DAY ONE!

I made it! It is still so surreal that I am even here. I am very excited about the next few months.

The flight went well, and I arrived in one piece WITH my luggage on the same plane! I flew standby to Cincinnati, met my friends, and then took off about 8:00pm EST. The flight from Cincinnati to London was just under 7 hours. Needless to say, I was happy to land and get off the plane! The first couple hours my friends and I were catching up, reading magazines, choking down the (nasty) dinner they served, and trying to tune out the Zac Efron movie playing. Eventually I put in my earphones, eye mask, and tried to sleep for a few hours. That didn’t go so well. I was in and out of sleep and severely uncomfortable for the duration of it all. Not to mention, it was probably 50 degrees on the plane. I attempted to stay warm by putting on my winter sweater, drape my north face jacket over my jeans, and wrap up in the see-though thin blanket provided by the airline. I woke up as I was being served breakfast about an hour outside of London. For the remainder of the flight, my friends and I intently studied our London guide books.

We went through customs after waiting for about an hour (partially because the line was so long and partially because Sara had to go on a scavenger hunt for her laptop that she left on the plane). We bought our Gatway Express Train ticket, and then the real fun began with

our luggage. We got down to the baggage claim and our luggage was all lined up waiting for us. We immediately just started laughing at the ridiculous amount of luggage we had. I mean, at this point it was about 3am CST, so what else could I do but laugh? Not sure how we made it to the opposite end of the airport to catch the train, but we did…it just took us a while! The scenery was so beautiful! Everything looks so old, and all the houses look like they are straight from Mary Poppins! London is so huge, but there are not really tall buildings.. its weird, but very cool.

After we sat down on the train it hit us how tired we were. After virtually no sleep the night before and after dragging 150+ lbs of luggage around the airport, I was ready to go to sleep! However, after the train, we had to transport all of our stuff again into 2 cabs who then delivered us right to our door step. We went and checked in our rooms to find our less than ideal flat. I didn’t realize that “linens included” meant they would provide a fitted sheet and a nasty duvet cover. So I started making a list of things to get, with actual sheets, pillowcases, and towels being on the top of the list! At least we are all together, and really, I can’t complain.. I am in LONDON!!

Next, we decided to go out and grab some food becausewe were starving! We ate at a pub named Camden Bar just a few blocks away on Camden High Street. I just had to enjoy my first Stongbow in England!

After lunch we met a few other students in our complex for an introductory walking tour of Camden. The guide pointed out the grocery stores, bars, shops, places to eat, etc. He had lots of helpful tips about public transportation, interesting history facts of the area, recommendations of how to saving money, and fun legends about the local pubs. The area we are staying is very cool. It is super young, trendy, and artsy with a bohemian flair. It is the music central of London, and it seems like there is a lot to do!

We came back to to the flat to unpack (which is tough without any hangers and hardly any storage space), and now everyone is taking a nap except for me. I am trying to stay up and get in the groove of this whole time change.

We are planning on eating dinner, going out tonight, and most likely calling it an early night. We have a LONG 9 hour day of orientation ahead of us tomorrow! I can’t wait to explore London even more!

Cheers!