On the morning of the 17th, I weighed my suitcase just to make sure it was still under 50 pounds. It was 54 pounds. So of course I was freaking out before we had even left for the airport. But it all worked out, and when security weighed it later that day, it was exactly 50 pounds. Whew!
It was pouring rain the whole way to the airport, except in D.C. My parents dropped me off 2.5 hours early, and after an hour waiting in line for security, I got to my gate. I was really nervous about going through security by myself, but I managed just fine! I met up with the other people on my flight from JMU and we chatted for the hourish before boarding. We boarded our flight and took off right on schedule, at 6:30 PM EST. We were served dinner on the flight; I had chosen the vegetarian/vegan option and I got some sort of Indian combo. Still not entirely sure what was in it but it was pretty good. During the flight I watched Moonrise Kingdom and tried to fall asleep. Of course I was only able to sleep for two hours MAYBE. I knew it was going to be a looong day. Our flight only ended up being about 6 hours, when it was originally supposed to be 7. This was good in terms of time in the air, but it meant that we got to Heathrow a whole hour earlier than planned. We got there before our professor was there to pick us up. So we had the pleasure of waiting in Heathrow for 5 hours while the rest of our classmates arrived. I got some tea and ate a banana, but I was so exhausted and just wanted to sleep some more. I just kept thinking that when I landed in London at 6am, it was only 1am at home. SO WEIRD.
It began to snow while we were waiting in Heathrow, but since it's London, nothing was delayed and everything carried on as usual. We took a coach to Madison House. The ride there was rather eventful: a truck in front of us hit a tree clearly labeled "Caution: low trees," so we were delayed a few minutes. It was so weird coming into the city. It's so different than how I imagined it. I thought it would be more like New York, with huge buildings that almost make tunnels. The buildings are rather low, and things seem more open, which I really like.
We got to Madison House and I lugged my huge suitcase up the FOUR FLIGHTS OF STAIRS to my flat. I'm in a room with two other girls, and two other girls in the flat. We pretty much just threw our stuff in the room and headed back downstairs for orientation. We walked to where our classes will be (literally not even two blocks away) and ate some lunch from Pret a Manger. It was pretty good; I'm already seeing that my allergies will be as much of a pain in Europe as in America. It's not worse so far, just about the same. After that, we walked back to Madison House and I slept for an hour and a half.
There's my bed!
After we all woke up, we took a walk through the West End. We walked from Bloomsbury (where I'm living) down to the River Thames, passing by Trafalgar Square. It was snowing and BITTER cold, but still awesome. This was when I really felt I was in London. We walked across a foot bridge and we could see the London Eye, and then as we continued to cross it, saw Big Ben and Parliament on the side we just left. I couldn't believe I was finally in London. I was finally seeing what I've seen in pictures in REAL LIFE. As we crossed the bridge, Ben struck five, which was perfect.
AHHH!!!!!
Our "assignment" was to meet up with our group at 6 at the National Theater. We got there around 5:30 and just hung out in the semi-warmth of the lobby. Once everyone from our group came, we walked towards the rebuilt Globe and the Millennium (Harry Potter) bridge. We crossed the bridge and saw St. Paul's Cathedral. Everything is so beautiful at night here.
St. Paul's Cathedral
We then walked over to a Tube stop and tested out our Oyster cards and just using the Tube. Then we ate at Wagamama for dinner near our house. I got curry that may or may not have had gluten in it :/ but it was delicious so I hope not!
After dinner, a few girls and I went to an convenience store so I could try and find stuff to eat for breakfast as well as batteries. My hall director was nice enough to give us some food to get started, but it's mostly bagels, bread, yogurt, and fruit. All I could find were some corn cakes. And alcohol. Which the cashier didn't even card me for. SO. WEIRD. Then we just came back to the house and I unpacked all my stuff. There's not much storage space here, so I'm not sure what to do with all my stuff....but I suppose it'll all find a place! I was able to skype with my mom, which was really nice. It's really bizarre that it's only 5:30 where she is now!
Now it's definitely time for me to go to bed. We have orientation things at 9:30 tomorrow, and I have no idea how I'm going to sleep tonight. I just wanted to give an update!! So far I love London, but I'm extremely exhausted. It all feels almost...normal. I know tomorrow I'll wake up and remember OH YEAH I'M IN EUROPE. Until then, good night from London!
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