recognized. Eventually I found some people I knew and we all boarded together. Supposedly, three people decided not to show up for the flight so we had to wait at the gate for an entire hour while they searched through the cargo to remove their luggage. I was just glad to have my seat though. This flight happens to be a pretty good deal; it’s only half full so they let economy class spread out. I’m sitting in a window seat with one other girl from California taking the aisle seat and an empty chair between us. My lovely new roommate happens to be sitting directly in front of me and the rest of the group is scattered around the back of the plane. Some of them have taken to stretching out across entire rows. It’s actually pretty funny to stand up and look around. I’d have pictures if it wasn’t so dark in here.
So far, I’ve listened to copious amounts of slow music and attempted to fall asleep watching one of the 113 in-flight movies we have to choose from but not having Advil PM or any kind of drug to help me fall asleep with was just a bad idea on my part. I go from being super tired to wide awake in weird little waves. It’s odd what airplanes do to your brain. During one of the “sleepy” cycles, I REALLY had to pee so I made my way over and did my business but for some reason the stupid thing wouldn’t flush. And apparently I thought it was a good idea to comment to myself in the tiny bathroom. After some frustrated mumbling I blurted out “Pee sure looks a lot more yellow in that tiny little bowl...” but very much loud enough for the next person in line to hear. I’m sure they think I’m crazy now. Oops.
***
It’s been interesting being on the ground. We’re all very tired-it seems no one slept (well) on the plane. But our flats are lovely (pictures coming soon, I promise!). We’re in a really nice part of town and we have a lot of very convenient things around us. Bree and I got set up in our flat and in doing so, got left behind on the walking tour of the neighborhood. (Another oops). We went to lunch on our own and got plenty of “stupid American” looks but we’re sure to be getting those for a while. We met the owner of the property, Craig, and he seems pretty nice…Definitely very interesting, but nice. They’ve all been very helpful so far. We ended up getting the neighborhood tour with just us two and the guide which was really nice. I guess the one thing that’s surprised me so far is really how large “pub life” is. I mean, I knew English pubs were “the thing” but I suppose I didn’t realize how much societal life thrived on it. Looks like I’ll have to find a non-alcoholic drink besides water to sip on because I feel like we’ll be going out a lot.
In other news, the $40 converter I bought in the states, doesn’t have three prongs to fit the plug for my computer cord. No worries. Bree, Thomas, and I went on an adventure on the tube and found some really cheap ones in a shop in High Street Kensington. It’s been an absolutely gorgeous day here so walking around is a pleasure. I get the feeling we’ll be burning a TON of calories while we’re here. But to counter that, remember that we do have a full kitchen in the flat and a grocery store around the corner (a two minute walk).
This is definitely my longest post yet so I’ll be going now and save some of the better stuff for when my brain is fully functioning again. Post soon!
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