Basically On Vacation

Week two is over! And I start classes this afternoon, finally. I feel like I've been on vacation for 5 months and then all of a sudden I have to like...read something. It's weird, I'm not sure I'm prepared for it. Anywayyys.

Regent's Park

This week started off a little rough. I was pretty stressed for most of Sunday through Tuesday. I also spent A LOT of money. I had to purchase all the basic things like sheets, pillows, towels, pots, pans, plates, cups, forks, etc. And of course all the small things you forget until you need them like a can opener or an oven mitt. Struggles. I managed to split all of the cooking stuff with a friend, so that's less expensive. And we've sort of created a little circle of 4 of us on the same floor who cook together. We share the grocery shopping and it's working out pretty well so far.

Had several Westminster orientation meetings this week and I'm starting to feel a little over-oriented. It's been a lot of repeated information and cautionary tales about kids failing classes. We were informed that we should be terrified to take 600-level classes. I'm taking 2. We'll see how that goes. I got my course schedule all worked out by Wednesday. I am officially taking: Renaissance Literature, Romantic Literature, Writing the Self, and the silly class that goes along with my internship. No idea what it's going to entail yet, but it is my only class that is NOT a 20-minute walk away, so I may end up enjoying it.

Tower Bridge

I went down to meet the woman who runs the literary agency I'm interning at on Tuesday. It's an hour-long bus ride (ouch) but a beautiful one, so I'm less annoyed. The agency is run by two lovely women who served me tea and biscuits and chatted with me about the publishing industry for about an hour. It was awesome. They are both very kind and eager to get me involved. I am beyond excited to get some useful experience and start figuring out if this is really what I want to do with my life! Fingers crossed. I'll be working there for about 16 hours a week: Tuesday mornings, Wednesday afternoons and 9-5 on Thursday. Lots of time, but hopefully rewarding.

Tower of London

Thursday we planned to go to Buckingham Palace, but learned from a friend that tickets had sold out before 11 am. Shoot. So instead we ventured down to the Tower of London which was SO COOL. I'm such a nerd. But it was awesome. We took a tour of the complex, and it is huge and beautiful and old and so full of history. People have been living in that castle since like the 1100s. It's insane. I took about a million pictures.



Friday we actually did go to Buckingham Palace (bright and early) for a lovely tour of the State Rooms, which are as glamorous as you might expect. The Queen was not in residence, but she has a spectacular art collection, so it's okay. I saw THE dress. Kate Middleton's stunning Alexander McQueen which was even more stunning in person. I about died. We wandered around and saw Big Ben, etc but didn't really get to see much of Parliament and the beautiful churches down there because we were running late for our tour. But I'll go back!

Buckingham Palace

British kids are turning out to be very friendly and sociable, though they prefer to be called English. Pfft. Thus far I've been introduced to toad-in-the-hole, aka Yorkshire pudding, and beans on toast for basically every meal. We've shown them iced coffee and beer pong. They find beer pong to be ten times more fun than iced coffee, though I prefer the former to the latter. Ah well. Everyone is learning lots of fun new words such as "bollocks" and "steaming bag of wank." Very colorful.



All in all, I am happy and healthy (mostly)--I'm developing a cold. Not really ready to start classes this afternoon and not really sure what I'm eating for lunch. But... I miss you all something awful. And I love you very very much! xox

Ben!

First Week!

Typical Red Phonebooths

I survived! And yes, it was crazy. Hectic, non-stop, stressful, etc. But also fun. Yay! I've meet people and seen things and stuff, but there's always more people to meet and things to see!

I'll start from the beginning, I suppose.

I got off the plane and customs/immigration was a nightmare. Not really, it was fine. It just took forever. And considering I slept for about an hour on the plane, I was exhausted and rather cranky. But not hungry, because they seem to want to feed you every five seconds on international flights. I sat in the very middle of the plane (of course) with two other girls from my program and one woman called Liz who is about 27. Anyway, we got to talking because she had studied abroad in London when she was in college and was suuuper helpful. She wrote down a bunch of stuff we absolutely had to do and was very open about her experiences. It was apparently life-changing, etc. and she was in fact returning to the UK to attend the wedding of a friend she met while studying there. Cool! She was lovely, and gave lots of good advice.

