First Day in London

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So it's my first day here in London and boy oh boy is it fantastic! The plan ride was a bit long just about 7 hrs and I sat next to this couple that actually live next to my sister school Augustana in South Dakota. What a coincidence! Only about 2 hrs of sleep on the plane but after I went through customs in the Heathrow airport I found my luggage and off we were to find the cab that Karalyn's dad had set up for us.

It was funny to see how they drove on the other side of the rode and that the driver seat and steering wheel are on the right side of the vehicle. Another thing that was surprising to me while we were driving to Chelsea was the motorcycles. They just weave in and out of traffic like it's nobody's business. I of course was tense the entire time because that just makes me plain nervous.

London seems a lot like Chicago when you're driving on the highways except the reverse traffic lanes. Although the architecture and scenery are a bit different. There are tons and tons of brick buildings that are all square like and right next to each other just like you see in the movies. They are called flats here and instead of saying apartment 101 or whatever number they say "FLAT 201". Which is really cool. Then we were at our building all of a sudden to get checked in and unpacked.

The security man at the desk checked us in and he was the second person I came in contact with the British accent. Of course my Nana told me it would be hard to understand but I wasn't expecting it to be that difficult! I've been becoming accustomed to it now by the end of the day but I still have a bit of a way to go. The rooms are a bit smaller than I had anticipated but at least they are clean. I'm glad I didn't pack that much because I have no idea where I would put it.

I have to walk everywhere and it's not that bad. I'm glad I was able to ride my bike a couple miles everyday in order to prepare for all of this walking. The grocery store is right down the street but it's a bit expensive. We're going to get an Oyster card tomorrow or sometime over the weekend. This is a card that allows you to travel on the buses, tube, and taxi's I believe. My cell phone doesn't work here either so I have to get a prepaid phone through virgin mobile or t-mobile.

Going to the grocery store was a bit challenging. They don't have the same food brands that are in the States. And they call oatmeal porridge! I'll have to give it a try before I leave. The food portions are also a lot smaller too. And instead of have 1% milk they have like 1.78% but they do have 1% too just thought it was weird that they have such different fat concentrations. The peanut butter and jelly is weird too. It's a lot more natural and not as many preservatives which I guess is good, I'm just not used to it. They don't have large sandwich meat portions. Only like 5 slices in one package and they have lots of cheese to choose from. Their food seems to be very natural and there are a lot of varieties from different countries.

The people around here also seem to be very elite or fashionable too. Well the shops are so maybe that's why the people are dressed that way. There are a lot of clothing and furniture stores that are very high quality and fashionable. It's different than if you were to go walking to the grocery store in the States and you would see some people in sweat pants and t-shirts. You don't really see that around here. There are a lot of people in business clothes or look fashionable. But I guess if you're too dressed up the British can tell that you are American because you're trying to hard. It's funny.

Tomorrow we are going on a walking tour to show us where the normal places we will need to go are. Then we will have another orientation at the student center where will we be taking our classes. I will be taking Sociology, Contemporary British Theatre, and History of London. It's really nice because I'll only have 2 classes on Monday and 1 class on Wednesday. Classes start next Monday and I'm super excited! Apparently it rains a lot so I'll always have to remember to carry an umbrella. Today was the nicest day they had all summer and it was still only 72 degrees fahrenheit.

Today was the first of many adventures!

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Comments

[Mom]

What an awesome experience!
I truly hope you have the time of your life my dear.