From the airport we were transported via coach bus into the city itself, which took maybe an hour. Traffic sucks here too! We arrived at our hotel, the St. Giles off of Tottenham Court, and I promptly took a nap. I'm still suffering from jet lag, probably because I napping. We went out to dinner and then strolled down Oxford window shopping. It was a nice, relaxed first evening and I got in touch with all of the people that are studying at Westminster with me. There are about 100 kids in total studying with the IFSA program, but all studying at different universities. There are about 20 of us at Westminster, and probably 10 in my building. Anyway.

The next day was full of meetings. We talked about culture shock, safety in the city, differences between the UK and US academic systems, and politics. Well, we didn't really talk, we listened. For a whole day. Which would have been awful except for the fact that I'm still totally not over the accent thing and all of the program directors are really entertaining. That evening, we went to the theater! We saw Wicked, which was wonderful. My seat was in the balcony, so I got to see the dragon this time (mom!).

Trafalgar Square

Friday was more meetings. And then a walking tour! 30 of us followed a small British woman around town for 2 hours, and it was actually enjoyable. She was great. Promised no history, and told us all the places the "young people" like to go. We walked through the theater district, Picadilly Circus, Covent Square and Trafalgar Square. Haven't made it out to Big Ben and Parliament yet, but that's on the list for this week. We went up a cute little cobblestone way called Neal Street, which had really cool shops (and shoes). I'll definitely try to find it again. Also went through China town, which is apparently always beautifully decorated and smelled AMAZING. Going back for dinner some time.

Big Ben from Afar!

Saturday! Was move-in day. I really just bummed around all day because we couldn't move into the building until after 2 pm. Lame. But we did have to check out of the hotel at 10:30. Getting all my stuff down the stairs was a nightmare. The elevators here are all AWFUL for some reason. They are really unreliable and they break down like every five seconds. And they're slow. And cramped.

But I do like it here! I like how efficient everyone is, and how polite and orderly, for the most part. Everyone stands on the right side of the escalator. Everyone stands in a neat line for anything at all. No throwing elbows to get on the train or the bus, etc. The city itself is also stunning. Such wonderful architecture everywhere, and such history. It's also very easy to navigate. Simple transportation systems that operate very reliably, though SO expensive. Anyway.

Shower on the Left

Needs Decorations

My room is very small, but cozy. Everything is new and in really good condition. The kitchen is wonderful. And I get my own bathroom! But it reminds me of an airplane, except with a shower. But the VIEW is amazing. Amazing. Only downside to city dorms is all the rules. Really tight security. My keycard won't even let me into the other hall on my floor. It's crazy. My room is inspected for cleanliness like twice a semester or something. And the policy for overnight guests is a little strict (I'll figure it out, Eric.) 

View From the 9th Floor

 But yeah! Otherwise, I am good and happy etc. I even have friends! Here they are:

So sorry about the long post. It's been a long week! Next one soon. Probably full of me stressing about how much I have to buy and how expensive it all is. It'll be a fun read.

LOVE YOU ALL! xox

Getting Close Now!

I can't decide if I'm more anxious or excited. The packing has been relatively easy thus far. I've laid everything out, checked and double-checked my lists. Though I haven’t actually attempted to contain everything within two suitcases yet. That’s an adventure for tomorrow. 

I'm planning (hoping) to fit all of this:

Into this:

Wish me luck!

Tuesday I'll try to remain calm and by Tuesday night around 11, I'll be on my way over the Atlantic. I'm taking a group flight, though I think there are only 5 or 6 other kids taking it. Others are already in Europe and will meet us in London. It's a small program, which could be both wonderful and awful. Hopefully people are friendly, sociable, and just as scared as I am!

I don't know much about what my first couple weeks will be like. Overwhelming, I'm sure, but also fun! I imagine lots of ice-breakers, meetings, activities and trips around London. Seeing some sights (Big Ben, Buckingham, Tower Bridge, British Museum, Harry Potter locations....) will be touristy but absolutely necessary. I've given myself a month to be a tourist and do all the usual things non-locals come to do. After that, I want to try to blend in--fold myself into London. The accent is going to give me away every single time, but it's worth a shot.

My goals right now are to get there alive and with as little hassle as possible. And then to meet some cool people and go to some cool places. I want to make the most of my internship and my classes. I don't want to nap ever. It's so so difficult to leave friends and family--the worst thing I could do is waste time once I'm there.

I think I'm ready. LOVE YOU ALL. I'll post again as soon as I figure out internet in the UK.   xox